How to curb the spammed blogspot contents issue?

I am upset. Little has been done by blogspot to overcome the spammy sites.

Blogspot is a free platform to write and post our contents. But it has been abused, and it has been taking place all the while.

One of the reasons that i update my post lesser is that, I notice my blogspot contents have been stolen by other blogspot sites, almost instantaneously after i have posted them. Meaning, it has been done by a script. Someone has somehow been able to detect my new posted contents and immediately grab them automatically, verbatim!

What is even more irritating is that, the search engine is oblivious to this evil jerks, and they outrank the original sites like us.

I did report to the blogspot. But no action is taken.

So it seems that we the original content producers have to figure out a way to tackle such a ridiculous issue.

Here's a way:

• Use javascript to show/hide your contents

Usually, the spammers steal the contents inside a specific HTML tag only - words and images. What i find out is that, their scripts won't be able to detect the logic inside the additional javascripts added.

I made several experiments in my previous posts. One is to hide the original contents by default (with css), and then they are only 're-displayed' at the end of the javascript added myself. It works. The spammer site is unable to show the content, except the title stolen.

With this understanding, you can basically do whatever you want inside the javascript. For example, show a foolish message in the HTML, and mask it later. From the perspective of the normal web surfers, they won't see a difference. But the stupid spammer would have that annoying texts added into their posts.

So far everything is going well. But the drawback is that, it doesn't work well with the SEO. Since you originally hide the contents, the search engines might be at first under the impression that you have no contents - which makes them index your page at a slower pace. To some extent, this is a critical issue. You defeat a robotic spammer, but you might still face the risk of being spammed by the normal thieves who copy and paste your contents with the keyboard.

So, what should we do, or what can be done by us at this point? sigh...

Say NO to spammers!

I HATE spammers!

It reminds me of how my life has been f*cked over the last 3 years.

I was promised a potential project about gaming sites and forums, such that I could give up my existing job. It was the first turning point of my life.

Then, without any income, I contributed ideas, contents and efforts for more than 5 months.

It isn't totally fruitless. But the so-called 'partners' claimed that it is not going to work. A lot of excuses such as "Your domain isn't appropriate", "Your contents are not interesting...". I was undermined.

However, just when I was looking for a new job, it comes a hilarious incident - The so-called 'partners' established a ridiculously spammy gaming forum, outwitting the search engines and earning millions.

Regardless of the 'originality' of the ideas, I was the stupid one excluded in the 'potential project' from the beginning. I am still owing debts and leading a miserable life.

Why i mentioned this?

Today, I am still contributing my ideas through blogs. At this stage, I know it is completely not feasible to make ends meet with this blog. But at the very least, the contents are unique. They are my original pieces of writing.

Whenever I see my contents being duplicated or abused, I feel upset. There are still ways to go for the search engines to ensure that the spammers are completely filtered.

Is Facebook still a popular social network platform?

I admit that this post has little to do about creating Android games. Rather, it is more on the Social Network - Facebook, one of the crucial elements in the Games Development Ecosystem.

 Recently, Facebook celebrates his 10th anniversary. Undoubtedly, it is one of the major Social Network platform at which people are sharing daily information. However, there are predictions from a number of commentators that Facebook would lose ground and disappear in 5 or 10 years, being on the moribund journey.

Whether the Facebook would be doomed, or would reach another pinnacle in the future, there is one thing to point out, from my personal experience.

As a Facebook user of around 7 years, I would admit that, the way that i am using Facebook, is much different from what i have been used to over the last few years. In short, I am getting much more passive nowadays.

7 years ago, when i signed into Facebook, i was easily hooked on the mini games, although they are just animation-less text-based one. It is exciting to see your friends joining the game as the more networks you have, the more advantages you will obtain (that's the typical design of the game). Moreover, i could update my status daily, or like and reply others' status on the pretty much trivial things, such as "Happy Holiday", "Screw the exam", etc. The feeling that you are 'connected' is indeed a fresh and exciting experience...

However, today, yes i am still surfing Facebook daily, or once in 2 days. But the thing is, i am turning on Facebook JUST to view the photos/pictures and the latest news (celebrities, sports, etc). The news from the FB, though sometimes are not from the mainstreams media (and not fully authenticated), are most of the time raw (1st hand), unfiltered and more transparent. Furthermore, i really favors some of the pages containing and updating the pictures of my idols and the celebrities.

BUT, when coming to my own social network, i am not that active anymore. Wishing every single friend 'Birthday wish'? Replying to the random friends saying "Yes! I am so happy today!"? Responding to every single game request spam from your friends? Please, it is killing me. Gradually i start to unfollow or even unfriend a number of 'friends' on FB. Be honest, the last upload of my personal photo was months ago...

One more thing that discouraged me from using FB is that, i observe that not many people are sharing the 'genuine' information of their own. While Mark Zuckerberg claimed that people want to 'stay connected' with the world, he doesn't know people has LOTS more to be hidden from the world. When you realize that FB isn't that real (or am i actually expecting too much?), it isn't that fun anymore.

I am not another anti-Facebook user. Just that I am using Facebook in a much different way than i have been used to. I am sure that i am not the only one.

Now back to the main question - Would such a 'behavioral change' affects the Facebook dominating status as a social network platform? If yes, then to what extent would the impact reach?

Gentle reminder: This is truly an original and a useful blog

"To err is human, to forgive divine".
Wait, what if the culprit is a robot? or precisely, the blog crawlers?

Last Sunday night, on a routine surfing of my "Android Gamify" blogspot to plan which topic should come next, all of a sudden, i was returned with a horrifying message:

"Blog has been removed"

Flabbergasted, my mind turned blank for seconds before gaining consciousness.

"What?" "Why?"

These are the questions flashing through my mind. Immediately, i logged into my email, realizing that my blogspot has been marked as "SPAM" by the automation system.

This is hilarious. The blog is my personal diary of my Android Games development. Every single article is originally written and proofread. How does the system define it as "SPAM"?

Without a second thought, I made an appeal, while praying everything will be restored. Unlike other services, blogger doesn't offer a Live chat. I really wished to have an immediate face to face session arguing, discussing, clarifying, convincing, or whatever action to recover my posts. That night, was a completely sleepless night...

On the next day, i kept checking emails and entering the blog again. Only in the afternoon I found that the entire blog site has been restored. And the blogger staff admitted that it was a MISTAKE.

Heaving a sigh of relief, I told myself that, to prevent such a disaster in the future, it is so crucial for us to consistently "backup" our posts (which is actually a feature available  in the blogger). I almost lost the motivation to continue blogging, until i found that it came alive again.

And i hope you can learn from this lesson as well.