Can I edit my Akismet plugin?

July 14, 2008 4:08 AM

Can I edit the Akismet plugin I use on my Wordpress blog? My host has a firewall which is preventing my Akismet plugin from working properly. They offered me a proxy address and number I can use instead, but I don't know how to get the plugin to use them. (Alternatively, can you recommend a good comment-spam catcher that won't run into firewall problems?)

I've asked the Akismet people for help with this, but they say they don't provide that level of service.

I've never modified a plug-in before, but would be happy to get my hands dirty if given clear instructions.

My previous host had no problems with it (just terrible customer service). I was really happy with how well Akismet worked, so I'd prefer to keep it going if possible.

posted by harriet vane to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

Response by poster: Argh, I previewed but still managed to forget something: Akismet seems to be written in php, if that helps. If there's any other details I've forgotten to tell, just ask.
posted by harriet vane at 4:16 AM on July 14, 2008

Best answer: Try these instructions but search for 'function akismet_http_post' instead of 'function ksd_http_post' and replace accordingly.

Also, change the proxy data in this line to the one your host uses.

if( false !== ( $fs = @fsockopen('proxy.dcu.ie', 3128, $errno, $errstr, 10) ) ) {

posted by Memo at 4:30 AM on July 14, 2008

Response by poster: Thankyou, Memo, that looks like something I can manage. I assume I should keep a copy of the original file so that if I don't do it right, I can put it back the way it was and start again.
posted by harriet vane at 4:47 AM on July 14, 2008

if you cannot use akismet, there is always spam karma.
posted by Baud at 4:55 AM on July 14, 2008

There's also Defensio.
posted by furtive at 8:34 AM on July 14, 2008

Response by poster: Thanks - if I can't change the php properly I'll look into those.
posted by harriet vane at 1:14 AM on July 15, 2008

Response by poster: I followed those instructions - very simple, just commenting out 3 lines and replacing them with new ones, then adding the proxy info - and it worked perfectly. Thanks again!
posted by harriet vane at 7:26 PM on July 15, 2008