Slightly nervous about posting a comment on this post (!) but that doesn't appear to have stopped the flurry of comments along the lines you advised against! (Oh, the irony!)
More seriously, we do need to find a way to flush out some of the spam. For example, when I read your post these posts were topping your comments and you had to scroll down to find anything of substance. Something like askimet on WordPress needed here?
Thanks for setting this out. It's really helpful for newbies and for those who have been here longer.