The spamming seems to get worse and worse on the forum. I'm not sure where else to post on this topic so I'm doing it here.
Can't we do anything about this other than manual bans and thread removal?
Could a mechanism be implemented to detect if an account (particularly the very new one) posts 3-5 or more posts in a short period of time? It doesn't have to ban/delete but can put their next posts on "waiting for moderator approval" and raise a flag.
Also, I've seen a few other forums implement this for all new accounts. It would be an effective way to combat spammers and especially spam bots that make spam their first post. Simply don't allow them to post directly until a moderator checks their initial activity, if it's legit, unlock the account so they can from then on post freely. I'm sure this will catch 99.9% of spam right there.
Though it depends on how many new accounts/posts per day there are and if moderators have enough time to handle the additional load.
I have a solution, make me a mod. Anyways, I like this solution. It'd probably anger some legit new users though. Small price to pay for almost 0 spam though.
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Actually, you guys would be surprised at how many spam posts you don't see. I ban several accounts per day on average. Considering the number of spammers I find on my own and kill before they get reported, I think I'm doing pretty well. And the board does keep track of banned IPs, and will automatically mark certain threads or posts as needing approval, meaning they do not appear to regular users. Unfortunately, this also affects nearly as many legitimate users as spam bots. And obviously, it's not perfect.
I believe some form of user authentication was tried in the past, but I do not know the details. At least that's what this thread seems to suggest. I would assume this places a lot of burden on the moderators, which is not something I would look forward to. The current spammer overhead is relatively low.
At any rate, these kinds of technical changes are not anything the mods have control over, or at least I haven't found anything that suggests I can. You'd need to contact the administrators about that.
I will say that the board doesn't move too swiftly in these matters. It was close to 6 months from the time Kalimba first approached me about being a moderator to the time that I became a moderator.
I think part of the issue might be that we need another moderator in a different time zone. JasonR and I are both in the US, only 3 hours apart. A lot of spammers that don't get quickly handled are coming in overnight, likely when we're both sleeping. Perhaps a mod in Europe or Asia would be in a better position to deal with those occasions. I know that I was tapped because of the volume of posts I reported, and I would assume the same of JasonR, but I don't think that geographical location entered into the equation. Perhaps it should for the next moderator.
So, bug the administrators. I will say, though, that I'd much rather deal with a couple of spammers per day than deal with dozens of new accounts each day. I'm already not posting here as much as I used to due to my moderation duties. Takes a lot of the fun out of being here.
Im willing to help out if you need, I am in the UK, so I can cover bases while you all are asleep
Anyway, this is definitely something that needs to be acted on quickly. I do report a few posts every week or so when I am online, but there are always spammers or trolls working in the undergrowths of the forum when 'reporters' are not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhade
I think part of the issue might be that we need another moderator in a different time zone. JasonR and I are both in the US, only 3 hours apart. A lot of spammers that don't get quickly handled are coming in overnight, likely when we're both sleeping. Perhaps a mod in Europe or Asia would be in a better position to deal with those occasions. I know that I was tapped because of the volume of posts I reported, and I would assume the same of JasonR, but I don't think that geographical location entered into the equation. Perhaps it should for the next moderator.
So, bug the administrators. I will say, though, that I'd much rather deal with a couple of spammers per day than deal with dozens of new accounts each day. I'm already not posting here as much as I used to due to my moderation duties. Takes a lot of the fun out of being here.
Anyway, this is definitely something that needs to be acted on quickly.
Oh come on. That thread I referenced is 2 years old. We're still here, the board is still fine. The legitimate users significantly outnumber the spammers. Spammers are squashed relatively quickly. Heck, the legitimate users asking stupid questions over and over again far outnumber the spammers. While I agree the signal:noise ratio could be better, there really isn't THAT much spammer noise. Or at least not for very long. UnGoogled noob questions live forever.
I joined a hobby forum not too long ago and they have it set up so the first few posts need moderation before they can go up. the only thing that annoyed me about this method was there wasn't any documentation on it when i created my account. As far as i was aware i should have had instant posting privileges, i don't know how many users would understand a delay in posting as a new member, here i would have thought it should be fine - we are all in essence computer geeks so should be aware of those types of checks, but a hobby site with nothing to do with computers could cause some confusion maybe in people who aren't as "savvy" as us lot.
Over there (helifreak.com if your interested in checking) they have a large volume of posts going through each day, but i don't know what the room:mod ratio is. I had to wait upwards of an hour or so when i first posted - a pain but sealable with. After about 5 posts i was clear for instant posting.
there would definitely be an increase in the amount of work that the mods would need to do, but i would suggest that this forum needs at least one other mod to help out. Maybe then a more stringent ruleset could be put in place for new posters - which could also help thin out the google questions a bit.
Anti-spam mechanisms
Anyways, I like this solution. It'd probably anger some legit new users though. Small price to pay for almost 0 spam though.
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