How many likes is too many?
I need to apologise for apparently not visiting your blogs lately. I have been, only my presence has not been registering. I liked too many of your posts in too short a time frame apparently. This is what happened. Not wanting blogging to totally dominate every waking hour, I thought I could perhaps spend a few hours, a couple of times a week, going through your blogs, I thought I’d cracked the blog/life equation.
However, WordPress had other ideas. In order to prevent what the ‘Happiness Engineers’ term ‘Spam likers’, you can only press the like button so many times within a given time frame before your like button becomes inoperable and you are labelled – spam liker. How many likes this is and what the time frame is, I don’t know and WordPress aren’t telling me but my like button has been disabled for some time now. I’ve been deemed to be liking you all too much.
I’ve been happily reading your posts and liking them but these likes have been considered spam and have not been registering.
I happen to follow the blogs of a select number of very talented photographers and writers and press the like button to show my appreciation. Why wouldn’t I? And because I do this in the course of a couple of hours rather than popping back every hour or so, I’ve had my like button taken away. I questioned WordPress. I asked if it was the case then that I could only like some of the blogs I follow, ‘Yes’ was the answer. If and when I get my like button back, I don’t quite know how I’m going to choose.
Some of you have been telling me you have been unable to comment or like my posts. Perhaps any likes on my posts have been deemed the result of me liking too many of your posts and that would be why you haven’t been able to let me know what you think lately. Who knows?
Anyway, can’t let all that get me down and I hope you can forgive my apparent absence. It’s still summer here in Cornwall after nearly a whole week of fine days. Unprecedented in recent years. Enjoying the weather, I was on my way back from an appointment with a book binder when I had to stop the car and snap this shot. There will be hoards of sunseekers heading to Cornwall this weekend. This is a clue as to why. No colour enhancement necessary. I feel so privileged to live in Cornwall as followers of my blog will know. Even more so when the sun shines..
24mm f/18 1/60 sec. ISO 100
Cornwall Photographic 
Gorgeous blues… just gorgeous, period. Sorry about all your problems with “liking” too much!! Sometimes I think we don’t need that button… we all pretty much know who “likes” our stuff anyway.
July 11, 2013 at 5:47 pm
I think you’re right Anita. Thank you so much.
July 11, 2013 at 6:12 pm
I didn’t even know it was possible to “break” the like button.
I’m not sure if I understand the problem WordPress has. If the avatar has an obviously professionally taken head shot then there stands a chance it’s some sort of spammer, and their blog shows a “10 Diet Tips” or some such then I can simply ignore them. Why would wordpress get involved?
July 11, 2013 at 5:49 pm
That’s a total bummer. That hasn’t happened to me yet, but I’m an avid “liker,” too. It’s a way for me to show appreciation to the many bloggers I follow on WordPress after I’ve read or viewed their posts.
July 11, 2013 at 5:50 pm
Thank you. :-)
July 11, 2013 at 6:11 pm
LOL. I was afraid to hit the “like” button but I braved it. Shall we petition WordPress? “We want Chillbrook! We want Chillbrook!” Missing you dear friend. Hugs, Vivian
July 11, 2013 at 5:54 pm
Thank you Vivian. That’s so nice and very much appreciated. :-)
July 11, 2013 at 6:11 pm
What a richly colored photo, even unenhanced, Adrian. I had noticed something of an absence on the blogs, but didn’t see you posting many either, so I thought it was just that life is life. At any rate, thank you for filling-in some of the blanks. Wishing you well, my friend…and very happy to see you’re alive and well over there in your summertime on Cornwall. :)
July 11, 2013 at 5:55 pm
Thank you Scott. I’ve just ordered a little outboard for the inflatable dinghy I bought a few years back expecting a little more of this kind of weather. I just hope the weather holds and I can get out there on the water in the next few days. Yes, very much enjoying the sunshine. :-)
July 11, 2013 at 6:10 pm
Hope you have a great time out there, Adrian…my sons are wanting to get a canoe for similar excursions over here on our mountain lakes…. We’ll have some nice photos to exchange. :)
July 18, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Thank you Scott. Nothing like taking to the water. I’m sure we will have some very nice pictures to exchange. :-)
July 18, 2013 at 2:15 pm
You’re welcome…and I’m confident that we will. :)
July 18, 2013 at 3:28 pm
Awesome photo! And explanation accepted… and thanks for the head’s up about the policy.
