Spam problem

[splat]

[dumpy]

but since it's been formally requested -

a 10-15 post minimum before a new member can post links or images will hang a LOT of bots

if it's not built in to vBulletin already, you can implement this by using CYB

but it's pretty simple to create a user level of JONG with limited privs based on post count


note that this will NOT prevent a legit new member from participating in any real way
it will just hang the vast majority of spambots before they can make their first post

This may work against the human spammers too. If they are impatient enough, they will move on to another forum.

I think it will be slightly less effective on bots, as a bot can rattle of 30 posts in no time, but then again, a bot won't understand what is happening and may just stop.

[advres]

OK guys.

You asked for ideas.

We gave you several, particularly a minimum [10-15] number of posts before one could start a thread.

Sooooooooo???????????????

Here's an idea... report spam?

as soon as the russian(?) spam threads were reported, they got deleted. I did the Nike ones by myself w/o getting an e-mail. They would have been seen sooner if someone let me know about them.

Everyone wants everything done for them, but if no one takes the time to report them, you will see them hang around longer. Especially with this being the winter and people are gonna be out on the slopes all day and not spending all their time at their desks.

As much as I am on here, I'm not always paying attention. I do pay attention to e-mail though. If spam gets reported, it will get deleted... it's as simple as that.

[Tunco]

Are you back in the saddle? If so, where do I paypal the beer$ ?

[Tye 1on]

Here's an idea... report spam?

And here's another idea. This ain't all about you. Until webguy, TJ, or somebody else explains why it won't work, there's a perfectly good tool out there to restrict spam without impacting true users.

It may kill most if not all spam without one action by a mod.

I'm over hearing why we should take an action on every spam post, to request a mod to take another action, when nobody has explained why the minimum post tool won't work.

Cuz it is all about you. The more of your time that gets freed up, the more you can post about spitting coworkers, married women fkn around, and taking dumps in front of potential apartments...much more interesting stuff!

[advres]

And here's another idea. This ain't all about you. Until webguy, TJ, or somebody else explains why it won't work, there's a perfectly good tool out there to restrict spam without impacting true users.

It may kill most if not all spam without one action by a mod.

I'm over hearing why we should take an action on every spam post, to request a mod to take another action, when nobody has explained why the minimum post tool won't work.

Cuz it is all about you. The more of your time that gets freed up, the more you can post about spitting coworkers, married women fkn around, and taking dumps in front of potential apartments...much more interesting stuff!

I understand all that D. They know they have a spam problem. They are taking measures to work it out.

What I was getting at, is in the meantime, we need people to report spam or else it is just going to sit there. When I see some, I delete it, but I can't see everything.

And I know it isn't all about me, but name one person that has admin privileges that spends more time on this site. It's OK, I'll wait while you figure it out.

[advres]

Are you back in the saddle? If so, where do I paypal the beer$ ?

I appreciate it but it isn't necessary. Thanks for the thought though.

[frozenwater]

I asked the powers that be to give me the admin rights back that I gave up becasue the spam was driving me crazy.

I did ask that they give me back my tgr email account so I could try and weasle some proform gear for the work.

I was shot down. I figured I was a shoe in, I know the system, have been here longer than anyone I know, and sit at a desk ALL DAY looking at the spam crop up, and I was the admin for 4 years.

Yeah sure I helped creat clownpoo at the end - but damn that was funny shit. I also brought you the beer baccon and burps forum and made snowsprite the moderator of that one. I like to think of myself as the moderator that kept us wondering just what the hell was going to happen next.

I tried. :shrug:

[PNWbrit]

That's fucked Froz.

[Tye 1on]

I asked the powers that be to give me the admin rights back that I gave up becasue the spam was driving me crazy.

I tried. :shrug:

I offered a couple of months ago, cuz i hate people that bitch and don't try to be part of the solution, but never heard back...could be cuz i can be a prick, but as my prick-tator-ness was only going to be directed at spam...didn't see it as a big deal...

Oh well. I tried. :shrug:

[XtrPickels]

I'd support a 15 post count to start a thread.

Hell, I'd support a 50 post count to start a thread. Maybe that would get rid of the "which bindings for my new XXX skis".

AFAIK, the value of the forum to TGR is the traffic each day (members, lurkers, visitors) and not the total posts and / or new threads.

[highangle]

I offered a couple of months ago, cuz i hate people that bitch and don't try to be part of the solution, but never heard back...could be cuz i can be a prick, but as my prick-tator-ness was only going to be directed at spam...didn't see it as a big deal...

Oh well. I tried. :shrug:

i tried too (although i never offered to moderate)

and like you Tye, i didn't receive the courtesy of an acknowledgement or reply



they could fix it in about 5 minutes, but they won't

so i'm done flagging spam here=waste of effort

you guys go ahead, maybe you'll defeat the world's spambots one at a time?

[MakersTeleMark]

Bring back tags, make the new posts in thread work again (which I understand will fix current users online as well), and I'll begin to think that there is an iota of competency behind this board.

Frozen, that is utter bs.

FYI, I used to flag a lot of spam and think that advres handled it pretty damn well.

