Deleted spam comments still triggering email notification

Hi,

I’ve been using a plugin (WordPress Hashcash Extended) to reduce comment spam, of which I get an obnoxious amount. For the same reason, I also moderate all comments.

The plugin is set to automatically delete suspected spam messages. Up until the 4.4 update last week, I did not get an email notification for a deleted comment, which was just fine — I’d get notifications for mostly legitimate comments and 85 percent of the spam would go directly into the trash.

Since the update, however, WordPress sends me an email notification for EVERY comment received, even the ones the anti-spam plugin is automatically deleting. I assume some change in the core has altered the order in which WordPress processes comments; before, the plugin would run first and then WordPress would issue the notification, but now, it seems that the notification is going out immediately.

This has been a real problem because I’ve been besieged with email notifications — more than 100 a day. I tried unchecking “Email me whenever anyone posts a comment” and just leaving “A comment is held for moderation,” but that doesn’t stop notifications for deleted emails. Only completely disabling notifications spares me the flood, and in that case I have no way of knowing when I have a legitimate comment I actually need to moderate.

Is there any way to better control this behavior? WordPress Hashcash Extended seems to no longer be supported (which is a shame because it worked pretty well), but if WordPress core no longer distinguishes between “in the moderation queue” and “deleted,” I’m not sure there are going to be any viable alternatives other than simply forgoing notifications entirely (which isn’t desirable, but I am already weary of my phone constantly buzzing).