I’m like you and “like” what I like… as often as I honestly “like” and I “like” freely!
It’s a shame they’ve made an example of YOU, however. I hope it’s resolved SOON
July 11, 2013 at 6:00 pm
Thank you so much. I really appreciate that. :-)
July 11, 2013 at 6:07 pm
From the number of ‘likes’ I see some people scattering about I didn’t realise there was such thing as too many! Oh well, another aspect of blogging for me to learn …..
I too had assumed your absence was due to life taking over – as after all, there is more to life than blogging! :D
July 11, 2013 at 6:15 pm
Spam! I have never seen your Likes, as spam, Chillbrook, on the contrary. I hope everything will be back to normal really soon, othjerwise it would be outrageous. I had to press Like on this one, even if I hardly didn’t want to, but did, in case I irritate someone!? ;)
July 11, 2013 at 6:19 pm
Thank you Bente. I appreciate your comment very much. :-)
July 11, 2013 at 6:41 pm
I’ve seen a number of people having trouble this week with similar problems ChillB. I really hope WordPress sorts this business out for everyone concerned . It IS important to get the blogging /life equation – as you so succinctly put it – right for oneself .
Who wants to be totally tied to the screen all day … when there’s a Big Wide World out there that needs to be photographed :-)
Cornwall is looking every bit as gorgeous as I imagine from your lovely photo . Makes me want to rush down that M5 at high speed Lol
You lucky devil ;-)
July 11, 2013 at 6:25 pm
Thank you Poppy and yes, I feel pretty lucky right now. :-)
July 11, 2013 at 6:36 pm
Interesting. I too go through reading spurts, although I usually do mix in a good dose of comments along with the “likes”.
That said, and in defense of WordPress (sort-of), it does annoy me a bit when I take a couple of hours to put together a post with both photos and a narrative, and three seconds after I publish it, there are a couple of “likes” on it.
Usually it’s from people who have new blogs, and I think they are just going to the reader and hitting likes at random. If WordPress were serious about limiting “like spammers”, they would remove the “like” option from the reader.
These days I no longer check out “new” likes unless I see them a number of times on more than one of my posts.
A similar thing is happening with following blogs . . . I get a couple of new followers a week, and most these days have “something to sell”. I think they follow, and then never actually read any of the posts.
As for your, or anyone’s absence, I don’t worry about it much . . . many things in life are more important than reading blogs. I figure people read when they want to be entertained or distracted from everyday matters, and are not reading when matters clamor to regain their attention.
Anyway, nice picture . . . no people; my kind of place.
July 11, 2013 at 6:30 pm
I do know exactly what you mean Emilio, and those instant likes are annoying but I find it quite easy to ignore them, as I do with the new followers with something to sell. Your comment ‘ no people, my kind of place’ made me chuckle. My kind of place also. It’s why I’m so often taking pictures at dawn. The light is a bonus, it’s the ‘no people’ I really like at that time of day. :-)
July 11, 2013 at 6:35 pm
Thank you for sharing this experience with us. I sympathize with your discomfort. And I believe it is a result of many different people with different ways of communicating, all of them living under the same roof. Since blogging is also a sort of social community, I believe there are many among us who press the like button the way people in a previous generation might have tipped their hat when seeing a neighbor on the same street downtown. It’s just a gesture. Others take it more seriously, and think it’s a value judgment. Some feel an obligation to immediately pay a return visit every time they get a like. And wordpress, a commercial enterprise, tries to satisfy all the different demands. I am not so bothered by spam. I find it easy to ignore. But some people are outraged. It’s as if a stranger had entered their home without being invited. So we often see some very extreme protests against spam. So though I sympathize with you, and hope this inconvenience will end soon, I would suffest that you relax, and perhaps inform the service dept of wordpress that you would like your like button re-enabled. With best wishes, Shimon
July 11, 2013 at 7:03 pm
Thank you Shimon for your very condisidered and thoughtful response.
July 12, 2013 at 12:29 pm
Great summer shot, wish we could have more days like that here in the north east. Something does indeed seem to be wrong with wordpress lately, I used to be able to post a comment and then see it immediately when I hit the submit button. Now I do not see the comment even when going back into the post. Things can only get better. :-)
July 11, 2013 at 7:08 pm
Nice capture of the coastline. And this sighting distance, and those colors….those colors…marvelous.
