Fixed Implement Akismet comment_type

[Sim]

The current implementation of the Akismet spam checker sets the comment_type to comment, which is not really recommended for anything other than actual blog comments.

According to the Akismet documentation, there are other comment_types which you can set which may be of assistance to them in determining the nature of the spam.

Refer to this blog post: https://blog.akismet.com/2012/06/19/pro-tip-tell-us-your-comment_type/

Our first recommendation:

Use an appropriate comment_type value.

Akismet works with almost any kind of user-submitted web content: blog comments, forum posts, blog posts, contact forms and so on. The characteristics of spam tend to vary across those type – comment spam is quite different from forum spam. So it’s important to give us some context by telling us what type of messages you’re asking Akismet to check. That’s what the comment_type value is for.​

Here is the list of examples they suggest:

• comment: A blog comment.
• forum-post: A top-level forum post.
• reply: A reply to a top-level forum post.
• blog-post: A blog post.
• contact-form: A contact form or feedback form submission.
• signup: A new user account.
• message: A message sent between just a few users.

From this, it would make sense to send forum-post for a new thread and reply for any subsequent post. From my understanding of the XF checker code - we also run new account registrations through the checks, which may include Akismet - so setting signup for those would be useful too. Unsure about profile posts - message perhaps?

 

[Chris D]

We would have to look into the documentation in more detail, but at first glance at those types, it really does seem like we we should be using the forum-post / reply ones. There might be reasons we chose the comment type originally or the documentation wasn't clear or those are new types that didn't yet exist.

Either way, it deserves another look and now's a good time to look at that change for XF 2.0.

 

[The Dark Wizard]

We would have to look into the documentation in more detail, but at first glance at those types, it really does seem like we we should be using the forum-post / reply ones. There might be reasons we chose the comment type originally or the documentation wasn't clear or those are new types that didn't yet exist.

Either way, it deserves another look and now's a good time to look at that change for XF 2.0.

Does the change, really have a massive impact on spam?

 

[Chris D]

No idea. Something else we will look into. If Akismet applies different heuristics to different types then it could be relevant.

 

[Sim]

I'd be surprised if it has a "massive impact" ... probably more like subtleties.

I find Akismet to be really good at detecting spam. I don't remember the last time a spam post was visible to our members - they are almost always held for moderation because of Akismet.

I do get a few false positives - new members posting links are most likely to trigger the spam moderation.

I'm guessing the biggest difference would be the subtle change between a new thread vs a reply to an existing thread. That being said - in my experience the spam is very often a mixture of the new threads and replies to threads, so I'm not sure there's much point there.

If you consider the types of spam you typically get in blog comments - in my experience, it is quite different to the type of spam you get in forum posts, so I'm sure there are some subtle differences in the way they measure things.

I haven't yet done any research into exactly what Akismet does with the comment_type.

 

[Kier]

Implemented.