Author Topic: Suggestion to improve the site - Tired of spam  (Read 6482 times)

tampamac2002

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Suggestion to improve the site - Tired of spam
« on: August 24, 2008, 07:21:01 »
I am noticing a lot of spam messages.
My thought, can you put a delay on posting to your site.
What I mean is, if someone registers, can you put a delay on them posting, or making new topics?
Suppose you had a 24 hour wait period for new registers. Then some of these people spamming you, would have to make a note that they had to come back a day later to actually do their dirty deed.

Just a thought, if I was not clear enough, let me know.

Mac
"That which knocks us down, can only make us stronger. "   Yeah, right!

Dragon

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Re: Suggestion to improve the site.
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2008, 09:54:48 »
I think I understand what you mean.

There is a way to force new members to verify their account with a code sent through email. That usually deters spammers since they don't normally use valid email addresses. Unfortunately, other members have complained that registration was too difficult with that activated. Also, blocking Guests Posting does limit the potential of new visitors getting active. Until the new forum starts getting recognized more, I'd like to keep things open to encourage new users.

At this point, as much as I hate the spam, it seems to be relatively limited. I've only seen a few spam messages at the same time at most, so between me, TylerChuit, and Wyldwing (both Moderators) it seems to be under control. There was a point last year where there were around 10 new spam messages every time I logged into the site. Hopefully it won't get that bad again, but I will definitely block Guest Posting if that happens and force email validation for new accounts if it starts getting that way.

In the meantime, I have been censoring words and URLs so that the biggest offenders (image posters), do not get to share their teasers here. Sorry about the inconvenience.
"Hello IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again? ... OK, well, the button on the side. Is it glowing?... Yeah, you need to turn it on. Err, the button turns it on. Yeah, you do know how a button works, don't you? No, not on clothes." - Roy (The IT Crowd)

AvetteNut

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Tired of spam
« Reply #2 on: August 27, 2008, 20:24:54 »
Is this gonna end someday??

Dragon

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Re: Tired of spam
« Reply #3 on: August 27, 2008, 20:43:40 »
Yes, I would like the spam to end, but the most effective way for me to cut it off here is to block Guest Posting. In that case, people who aren't registered yet, such as yourself, would not be allowed to post anything. There are arguments for both sides of the case. I'd like to see everyone's opinions... except the spammers, of course, on whether or not Guest Posting should continue to be allowed.
"Hello IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again? ... OK, well, the button on the side. Is it glowing?... Yeah, you need to turn it on. Err, the button turns it on. Yeah, you do know how a button works, don't you? No, not on clothes." - Roy (The IT Crowd)

Dragon

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Re: Suggestion to improve the site - Tired of spam
« Reply #4 on: September 14, 2008, 09:30:33 »
The spam rate is picking up. Between yesterday and today I've already deleted more than 20 spam messages. On the good side, there have been 2 messages posted by guests recently. I'd like to get more feedback about this 10% legitimacy rate. Have this spammers been a major disruption for you? Should guest posting be disabled? Would more moderators be better?
"Hello IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again? ... OK, well, the button on the side. Is it glowing?... Yeah, you need to turn it on. Err, the button turns it on. Yeah, you do know how a button works, don't you? No, not on clothes." - Roy (The IT Crowd)

cinemax

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Re: Suggestion to improve the site - Tired of spam
« Reply #5 on: September 14, 2008, 12:05:14 »
Personally I LOVE the ads for Viagra!

Dragon

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Re: Suggestion to improve the site - Tired of spam
« Reply #6 on: September 15, 2008, 00:19:09 »
The spammers have spoken. I just deleted a ton of spam. There were 54 new messages yesterday. Of those, I only see 4 messages that were not considered spam. Guest posting has been blocked, effective immediately.
"Hello IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again? ... OK, well, the button on the side. Is it glowing?... Yeah, you need to turn it on. Err, the button turns it on. Yeah, you do know how a button works, don't you? No, not on clothes." - Roy (The IT Crowd)