tired of the porn

[nysisobli]

is anyone else tired of the inappropriate content of some of these posts?

[InaVegt]

is anyone else tired of the inappropriate content of some of these posts?

It's spam, mods are doing what they can, but they aren't online 24/7 (sadly enough.)

Just ignore it, except to report one of them if you can stand porn on your screen (reporting one is enough, the mods will notice the others.).

Nothing else we can do, sadly enough.

[nysisobli]

some are scripted so if you push the report button, you get sent to the site and get infected with spyware, i had to reformat because of it.

[Eldariel]

some are scripted so if you push the report button, you get sent to the site and get infected with spyware, i had to reformat because of it.

Not on this site. The bots cannot affect the contents outside the post, such as the Report-button. Chances are, you already had the spyware on your computer beforehand if such happened. By the way, a good reason to use Ad-Aware, Spybot-Search & Destroy or similars constantly.

[nysisobli]

lol, trust me i know about computers lol i run 3 different up to date virus scans a day. but i clicked the report button and it jumped right to that site, thats what happened i have no reason to lie.

[InaVegt]

some are scripted so if you push the report button, you get sent to the site and get infected with spyware, i had to reformat because of it.

The report button (The red bordered triangle at each post) is not alterable by the spam bots (or anyone but the admins), this is not a risk.

These might be risks in different media (like e-mail), but unless you are dealing with an extremely bad piece of software running a forum, no normal user can change where that link points.

Edit: 3 different virus scanners you say? How do you deal with the virus scanners reporting eachother as viruses (they all do), why do you do this, as it's been proven that a single virus scanner daily, basic safety precautions, and scanning files you don't/shouldn't trust is more than enough?

Believe me, I know my stuff, I major in Computer Engineering.

[nysisobli]

it happened after the report was sent through

[nysisobli]

=) im not doubting you guys though it could have been something as smple as me accidentally clicking the button as the report button went away and hitting a pic, my interwebs are slow sometimes

[InaVegt]

Edit: 3 different virus scanners you say? How do you deal with the virus scanners reporting eachother as viruses (they all do), why do you do this, as it's been proven that a single virus scanner daily, basic safety precautions, and scanning files you don't/shouldn't trust is more than enough?

Believe me, I know my stuff, I major in Computer Engineering.

Transporting this here to keep updated.

[nysisobli]

lol they do, but i know which scanner is which virus =) lol but i torrent alot so i run multiples because some cover viruses others dont

[Eldariel]

lol, trust me i know about computers lol i run 3 different up to date virus scans a day. but i clicked the report button and it jumped right to that site, thats what happened i have no reason to lie.

Mayhap, but you run the risk of generating an irrational fear of reporting spam posts in users. That behaviour sounds exactly like a linkjack from a spyware on your system. Anti-virus programs are generally a bit slackish when it comes to spyware so it's fully possible that they'd have missed it; this is why I personally use anti-spyware programs in lieu of anti-virus. But yeah, there's very likely an explanation other than the report-script somehow being contagioned.

[nysisobli]

i was just tired of it i have people on my computer lol dont like to explain what the posts are lol but yeah other then that how is everyone today

[kamikasei]

You could just not click on the posts. It's not hard to tell they're spam based on the subject line.

[nysisobli]

i know what they are lol, i halfway made this post to get it off the main line though, dont need minors clicking on the pornography

[dish]

Well, there's lots of good advice in this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111075) thread about how to report spam without opening the post.

[wadledo]

Heh.
Think of the Children!
Won't someone please think of the children!:smalltongue:

[Haven]

Just ignore it, except to report one of them if you can stand porn on your screen (reporting one is enough, the mods will notice the others.).


Oh, whoops, I reported twice (one for a thread here, one for a thread in the OotS discussion).

[InaVegt]

Oh, whoops, I reported twice (one for a thread here, one for a thread in the OotS discussion).

It doesn't hurt to report twice, it's just that it's very likely a waste of your own time.

[Nevrmore]

The OP's overuse of "lol" is starting to annoy me.

Just thought I'd throw that on the table.

[wadledo]

The OP's overuse of "lol" is starting to annoy me.

Just thought I'd throw that on the table.

I concur.
I vote we move to memes and pitch-forks.
All in favor?

[TSED]

K.

http://westrum.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/holy-facepalm.jpg

[Studoku]

I saw a way of reducing the effects of this on another forum. Basically, users apart from mods couldn't post images. Instead, they had to put the tags in the post and a mod could validate the image so it displayed.

That probably wouldn't work here because of the size of this community, but what if it only affected users with fewer than, for example, 100 posts. Granted, the spam would still be there but pornographic images wouldn't display (unless the user is dumb enough to click the links).

[dish]

I saw a way of reducing the effects of this on another forum. Basically, users apart from mods couldn't post images. Instead, they had to put the tags in the post and a mod could validate the image so it displayed.

That probably wouldn't work here because of the size of this community, but what if it only affected users with fewer than, for example, 100 posts. Granted, the spam would still be there but pornographic images wouldn't display (unless the user is dumb enough to click the links).

Interesting idea. I suggest you make it in the Board/Site Issues subforum. (Which is probably where this entire thread ought to be...)

[Nevrmore]

That sounds more like a major annoyance for the users and major tedium for the mods than a good idea.

[InaVegt]

I saw a way of reducing the effects of this on another forum. Basically, users apart from mods couldn't post images. Instead, they had to put the tags in the post and a mod could validate the image so it displayed.

That probably wouldn't work here because of the size of this community, but what if it only affected users with fewer than, for example, 100 posts. Granted, the spam would still be there but pornographic images wouldn't display (unless the user is dumb enough to click the links).

It is not uncommon for websites to place restrictions on new members.

One site I frequent prohibits users with less than 10 posts to post links, they get an error message when they try.