I am almost envious you can see this not only at a photograph. ;)
July 11, 2013 at 7:22 pm
Thank you! :-)
July 12, 2013 at 12:30 pm
What a world where we have to be protected from spammers who ‘like’ us. You’ve been missed, but just keep posting those gorgeous shots of your lovely Cornwall. You know those of us who truly love your stuff… I’m actually getting to where I don’t pay as much attention to the ‘likes’, but enjoy the sincere comments far more (it’s pretty easy to distinguish those that are simply trolling.)
July 11, 2013 at 7:26 pm
Thank you Gunta. I was a bit baffled but WordPress tell me people get very upset by people liking them insincerely. :-)
July 12, 2013 at 12:33 pm
I think this might be a case of the ‘squeaky wheel’ where the folks who seem to enjoy complaining are the ones being catered to. The rest of us who shrug at what, in essence, is a minor issue (if any), don’t pay much attention, but we get hit with the results when WordPress feels a need to placate the annoying minority.
July 12, 2013 at 6:40 pm
Sounds about right Gunta. :-)
July 13, 2013 at 9:31 am
Thank you Gunta. It’s definitely worth a chuckle. Do WordPress really receive so many complaints from people who have been liked by someone fishing for a like back. Hmm, I wonder. :-)
July 12, 2013 at 5:15 pm
Interestingly, I had switched off my “likes” on posts, specifically because they sometime seem meaningless. I much prefer getting comments.
However, I got some flack from my readers because of it.
What I don’t like about “likes” is that people use them to let you know they saw your stuff, but it really is not an indicator of if they really liked what they saw or read.
The numbers important to me (as far as such things go) are the actual visitors, and any any comments they might leave.
To that end I would prefer WP had a “Killroy was here” button, either in addition to, or instead of the “like” button..
July 12, 2013 at 5:24 pm
Absolutely!
July 13, 2013 at 9:33 am
That was the strangest thing I have ever heard :) Hope you get your like-button back soon, but as Anita stated above I think we all know who likes our blogs!
From one thing to another? How have you disabled the WordPress add after your blog texts? Have you paid the annual fee? If I may ask? :)
July 11, 2013 at 7:28 pm
I thought it pretty strange too. :-) I did pay for an upgrade and this is why I don’t get the ads.
July 12, 2013 at 12:41 pm
Well, ok … I get that there are spam likers… but they’re usually obvious to spot — they’re the one’s who like your post the instant that it is posted. I know you’ve been to both my photo blog, and my regular blog, and, on my regular blog, I’ve written some loooong posts. Spam likers are the ones who like the post with 30 seconds of my posting it, and I know, there’s no way that they could have read the 1400 or 1500 word post that quickly. Those are the ones WP should watch.
I agree with you … that one can’t sit and like posts slowly, all day. I sit down and do my blog reading once or twice in a day, though, I will admit to not liking every single post … but, I think the like button is nice, as it shows someone you stopped by. There needs to be a better way for WP to identify spam likers … as far as i can tell, from my own experience, spam likers never interact in any other way than just liking a post. Maybe they need to look and see if someone is not only clicking like, but, also, leaving comments — but, then again, spammers can generate comments too. So, who knows.
I think that maybe it’s best to not worry about being a few days behind …. a few of my followers are several days behind the current posts … they just read a few at a time. And, for me, a like a week later is still as nice as a like in the first hour…
It’s a shame though … that spammers tend to ruin things for the rest of us.
July 11, 2013 at 8:17 pm
Another thought … having just noticed your Facebook page…. I follow several blogs that way, and click the like button there, rather than here …
July 11, 2013 at 8:18 pm
Reblogged this on Johnbalaya and commented:
I thought this was interesting… apparently if you “like” too many blog posts in too short a time, WP considers you spam, and takes away your ability to “like”. Lots to think about with this … about when/if to like a blog post, how many blogs to follow, if WP can do a better job at identifying spammers … but, thought I’d share, since this was new info (to me, at least).
