Site Feedback Suggestion to Combat Spam

[arrall]

I've noticed a lot of spam posted on BL, almost entirely at night (Either because there are less mods online and the spam is not getting removed as quickly as it is during the day, or because the spammers are targeting the forum at night when less mods will be online) and it appears to be coming from the same source or the same few people. I assume that the spammers are probably switching IPs and that IP bans have already been tried.

I think that much of this spam could be eliminated by placing a simple filter on the site. It would allow moderators to spend their time moderating actual threads instead of product spam, and I don't think it would be particularly difficult to program. All that would need to be done is to place a filter on new accounts (< 5 posts) creating new threads (primarily in the New Member Introductions forum) with a link in the title and the post consisting primarily or entirely of text copy-pasted from that link. The specific details obviously need to be ironed out to prevent legitimate threads from being caught by the filter. A message could be PMed to users with removed posts telling them that their post was removed. The threads seem to be coming from an automated script, so I doubt that the spammer(s) will catch on too quickly.

EDIT: Now that I am a moderator and aware of the approval queue, I would alter this idea to have the threads be held for approval.

 

[deficiT]

This does sound like it could be a good idea.

 

[Darksidesam]

see i told you they know when i go to bed

 

[TheLoveBandit]

First, thank you for the concern, and more importantly spending the time to think through some options to our problems. So much better than someone just complaining, so sincerely, we thank you.

I've noticed a lot of spam posted on BL, almost entirely at night

'at night'? This is a relative term. Consider the internet is global, as is our userbase. While we are dominated by American members, with a hefty helping of members from Europe and Austrailia, our members truly are global. With pulling staff from our volunteer members, we generally have some coverage from Amer/Aus/Eur, which spans most of the time zones. I say this, just as a reminder that any particular time of day is relative.

could be eliminated by placing a simple filter on the site. It would allow moderators to spend their time moderating actual threads instead of product spam, and I don't think it would be particularly difficult to program. All that would need to be done is to place a filter on new accounts (< 5 posts) creating new threads (primarily in the New Member Introductions forum)

We do already deploy a good number of SPAM blocking systems of which most members are unaware. The system is already blocking a lot of known spammer IPs, emails, and/or usernames from ever getting to the point of being able to post. Really, what you lot see here is less than 5% of what could be showing up. This isn't to say what gets through is acceptable - we do seek to keep the experience more spam-free for our members, but realize it could be A LOT worse

The base Xenforo software, and some of the add-ons we utilize, do help us out further. And, there are existing means (no coding required) to restrict new users from posting in certain areas. For example, we only allow registered accounts to post at all, thereby eliminating any hit-and-run spammers and restricting all posts to an IP-email-username we can ban, and track for any returning spammer wannabes. We have at times, restricted Greenlighters (members under a certain number of posts, typically) from being able to post in certain areas - we've blocked SLR for awhile as it suffered a flood of trolling, we've blocked TL at different times because of alts primarily registered to harass other members but it works the same as restricting possible spammers. So, that 'tool' exists, but to date we've not chosen to restrict them further (and have removed the restrictions noted above) as the site's goal of helping people was deemed more important than the few nuisance spammer posts that make it through and are quickly dealt with by members REPORTing them and staff dealing with them. A new member typically joins because they need to share an experience, get some feedback or provide their perspective on an issue. The trade off of a few spam posts was deemed acceptable to have in order to allow those members in need to speak up, and to do so immediately.

The current system is not perfect, but it's been workable due to a community that protects it's members. With members onlline all the time, they see and REPORT such spam posts almost immediately upon them getting created. And, with global staff, such posts are typically dealt with in short order as opposed to lingering out there in public view for days. If we can improve up on that, we would like to do so. However, helping people remains our highest priority, always.

A final note on this subject, at least for now, is to convey the fact that there are very few such spam posts being made by bots anymore. They are clearly humans, who can work through the registration checks in creating an account and getting validated to be able to post. Moreover, many of them make posts that are benign - perhaps not 'on topic' but not far enough off to catch someone's eye, and they lack any advert links or vendor info initially. These folks let the post sit for a few days as-is, because there is existing software to screen their posts for any links, for any shady info, and their benign posts doesn't trigger the system. However, they'll come back days later and 'edit' the post, which is NOT passing through the spam filtering system, and thereby they deposit their links and vendor info in a way that would NOT get caught by the system It's a constant cat and mouse game, one the spammers have stepped up on their side by hiring humans who can outsmart system traps.

 

[animal_cookie]

A final note on this subject, at least for now, is to convey the fact that there are very few such spam posts being made by bots anymore. They are clearly humans, who can work through the registration checks in creating an account and getting validated to be able to post. Moreover, many of them make posts that are benign - perhaps not 'on topic' but not far enough off to catch someone's eye, and they lack any advert links or vendor info initially. These folks let the post sit for a few days as-is, because there is existing software to screen their posts for any links, for any shady info, and their benign posts doesn't trigger the system. However, they'll come back days later and 'edit' the post, which is NOT passing through the spam filtering system, and thereby they deposit their links and vendor info in a way that would NOT get caught by the system It's a constant cat and mouse game, one the spammers have stepped up on their side by hiring humans who can outsmart system traps.

i used to waste so much time hunting spammers on here. it was strangely satisfying to find all their edited posts, then delete them.

 

[Joey]

Interesting Xenforo solution I found for bots. It injects extra checkboxes into fields that are invisible to a human user, but the bots will see and fill out. When these fields are filled, the registration will still go through successfully, into no index however, which appeases the bot into thinking it's registered but it's really not. This isn't a solution to human spammers though if that's really what the problem is.

[OzzModz] Registration Spaminator Stop Spam Bot Registrations​

This addon is another tool in fighting spam bot registrations at your forum. How it works The [OzzModz] Registration Spaminator works with and regardless of other anti-spam measures but also makes them all obsolete, proving the worthlessness...

xenforo.com

Pre-modding means all new people would be prevented from asking questions, not just CBD oil/keto diet spambots. It also means the approval queue would balloon to hundreds or thousands of posts every day from new members, all of which would need to be approved by staff individually. It is of course possible, but arguably a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut, and very much depends on the consistent 24/7 presence and activity of staff, for which we already don't always have the best track record (hence the forum full of spambots).
Click to expand...

I rummaged around in Xenforo forums and found these instructions to stop members with less than 10 posts from posting links.

1. Configure your Spam Management section (ACP > Options > Spam Management).
2. Set Maximum messages to check for spam to: 10
3. Add the following spam phrases:
/^http(|s)/\/\S+/si - This prevents anything with http:// or https:// from being posted.
www - This prevents anything with www. from being posted.
*//* - This prevents http// or any other attempt to bypass your phrases.
Click to expand...

XF 2.1 - Preventing link dropping if under 10 posts​

Is there any way to achieve this? Might help stop some spammers that are getting through.

xenforo.com

Those two things would solve the issue.

 

[ghostfreak]

Check this out: Spam prevention

Think I’m too late to the party lol.

 

[Electrum1]

Check this out: Spam prevention

Think I’m too late to the party lol.

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