For the average user, this is not a real problem. For spam bots, this is, right now, a reasonable way to prevent a load of spam (not all spam, but still a lot.)

[Starscream]

I suppose it wouldn't be too inconvenient for anyone who is only a "Pixie in the Playground" to not be able to post images.

[Ashen Lilies]

Unless they were an incredibly active member... in the SMBG. Or they joined to post arts, but have to rack up 50 posts to be able to do so. As soon as this gets implemented I expect spam will go way up as new members make useless posts for the sole purpose of being able to access important features. Not a good thing, in my opinion.

((This thread should probably be moved I guess...))

[Calmness]

Unless they were an incredibly active member... in the SMBG. Or they joined to post arts, but have to rack up 50 posts to be able to do so. As soon as this gets implemented I expect spam will go way up as new members make useless posts for the sole purpose of being able to access important features. Not a good thing, in my opinion.

((This thread should probably be moved I guess...))

Yeah, but that spam won't be full of porn like these days, so it's probably worth a test, at the least. Not that i mind the porn, but this site is supposed to be family friendly and it's getting annoying.

[Rutskarn]

I just shrug and move on. The trick is going in to report the damn stuff when you'd rather stay the hell away.

[Mr. Mud]

I just shrug and move on. The trick is going in to report the damn stuff when you'd rather stay the hell away.

Nudity doesn't bother me all that much, but the problem is I'm not a child... The porn needed to be stopped now... I'm going to try and use my trusty google-fu to see who/what is doing this, have they done it before, and why? :smallmad::smalltongue:.

[Rutskarn]

Nudity doesn't bother me all that much, but the problem is I'm not a child... The porn needed to be stopped now... I'm going to try and use my trusty google-fu to see who/what is doing this, have they done it before, and why? :smallmad::smalltongue:.

Oh, yes, to clarify--this content is offensive, and steps should be taken. This is, of course, a family-friendly forum.

Hopefully, though, it's easy to avoid.

[Jack Squat]

On a quick search, looks like whoever's doing this has hit up a few other forums. Something consistent has been links to yourko.com

This is mostly a reply to MrMud's comments in the spam thread in this forum, and I'd rather not bump that up to the top of the page.

[The Tygre]

I'm just curious as to how the spam-bot got here.:smallconfused: I've been on the Playground a few years now and have never seen this problem before. I can understand when these sort of things pop up on smaller forums like DiceFreaks, but the Playground is usually so secure.

[afroakuma]

They often show up on the weekend, but usually only around the morning EST. And normally it isn't pornography.

[Mando Knight]

I'm just curious as to how the spam-bot got here.:smallconfused: I've been on the Playground a few years now and have never seen this problem before. I can understand when these sort of things pop up on smaller forums like DiceFreaks, but the Playground is usually so secure.

You've been online at the wrong times, apparently. There've been quite a few spambots, but are generally dealt with pretty quickly.

[Innis Cabal]

We've had spam for a while...just ignore it...

[afroakuma]

Wouldn't that be "online at the right times," Mando? :smallwink:

[Fawkes]

Wouldn't that be "online at the right times," Mando? :smallwink:

If he's missing the porn, I'd say that's the wrong time.

[The Tygre]

Aye, I see. The spammers come in the morning and leave with the evening. Sunrise and sunset. Circle of life, the Great Wheel. Like the attendants of mighty Ra, except they sell porn. Truly, the internet is its own ecosystem of strange and terrible beauty.


If he's missing the porn, I'd say that's the wrong time.

Depends on the porn.

[afroakuma]

If he's missing the porn, I'd say that's the wrong time.

:smallannoyed:

[The Tygre]

Hrm, problem solved, apparently.

[Lerky]

I haven't seen one sight of inappropriate content on this website, and in my opinion the mods move pretty quickly here.

[Mercenary Pen]

They often show up on the weekend, but usually only around the morning EST. And normally it isn't pornography.

Had a second batch mid-evening yesterday. I should know, I reported it.

[skywalker]

Man, I still haven't seen anything inappropriate on here. Ads for shoes, or iPods, yes. But no images...

I think certain people who post at certain times might be making a bit bigger deal out of this than it might be.

[Jack Squat]

Man, I still haven't seen anything inappropriate on here. Ads for shoes, or iPods, yes. But no images...

I think certain people who post at certain times might be making a bit bigger deal out of this than it might be.

Possibly. The posts can sit around for up to a couple hours (though this recent one did seem like longer...anyone know when it showed up?), which isn't bad response time.

The exaggeration may come from people who are on the forum that entire time and keep seeing the title every time they go back to the main forum page (as opposed to the main bulletin board page), which may lead them to think "Why hasn't this been taken care of yet?"

Also, they do tend to show up during normal business hours in the US, so that, plus the response time may be why you're not seeing it.

[Elm11]

umm... i'm a bit of a lurker, so i don't post to much, but i have never seen any spam on these forums at all, let alone innapropriate images.

[Keris]

umm... i'm a bit of a lurker, so i don't post to much, but i have never seen any spam on these forums at all, let alone innapropriate images.

I can assume you, it does appear. That you haven't seen it is a testament to how efficient the moderators are at removing it.
Just this weekend the forum has been hit by spam-bots on no less than three separate occasions, and perhaps more that I did not observe. I reported each thread I found, and within a couple of hours at the most, a moderator had removed all trace of them.

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

If he's missing the porn, I'd say that's the wrong time.

*high five*

[The Giant]

From what I understand, this is a problem that has gotten worse since we switched servers this week. We have ideas on how to fix it, but they may take a few days to implement.

Until then, yes, reporting threads is good. Even if they've been reported already. Replying to threads, however, is frowned upon.

[The_JJ]

Just like to say that I can confirm some malware/opening other wesites badness as I was trying to report. May have been the act of opening the thread or the report or I don't know.

