What's up with all the spam?

[Kryst51]

Really, There seems to be a lot lately.

It clutters up my viewing space. And no, I don't want the X750 Nhot 9000 25th edition of whatever phone they're advertising.

 

[georgedwilkinson]

I agree? Are our moderators monitoring the forums?

 

[Fifty2One]

Sometimes we have to put up with shit in order to have some enjoyment of a forum. At least the spam gets deleted - but unfortunately other crap continues to be piled on by a few individuals here.

Really, There seems to be a lot lately.

It clutters up my viewing space. And no, I don't want the X750 Nhot 9000 25th edition of whatever phone they're advertising.

I agree? Are our moderators monitoring the forums?

 

[Banana]

Personally, I think the board need to take more aggressive measures to keep the forum clean of spam. I'm not sure what they do nowadays, but I understand that there's a website dedicated to stopping forum spams which has several scripts or add-ons that can be used with vBulletin to provide more effective automatic spam management. More moderators wouldn't hurt as well.

 

[Kryst51]

It just seems so sudden. I would say starting last thursday or friday, it's been a real onslaught.

 

[Banana]

Hmm, don't think so. It's sporadic, but it's fairly consistent for years I've been posting here.

 

[ColinEssex]

Sometimes we have to put up with shit in order to have some enjoyment of a forum. At least the spam gets deleted - but unfortunately other crap continues to be piled on by a few individuals here.

Meaning what exactly?

Col

 

[Atomic Shrimp]

Personally, I think the board need to take more aggressive measures to keep the forum clean of spam. I'm not sure what they do nowadays, but I understand that there's a website dedicated to stopping forum spams which has several scripts or add-ons that can be used with vBulletin to provide more effective automatic spam management. More moderators wouldn't hurt as well.

I agree - as far as I understand, vB is quite configurable to prevent this sort of thing. The phone sales spam would be easy enough to block using a keyword filter - and I'm pretty sure the 'no links from new posters' rule is enforceable on an automated basis too.

 

[ColinEssex]

Just try ignoring it. There´s no rule which says you need to open the thread.

Col

 

[Kryst51]

Just try ignoring it. There´s no rule which says you need to open the thread.

Col

The OCD part of me doesn't like those bold titles standing out. I try to read read everything even if I don't know how to answer. My only lapse is on the weekends when I don't have time.

 

[Banana]

I'm pretty sure the 'no links from new posters' rule is enforceable on an automated basis too.

The odd thing is that if you go to this board without any cookies, you would get a notice saying that you can't put the links on the siggy for first 10 post. I'm not sure whether it's actually enforced (I *seem* to recall some posters having only 1 or 2 posts and having links in siggy but my memory can be playing tricks on me).

 

[HiTechCoach]

Really, There seems to be a lot lately.

It clutters up my viewing space. And no, I don't want the X750 Nhot 9000 25th edition of whatever phone they're advertising.

There has been a large surge in phone/iPod theft recently. It is normally followed up by all the spam to dump the items. Beware of these sellers ...

 

[Atomic Shrimp]

Just try ignoring it. There´s no rule which says you need to open the thread.

Col

It does actually need to be stopped - or at least fought- it's doing more than just annoying people that recognise it as spam.

• The phone sales things are scams that will part innocent bargain-hunters from their cash.
  
• The spam-advertised video converter programs are most likely malware.
  
• The link spam (dressed as earnest questions) is falsely elevating the search engine status of the target page/site.

 

[Fifty2One]

Unfortunately spam is like ignorant posters - as long as there is reaction the crap will contimue to flow. The only way to stem the flow is to ignore the posts and bin what you are able to delete. Unfortunately both types of annoyance eventually receive some sort of attention so they perpetuate...

The OCD part of me doesn't like those bold titles standing out. I try to read read everything even if I don't know how to answer. My only lapse is on the weekends when I don't have time.

It does actually need to be stopped - or at least fought- it's doing more than just annoying people that recognise it as spam.

• The phone sales things are scams that will part innocent bargain-hunters from their cash.
  
• The spam-advertised video converter programs are most likely malware.
  
• The link spam (dressed as earnest questions) is falsely elevating the search engine status of the target page/site.

 

[ColinEssex]

Unfortunately spam is like ignorant posters - as long as there is reaction the crap will contimue to flow. The only way to stem the flow is to ignore the posts and bin what you are able to delete. Unfortunately both types of annoyance eventually receive some sort of attention so they perpetuate...

I agree. I usually ignore these ignorant posters. Sometimes they really have no idea about reality.

Col

 

[Atomic Shrimp]

Depends what you mean by 'ignore'

Thing is, the spammers don't hang around to gauge the reaction, so it doesn't really matter whether we respond in thread or ignore them in that sense.

We should ignore them in the sense of not following their links, or downloading their files, or buying their products.

We shouldn't just overlook the threads, because reporting/deleting them potentially reduces their effectiveness for the spammer - and hopefully diminishes, in some small way, the incentive for spamming.

 

[Rabbie]

Never ascribe to malice what can be ascribed to stupidity. And never ascribe to stupidity what can be ascribed to ignorance.

 

[DCrake]

The recent surge of spam (all of last week for example) could be due to the fact that I was on holiday and as I monitor the sight daily. I cannot stop the senders but I do try to delete and ban them on a daily basis.

David

 

[Rabbie]

The problem seems to be made worse by the other mods apparently leaving all the work to David. Perhaps we either need mods who do their share of the work or more mods. It is not reasonable to leave everything to one person.

 

[Fifty2One]

I agree the spam needs to be addressed but for every automatic filter invented there is quickly a bypass formulated by spammers. Often human intervention is needed to weed out the spam from the posts.
Unfortunately for the rest of the crap we have to ignore the ignorant posters, they have no idea how much they contribute to ruining a forum. Sometimes they really have no idea about reality.

Depends what you mean by 'ignore'

Thing is, the spammers don't hang around to gauge the reaction, so it doesn't really matter whether we respond in thread or ignore them in that sense.

We should ignore them in the sense of not following their links, or downloading their files, or buying their products.

We shouldn't just overlook the threads, because reporting/deleting them potentially reduces their effectiveness for the spammer - and hopefully diminishes, in some small way, the incentive for spamming.