Tim Bray writes, "I have comments, but no spam in my comments. Here's why." Then he describes how he fights spam: small hurdles, different set-up, simple Turing tests, sneaky error messages. My own system, which sometimes frustrates users but allows me to accept anonymous comments with a minimum of spam, also has these features. In addition, it exchanges a secret code between form and comment script. It also looks at your comment and rules it out if it "makes no sense" (a lot of fly-by one-word commenters have been deterred by this as well, a bonus!). I ease up on the rules if you're logged in - but I screen all new accounts manually, eliminating the spambot accounts before they can start posting.
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