In my web site users can comment on press releases or news as anonymous. This can be good for getting extra users but in the long term, anybody can just write anything . Should I leave it as it is or should I make comments only for known members? Thanks
If you leave it as it is then you will get spam after spam. You will start getting adult related submissions, links to adult porn sites, etc. Get some validation on the inputted comments and also use some security and problem only allow submissions from members.
I agree, you can get lots of spam. Or what you can do is allow annonymous comments but place a function where they have to be reviewed by admin before it appears on the site.
Spams will certainly be your painstaking problem once you open for comments. You will need a regular moderator to keep watch on the comments made so you will not be spammed.
I am thinking to keep all comments unactivated till I view and activate them -- this sounds like a good option. Thanks
Make them register to be able to post comments. When they signup make them get an activation link in their email before their account is active. Then insert a CAPTCHA image on the form. This will do several things: 1) Prevent about 99% of the spam 2) Give you a list of active members of your website that you can email since they have double opt-in to your list. This gives you the grounds to start buidling up an email marketing campaign.
Set to preview post by admin before posting. That way, you encourage good comments and remove bad ones.
Agree with Craigslistguy, that's what I've started to do on my new blog. All comments are reviewed and approved. This seems to be a fairly common practice.
There are many comment spam blocking tools out there and the default and very effect one for wordpress is Akismet. You can learn more at akismet.com. This will eliminate the time it takes for you to weed through the spam comments. I personally have not run across any false positives either, I am very happy with their service.