And no, accidentally seeing porn on here is not high five worthy. :smallannoyed:

[The Blackbird]

And no, accidentally seeing porn on here is not high five worthy. :smallannoyed:

*High Five*

[RabbitHoleLost]

So, yeah. It is porn.
:smallannoyed:

[RTGoodman]

So, yeah. It is porn.
:smallannoyed:

I've started the reporting already.

[Kyouhen]

I like the idea of not letting new users post links or images. Have it set to 10 posts before they can do that. For honest users that wouldn't be much of a problem, you just introduce yourself and post a few things in some of the general topics and you can move along to whatever it is you were here for.

[Graymayre]

I like the idea of not letting new users post links or images. Have it set to 10 posts before they can do that. For honest users that wouldn't be much of a problem, you just introduce yourself and post a few things in some of the general topics and you can move along to whatever it is you were here for.

I agree, it is a very nice way to hinder spam bots.

However, there are always ways around it. One could simply create a spambot that replied to 10 posts randomly before posting a thread on the 11th.

There is a 60 second limit between posts. so it would take 10 minutes to get to that point. Would someone take notice in time to ban someone that tries that?

[Willfor]

I just reported a porn bot post, and didn't get redirected anywhere. (technically, I was redirected somewhere, but it was to the appropriate screen where I put in some text to the effect that it was a spam post, and then I was promptly redirected back to the board)

Chalk this one up to SCIENCE. (or, well, COMPUTER SCIENCE?)

[Johnny Blade]

This forum requires that you wait 60 seconds between reporting posts.
Why?

(10 characters were reached by 'a', now there are more.)

[AgentPaper]

I like the idea of not letting new users post links or images. Have it set to 10 posts before they can do that. For honest users that wouldn't be much of a problem, you just introduce yourself and post a few things in some of the general topics and you can move along to whatever it is you were here for.

Wouldn't do anything but annoy new users. Bots would just make 10 pre-spam posts before making the image-heavy one.

Edit: I've also seen some posts with just various odd characters, those ones with accents and squgglies above them and such. As in, the entire title and thread were made up of these characters arranged randomly, though with spaces and punctuation. Am I right in assuming these are spam, or is it someone posting in a language I don't know? (like Chinese, and the Chinese characters are garbled since I don't have a Chinese character font, or some such)

[RTGoodman]

Why?

As a means to prevent spamming, I suppose. It means spam-bots have to take a LOT longer to put up a bunch of posts than it would if there was no time between posts rule.


I don't know how well the "You can't post images (or whatever) until you have X posts" system would go over. It's a big part of the rules that we don't discuss post count because:


We try to treat all posters as equal, the ones that just started posting and the ones that have been here since the dawn of time have equal importance.

I'm not saying I'm against it, but it seems like something the mods and the Giant might not want to do. Folks have already made it clear that it wouldn't really work that well against spambots anyway.

[Winterwind]

I think certain people who post at certain times might be making a bit bigger deal out of this than it might be.Well, just for the record, right now there seems to be a porn-spam thread in half of all the forums. So... no, I most definitely wouldn't agree with you here.

No problems with redirecting upon reporting them for me, either.

[RabbitHoleLost]

As a means to prevent spamming, I suppose. It means spam-bots have to take a LOT longer to put up a bunch of posts than it would if there was no time between posts rule.

Yeah, but I had no idea there was a sixty second wait period between reporting posts.

[Willfor]

Having had to clean up after spam bots on another forum, I do not envy the mods' jobs right now. Good luck, guys.:smalleek:

[RTGoodman]

Yeah, but I had no idea there was a sixty second wait period between reporting posts.

Ah, yeah - I think that's so folks don't go nuts and report stuff over and over and over every second or three since the mods, I think, get a notification each time. Also, it probably prevents people from going on a reporting spree against posts that don't need it just out of spite.


EDIT@\/: I dunno. One of 'em will probably show up here anyway and answer. Either way, it probably has SOME kind of function.

[Johnny Blade]

As a means to prevent spamming, I suppose. It means spam-bots have to take a LOT longer to put up a bunch of posts than it would if there was no time between posts rule.
Yeah, but read the quote again - there's the same 60 seconds rule for reporting posts.

That makes some sense, but not much.
I mean, there may be some people who'd end up reporting posts right and left, but then you'd either tell them to shut up and stop being such a wuss (in a nicer way, of course) or deal out infraction points.


EDIT: And I think moderators only get one report for a given post. I'm not exactly sure, though.

[AgentPaper]

Edited this into my last post, but this thread seems to be picking up, so:

I've also seen some posts with just various odd characters, those ones with accents and squgglies above them and such. As in, the entire title and thread were made up of these characters arranged randomly, though with spaces and punctuation. Am I right in assuming these are spam, or is it someone posting in a language I don't know? (like Chinese, and the Chinese characters are garbled since I don't have a Chinese character font, or some such)

[Winterwind]

EDIT: And I think moderators only get one report for a given post. I'm not exactly sure, though.I distinctly remember them stating something to this effect.
Which also means we don't have to be afraid of reporting posts because they might have been reported already, it is not bothersome for the mods if we do.

EDIT:

Edited this into my last post, but this thread seems to be picking up, so:

I've also seen some posts with just various odd characters, those ones with accents and squgglies above them and such. As in, the entire title and thread were made up of these characters arranged randomly, though with spaces and punctuation. Am I right in assuming these are spam, or is it someone posting in a language I don't know? (like Chinese, and the Chinese characters are garbled since I don't have a Chinese character font, or some such)Those are spam, too. Note how the signature of these posts always contains some links of dubious nature.

[Rutskarn]

Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Hopefully, this will tone down once the server issue is cleared up.

