SPAM

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KachiWachi
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SPAM

Post by KachiWachi »

As much as I think the "guest" login has a purpose, I'm tired of seeing the all of the SPAM that is being posted lately.

Three questions/solutions come to mind.

1) Is there a SPAM filter running here? (I think there is.)

2) Can all guest posts be held in limbo before they are allowed on the forum itself (Moderator action required to add)?

3) Can we turn off Guest access?

Thanks.
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Jim
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RE: SPAM

Post by Jim »

1) I don't know, but if there is it is not a very good one. I know Nohr experimented with various things trying to solve this problem; but the filters he was using were too badly designed to be able to differentiate between "Spam" and for example "clasp amber".

2) I suppose that is possible; but whether the staff here are inclined to undertake the effort required to do that is another issue. See also # 3) below.

3) Yes we can turn off guest access. Question : Would you ever have joined the forum under those circumstances? I seem to recall that when you finally did join you wangled credit for about 50 Guest posts.

In my opinion all that is needed to get rid of 99% of this crap is a filter specifically designed to detect the word "SPAM" - that is to say : (Space, letter "S", letter "P", letter "A", letter "M", Space).
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KachiWachi
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Post by KachiWachi »

1) Sometimes the filter works...you can see the word SPAM replacing what the OP initially typed.

2) They could always add a new moderator...somone who has the time, and logs in daily. :wink:

3) Probably. As to the post count addition...well, I was providing a lot of useful information...not SPAM. It wasn't a one-time "post and run" either, which most SPAM usually is.

Hey...I just asked...they didn't have to do that. I could have stayed a guest forever... :wink:
Moderator - Wim's BIOS

PC #1 - DFI 586IPVG, K6-2/+ 450 (Cyrix MII 433), 128 MB EDO. BIOS patched by Jan Steunebrink.
PC #2 - Amptron PM-7900 (M520), i200 non-MMX, 128 MB EDO
PC #3 - HP8766C, PIII-667, 768 MB SDRAM
PC #4 - ASUS P3V4X, PIII-733, 256 MB SDRAM
PC #5 - Gateway 700X, P4-2.0 GHz, 768 MB PC800 RDRAM
PC #6 - COMPAQ Evo N1020v laptop, P4-2.4 GHz, 1 GB PC2700 DDR
PC #7 - Dell Dimension 4600i, P4-2.8 GHz, 512 MB PC2700 DDR
PC #8 - Acer EeePC netbook, Atom N270 @ 1.60 GHz, 1 GB RAM
PC #9 - ??? ;)
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Post by Jim »

Don't misunderstand me. We are glad to have you aboard, and nobody begrudges you the credit for the posts. The point I was making is that you made about 50 guest posts here before you decided to join; and my question was would you have joined if those posts were not possible? Anyway as to your point about another moderator, I would be glad to volunteer my services in that area as I don't like it either; and I am here more than most; though it is presumptuous of me to think that I might be considered for that function. Also not sure about the effects of the delay in posts appearing. Ideally what is needed is a highly effective automatic spam filter; and if that costs money, I would be willing to contribute my share.
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K6-3+ 450 ACZ (6x100)
DFI K6BV3+/66 Rev B2 (2 Meg) w/ 2x28mm Chipset Fans
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2x 80G Maxtor (7200) Ducted w/ 2x486 Fans Mount
52/24/52/16 LG CDR/RW/DVD
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Stedman5040
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Even more spam

Post by Stedman5040 »

We seem to be drowning in an ever increasing sea of SPAM. I want to add some posts, but do not want to add to the end of the threads with SPAM attached. I think that perhaps the use of a temporary moderator for guest additions may be usefult to halt this torrent of garbage that is spoiling a very useful forum.

Stedman
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Post by DonPedro »

yes indeed,
what is needed here is that some of us get some administrative right specifically designed to be allowed to remove spam-posts. in order to avoid some trouble that might come with such harsh measures I would suggest that those posts assumed to be spam should not be deleted but "moved" to some explicit spam-thread. nohr, are you listening?
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KachiWachi
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Post by KachiWachi »

@Jim - Normally I join, since that is the norm for most forums.

@Stedman5040 - I feel the same way. I won't post if SPAM is there.

@DonPedro - On another forum I belong to, it will recognize valid (registered) users posting under their username...without having to be logged in. I guess it all depends on the BBS software that is in use.

Other solution - Add random 3 character code to post that must be manually typed in before you hit "Submit".
Moderator - Wim's BIOS

PC #1 - DFI 586IPVG, K6-2/+ 450 (Cyrix MII 433), 128 MB EDO. BIOS patched by Jan Steunebrink.
PC #2 - Amptron PM-7900 (M520), i200 non-MMX, 128 MB EDO
PC #3 - HP8766C, PIII-667, 768 MB SDRAM
PC #4 - ASUS P3V4X, PIII-733, 256 MB SDRAM
PC #5 - Gateway 700X, P4-2.0 GHz, 768 MB PC800 RDRAM
PC #6 - COMPAQ Evo N1020v laptop, P4-2.4 GHz, 1 GB PC2700 DDR
PC #7 - Dell Dimension 4600i, P4-2.8 GHz, 512 MB PC2700 DDR
PC #8 - Acer EeePC netbook, Atom N270 @ 1.60 GHz, 1 GB RAM
PC #9 - ??? ;)
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Post by Jim »

I like Peter's idea. Would take a load off Nohr's shoulders; and I personally feel that all those contributing to this thread thus far are suitable candidates. The more involved, the shorter the lifespan of spam posts would be.

