How to Break out of Jail and Other Useful Tidbits!

I was in spam jail last week. It wasn’t pretty. The parties were hopping on my friends’ blogs, but I could only gaze out through the bars of my virtual cell. I had tiptoed along the edge and had fallen to the dark side. I admit it. I had used too many tags!

So here’s the dealio to all of you who have been trying really hard to be Freshly Pressed. You may not even be on the editor’s radar. As of yesterday, you can use a grand total of 15 tags and categories; not 26, people. Yah! I am talking to you, guy in the back on the cell phone. If you have 13 tags and 3 categories you may be classified a dreaded tag-spammer. That means that you will NOT be seen in the reader. I had been posting with 10 and overindulged with 12 last Tuesday when 10 was most they would allow. I got yanked off my blogging stage by the scruff of my neck. It was not cool. I am sure the riot I caused while in jail helped to increase the limit. Your welcome.

Here is what you need to do if your posts are not in the reader. Go back to your last 4-6 posts and delete the offending tags and categories.

If you can’t comment on other blogs without going  into their spam filter, then you need to go one step further and channel Tinkerbell. Do you remember the tale of Peter Pan and how you clapped to bring her back to life? Well I Tweeted, Facebooked, and emailed my friends to pull me out of their spam. This taught Askimet (the WordPress Spam blocker), the fact that I was a real girl and not a spambot.

My second day in spam jail, I went to http://akismet.com/contact/  and filled out a form including a math problem to prove I was not a spammer. I waited and waited…Then  after the third long day, I heard the sound of keys. A bright shining face greeted me through the bars and said, “Sorry about that! You’re free to go.” The sun was shining, the birds were singing, my latest post could be seen in the reader and I was able to comment once again!

Do you know where the Reader is? You see that W on the far left side on the black bar? Well it is not just the WordPress family crest. Click on it. Just look at all of the amazing links hidden under there!

My friend Timethief hooked me up with a lawyer link to her blog called “One Cool Blogging Site.” In one of her posts she explained that categories are similar to the Table of Contents in a book and tags are like the Index located in the back.

She also pointed out, “These days search engines pay more attention to your keywords in your content than they do to your keywords in Tags/Categories.” In other words, you don’t have to repeat phrases from your story in your tags to get search engines to find you.

Make sure to check out Timethief’s list of blogging mistakes including changing the time stamp after you post. Been there! All of your subscribers will get a 404 error. You can also get into trouble for using tags that are unrelated to your post. Tag-scamming!

Thanks Timethief for the info and assisting with my jailbreak! She also has a fabulous wellness blog called, “This Time This Space.” I subscribed to both!

I think it is a good idea to subscribe to your own blog. A couple of times after hitting “Publish,” the email notification didn’t go out to my subscribers. I pressed “Update” and then it was sent. Now I have the security of knowing my subscribers receive the notice every time I publish.

You should also subscribe to WordPress.com News. The WordPress gurus keep their subscribers updated with the latest improvements. This is where I learned how to stop the comment notification madness! Have you been getting extra emails? I comment on a lot of my friend’s blogs – I always have something to say, I know. It is a shock – so I was getting tons of them. WordPress is awesome in their response to its patrons. Since some of us were not so thrilled with the new default setting, WP added a new feature to completely stop the comment notices. All you have to do is click here and then click on the link, “global settings.” It will miraculously take you to your blog’s own settings. Beau LeBens will show you how to change the default. Thanks Beau!

After blogging for a year, I have had my share of missteps. I am glad to say that I have learned my tag and category limits. Thanks to Timethief, I am a rehabilitated WordPress user. Never again will I go beyond my 10 category/tag boundary. Let me know if you ever need to be busted out of spam jail. I will be there with a hacksaw.

Do you ask for help or try to resolve your own problems?