Anyone else here noting a sharp increase in spam?

LauraA

Maybe it's me being in Europe and checking posts before people in the US wake up, but every time I sign on these days, there are new spam posts. Sometimes they are new topics and sometimes replies to someone else's topic. Anything we can do about that? It's not a deal breaker, but I'm just wanting the board to remain a safe place for us to talk and critique. Thanks!

davidhohn

@lauraa I've seen the spam posts you mention.

I just flag and report both the post and the user (this can be done by clicking o the three vertical dots in the lower right corner of each post)

The post is immediately off my feed. After that it's up to the forum moderator to remove and block the spammer. The more times a spammer is reported the quicker they'll get properly blocked.

I just think of it like litter in the park. If everyone takes care of a little bit the park stays nice.

LauraA

@davidhohn Yes, I am doing that! And I agree that community vigilance is the best defense. I just didn't know if maybe there was some setting that might make it a little more difficult to spam.

Coreyartus

Yeah, I check in a couple times a day to delete and then purge posts that are flagged, ban the spam IP, and finally ban the account. It's a multi-step process. I've certainly noticed an uptick in spam the last month or so.

I don't know if there are any other moderators on the forums checking in (I'm not for sure I know who they are), but it might be a good idea to get a few more, maybe, @LisaF ?

Nyrryl Cadiz

@lauraa yeah I've noticed too. i've been reporting these posts whenever i see them

LauraA

@coreyartus Thank you for your work!

LisaF

Ugh! Sorry about that! We've tried various ways to keep the spam in check, but they always seem to find a way We'll be working on this!

danielerossi

Glad I’m not the only one I started wondering if the moderators thought I was some sort of a fanatic always reporting spam posts

davidhohn

@danielerossi Definitely not the only one!

randarrington

@davidhohn There was apparently a spam attack last night....good grief

Jacy13

@randarrington Seriously! So much spam; it's crazy.

randarrington

@jacy13 yeah it's really strange. Do they honestly think anyone here would go "oh man I've been waiting for this all my life. Thank you for posting unrelated obscure data on a niche forum" uugggghhhhh It's just dumb.

lpetiti

@randarrington I keep thinking of the stories I've heard on the podcasts about trolling spammers. Sometimes I have half a mind to do that on the boards but I never do

burvantill

@coreyartus I'm a moderator, but I haven't been on much lately. I just purged a bunch that had been deleted. Crazy how determined they are getting.

randarrington

@lpetiti Yeah it'd be nice to turn the table on them....all i need is a phone number LOL

LauraA

But don't respond to them here. It just sends them back up to the top!

lpetiti

@lauraa I'll give them this, they got more bold since the last I checked. One makes themselves actually sound like they want to have a conversation and even bothered to "post" on a critique. The other...not only offered an escort service but their profile pic is a picture of a girl's you-know-what. That's really disturbing...couldn't block that one fast enough (I'm not a prude but seriously that's pornographic...)

jimsz

This site appears to be using Nodebb forum software. That package offers a spam plugin that makes use of akismet (a filtering service), Honeypot (another filtering service) and enables reCaptcha.

That should automatically eliminate and prevent the vast majority of spam and bot posts to this forum.

LisaF

@jimsz Hi! Yes, it is Nodebb, and we already use Akismet and Honeypot The spammers always seem to find a way!

randarrington

@lpetiti It was certainly a bit of a shock....when I logged in at work and there "it" was....it didn't register at first....then....SHOCK LOL!!!! You really don't get much bolder than that....