July 11, 2013 at 8:22 pm
Thank you John. I appreciate your comments. I follow a lot of photography posts, it doesn’t take too long to decide if you like a photograph or not. I also leave regular comments so it should have been pretty easy for WordPress to establish that I wasn’t blindly ‘liking’ in the hope that people would like me back. We know there are such people out there but aren’t they easy to ignore? As Gunta said, What a world where we have to be protected from spammers who ‘like’ us. :-)
July 12, 2013 at 12:46 pm
I am sorry for the frustrations Adrian but this image does make up for it. Now, more importantly, what is this about a book binder? Are you publishing a book? Do spill!
July 11, 2013 at 8:22 pm
Thank you Marina. I have been commissioned by the Chairman of Cornwall Council to produce a book of photographs depicting the landscape and heritage of Cornwall that will be given as gifts to visiting dignitaries at civic receptions and the like. He wants to move away from the traditional but mundane crystal glasses with a Cornish crest type gift. I was visiting a guy who hand binds books using leather as well as, rather interestingly, Cornish slate and I think he will be the one to produce the book. We shall see. I’ll keep you posted. :-)
July 12, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Oh my wow!!! That’s amazing Adrian! What an accomplishment. You must share how this came about – is the Chairman a blog follower? ;) Congratulations 100x over!
July 12, 2013 at 9:08 pm
Thank you so much Marina! :-)
July 13, 2013 at 9:45 am
thanks for the heads-up, because I have been doing the same — liking what I like as I scroll through the long list of subscribed blogs. I’m sorry to see that we have to be protected from ourselves.
July 11, 2013 at 8:28 pm
I’m sorry too Sue. Is it really not just easier for people to ignore the spam likes and appreciate the likes from bloggers they know as well as knew bloggers who leave comments and follow you? :-)
July 12, 2013 at 1:01 pm
Thank you for sharing this.
July 11, 2013 at 8:28 pm
No worries. :-)
July 12, 2013 at 1:02 pm
I have to admit this really concerns me. I met this post via a friend that re-blogged it and I’m happy he did. I am a young woman, ill and currently housebound. WP gave me an avenue to communicate with the outside world and engage in living vicariously through others. I see beautiful photography, read amazing poetry and stories, etc. I couldn’t imagine being denied simply because of the freedom and time I have to invest in reading posts. This is very upsetting to me. What you do is your choice and as it doesn’t harm anyone, I’m shocked this became an issue. I hope it’s resolved soon. Best wishes.
July 11, 2013 at 9:00 pm
I’m sorry to hear about your illness. I have MS and WordPress has been such a great companion to have. This episode has really upset me too. WordPress said that people complain about spam likers which is why they have done this. If people can’t overlook a bunch of people liking them to get likes back, well, they need to get over it. I too hope this is all resolved soon. Thank you so much for you comment and I hope you get well soon.
July 12, 2013 at 4:44 pm
You do indeed live in a very beautiful area – but then I’m partial to the sea.
July 11, 2013 at 9:19 pm
Me too.. Thank you Lynne. :-)
July 12, 2013 at 4:44 pm
There is something afoot in the wordpress blogosphere…! All my comments over the last week at least, have not been registering! I type them just the same as always but when I press that ‘Post Comment’ button they just seem to disappear!? Am I a spam commenter?! You probably won’t even get this and it will just be lost, floating forever into the abyss… but just in case you do… that photo is gorgeous, you are so lucky to live in Cornwall and I can’t wait to live there myself! :)
July 11, 2013 at 9:53 pm
Appreciate your enlightening post. You have turned it all around with a beautiful finish using a perfect Cornwall smile. Thank you.
July 11, 2013 at 10:00 pm
Thank you very much! :-)
July 12, 2013 at 4:45 pm
I’d like to like it but cant – til tomorrow
July 11, 2013 at 10:23 pm
:-)
July 12, 2013 at 1:02 pm
Super image Adrian!
Something has been going on with WP lately, I have had people tell me that can’t comment on my blog and I’m not sure I’m seeing everything I should be in my Reader. Oh well hope it gets straightened out.
