Spam: Problem with moderation...

[Spogg]

Some of you may have noticed the huge amount of spamming recently

This is a problem because the banning system is no longer working, so I can’t ban by user name or i.p. address. I can only delete.

Of course I emailed Malc about this a few days ago, but no reply as yet.

Cheers

Spogg

[Spogg]

Update:
Malc has replied and he doesn’t yet know why this isn’t working any more. I’ve suggested a couple of generic possibilities but he was talking about having a moderated signup process, which I’m very keen on.

I’ll update if/when I have any more news.

Cheers

spogg

[trogluddite]

he was talking about having a moderated signup process, which I’m very keen on.

About time, too! This was something that myself and the old SM mods wanted for a long time; I always thought that a new member "quarantining" system was the only long-term (or at least less labour intensive) way to go. It's common enough these days that I can't see why any genuine user would object.

I hope it isn't the return of this old moderator that has jinxed things for you! As I still seem to be registered as a moderator, would it help you or Malc if I had a go, even just as an experiment to see what the problem is? I can't promise to be around enough to help you very much, but let me know here or via PM if you or Malc would find that useful - I wouldn't want to start dipping my toes into moderating after such a long break without your or Malc's express permission.

[Spogg]

Hi Trog

Unless it’s actually you doing the spamming I don’t think your very welcome return is connected.

But wait… you return, the spam increases, you offer help, then the spamming stops and you are then the hero.


Seriously, please join in if you want. Do you want me to stop for a while or shall we both just dive in as and when?

Cheers

Spogg

[MichaelBenjamin]

...

[trogluddite]

But wait… you return, the spam increases, you offer help, then the spamming stops and you are then the hero.

Dammit, I guess the other guys must have told you all about my devious ways!

Some good news. I delete a few span threads no problem, and I seem to have managed to ban a couple of spammers (the bans are listed in the moderator logs.) I'm not sure if that means it'll be working now for you too - maybe Malc has fixed something in the mean-time? I can't quite remember how to do things by IP, so I've just done it by username for now.

Do you want me to stop for a while or shall we both just dive in as and when?

I'd say carry on as you are, the quicker they're got rid of the better - summary justice with maximum prejudice! I can't promise that I'll be around a whole lot, but I'll do what I can while I'm here, and I'll let you know if I'm likely to be disappearing again.

Let me know if/when you're able to ban again - I'll leave one or two for you to deal with if I see any more before I hear back from you, so that you have a chance to test your powers! If you can't ban, flag up in the moderator logs or by PM any spammers that you need me to deal with.

[Spogg]

Hi Trog

Thank you for your offer of help.

To ban a spammer, first ban the Username then select “Previous Page” and then on the left side select Ban i.p.
The spammer’s originating i.p will already be listed, so just ban that too.

The problem is that very often there are many usernames registered that originate from a single i.p address. Often it’s the same name but with 3 different letters at the end, so is clearly being generated by a script.
So banning the i.p itself should prevent multiple future spamming from said i.p, but that doesn’t work anymore. The banned i.p is successfully listed but it’s not referenced for future banning. I checked this by noting i.ps which had many usernames and the board was not blocking them.
I also found that at least some usernames are no longer being blocked.

In conclusion, I’m currently just deleting spam and have given up on banning until Malc changes something.
He’s not very responsive these days. I believe he has 3 or 4 other companies to make a living from (I did a company check), so I guess we aren’t a priority.

Cheers

Spogg

[trogluddite]

Thank you for your offer of help.

You're welcome! And thanks for the clear description of what's going on with the ban-lists etc.; I did wonder whether I was being a little optimistic when the moderator panel seemed to be so accommodating!

[Jay]

Hiya Trog

Good to see you still around m8, not on here much myself these days but i swing by every now and again in the hope of news on a 64bit release! great to see you are alive and well, I hope life has been treating you good m8!

Best regards!

Spogg soz for going off topic m8!

[trogluddite]

Eh up, there, Jay; it's nice to say hello to another of the old-timers again! Hope all is well.
Yup, pretty much just a dabble for me, for the moment - FlowStone happened to be just the right tool for the job for a little project. I'm a bit disappointed too at the lack of juicy updates after such a long break (I'm rolling back to an even earlier version than I had before thanks to new bugs that folks have discovered!)