[The_JJ]

I know that that could be a font thing. On this very site if you use the wrong font set up anything with an apostrophe would come up as a Japanese charactor. Very confusing.

Oh goody, another one. Reported. Have fun mods. :smallfrown:

[Johnny Blade]

@ AgentPaper:
It's Cyrillic, I think. I remember one leading to a Russian website.

@ Winterwind:
Good to know you remember something like that as well.

[RTGoodman]

I distinctly remember them stating something to this effect.
Which also means we don't have to be afraid of reporting posts because they might have been reported already, it is not bothersome for the mods if we do.

Ah, okay, cool. Didn't know that.

[Dirk Kris]

omg, I haz seen teh pron

is not gud

[RabbitHoleLost]

omg, I haz seen teh pron

is not gud

I think that's the worst part.
Its not only porn, its bad porn

[Lord Iames Osari]

I think that's the worst part.
Its not only porn, its bad porn

If it was high-quality and tasteful (as far as the term applies to porn), then they wouldn't need to hire spammers, would they?

[Rutskarn]

Yeah, this is spam of the WORST KIND. It doesn't even have to do with the subject matter of this forum!

I mean, get it together, guys. Come up with some elf-on-orc-on-gibbering-mouther pr0n, THEN call us back.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

As a means to prevent spamming, I suppose. It means spam-bots have to take a LOT longer to put up a bunch of posts than it would if there was no time between posts rule.
Nah, not spam-prevention. It's to help slow down server usage so the place doesn't clog up quite as readily.

Anyway, I haven't noticed this delay on reporting posts that has been mentioned. But I'd wager it's just a bug/side-effect of the regular post delay if the report is using the same functions for reporting a post as it does for making a new post.

[Narmoth]

I think only certain web browsers are affected by the "re-directing to undesired site upon reporting" - problem.
Firefox seems to be unafected. Guess I have to try to report the next one in Explorer


...I mean, get it together, guys. Come up with some elf-on-orc-on-gibbering-mouther pr0n, THEN call us back.

Thanks for the visual

[Douglas]

One thing I've seen work elsewhere to stop bots is changing the registration page so it only works if javascript is enabled. Bots generally ignore javascript, just like most search engine crawlers and other such scripts, so they can't pass the registration step and never get to post at all. Most humans won't even notice the difference, though, and those who do probably disabled javascript themselves and know perfectly well how to enable it temporarily when told they need to do so.

Any sufficiently widespread automated anti-bot measure will eventually fail due to spammers writing bots specifically to circumvent it - that's why CAPTCHAs don't work well any more - but I don't think anyone's written a bot to deal with this one yet.

[FoE]

I think that's the worst part.
Its not only porn, its bad porn

It's not only distasteful, it's boring!

[Lupy]

We could put up a little warning for new member sign ups:


Warning to all potential spammers:
Those caught spamming this forum can and will be turned over to Collin for punishment has he sees fit.

Spam levels would plummet. :smalltongue:

In all seriousness though, the playground isn't frequented very often by spammers, and we minors of the playground are capable of reading the subject and making an educated guess as to what it contains.

Not a solution, but it prevents some of the trouble at least.


From what I understand, this is a problem that has gotten worse since we switched servers this week. We have ideas on how to fix it, but they may take a few days to implement.

Thanks for the update Mr. Burlew.

[Rutskarn]

Thanks for the visual

What I'm here for.

[Skaroq]

These guys are awful. They have to hire spammers to disgrace a forum with dignified, intelligent members. Do they actually expect us to click on this stuff? I just hate, I just HATE this spam so much. I hate it.

[Lupy]

You can also tell Firefox not to load images automatically, which is how I just reported a thread.

Tools -> Options -> Load images automatically (uncheck)

[chiasaur11]

What I'm here for.

And thus, my hopes you were here to kill those who minorly displease me are dashed.

[Johnny Blade]

These guys are awful. They have to hire spammers to disgrace a forum with dignified, intelligent members. Do they actually expect us to click on this stuff? I just hate, I just HATE this spam so much. I hate it.
Well, I wouldn't call myself dignified. Not at all, actually.
Intelligent, yes, but who wouldn't? Although, maybe not that intelligent. After all, I am unable to understand why this stuff even happens.
You'd assume that, at this point, actually programming a spambot would be a total waste of time/money because almost everyone knows enough about them to not follow one of the links they post.

Especially when they're not even up to the shameful quality of the porn they try to market, which has been discussed before.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Intelligent, yes, but who wouldn't? Although, maybe not that intelligent. After all, I am unable to understand why this stuff even happens.
You'd assume that, at this point, actually programming a spambot would be a total waste of time/money because almost everyone knows enough about them to not follow one of the links they post.
No one ever went broke overestimating the scale of human stupidity. :smallwink:

Really, apparently the folks that aren't in the "almost everyone" are enough to keep the spammers in business.

[Pie Guy]

I say we burn their accounts at the stake! Who's with me!?

[Eldan]

Yeah! Then they won't be able to make any meaningful contributions to actual discussions later! That will show them!

[Johnny Blade]

Really, apparently the folks that aren't in the "almost everyone" are enough to keep the spammers in business.
Well, I guess it is quite easy to make one like those we are experiencing right now, so even if the benefit is negligible, the cost may be even lower...but still...

[Rawhide]

is anyone else tired of the inappropriate content of some of these posts?

Yes


some are scripted so if you push the report button, you get sent to the site and get infected with spyware, i had to reformat because of it.


lol, trust me i know about computers lol i run 3 different up to date virus scans a day. but i clicked the report button and it jumped right to that site, thats what happened i have no reason to lie.

Not possible. The poster cannot change any of the scripting of the website, not inside nor outside the post.

