Ok, so my re-created blog has been live for around 2 weeks now after the deletion of the original site and I have to say that since I moved to WordPress I’ve never encountered so much spam. I’m running at over 100 spam messages in just a few days… starting with an influx from day 1. It seems that spammers out there are targeting the Hello World post trying to get around sites without Askimet running… If you’re running WordPress and have a significant spam issue then I suggest choosing another platform as, like I said, WordPress is a Spam Magnet!
Without Akismet, you are inviting trouble with WordPress. One of my blogs was under spam attack for days that all the available bandwith was taken up. Even with Akismet, the spams just never stop although they become more manageable.