| Sick of the spammers? |
| Yeah. |
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25% |
[ 4 ] |
| DAMN RIGHT I AM. |
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56% |
[ 9 ] |
| No, they're only trying to make a living. In the wrong place. |
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18% |
[ 3 ] |
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| Total Votes : 16 |
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Message
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| 425 Chaotic Requisition |
 Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 3:59 am Post subject: Why is the forum being spammed so excessivley latley? |
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The Doctor
Joined: 18 Jun 2007
Posts: 2684
Location: UKGBNI, England, Derbyshire
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I've seen dozens of members joining to terrorise us and nothing is being done, its poisening the forum. I think we should have vigilante powers to get rid of them the second we see them because Ophiolite and Pendragon drop in now and again and we have no one to get rid of these spammers, one web link to a product in a post, then that user must be banned.
_________________
"There is no knowledge, that is not power" - Ralph Waldo Emerson. |
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| Pendragon |
| Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 5:05 am Post subject: |
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Moderator
Joined: 07 Jan 2005
Posts: 1049
Location: Nederland
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When I notice a spam message I search for all messages of that user and delete them, and I add a post at the moderator's forum to ask for a ban. It's not a very fast process but it used to work well. Problem is that this particular spammer invests a lot of time in making new usernames and continually reposting the same messages. A lazy spammer is easy to fight, but one that invests time in it is a real pain in the ass.
Is it possible to ban an entire ip address from the forum, or would that give unexpected consequences (like an entire region being unable to connect)? |
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| i_feel_tiredsleepy |
| Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:16 am Post subject: |
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Forum Senior
Joined: 21 Mar 2008
Posts: 376
Location: Montreal
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| It's possible to ban an ip address, if they have a static ip. |
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| marnixR |
| Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 11:07 am Post subject: |
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Forum Cosmic Wizard
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Posts: 2139
Location: Cardiff, Wales
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i suppose attracting spammers is an inevitable consequence of being a successful forum - as long as you don't let it raise your blood pressure and the admin team deals with it in the end , that's ok with me
although, i've always said that a 'REPORT SPAM' button wouldn't go amiss - it would make it far easier for members to alert the admin team + it would relieve some of the frustration for the likes of you, SV
_________________
if you find this place too crowded or too confrontational, how about trying Philosophorum,
the amicable forum where small is beautiful and even the trolls are intelligent
biology without evolution is but stamp collecting |
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| h2so4hurts |
| Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 11:15 am Post subject: |
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Forum Freshman
Joined: 14 Nov 2007
Posts: 48
Location: Iowa City, IA
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Ouch  I'm a pseudo spammer. Don't hate. But it really is annoying when people join for one post and then run. I get a ton of spam on my site from the "guest post" option, but I'm usually pretty quick to catch them before they go live. Maybe require validation by an admin for someone's first 10 posts? That'd be a pretty good deterrent 
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H2SO4HURTS
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| spuriousmonkey |
| Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 11:24 am Post subject: |
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Forum Masters Degree
Joined: 12 May 2005
Posts: 556
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I lost all spammers after I switched to phpbb3 with my forum.
Haven't had a single one since the switch. Not even on the guest forum.
I guess this will change in the future when people behind this crap find ways. They always do.
ps.
Obviously I meant non-human spammers.
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“A scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affections, - a mere heart of stone.” |
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| Obviously |
| Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 2:57 pm Post subject: |
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Forum Ph.D.
Joined: 14 Aug 2007
Posts: 890
Location: Norway
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It could be fun with an counter-attack on the spammers  Say that scietific studies say their products are crap. That way they'll leave us alone in fear of doing harm to their product instead of selling it.
Ah, a long shot I guess...
_________________
“After Darwin, God's role changes from being the designer of all creatures, great and small, to being the designer of the laws of nature, from which natural selection can unfold, to being just perhaps the chooser of the laws.”