Inside the post: We have a little something called bbCode. HTML is disabled because it can be extremely dangerous and someone could script something, this is why bbCode exists, it creates a safe environment by tightly restricting what you can use to format your posts.
Outside the post: Cannot be touched or edited in any way by the post. Again, raw HTML editing is completely disabled.

P.S. You should never run 3 virus checkers concurrently on the same computer, you will reduce your virus scanner's effectiveness and put a considerable drain on your computer's resources. The exception to this is if you have only one virus scanner actively scanning (that is, on access scanning - i.e. every time you open a file), all over virus scanners must be set to passive scanning (that is, on demand scanning - i.e. when you click the "scan entire computer" button). You should however run several antispyware programs and a single software firewall (never run two firewalls on the one computer).


Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Hopefully, this will tone down once the server issue is cleared up.

Rich wasn't quite right when he said that it started after the server switch. It actually started just a little before going by the first picture spam threads dumped. The timing is purely a coincidence and is not a server issue.

[Wreckingrocc]

I really hope these morons (is it OK to call them that? I don't think the flaming rule should apply to spammers) don't end up creating a post-lag for mod-approval...

If the mods put an approval necessity on creating new threads, they'll still just post in existing threads... :smallsigh:

Perhaps mod approval needed for posting direct images?

[afroakuma]

I liked the idea of barring users with under 10 posts from posting images. In their first ten, a legitimate user is unlikely to post images anyway.

[Rawhide]

I liked the idea of barring users with under 10 posts from posting images. In their first ten, a legitimate user is unlikely to post images anyway.

"Hi, I've been reading OotS for aaaages, but I've just bought myself a new graphics tablet so I signed up as I wanted to show you all my fan-art!"

[Douglas]

A registration page that doesn't work without javascript enabled would be less inconvenient and pretty effective, I think.

[Lemming]

I don't think its the porn they are advertising. I think they are just trying to lure people in so they can download spyware and malware onto your computer.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Well, I guess it is quite easy to make one like those we are experiencing right now, so even if the benefit is negligible, the cost may be even lower...but still...
Well, spammers wouldn't be doing what they do if they weren't seeing some benefit from it, monetary or otherwise.

[Jack Squat]

I don't think its the porn they are advertising. I think they are just trying to lure people in so they can download spyware and malware onto your computer.

This.

In trying to find out more about one of the companies (yourko), I clicked on a disabled image (link was active) while trying to c&p the domain name. New page opened up, a video site (don't remember what it was called...started with a "y"), and Chrome caught something downloading. closed out of the page before it downloaded (stopping the download), and deleted the partial.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Well, at least the weekend is over. There will, of course, be a few porn ads throughout the week, until next weekend's big surge.

:smallsigh:

[Rockphed]

"Hi, I've been reading OotS for aaaages, but I've just bought myself a new graphics tablet so I signed up as I wanted to show you all my fan-art!"

"Well, we would love to see it, but there were these incredibly annoying spammers a few months back. Your images will start working once you make a few posts, so come on and tell us how much better your art is. Or how awkward we make you feel with our incredibly awesome art. :biggrin:"

[afroakuma]

"Hi, I've been reading OotS for aaaages, but I've just bought myself a new graphics tablet so I signed up as I wanted to show you all my fan-art!"

I feel sorry for that guy. :smalltongue:

I see your point, though. There will always be one.

Better idea: auto-ban function that takes out any newly registered user whose first post involves a banned word. Because we have a ToS for that. :smallamused:

[BizzaroStormy]

"Hi, I've been reading OotS for aaaages, but I've just bought myself a new graphics tablet so I signed up as I wanted to show you all my fan-art!"

I see what you're saying but its not that big of a deal for them to make a few posts to introduce themselves to the community, maybe put in their 2 cents on a few gaming or comic threads. It wont take more than 10 minutes to get the ability to post pics.

I doubt an advertiser would put that much effort into in unless they REALLY wanted their ads on the site.

[afroakuma]

Still better idea: any new user who starts three new threads within 20 minutes of registration gets all of them pulled immediately and posting privileges sealed until a mod can glance at them.

I realize none of these pass muster, but I'm enjoying myself in dissecting the faults in their bots.

Edit: Speak of the devils... there's one now. In German, no less.

If only someone here spoke German. :smallwink: Reported!!!

[Flickerdart]

Seem to be a lot of Russian ones, too, but they advertise T-shirts instead. At least they used to, a while ago, haven't seen many of 'em recently.

[Rockphed]

Seem to be a lot of Russian ones, too, but they advertise T-shirts instead. At least they used to, a while ago, haven't seen many of 'em recently.

Do you mean the ones that looked like gibberish? I tended to report them with much vigor and write snarky little things about them. Actually, I write snarky reports about all the spam. Things that aren't spam don't get the snark, but somehow reporting spam just seems to demand snark out of me. I hope the mods don't mind...:smalleek:

[Flickerdart]

Yeah, if your encoding is off, they'll look like a variety of funny symbols. Sadly enough, if your encoding is right, all other nonstandard symbols look wrong.

[Jack Squat]

Yeah, if your encoding is off, they'll look like a variety of funny symbols. Sadly enough, if your encoding is right, all other nonstandard symbols look wrong.

I don't know cyrillic...even when it's right it still looks like a variety of funny symbols :smallwink:

[Alarra]

is anyone else tired of the inappropriate content of some of these posts?

Sure am.

We're trying to delete them as quickly as we notice them, but it's true that none of us are on the site at all hours. A note to the couple hundred of you that have me on your im lists....im me as well as reporting. I'm often online but not on gitp, though with the rash of spam, I'm trying to check far more often.

[Anselm]

A registration page that doesn't work without javascript enabled would be less inconvenient and pretty effective, I think.

