It's not usually that bad. But what's bad enough to piss off a small web host might not seem like so much traffic to a big web host. What version are you using. 0.9.1 includes some performance improvements. If you're running that and keep your antispam blacklist updated, then when a spammer comes to your site, they're given a 404 page. It reduces your bandwidth usage quite a bit.

i am using version 0.9.12 ..

i do keep my blacklist updated.. i am wondering if there is a better way.. i check it once a day or so.. but i think it might be better if i could update it with a cron job.. is that possible?

also..

here is a peek at the amount of spam traffic i am getting..

go to:

http://www.village-buzz.com/rep

i am just getting hammered..

1. Upgrade to 0.9.1. It handles spam bandwidth much better than 0.9.0.12.

2. Yes there is a better way to get your blacklist updates. Install this hack:

http://wonderwinds.com/hackblog.php/2005/09/18/antispam_rechecking_dawn

Then follow the instructions in the first comment about making it a cron job. If you need help, let me know. But no more complaining until you complete these two steps. :)

post mortem..

i got it to kill another server..

the scoop is..

mysqld is dying at some point.. when it dies, mysqld is what is taking the hit.. from that point, nothing can hit mysql..

i wrote a script to check it and email my blackberry if there is a problem...

but i will look into upgrading...

i just upgraded to the dawn, and i haven't had any problems yet (mysqld shutting down)..

everything seems to be going fine..

thanks for all your help!

Good, I thought that would help. Now I forgot to mention above that the Recheck hack gives you a good way to set up automatic updating, but it does something even better, too. When you hit the script that updates, it will also recheck your blog to remove any spam that may have slipped in before the item was added to the blacklist. It has made my life a lot easier.