Since I started this blog I have been getting trackbacks from dubious sources, blogs that are clearly ripping off my content. I have also had trackbacks from blogs ripping off the content of other blogs that linked to me. Lorelle has written about these new kinds of spammers, it is clearly a problem.
One of the solutions pointed to is ©Feed plugin.
The plugin allows you to add a message to the end of your feeds, that don’t appear on your site. A digital fingerprint the readme file calls it. The idea being that it makes it easy to track, and therefore deal with the sites that are using your work for their benefit.
It also promises to scan some search engines for the fingerprint code to give you feedback.
I intend to try this out for a little while and see what results that brings me. I will report back.
In the meatime I would be interested to hear whether you have used it and what your impressions of it are.
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Well, i can say let them copy, link back or do whatever with those automated scripts, you keep up the good work and once search engines recognise your website as the original content website you are safe and will always rank in the top.
Amit
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Thanks Lorelle, I totally agree about the importance of following up once you do fine that someone is stealing your content.
I found your article on it very useful: http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2006/04/10/what-do-you-do-when-someone-steals-your-content/
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While it is great to get the copyright link into your feeds, it doesn’t stop nor change the importance of reporting all splogs and content thieves. If we all report, then they will be stopped because together, our voices will speak loudly to make it wrong to take what doesn’t belong to you on the web.
Reporting splogs, scrapers, and copyright violators is easy. I do it regularly and it rarely takes more than a minute or two.
Copyright notices can be put into your feed and blog posts easily. But when a scraper is grabbing hundreds or thousands of feeds, do you think they take a look at any of them? Do you think they inspect them for copyright notices and say “Hey, we have to stop stealing from this guy!” Nope.
Thanks for spreading the news and helping to warn others that these monsters are afoot and we can work together to stop them.
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Thank you and i hope, you enjoy my plugin.
I like your very nice ideas araund WordPress!
With best regards.
Frank