Writing a solver for that will almost certainly be trivial compared to writing a solver for a visual captcha. Humans are better than computers at recognizing meaning in images, computers are better than humans at executing Javascript. (And, more relevantly, scripts that embed Javascript engines are exactly as good as web browsers at executing Javascript.)

Even if they don't want to embed a Javascript engine, Javascript is client-side and thus very easily circumvented given a very small amount of programmer time. It's not a good way to implement anti-spam measures, much like it's not a good way to implement security.


I see what you're saying but its not that big of a deal for them to make a few posts to introduce themselves to the community, maybe put in their 2 cents on a few gaming or comic threads. It wont take more than 10 minutes to get the ability to post pics.

I doubt an advertiser would put that much effort into in unless they REALLY wanted their ads on the site.
Er, these are spammers. Yes, they really want their ads on the site. The entities behind the posts are almost certainly scripts, and if not, script-assisted humans -- no one is actually sitting around carefully considering whether their next post should advertise Russian T-shirts or hardcore pornography. It will take them much less than ten minutes to make ten posts if they need to.

That said, there are excellent spam filtering algorithms out there, and the mods have said they're on it, so I trust we'll see a solution soon. This is not an unsolvable problem! :smallsmile:

[Douglas]

Writing a solver for that will almost certainly be trivial compared to writing a solver for a visual captcha. Humans are better than computers at recognizing meaning in images, computers are better than humans at executing Javascript. (And, more relevantly, scripts that embed Javascript engines are exactly as good as web browsers at executing Javascript.)

Even if they don't want to embed a Javascript engine, Javascript is client-side and thus very easily circumvented given a very small amount of programmer time. It's not a good way to implement anti-spam measures, much like it's not a good way to implement security.
It would not be especially difficult to break, no, but it's not in widespread use either so pre-made bots are unlikely to be able to deal with it. CAPTCHAs fail because they are so well known and widely used that an off-the-shelf bot can break them. The point with this javascript idea is not to be difficult to break, but to require spammers to devote programming time specifically to this site. Many of them may decide that the return for this single site isn't worth the effort to customize a bot.

[RTGoodman]

Here we go again, I guess. Can someone with a screenname PM a mod as Alarra suggested? I've started the on-site reporting.

[The Tygre]

And so their back, from outer space...

Seriously, though. I think they might be changing their strategies now. If they mostly posted in the mornings and that was ineffective, they might be changing to the evenings now.

[Zeful]

Is the spam coming from the same IP? I'd check myself, but don't know how.

Wouldn't it be easier to simply make the server ignore the IPs of the spammers?

[Alleine]

This is the first time its popped up while I've been on.

Joy. :smallannoyed:

[skywalker]

I personally belong to a couple forums that limit image posting to members who have a certain number of posts. It has almost never been a problem for me, except that smilies are images, so that when I quoted a smilie, I would have to delete it.

But for those who sign up to post art, it's quite easy to post in the "Intro" thread, and then to comment on the art of a few others before posting your own. I suppose that could, in a way, promote spam of the vernacular sense, in that it is not illegal, but it is annoying. But it might be worth it if we're that serious about stopping this spam (which is of the legal sense? I don't quite have the distinction down just yet).

I personally don't get all the fuss. Yes, they're advertising shoes and t-shirts and porn. If you don't want to see the porn, don't click on the thread. Someone else is definitely reporting it, and if they aren't a mod will see it soon enough. But that's doubtful. I don't know why people take it so seriously when people advertise on this board. It's an infraction just like major flaming... And while people don't like it, they don't create entire threads to discuss "who's tired of all the flaming lately?" even tho we certainly had a few instances where one of those threads could have been created.

Someone must be clicking thru, otherwise they'd stop advertising here. If they don't stop within the week, we'll know that we have a pretty good batch of clicker-thruers. My dad quit advertising with google after only a week of seeing no profit. They'll stop if we don't give them clicks. The fact that people are discussing the images in a bit of detail implies that some people are clicking.

[Haruki-kun]

Someone must be clicking thru, otherwise they'd stop advertising here. If they don't stop within the week, we'll know that we have a pretty good batch of clicker-thruers. My dad quit advertising with google after only a week of seeing no profit. They'll stop if we don't give them clicks. The fact that people are discussing the images in a bit of detail implies that some people are clicking.

Roughly 8 bajillion people here lurk the forums but don't participate and/or aren't registered. People who click are not necessarily part of the community, so to speak.


I personally don't get all the fuss. Yes, they're advertising shoes and t-shirts and porn. If you don't want to see the porn, don't click on the thread. Someone else is definitely reporting it, and if they aren't a mod will see it soon enough.

I don't care much about the porn itself, I frequent 4chan and see way worse things in there. But the thing is, when I want to see 4chan-ish stuff, I go to 4chan. When I want a nice, friendly environment, I come here. When stuff that doesn't belong in this nice, friendly environment shows up, I start worrying, and I hate it. It feels like my safe haven is being corrupted.

[Zeb The Troll]

Another fun note to make the job of reporting these things a wee bit easier.

It is not necessary to report every single thread.

First, someone else has probably reported threads in other sub-forums.

Second, and more importantly, when the mods see one reported they can quickly a) ban the offending poster and then b) search for all posts by said offender and clean them up that way.

This isn't to say that you shouldn't report one that you see, just that you don't have to go searching for more to make sure they're all reported.

[Philistine]

I don't care much about the porn itself, I frequent 4chan and see way worse things in there. But the thing is, when I want to see 4chan-ish stuff, I go to 4chan. When I want a nice, friendly environment, I come here. When stuff that doesn't belong in this nice, friendly environment shows up, I start worrying, and I hate it. It feels like my safe haven is being corrupted.

This, pretty much. Though 4chan isn't one of my poisons of choice.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Better idea: auto-ban function that takes out any newly registered user whose first post involves a banned word. Because we have a ToS for that. :smallamused:
Cause newbies will know not make a post about **** Grayson in the Comics thread, right?


