PM spam - user confident

[svero]

User has been banned and user group permissions have been modified to make it harder for someone to just sign up and do this again.

- S

[Arkadesh]

Looks like it doesn't work. Forum has been spammed again.

[zoombapup]

We really need a limit on the number of posts a new user can post at once. Its easy enough to remove them if they have less than 50, but anything more seems pretty hard even from the mod control panel.

[CasualInsider]

When was the question "What company created the Wii?" added to registration? It may be better to change it to something only someone really interested with the industry would be likely to know.

[svero]

This thread is from 2007.. Not sure why it's coming up again now. Is there a new flood of spam PM's I'm not aware of?

[svero]

Oh and FYI the wii question suffices. It's an anti bot thing, not an anti-human thing.

[Arkadesh]

@Svero: Yesterday the forum was massively spammed, but now it seems spam has been removed.

[svero]

OK well.. All the spam I've seen so far has been from people/spambots who signed up before we changed the signup system. I didn't ban the user so I'm not sure if it was a new or not. We'll continue to keep an eye on it and adapt as needed.

[zoombapup]

Yeah, there were a few 100+ post spammers the other day. I deleted them manually (why its so hard to delete spammers with more than 50 posts I dont understand). Shouldnt happen now I dont think.

[Nutter2000]

FYI that question won't work for long, I've seen some tools recently that simply get a human to put in the correct answer for the question the first time then store it in a cloud based database for all users of the tool.

[dannthr]

Spam is out of control once again, it is time to call upon the tremendous might of the SUPER MODERATOR!

[Frozen In Ice]

That would be the main reason why I created a replacement forum as posted in the Private Discussion section. Naturally there are no posts right now, but at least it's spam free...

[Allen Varney]

That would be the main reason why I created a replacement forum as posted in the Private Discussion section. Naturally there are no posts right now, but at least it's spam free...

What steps do legitimate users take to be cleared for the Private Discussion section? I'm not seeing it.

[Frozen In Ice]

Not sure Allen, but you can reach the replacement forum I created at http://maximumarcadestudios.com

[Reactor]

What steps do legitimate users take to be cleared for the Private Discussion section? I'm not seeing it.

I'll find out for you.

[Stropp]

I appreciate someone taking the steps to create a spam free forum, but with the amount of history in this forum why aren't we fixing the problem here?

It's not that difficult.

First I've PM'd the forum admins to volunteer to be a mod, no response... Have we added any new mods since the last spam attack?

There are plugins that can help slow down the spammers at least. It took me 15 minutes to google them and see what they do.

There are even some code based techniques that should be a snap for any of the technically inclined on this board. My favorite is adding a hidden field on the registration form. Bots see all and fill out all fields, humans don't. If the field has data in it the registration is blocked.

Any one of these will make it harder for spammers. As I said, why not at least attempt to do something before abandoning the indie gamer forums?

[Shaz]

The amount of spam seems to have increased significantly over the last week or so. We've had 3 new mods added since you volunteered, who are all regular visitors and participants in the forum.

I agree, I'd rather see steps taken to stop, or minimize the problem here, rather than relocating or removing spam after the event. The problem is, I think most (all?) of the admins have moved on, and nobody here who cares has the ability to actually do anything other than clean up afterwards.

I will see if I can get some answers.

[Reactor]

It's not that difficult.

It is when people manage this forum in their spare time, and people are busy with businesses.

The long story short is that there's work to be done in sorting out the forum, and the only ones that can do it are the guys paying the bills. It's up to them, as far as I'm aware. Don't worry- the problem isn't being ignored. It may just take some followup, as it has always done.

[Stropp]

The amount of spam seems to have increased significantly over the last week or so. We've had 3 new mods added since you volunteered, who are all regular visitors and participants in the forum.

I agree, I'd rather see steps taken to stop, or minimize the problem here, rather than relocating or removing spam after the event. The problem is, I think most (all?) of the admins have moved on, and nobody here who cares has the ability to actually do anything other than clean up afterwards.

That's a bit of a shame. Count me as one who cares, I don't volunteer for much, but if you need someone else on the cleanup crew...

I will see if I can get some answers.

That's great. Thanks for doing that.

[Stropp]

It is when people manage this forum in their spare time, and people are busy with businesses.

As am I, so I do understand the constraints on time. Please understand I wasn't been flippant by saying it's not that difficult. And bear in mind I don't run a vBulletin forum, but for the most part these days installing plugins is a fairly short and easy process. If this isn't the case with vBulletin...

If you need help sourcing and researching a decent spam blocking plugin let me know.

The long story short is that there's work to be done in sorting out the forum, and the only ones that can do it are the guys paying the bills. It's up to them, as far as I'm aware. Don't worry- the problem isn't being ignored. It may just take some followup, as it has always done.

That's great to hear. I think that with just seeing spammer after spammer, and not seeing it change for so long gives a sense of abandonment. It's reassuring to know it's being worked on.

As an aside I find it curious to see spam as a mostly beaten problem on blogs (if the right plugins are installed) but still such a problem on forums and wikis.

[BantamCityGames]

Since slightly before becoming a new moderator I notice quite an increase in spam. I'm trying to delete as many as I come across but there has been a definitely increase lately. I email svero and retro64, but haven't heard back yet.

[jcottier]

Any news on this? I know that this forum is slowly dying but this could just make it's fall a bit faster.

[Reactor]

I've messaged a few guys also- it seems not too many are around these days...

[Frozen In Ice]

My offer above still stand guys. I'd hate to see this forum die off as I too have been visiting here for quite some time, but it seems no one is making the necessary changes needed to fix the problem.

[Shaz]

More mods is not the solution - unless you're going to be online 24/7 and able to catch the spam before anyone else sees it (I can't do that, and likely the other mods can't either)

No one is making the changes necessary because no-one who is active here has access to the admin area required to make those changes. We need the old admins to come back and do something about it. And since they're NOT active here anymore, applying updates to an old version of the board is probably not very high on their to-do list.

[Frozen In Ice]

True Shaz. I have a forum online as described above for folks. As I mentioned before, I do operate other forums as well (unrelated to software or development) and I check them daily, which is why I have offered and installed a replacement for folks here. Naturally it will take a while to have content, but at least there is someone to keep it updated daily.

[Stropp]

More mods is not the solution - unless you're going to be online 24/7 and able to catch the spam before anyone else sees it (I can't do that, and likely the other mods can't either)

That depends on where the mods are in the world.

From my observation it appears that when I read the forums in the Australian morning there isn't that much spam. I'm guessing the US mods have it covered. But during the day, sometimes tons of spam is posted and doesn't disappear. If we had more Aussie or New Zealand mods that might make a difference when the US readers log on. Perhaps mod distribution is the key.

No one is making the changes necessary because no-one who is active here has access to the admin area required to make those changes. We need the old admins to come back and do something about it. And since they're NOT active here anymore, applying updates to an old version of the board is probably not very high on their to-do list.

Can someone contact the old admins to ask them to promote a current trusted mod to an admin position?

[rioka]

Forgot where the thread was but I think someone already sent the admins an email.

[Shaz]

I'm in Queensland. You probably don't see spam in the morning because I delete a heap of it before 6:30 AEST. But I don't come on during the day after that - only again in the evening.

[Stropp]

In Adelaide, pop in for a look in the morning and in the early afternoon when I need a break.

Often by lunchtime there is a ton of it, especially when the bots have a really active period. I've seen the forums fill up with it between morning and afternoon.