July 11, 2013 at 10:30 pm
Thank you Phil. As Gunta said, it’s a funny old world and the World of WordPress is funnier still. :-)
July 12, 2013 at 4:46 pm
I have to say, your post today,did make me laugh, being punished for “liking someone” too much, whatever is the world coming to? Glad it hasn’t dampened your spirit :)
July 11, 2013 at 11:08 pm
Thank you. Glad you had a laugh. I did after I got over the frustration of it all. :-)
July 12, 2013 at 4:47 pm
I have a similar problem, I do use the reader to follow some blogs because I have so many people following me,that I feel I have to do something in return, I feel bad if I can’t see what they are all doing. But the same thing has been happening, it all goes hay wire and you can’t like anything. I do what I can, and that is it.
Hey do you have a contact email.
July 11, 2013 at 11:55 pm
Hi Leanne, Thanks for your comment. I’ve left a reply on your blog. That’ll give you my email. :-)
July 12, 2013 at 4:48 pm
Wonderful photo, Adrian. It looks like you’re having some great weather there at the moment. I haven’t had a problem with the like button, except like ‘disperser’ who commented about people liking posts a split second after it’s bee posted and most probably didn’t even open it. :(
July 12, 2013 at 7:29 am
Thanks Sylvia. It’s a minor irritation I feel and one we can overlook. This policy seems like a rather large sledgehammer to crack a very tiny nut. :-)
July 12, 2013 at 4:50 pm
I did some liking before i liked this one :-)
Weird concept to put a spam script on a like button.
I agree, there is quite a lot to like on here, and limiting that to a certain amount for a certain time period without telling what the figures are is plainly a silly thing to do! Glad I could like yours ;-). Urban theme looks good; love the short list of two or three.
July 12, 2013 at 7:40 am
Thank you Chris! :-)
July 12, 2013 at 4:50 pm
Shall I like this one?? Lol
July 12, 2013 at 6:42 pm
:-)
July 13, 2013 at 9:31 am
Oops, got my limits on likes adrian sorry!
July 13, 2013 at 4:27 pm
That’s OK Chris, we’re all going to have to accept that we all like each other’s work, we just can’t express it in the usual way. :-)
July 13, 2013 at 4:53 pm
Posting of course
July 13, 2013 at 6:04 pm
All I can say is that I had the very same problem yesterday (for the first time in 3 years).
I actually pressed a ‘like’ button too close to making a ‘comment’ on a blog. Weird. I’ve never had that before.
May I suggest WordPress is screwed up, not us.
July 12, 2013 at 12:49 pm
Thank you Vicki and yes, I think you’re right. :-)
July 12, 2013 at 5:14 pm
Great shot!
July 12, 2013 at 2:51 pm
Thanks for posting this Adrian. I cannot comment on blogs at the moment and so far have not found a solution. I can write the comment but when I click the ‘post comment’ button the comment disappears. Please let me know if you receive this, perhaps it’s being flagged up as spam?!
July 12, 2013 at 4:41 pm
Not to worry about physically “liking”. I accept a virtual “like”. Sounds like you wore the button out;)
Love love love, those blues. I’m virtually diving in:)
July 12, 2013 at 6:54 pm
Thank you Elena. Needless to say I love evrything you do!:-)
July 13, 2013 at 9:32 am
That is great information. Even if I press “like” too much, please know that I love your work and find it very inspiring. Enjoy the weather. ;)
July 12, 2013 at 8:50 pm
Thank you Cynthia! :-)
July 13, 2013 at 9:33 am
Spammer!!! Just joking. Ah well, such is the will of our computerized algorithmic overlords. Perhaps in lieu of a “like”, you could drop a comment? Or does that get filtered as well? Or perhaps create another account Chillbrook2. If you can’t beat em, fool them?
July 13, 2013 at 2:02 am
My comments were disappearing too.. Very strange business.