Is the spam coming from the same IP? I'd check myself, but don't know how.
Not likely. IP addresses tend to be dynamic, and spammers set it up to so they switch through addresses even more quickly than legitimate users.


Wouldn't it be easier to simply make the server ignore the IPs of the spammers?
Nope. The aforementioned dynamic addressing will keep any such measure from sticking and will sweep up legitimate users in the net, too.

[afroakuma]

Cause newbies will know not make a post about **** Grayson in the Comics thread, right?

Known flaw. Bypass that one. The spammers don't seem to be going for it anyway.

Better plan: Autoban any new user whose first thread, created within their first 10 minutes, contains in its title two or more banned words.

[Serpentine]

Do you mean the ones that looked like gibberish? I tended to report them with much vigor and write snarky little things about them. Actually, I write snarky reports about all the spam. Things that aren't spam don't get the snark, but somehow reporting spam just seems to demand snark out of me. I hope the mods don't mind...:smalleek:I quote Monty Python.

I think auto-bans are a really bad idea. I sort of prefer the lotsanewthreads angle, but mostly I don't think a few annoying threads every now and then - or even a dozen a day - are worth so much bother, and potential for driving away potential newbies.

[Rawhide]

Well, the point of my example was simply to highlight that it is not a simple and clear cut case of simply implementing that change. There are many reasons I do not want to do that - e.g. it goes against our policy of post counts don't matter, it encourages 'spammy' posts from people just to get the minimum number of posts, it will make things annoying/harder/difficult for new posters who have a legitimate reason to post images in their first post and/or to create a new thread as their first post, etc.

[Eldan]

I don't know if it's helpful or not, but a german forum I used to frequent had a simple method to keep computers from registering: they posted a picture of a fruit (apple or banana, I think) and then asked: "What fruit is this?" followed by an empty box.
As far as I know, they pretty much had no spam at all.

[Charity]

http://www.tropiquality.com/media/monstera.jpg
http://itotd.com/view/126/
http://www.rawguru.com/image/fruit.gif
http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/60/51/23035160.jpg

Yeah that would cut down on the spam, I'm all for it.

[Eldan]

Huh. The only one of those I know is number 2 from the top.

[Serpentine]

I recognise the top one, but not as a (edible) fruit... Oh, and I recognise the others, too, just not sure about their names (is the second one breadfruit?). The third one's not a cashew fruit or something like that, is it?

[afroakuma]

Creepy evil fruit... (breadfruit???)

Durian?

Foul-looking fungus fruit?

Asian thing-berry?

It is more qualified, though. The Captcha could be an image of a woman, and ask for three adjectives that suitably describe "this." "Pretty," "blonde," "female" would all qualify, while gibberish or "blue" or "ugly" would be rewarded with a screen asking them to take it seriously.

Or shuffle it up: ask for a verb decribing the picture. No bot could pull "talking" out of an image of two joggers with their mouths open. Nor "walking" or "running" nor "jogging," for that matter. Something that requires interpretation of both question and data, but has flexible answers.

[wootage]

lol, trust me i know about computers lol i run 3 different up to date virus scans a day. but i clicked the report button and it jumped right to that site, thats what happened i have no reason to lie.

You likely are browser-hijacked - it's code that redirects your browser to a spam site every so many clicks. It doesn't happen all the time because the hijackers don't want you to be able to tell what it is right off. You need to deep-clean your computer, it can be very tough to get out all of the crud.

Best of luck!

[RS14]

I don't know if it's helpful or not, but a german forum I used to frequent had a simple method to keep computers from registering: they posted a picture of a fruit (apple or banana, I think) and then asked: "What fruit is this?" followed by an empty box.
As far as I know, they pretty much had no spam at all.
The problem with this in general is that it is relatively easy to have a human identify each image used (the site operator needs to do this, anyway). The spammer then looks to see which image is delivered (fairly trivial) and provides the proper response to that. It might be feasible on a small forum like this, if we're not profitable enough for it to be worthwhile.



It is more qualified, though. The Captcha could be an image of a woman, and ask for three adjectives that suitably describe "this." "Pretty," "blonde," "female" would all qualify, while gibberish or "blue" or "ugly" would be rewarded with a screen asking them to take it seriously.

Or shuffle it up: ask for a verb decribing the picture. No bot could pull "talking" out of an image of two joggers with their mouths open. Nor "walking" or "running" nor "jogging," for that matter. Something that requires interpretation of both question and data, but has flexible answers.

Then you get people who provide descriptions not anticipated by the site operator, that therefor fail.

[dish]

http://www.tropiquality.com/media/monstera.jpg
http://itotd.com/view/126/
http://www.rawguru.com/image/fruit.gif
http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/60/51/23035160.jpg

Yeah that would cut down on the spam, I'm all for it.

I just have to say this. Charity - you are epic. (Well, at least your thread derails are.) If we weren't both married, I might actually propose.

My answers are:
1. Monstera deliciosa
2. Durian (I developed a taste for that in Indonesia. It is a seriously delicious fruit. Also, 'manly'. Like the pomelo, it is a fruit I could imagine being used as a murder weapon.)
3. Jackfruit
4. Pepino melon

Slightly more on-topic: Judging from the posting patterns (ie, during the weekends), I think we're dealing with bot-assisted humans (or human-assisted bots). Makes it a bit harder to filter them out.

[Thufir]

I don't know if it's helpful or not, but a german forum I used to frequent had a simple method to keep computers from registering: they posted a picture of a fruit (apple or banana, I think) and then asked: "What fruit is this?" followed by an empty box.
As far as I know, they pretty much had no spam at all.

