Question - can users be banned outright?

#1 The are not spambots, unfortunately. They are "mechanical turks". They manage to get through because someone is manually sitting down, creating a new e-mail account, then creating a new GG account, then posting in our forums using our markup. There's no automation to it. Plus, they are no longer using spam e-mail domains. They are using gmail, yahoo, and other prime e-mail systems. Their IPs are also fluctuating, so an IP ban will not work.

#2 Damn. Then we do this the old-fashioned way - hunt them down and feed them black licorice....

Wait - I think I was unclear. Can you simply block a user account here, say "ThisUser20", from using the forums? Then they could make an account, post some spam, have their spam deleted and have that username blocked from using the forums. Then they'd have to do it again each time.

#3 @Michael Perry Really? They are doing that by hand? How come they can't write proper spam messages then? Man they must be some stupid people..

#4 Because they are doing it by hand, they have to get the posts up fast so they can take a screenshot as proof of their posting. They use bait and switch thread topics and text, just to post links to pages/products their company is being paid to "advertise" for. From now on, I'm going to track down the products/sites being advertised, contacting the owners, and letting them know they are paying spammers...by contacting, I mean blasting their site, contact forms, Facebook pages, and whatever else I can.

#5 Could easily fix this problem by implementing a moderation system like phpBB has where posts for accounts created in the past 4 weeks (or so) will require approval before being posted. Then it's up to the moderator's discretion whether to unmark the new account for post approval requirement, or lock out the account for a week before it's auto-purged/deleted when moderator marks it as spam.

That way existing users won't be effected by the spam and gives moderators a chance to avoid unsightly posts from newcomers. And it ruins these "mechanical turks" ability to screenshot their posts to their employers since they won't be visible until approved, if ever.

#6 I volunteer to moderate....

#7

Quote:@Lukas: They are doing that by hand? How come they can't write proper spam messages then? Man they must be some stupid people..

Probably lots of Chinese. They will do just anything for a penny (hopefully I'm not offensive to anybody :S) As I've been living in China for years; I've seen practices that will make most Europeans wonder how they come to that...

Quote:@Richard: I volunteer to moderate....

I think Richard will be an excellent moderator :-D

#8 Is it possible to delay the ability of a new user to post?

If there's a delay they'll need to manage the accounts, which I think is already discouraging...

#9 @Nils: Not necessarily Chinese, as all developing countries have click-farms.

While it focuses on Facebook's advert promotion,I feel like this video explains the situation very well.

#10

Quote:Not necessarily Chinese, as all developing countries have click-farms.

Must agree, that's a much better way of putting it @Simon

No Chinese click-farms for Facebook though, it's blocked by the Great Firewall of China,
as many other foreign sites & services...

#11 Then perhaps we should start posting some sort of propaganda that will get them to block us....

Just kidding!

#12 I've brought it to Eric's attention and we are evaluating options to reduce the spam, whether that means adding more moderators to this site or adding an additional registration step. For now, I just have to check a couple of times a day and nuke.

#13 No worries - I was just whining because I noticed the volume of spam had increased lately....

#14 Believe it or not, the spam amount has decreased in the past two weeks. It's been like a mini-vacation for me.

#15 banned ...? Can we not go back to hung drawn and quartered?
;)

#16 Damn you're quick @Michael, while I was writing this, you removed the whole post:

Quote:[intoxicated]

Hold on Richard,

Don't forget this spam is also some kind of contemporary art, that has a very short period of exposure. Until @Michael comes along with the delete button, this post is a short moment in space and time where it can move people in various ways. The shortness in time, the greatness of being everything and nothing at all within the time it's created and the moment @Michael will delete it into eternity is extraordinary!

[/intoxicated]

Now nuke this motha f*'r!!!

Must say you earned some respect; especially for a Friday!!!

#17

#18 Scott also looks out for spam. If he sees it before I do, he will also nuke.

#19 Yeah, our nuke button exists entirely because I kept bugging our web dev to make me a button for cleaning up spam. One push of a button can erase a user's entire existence from the GG boards.

It's one of those buttons that make you a little drunk with power. *maniacal laugh*

#20 I don't propose removing the user. I propose keeping him, but making him unable to post. This means that he not only has to create a new account, he needs to make a new name....