[Crass3000]

Maybe something to parse new posts is possible? I don't know much about this part of geek land. Seems if you found Russian in the posts it would be a flag. The Russians are back again.

[Tye 1on]

Bring back tags, make the new posts in thread work again (which I understand will fix current users online as well), and I'll begin to think that there is an iota of competency behind this board.

Frozen, that is utter bs.

FYI, I used to flag a lot of spam and think that advres handled it pretty damn well.

My top 3 are:

1) Build the 'ten/fifteen post minimum before thread creation' tool.

2) Allow editing of the actual thread title, so those that make dumb spelling errors can un-dumb them.

3) Tags.
But just the first couple would be awesome.
I too think advres and the other mods work their butts off and the board is a better place because of them. But that doesn't preclude doing something to make their job easier...

[advres]

2) Allow editing of the actual thread title, so those that make dumb spelling errors can un-dumb them.

Changed this a long time ago. Now everyone can change their thread title within 10 minutes of posting it. They can also edit their posts w/o having the 'edited by' as long as they edit it within 10 minutes. If there was an unlimited time amount to either of these, I think it would be abused big time.

I also agree with your #1 and #3. I wish I could make those changes but there is nothing I can do w/o the word from the TGR gods. Unfortunately, I can't just change these types of things that they chose to take away as a company me not being associated with them in any way.

If they want it done and want me to implement it, I would be perfectly happy to do so.

D - Go down to the village, get Todd out of the office and into the Moose or VC and work some magic.

[Cyber Cop]

there's going to be a better way to do it next year anyway...

[idopyigeobids]

I notice the forum seems to be having a big problem with a large number of users registering and posting spam on the forums.
In my opinion, the amount of spam being posted is now getting out of hand - I just checked my e-mail and had 9 CCL forum new post e-mails, 8 of which were spam. Hardly a day goes by now without somebody posting spam.

Would it be possible to disable new registrations for a while or do something else about it eg. more of us regulars with the power to ban/delete spam users/posts, and add a new "no posting spam" rule to the forum rules?

[Vt-Freeheel]

ApparrarY<<<<<<<<<<<<kiddyporn kill this one off

[farmer]

why not make everyone who joins watch this video

[TGRVIDEO]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9q2jNjOPdk[/TGRVIDEO]

and then throw in a question ie "what was the kid's name" or something. could help the spam problem, as a bot couldn't answer what billy's name is, and we might not get as many "what ski should I buy" threads.

[splat]

I notice the forum seems to be having a big problem with a large number of users registering and posting spam on the forums.
In my opinion, the amount of spam being posted is now getting out of hand - I just checked my e-mail and had 9 CCL forum new post e-mails, 8 of which were spam. Hardly a day goes by now without somebody posting spam.

Would it be possible to disable new registrations for a while or do something else about it eg. more of us regulars with the power to ban/delete spam users/posts, and add a new "no posting spam" rule to the forum rules?

How is someone who just joined with 10 posts suddenly a 'regular'?
You posted a bunch of computer crap in a Gimp Central thread.
STFU.

[Tye 1on]

blah,fkn blah,fkn blah......and add a new "no posting spam" rule to the forum rules?

Holy shit splat, find a mod, quick, this is genius!!!!!

[Spats]

captchas are useless, math is useless. These aren't spambots anymore, they're actual people who are paid pennies a post to linkspam forums. The only way to fix it is to disallow links in posts or signatures for new users.

You can do that. vBulletin lets you create groups and set automatic promotions via post count.

You can set perms so that new users cannot put links in their signatures (a huge problem right now...signature link spam) or in their posts.

Then create a new group "Non-JONGs" (or whatever), let that group post links, and automatically promote new users into it when they have ten posts (or whatever).

********* As it is, the spam is out of control, and since we're only allowed to report one post every 60 seconds, we can't possibly keep up. *********

In the meantime, PLEASE PLEASE google "immobilier" and delete the 40 or 50 French spammer accounts that all have the same links in their signature.

[highangle]

^^^ [ame="http://www.google.com/search?q=immobilier+site%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.tetong ravity.com%2Fforums&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=com.ubuntu:en-US:unofficial&client=firefox-a"]immobilier site:http://www.tetongravity.com/forums - Google Search[/ame]

google only gets 162 hits for French real estate, so it shouldn't be too bad a job...


also, DNS records can be cross correlated to see if any of this is coming from the same IP blocks
it's simple enough to shut down China or large segments of Africa/Mideast from ever connecting to TGR

protip: very little snow sports in subSaharan Africa

[Spats]

Also do the same with "simulateur": google "simulateur site:tetongravity.com". The French real estate spammers are out of control.

Note that these are NOT spambots, they're people. The ONLY solution is to disallow links, as I posted above (highangle gets it too, and knows much more about solutions than I do).

Until TGR does this, we will continue to be inundated by spammers, TGR admins will be spending huge amounts of their time fighting a Sisyphean battle, and flagging posts will be useless because there are a whole lot of very, very poor people in the world willing to linkspam for pennies a post.