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How bizarre, a spam post about spam.
Anyway off you go, account disabled.
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As I explained on here a while back, those links are often the reason for the spam but not to get anyone to visit them.
A key way to improve a site's Google search score (so it appears near to the top of results) is to have Google's indexing find a large number of links to it on popular websites. No need for anyone to click those links, they just need to be somewhere on the site for Google to find them.
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How bizarre, a spam post about spam.
Anyway off you go, account disabled.
Talking of odd, does this issue cause some threads to state that a 'new post' has been added (with [say] today's date), only to find on opening the thread that no such new comment exists.
I've noticed that this has happened both with the General thread group (latest post 21st Apr on the Main BR page, but nothing since 20th after going there) and on the Motoring Discussion thread about MG sales (newest comment as per the main Discussion page on 23rd Apr, yet nothing there since 10th Apr).
Is this to do with spam type posts being deleted or hidden, but which the system still says are there when looking up the main thread lists? If so, perhaps something for the IT boffins to resolve. Not so bad for short threads, but a real pain for longer ones where you have to scan many comments to check if any are 'new', especially when sometimes they aren't labelled as 'new' on the thread itself.
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"Is this to do with spam type posts being deleted or hidden, but which the system still says are there when looking up the main thread lists? "
Yes.
With reference to resolving it, technically the spam is still there, it's just hidden from the users - moderators still see it so the updated date/time makes sense to us ;-)
The problem with making any software changes is time spent to code, test, etc. balanced against other priorities that the IT Team will have.
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"Is this to do with spam type posts being deleted or hidden, but which the system still says are there when looking up the main thread lists? "
Yes.
With reference to resolving it, technically the spam is still there, it's just hidden from the users - moderators still see it so the updated date/time makes sense to us ;-)
The problem with making any software changes is time spent to code, test, etc. balanced against other priorities that the IT Team will have.
And quoting one of the IT team who recently deleted 7000 yes 7000 spam posts in 1 go.
Xileno is right, when we see the forum when logged in, it is literally covered in spam.
So, well done the IT Team.
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And quoting one of the IT team who recently deleted 7000 yes 7000 spam posts in 1 go.
Xileno is right, when we see the forum when logged in, it is literally covered in spam.
I know I have said this before but that simply does not make sense.
Spam is a massive problem for everyone and most sites use a variety of ready-made options that block almost everything the automated spam bots can throw at you. That won't stop a few determined spammers who take the trouble to register with a valid email address but blocking them simply requires mod approval of the first few posts from new users. That way the spam goes straight in the bin and the spammer goes away.
PS
Re my previous post in this thread, if the "hidden" spam can still be accessed by Google's index bots (very likely if the mods can see it) then it will still serve the spammers purpose. They need to be deleted like the 7000 asap after they arrive.
Edited by misar on 23/04/2021 at 15:51
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Question Do people register and post a query at same time? Although not ideal for the genuine poster could not the registration be delayed until vetted by a moderator?
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There is certainly nothing we can do as moderators, that would require a change to the software. I have no doubt that the website developers will be aware of various options that could be implemented but as I mentioned above, the problem with making any software changes is time spent to code, test, etc. balanced against other priorities that the IT Team will have. Now that HJ is part of Heycar, the IT Team will for sure have a wider range of responsibilities and priorities set by others.
There was a big problem with spam hitting the Classic forum but the IT Team have deleted a whole load and updated the spam filter so hopefully we won't get the quantity again.
ORB and myself will clean it up the best we can so that the user experience is as good as we can make it.
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Question Do people register and post a query at same time? Although not ideal for the genuine poster could not the registration be delayed until vetted by a moderator?
Exactly what do you envisage this 'vetting' to involve - asking a new or prospective member if they will post spam or not? Or perhaps if they like red with with fish? :-)
Judging the content of posts, say, before being given the ability to post hyperlinks might be an option, but that would likely add more workload to the mods, and is not an exact science - I've seen some spammers first posts and it looks reasonably plausible.
AFAIK, there is no bar on which country a new member comes from, and IP addresses can easily be 'faked' using VPN software, although I don't think (from someone asking this before) that the HJ site can check or block IP addresses.
For larger sites with more revenue, I suspect they can more easily invest in newer/more fancy software that can automate a lot of the anti-spam activities. We may have to put up with some annoyances to keep the site FOC.
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For larger sites with more revenue, I suspect they can more easily invest in newer/more fancy software that can automate a lot of the anti-spam activities. We may have to put up with some annoyances to keep the site FOC.
