Conversation is encouraged through comments on the OptiNiche blog; the Subscribe To Comments plugin was installed specifically for this purpose. But, in this age of unsolicited e-mail and annoying offers trying to find their ways into our inboxes, we’ve become very cautious to whom we give our e-mail addresses.
Unfortunately, in our sometimes overzealous attempt to protect our inbox, we can cause someone else distress. Lately, I’ve been receiving an abnormal amount of bounced mail from people who leave comments and leave the “notify me of follow up comments” box checked.
Or, in some cases, they have Spam Arrest enabled and I’ll receive an e-mail asking me to verify that I’m a real person. It’s not possible for me to respond to every Spam Arrest verification e-mail.
Because of that, I’ve made a few changes to reduce some of my work load here. I’ve updated my comment policy to include a special provision for this. If your e-mail address is invalid or requires “confirmation” of any type, your comment will just be deleted — no exceptions.
I am not a spammer. 
Your e-mail address is not displayed (unless you actually write it in your comment, and I usually edit it out anyway). I will not sell your e-mail address, nor will I randomly subscribe you to my mailing list just because you’ve left a comment. I may, however, respond directly to your comment via e-mail, especially if you’ve asked a question.
I had one of these accounts where emails sent to me had to be verified by sender in a follow up email to prove they were real.
It did take out the spam but annoyingly I lost a lot of important emails as the reply email ended up in their spam box!!!
# June 26th, 2007
Not only that, some of the senders were probably just upset that they had to “prove their human-ness”, especially if they were just responding to an e-mail you sent them. I know I’ve been annoyed by that in the past.
Sure, spam is a problem, but the legitimate people who send e-mails should not be penalized or inconvenienced because of it. I’ve been a believer in passive (i.e. no human interaction required) spam defences than the “please verify you’re a human” types.
~ Teli
# June 26th, 2007
I understand the spam side of things, but there are people out there that actually do it on their own. No machines are being used and there are still people that do not want someone else to benefit. I would be one that I allow spam that is from a person, but thats about it.
Rick Marnon, Howell
# November 2nd, 2007
I had been a loyal and paying customer of Spamarrest for some time, recently their service has been erratic and I lost a number of important messages. After not receiving adequate support I decided to cancel my recently renewed account and asked for a refund of the unused portion. Here is their response:
# December 5th, 2007
Spam is getting tougher and tougher to combat. I have yet to find an automated solution that is effective. They can usually find most of the bot-generated content but there is plenty of spam that can still get through. I think your policy is a good thing though.
# May 7th, 2008