~ Daniel C. Dennett |
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| Pendragon |
| Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 4:04 am Post subject: |
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Moderator
Joined: 07 Jan 2005
Posts: 1049
Location: Nederland
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I agree that we need some more tools to fight these spammers. Having some kind of check on the first 10 messages could work, although we'd have to find a way to make sure it's not too much work for us poor mods/admins  And when for example during vacation all mods are off then it shouldnt mean that the forum is closed for new members
IP bans and a spam warning button seem good ideas as well.
| h2so4hurts wrote: |
| Ouch I'm a pseudo spammer. Don't hate. |
You post quality articles, and as long as you do it in the right way (right section, short introduction) it's certainly welcome.
For those who want to bite back, have fun  |
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| marnixR |
| Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:30 am Post subject: |
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Forum Cosmic Wizard
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Posts: 2139
Location: Cardiff, Wales
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| Pendragon wrote: |
| I agree that we need some more tools to fight these spammers. Having some kind of check on the first 10 messages could work, although we'd have to find a way to make sure it's not too much work for us poor mods/admins And when for example during vacation all mods are off then it shouldnt mean that the forum is closed for new members |
i've noticed that many spam attempts place the same message in several parts of the forum, so that might be one way to try and recognise them
i'm well aware that the occasional double-poster might be caught using this approach, even his/her intentions are innocent
_________________
if you find this place too crowded or too confrontational, how about trying Philosophorum,
the amicable forum where small is beautiful and even the trolls are intelligent
biology without evolution is but stamp collecting |
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| h2so4hurts |
| Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:48 am Post subject: |
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Forum Freshman
Joined: 14 Nov 2007
Posts: 48
Location: Iowa City, IA
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Or better yet, make it so that people have to apply to be able to post links.
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H2SO4HURTS
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| KALSTER |
| Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 12:43 pm Post subject: |
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Forum Professor
Joined: 08 Sep 2007
Posts: 1486
Location: South Africa
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This guy is out of control! We need an IP ban!
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"Gullibility kills" - Carl Sagan |
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| Pendragon |
| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 7:56 am Post subject: |
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Moderator
Joined: 07 Jan 2005
Posts: 1049
Location: Nederland
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Still no ban.. A mere moderator can't ban people, he can only move/delete/edit posts. So we can only wait for the admins to do it and in the meantime we mop up the trash. 81 spam posts so far in just over a week, these spammers are obsessive..
I even mailed the owner of their website to see if it could just be one berserk employee acting on his own against the interest of the company. But no respons after 4 days.
It's a bit unconventional but perhaps a good way to let off some steam: spam them back
Here are their email addresses:
nikebrandcn@yahoo.com.cn
my07trader@yahoo.com
nikeshoesdeal@live.cn
dealshoes1@hotmail.com
Most or all of them are the official addresses of a webshop, so any spam they recieve there would end up in the same account as where they recieve orders from clients. Don't forget to make a special email address for it that can't be traced back to you |
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| KALSTER |
| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:49 am Post subject: |
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Forum Professor
Joined: 08 Sep 2007
Posts: 1486
Location: South Africa
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| Quote: |
| Don't forget to make a special email address for it that can't be traced back to you |
Yes, very important! 
_________________
"Gullibility kills" - Carl Sagan |
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| Obviously |
| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 11:24 am Post subject: |
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Forum Ph.D.
Joined: 14 Aug 2007
Posts: 890
Location: Norway
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| KALSTER wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Don't forget to make a special email address for it that can't be traced back to you |
Yes, very important! |
How about making an email address which everyone on the forum can use as one? Bad idea perhaps?
_________________
“After Darwin, God's role changes from being the designer of all creatures, great and small, to being the designer of the laws of nature, from which natural selection can unfold, to being just perhaps the chooser of the laws.”
~ Daniel C. Dennett |
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| Pendragon |
| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 11:39 am Post subject: |
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Moderator
Joined: 07 Jan 2005
Posts: 1049
Location: Nederland
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| Obviously wrote: |
| KALSTER wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Don't forget to make a special email address for it that can't be traced back to you |
Yes, very important! |
How about making an email address which everyone on the forum can use as one? Bad idea perhaps? |
we_hate_shoes@hotmail.com
Password: spamspam
Registered on the name "Ye olde shoe eaters".
I've donated 10 spammails to our shoe friends, anyone else feeling generous? |
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