FWIW the world's most popular website software (WordPress) is open source and can be used totally free of charge. That includes a wide variety of anti spam options although many commercial versions of WordPress extensions/services are also available. I use it (for free) and can confirm that even the free versions of the anti spam options work well.
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For larger sites with more revenue, I suspect they can more easily invest in newer/more fancy software that can automate a lot of the anti-spam activities. We may have to put up with some annoyances to keep the site FOC.
FWIW the world's most popular website software (WordPress) is open source and can be used totally free of charge. That includes a wide variety of anti spam options although many commercial versions of WordPress extensions/services are also available. I use it (for free) and can confirm that even the free versions of the anti spam options work well.
I'd suggest that you email the IT guys with your suggestions. I'm no IT expert, but the problem could be that changing systems would mean that every thread beforehand might have to be archived, perhaps even deleted.
From the outside, the look/usgae of the forum hasn't changed much over the years - I believe there was some changes made in the last decade, but I'm unsure what they amounted to.
One thing it is far easier to do is deal with spam on a personal basis, rather than across a whole website/forum that has many members talking about a variety of issues from different points of view. I've seen autospam/automod facilities delete emails and comments that are certainly not bad in any way - including on well-known media websites.
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Question Do people register and post a query at same time? Although not ideal for the genuine poster could not the registration be delayed until vetted by a moderator?
Exactly what do you envisage this 'vetting' to involve - asking a new or prospective member if they will post spam or not? Or perhaps if they like red with with fish? :-)
The most important step is, of course, to vet the first few posts. However, delaying registrations for approval can be quite useful as most spammers are in a hurry to get through a long list of sites and may not even come back. You can simply approve a bunch after waiting a couple of days although with a bit of practice the "funnies" often start to become more obvious.
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From my observation most spams go straight in with their rubbish or dodgy link and how many are going to take the time to dream up an inventive post that is why put it forward. As EA posted earlier it is frustrating looking for posts form the front when they have previously been deleted as spam. I do not click on any links unless I recognise the poster others may not be lucky
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From my observation most spams go straight in with their rubbish or dodgy link and how many are going to take the time to dream up an inventive post that is why put it forward. As EA posted earlier it is frustrating looking for posts form the front when they have previously been deleted as spam. I do not click on any links unless I recognise the poster others may not be lucky
I've seen these 'guys' post one or two 'innocuous' posts on other threads (a good tactic) 'agreeing' with the OP in some bland way before (on another thread a few days later) posting their spam.
Yes, there are those who just go headlong into spamming - mostly those peddling vue-do cr@pola and other sh@men 'cures', alongside (mostly in the past) those selling fitted cooking rooms (note that the mods have had to put the real world describing that room [and perhaps var1ations on it!] on their 'naughty list' that flags it up to them as a potential spam post with the ki***en donation we see sometimes).
I suspect there's a lot more that routinely get deleted before we see them that most of us here aren't aware of.
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I expect there's rubbish that gets filtered out that even us mods don't see.
Someone said a few weeks ago that if this forum is like a free sandpit we get to play in, then we have to tolerate the odd cat messing in it. Both us mods have a bucket and trowel each and we aim to keep it as clear as possible so the experience is pleasant for all.
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I expect there's rubbish that gets filtered out that even us mods don't see.
Someone said a few weeks ago that if this forum is like a free sandpit we get to play in, then we have to tolerate the odd cat messing in it. Both us mods have a bucket and trowel each and we aim to keep it as clear as possible so the experience is pleasant for all.
I'm glad you've stepped into the breach, as I feared that Avant was starting to lose his enthusiasm for his job, given the amount of 'mess' that regularly had to be cleaned up. Most of us have a limit to how much cr@pola we're prepared to put up with.
Hopefully the It boffins and site management/owners can help make things more manageable (though having two people instead of one certainly helps). I do a similar job to you where I live as a voulnteer resident director, which is a thankless task. Rather like where people pick up others' litter.
I also hope that once (rather than 'if') the pandemic is over, things can return to more normality (i.e. talking more about new issues about cars/motoring rather than retreading old ground and politics a lot), perhaps even having a forum meet-up.
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I suspect there's a lot more that routinely get deleted before we see them that most of us here aren't aware of.
Avant and his successors seem to be doing an excellent job in deleting spam and disabling spammers accounts.
Bearing in mind theirs is an unpaid task and the forum is free to use, I'm not too bothered about the occasional spam I see
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"if the "hidden" spam can still be accessed by Google's index bots (very likely if the mods can see it) then it will still serve the spammers purpose. They need to be deleted like the 7000 asap after they arrive."
Hidden posts drop off Google after a few weeks so I assume the indexing bots can't see the spam either after the filter does its work or the moderators flag what slips through.
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