I just discovered to my horror that my spam filter (called “Akismet”) has been blocking several comments that are not spam at all, including comments from Karen Carter and Peoria Heights Mayor Mark Allen. I know that it is frustrating when you write a long comment and then it just disappears; it makes you feel like you’ve just wasted your time writing the darn thing. I sincerely apologize that you’ve experienced that on the Peoria Chronicle.

I don’t know why these comments got caught up in the filter. Akismet’s algorithm for identifying spam is a secret; overall it’s pretty good at catching things — a little too good, apparently. I have “de-spammed” your comments and they now appear in the comments sections of the appropriate posts with the proper timestamp. I would encourage all my readers to go back over the comments of some recent posts to see what may have suddenly appeared.

I will be sure to check the spam filter regularly from now on, as I certainly don’t want to miss any more comments. Thank you all for reading and for taking the time to share your thoughts.