July 13, 2013 at 9:45 am
Fantastic shot! It’s always the abusers that ruin it for everyone else and it’s a pity WordPress can distinguish between the spammers and genuine likers. I see likes from my followers as a gesture of appreciation :)
July 13, 2013 at 2:34 am
Thank you Norma. :-)
July 13, 2013 at 9:30 am
Reblogged this on Rockin' the Purple! and commented:
Having trouble with the WP Like button?! This post might ‘splain things. Also, you can wander through evocative photos of the rather achingly scenic Cornwall area in the southwest of England. Too, they’ve been having summer these last several days! >:-D
July 13, 2013 at 2:57 pm
Thanks for the Reblog and your comments Lahgitana! :-)
July 13, 2013 at 4:11 pm
You’re welcome, sir! A friend had just mentioned being unable to Like one of my posts, then this explanatory post showed up! Yaaay! I confess to my sloth: taking advantage of someone *else* who dealt with the happiness engineers! –Laurel
July 13, 2013 at 4:22 pm
:-)
July 13, 2013 at 4:53 pm
Thank you, Chillbrook, for an enlightening post. The same thing has been happening to me and it is so frustrating. I tend to dedicate Sundays as my chillout day and go through all the emails from wordpress that I’ve missed in the past week, liking my favourites, only to find out later that they haven’t registered. Looks like I’ll have to do a re-think now. I missed you all so much when I gave up my Lizzie Joy site, that I just had to return. I’m trying to limit the amount of time I spend on the internet now, as it had rather taken over my life. Life is for living, I feel. Blessings, my friend. PS: A beautiful photo.
July 14, 2013 at 11:30 am
PS: The happiness engineer suggested I sign out and then sign in again, when I get this problem. I’ve tried that and it doesn’t work. You have to leave an hour or two, before you try again, and then it works.
July 14, 2013 at 11:42 am
Thank you for your comments. Yes it’s an infuriating problem and all to satisfy those people that feel they’re being liked to much or insincerely. So what? This is a ridiculous policy by WordPress and it really needs to be challenged. :-)
July 14, 2013 at 4:08 pm
Those blues are sublime. It looks quite a bit like paradise. : )
Enjoy your summer while it happens, Adrian!
(I guess you were dis(liked) by WordPress ; ) – we still know you’re great! )
July 15, 2013 at 9:50 pm
It really is paradise Karen when the sun shines here. Yes, I definitely fell foul of this new policy WordPress have adopted based on how long it takes an average person to read a blog. I pointed out that I follow blogs that contain photographs not words and that it didn’t take you long to decide if you liked a picture or not. We’ll see if they revise their policy but doubt it very much.
July 16, 2013 at 10:03 am
I’ve been away for a while and didn’t know about this. Thanks for the information.
This changes how I go through my reader and interact with those I follow and who follow me. Like you, I get to the end of a long day and then review the last 24 hours of my reader in one sitting. I’d really like to know how many likes is too many. Please understand that I won’t press like on this one.
July 16, 2013 at 1:20 am
I understand. It’s a daft policy that I hope they’ll rethink. They’ve worked out the number of likes allowed per hour based on how long it takes a average reader to read an average post. I pointed out to WordPress that I’m a photographer who follows photography blogs. There is rarely anything much to read therefore the liking process is a lot more rapid than if you followed posts that contained prose or lengthy articles. They said they would review.
July 16, 2013 at 10:00 am
Sorry to hear about your troubles . I hope they get corrected soon . Your one of my favorite bloggers.
July 16, 2013 at 3:06 am
Thank you James. I really appreciate that.
July 16, 2013 at 9:54 am
Another exquisite photo! Like you, I tend to read/like everyone’s blog in one sitting…probably only a matter of time before they take my like button away! My problem is that many blogs I follow have not been showing up in my reader…very frustrating!
July 18, 2013 at 12:54 am
Thank you. It is frustrating. Somebody else said that my blog wasn’t showing up in their reader. WordPress seems to have more than its fair share of glitches at the moment. Probably caused by all these changes they’ve been making. It’s an Internet disease, always fixing what isn’t broken and breaking it in the process.. :-(
July 18, 2013 at 2:14 pm
That’s crazy. Now we have Like Button police. Hmmm!
July 23, 2013 at 2:59 pm
It certainly makes you think doesn’t it Jim?
July 23, 2013 at 3:38 pm
I have just stumbled across your site from another photographer I follow ( Leanne Cole), and I love your landscapes. You really capture some of the raw elemental energy of Cornwall in a wonderfully inspiring way.
You have also solved a little mystery for me. Almost all my comments on blogs I follow have been sent to spam, and their comments on my blog have been spammed too. It’s so sad, and I realised as I read your post that I blog in a similar way to you. In short concentrated bursts! Can’t believe wordpress are being such dictators!
July 26, 2013 at 7:25 am
Sensible Objective, Idiot Implementation. Like much of life. Unfortunately just about anybody is allowed to write computer programs.
July 29, 2013 at 4:20 am
It is a worry.. :-)
July 29, 2013 at 8:36 pm