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Anti spam suggestion

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 6:51 am
by Assaji
Dear moderators,

Would you please install the https://www.keycaptcha.com/ for PhpBB to keep out the spammers, and remove all users with zero posts and unreadable names?

Re: Anti spam suggestion

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 6:59 am
by Ben
Thank you, Dmytro.
I will discuss with David.

Re: Anti spam suggestion

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 7:00 am
by Ben
Thanks Dmytro.
I shall discuss with David.

Re: Anti spam suggestion

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 7:28 am
by Doshin
Dmytro wrote:Dear moderators,

Would you please install the https://www.keycaptcha.com/ for PhpBB to keep out the spammers, and remove all users with zero posts and unreadable names?
I would oppose to removing users with zero posts. I wrote my first post more then two months after creating my login on this forum, and could easily see reasons to create a login, even if one does not wish to write posts. Tracking subjects, to name one.

If your aim is to remove spam-bot accounts, my experience is that they either get used immediately after creation or never. So cleaning up old (zero posts) accounts does not prevent spam, and removing new(er) accounts with no posts risks deleting genuine accounts.

I did not know that usernames had to be readable ? This is a world-wide forum, and I do think that some names could be readable in one language (is "blåbærgrød" readable to you ?), and not in others. However I would find it reasonable to demand a working e-mail (for admins to contact the account-owner); isn't there a step in the user-creation-procedure that one has to use a link in an e-mail, to validate the e-mail-address ?

I do find, that this is a very well-maintained forum, and almost spam-free. But maybe you see a problem that I dont see ?

It is not my forum, so it is up to admins and owners to decide on policy's. As long as there is not too many spam-posts, I'm happy.

_/\_

Re: Anti spam suggestion

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 7:42 am
by tiltbillings
Doshin wrote:
If your aim is to remove spam-bot accounts, my experience is that they either get used immediately after creation or never.
The Chinese Communist Running Dog Capitalist Crap Sellers -- the worst offenders by far -- will often create an account that get used days to weeks after being created, laying dormant like a festering STD between sign-on and implementation. We do our best here to try to keep the forum free of such crap, though we do have the occasional break-out of the crud which gets squashed down as quickly as possible.

Image

Re: Anti spam suggestion

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 8:41 am
by Doshin
tiltbillings wrote:The Chinese Communist Running Dog Capitalist Crap Sellers -- the worst offenders by far -- will often create an account that get used days to weeks after being created, laying dormant like a festering STD between sign-on and implementation. We do our best here to try to keep the forum free of such crap, though we do have the occasional break-out of the crud which gets squashed down as quickly as possible.
While the tin/subject is open, let may state that you do a very good job on keeping this forum spam-free :thumbsup:

_/\_

Re: Anti spam suggestion

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 8:42 am
by tiltbillings
Doshin wrote:
tiltbillings wrote:The Chinese Communist Running Dog Capitalist Crap Sellers -- the worst offenders by far -- will often create an account that get used days to weeks after being created, laying dormant like a festering STD between sign-on and implementation. We do our best here to try to keep the forum free of such crap, though we do have the occasional break-out of the crud which gets squashed down as quickly as possible.
While the tin/subject is open, let may state that you do a very good job on keeping this forum spam-free :thumbsup:

_/\_
Thanks. It is a pain in the tookus, but worth doing.

Re: Anti spam suggestion

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 8:43 am
by Spiny Norman
tiltbillings wrote:We do our best here to try to keep the forum free of such crap, though we do have the occasional break-out of the crud which gets squashed down as quickly as possible.
Your efforts are appreciated.

Re: Anti spam suggestion

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 8:59 am
by Ben
Doshin wrote:
tiltbillings wrote:The Chinese Communist Running Dog Capitalist Crap Sellers -- the worst offenders by far -- will often create an account that get used days to weeks after being created, laying dormant like a festering STD between sign-on and implementation. We do our best here to try to keep the forum free of such crap, though we do have the occasional break-out of the crud which gets squashed down as quickly as possible.
While the tin/subject is open, let may state that you do a very good job on keeping this forum spam-free :thumbsup:

_/\_

Thanks. Its becoming a full-time job.
I like to check out new accounts and there are a few tell-tale signs a fledgling account is a spam account. Those that we can identify as spam accounts straight away, we dispose of them immediately. Unfortunately, some of them get through to the keeper (so to speak).

And to be clear - there is no requirement that account names need to be readable, though random alpha-numeric user names tend to be a fairly reliable indicator of a spam account.
kind regards,

Ben

Re: Anti spam suggestion

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 9:23 am
by binocular
At some forums, the policy for new members is to post a thread in the members section - and this is the only section that they can post in. It is only after that that the moderators approve of the new account and grant the user full posting privileges (along with the limit that those who have less than 20 posts, cannot post links or private messages).

Re: Anti spam suggestion

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 9:41 am
by Assaji
Hi Doshin,
Doshin wrote:I would oppose to removing users with zero posts. I wrote my first post more then two months after creating my login on this forum, and could easily see reasons to create a login, even if one does not wish to write posts. Tracking subjects, to name one.

If your aim is to remove spam-bot accounts, my experience is that they either get used immediately after creation or never. So cleaning up old (zero posts) accounts does not prevent spam, and removing new(er) accounts with no posts risks deleting genuine accounts.

I did not know that usernames had to be readable ? This is a world-wide forum, and I do think that some names could be readable in one language (is "blåbærgrød" readable to you ?), and not in others. However I would find it reasonable to demand a working e-mail (for admins to contact the account-owner); isn't there a step in the user-creation-procedure that one has to use a link in an e-mail, to validate the e-mail-address ?

I do find, that this is a very well-maintained forum, and almost spam-free. But maybe you see a problem that I dont see ?
My proposal is to remove users which are both inactive (in terms of posts and attendance), and whose usernames are pure gibberish, unreadable in any language. Some other criteria, like IP, can be used as well. This would prevent some of the spam, since the spammers register again and again on the forums where they are allowed. This will remove those spammers which have already registered. It's unlikely that genuine accounts will be deleted.

KeyCaptcha will prevent the registration of new spammers.

Re: Anti spam suggestion

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 9:47 am
by binocular
Dmytro wrote:KeyCaptcha will prevent the registration of new spammers.
Only of bots.