But at the same time, I still think the best long term solution is a high end surefire accurate automatic spam filter, whatever sort of thing other sites use to keep themselves free of this crap. Reason being the people responsible for this junk are probably paid to do it; (Advertizing); and as it becomes harder for them to find unprotected sites to dump on, more and more of them will find their way here.

EDIT : When Nohr was experimenting w/ setups that were designed to a) identify and mark spam posts, then auto delete such posts, I found a few cases where the routines were misidentifying genuine posts. Specifically in my "What is a Superpuppy" thread, (probably "SPAM" to some), the id routine took two separate words, (one ending in "sp" and the other beginning in "am" and changed them to "SPAM". There were also cases where parts of a thread were deleted. That is why I said what is required is something that can recognize the word spam, i.e. "Space, letter s, letter p. letter a, letter m, space". Question : Any programmers in the house?
Last edited by Jim on Sat Dec 30, 2006 7:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
Superpuppy 3
K6-3+ 450 ACZ (6x100)
DFI K6BV3+/66 Rev B2 (2 Meg) w/ 2x28mm Chipset Fans
2x256 Meg PC 133 Hynix SDRAM
1x 20G Maxtor (7200)
2x 80G Maxtor (7200) Ducted w/ 2x486 Fans Mount
52/24/52/16 LG CDR/RW/DVD
8/4/3/12/24/16/32 LG Super Multi
ATI 9000 aiw Radeon AGP
SB Audigy 1 MP3 Sound
CMD 649 IDE Controller
NEC USB 2 Card
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Nohr
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Post by Nohr »

Apologies for all the spam that piled up. I was out of town for the holidays and didn't have much computer access. We're not getting any more spam than usual, it's just that I wasn't around to take care of it. Normally I check for spam several times daily.

I'm not using an actual spam filter, only a word censor. I haven't come across a filter that I was happy with.

Guest posting can be disabled. I hesitate to do this because we've had many legitimate guest posters.

I've seen a random character image verification add-on for the forum but I've heard that it doesn't help. The spambots already have workarounds for it.
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Post by cake »

captcha FTW!!
For guest posters that is...

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Stedman5040
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Post by Stedman5040 »

Looks like we have been invaded by SPAM again and again and again. This does not help at all when viewing genuine recently additions to threads.

Most annoying.

Stedman
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KachiWachi
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Post by KachiWachi »

I agree.

Sounds like a more aggressive approach is needed...if only for the short term.

Thanks.
Moderator - Wim's BIOS

PC #1 - DFI 586IPVG, K6-2/+ 450 (Cyrix MII 433), 128 MB EDO. BIOS patched by Jan Steunebrink.
PC #2 - Amptron PM-7900 (M520), i200 non-MMX, 128 MB EDO
PC #3 - HP8766C, PIII-667, 768 MB SDRAM
PC #4 - ASUS P3V4X, PIII-733, 256 MB SDRAM
PC #5 - Gateway 700X, P4-2.0 GHz, 768 MB PC800 RDRAM
PC #6 - COMPAQ Evo N1020v laptop, P4-2.4 GHz, 1 GB PC2700 DDR
PC #7 - Dell Dimension 4600i, P4-2.8 GHz, 512 MB PC2700 DDR
PC #8 - Acer EeePC netbook, Atom N270 @ 1.60 GHz, 1 GB RAM
PC #9 - ??? ;)
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Nohr
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Post by Nohr »

The only real option I have that is sure to be effective is to disable guest posting.

Pros:
1) much less spam
2) less babysitting the site for me :P
3) ..?

Cons:
1) always needing to login to post
2) current guest users will be forced to create accounts to continue posting
3) we may get fewer posts from random visitors who will be turned off by registering and would have otherwise posted

Shall we take a vote?
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KachiWachi
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Post by KachiWachi »

Question -

When posting as Guest (site member), does your post count get bumped?
Moderator - Wim's BIOS

PC #1 - DFI 586IPVG, K6-2/+ 450 (Cyrix MII 433), 128 MB EDO. BIOS patched by Jan Steunebrink.
PC #2 - Amptron PM-7900 (M520), i200 non-MMX, 128 MB EDO
PC #3 - HP8766C, PIII-667, 768 MB SDRAM
PC #4 - ASUS P3V4X, PIII-733, 256 MB SDRAM
PC #5 - Gateway 700X, P4-2.0 GHz, 768 MB PC800 RDRAM
PC #6 - COMPAQ Evo N1020v laptop, P4-2.4 GHz, 1 GB PC2700 DDR
PC #7 - Dell Dimension 4600i, P4-2.8 GHz, 512 MB PC2700 DDR
PC #8 - Acer EeePC netbook, Atom N270 @ 1.60 GHz, 1 GB RAM
PC #9 - ??? ;)
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Nohr
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Post by Nohr »

Nope.
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