I trust they set it to also accept the answers 'Bolivian Navy on maneuvers in the South Pacific' and 'Small, off-duty Czechoslovakian traffic warden'? :smalltongue:

[valadil]

some are scripted so if you push the report button, you get sent to the site and get infected with spyware, i had to reformat because of it.

I agree with the others that your browser was likely already hijacked. Another possibility is that the spammer added his own report spam link to the thread and you clicked that instead of the board's built in filter.

Would some sort of community moderation work to help hedge out the spam? I frequent reddit.com where posts and comments can be upvoted and downvoted so that only the interesting/popular stuff remains. While I'm not suggesting turning these forums into a social news site, what if there were a threshold for how many times a thread could be reported before it was automatically closed?

[Zeful]

Would some sort of community moderation work to help hedge out the spam? I frequent reddit.com where posts and comments can be upvoted and downvoted so that only the interesting/popular stuff remains. While I'm not suggesting turning these forums into a social news site, what if there were a threshold for how many times a thread could be reported before it was automatically closed?

No, that wouldn't work. For example, you piss me off, so I go around, under a fake account and spam report until I close down your threads and posts. The fake account gets deleted and my vengeance is slated till someone else draws my ire.

[Shadic]

lol, trust me i know about computers lol i run 3 different up to date virus scans a day. but i clicked the report button and it jumped right to that site, thats what happened i have no reason to lie.

This, along with your general posting methods are evidence that you actually don't know much about computers. Nice try, though.

Anyways, the only way to prevent bots is by making more CAPCHA tests. Two or three with random questions that change every refresh would likely be the easiest method. Perhaps one that shows a smiley of a character from the comic, and then makes you type their name.

[valadil]

No, that wouldn't work. For example, you piss me off, so I go around, under a fake account and spam report until I close down your threads and posts. The fake account gets deleted and my vengeance is slated till someone else draws my ire.

Yeah, it's not perfect. But spammers can already make fake accounts and post stuff to their heart's content.

Auto moderation would probably need some sort of actual moderation on top of it. Like, any time a post got automodded, the mods would see it and be able to put it back into circulation. I'm sure there would be some false positives, but I think it would be better than the current situation of waiting for a mod to come online.

[Thufir]

Perhaps one that shows a smiley of a character from the comic, and then makes you type their name.

Not everyone on the forums reads the comic, I believe. Also, not everyone who reads the comics can correctly spell the characters' names.

[Hell Puppi]

Yeah.... I know I can't.

Not that most people compare to my epic brand of misspellings and nick-naming.

[Rawhide]

If it is in any way human-assisted, we don't have a hope in hell of stopping it.

Shadic: That is one of the methods we are investigating. Still won't stop a human assisted bot or human spammer however.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Known flaw. Bypass that one.
Oh, so then we just make that exception list that can never be sufficiently exhaustive anyway? The **** Grayson example is just the most common and easist to think of one. There'll be plenty more exceptions.


The spammers don't seem to be going for it anyway.
They will once they realize there are exceptions to the rules that are blocking their wares.


Not everyone on the forums reads the comic, I believe. Also, not everyone who reads the comics can correctly spell the characters' names.
Solve both problems with a link to the Cast Page? :smalltongue:

[GoC]

The **** Grayson example is just the most common and easist to think of one. There'll be plenty more exceptions.

:smallbiggrin:

[The Tygre]

This latest one didn't even have coherent message with it. I take back that entire 'they might be learning through adaptation' thing I said earlier.

[Charity]

I just have to say this. Charity - you are epic. (Well, at least your thread derails are.) If we weren't both married, I might actually propose..

Aw shucks :smallredface:


My answers are:
1. Monstera deliciosa
2. Durian (I developed a taste for that in Indonesia. It is a seriously delicious fruit. Also, 'manly'. Like the pomelo, it is a fruit I could imagine being used as a murder weapon.)
3. Jackfruit
4. Pepino melon

The Dish is brim full of Winsauce.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

:smallbiggrin:
So we're expecting the newbies to know how to circumvent the filter too?

[Zherog]

Or that they're allowed to?

[Charity]

It's time for the obligatory double entendre based on the thread title.

Phew, you know you're right this pron really is tiring...

[Haruki-kun]

It's time for the obligatory double entendre based on the thread title.

Phew, you know you're right this pron really is tiring...

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t288/Vaarsuvius89/rimshot.jpg

I have a general question regarding all this. If Spam is as illegal as the other thread made it sound, can't the site track down the spammer's IP and then report them to the authorities or something?

[afroakuma]

IP maskers and switchers make it essentially impossible in this day and age.

[Lady Tialait]

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t288/Vaarsuvius89/rimshot.jpg

I have a general question regarding all this. If Spam is as illegal as the other thread made it sound, can't the site track down the spammer's IP and then report them to the authorities or something?

We should send this guy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmQFcVR6vEs) after them.


Also, I would like to suggest one thing:

Perhaps getting a few more Mods? I mean, if part of the problem is that MODs can't be online at all times, then more Mods would help with that.

I can understand that this is sometimes not the best thing in the world. But, it would help with the problem a little bit. That is if Mr. Burlew knows anyone he would trust to do the job.

[Dallas-Dakota]

Also I don´t think there´s currently a mod in in GMT or GMT+1.

[Manachu Boy]

Creepy evil fruit... (breadfruit???)

Durian?

Foul-looking fungus fruit?

Asian thing-berry?

It is more qualified, though. The Captcha could be an image of a woman, and ask for three adjectives that suitably describe "this." "Pretty," "blonde," "female" would all qualify, while gibberish or "blue" or "ugly" would be rewarded with a screen asking them to take it seriously.

Or shuffle it up: ask for a verb decribing the picture. No bot could pull "talking" out of an image of two joggers with their mouths open. Nor "walking" or "running" nor "jogging," for that matter. Something that requires interpretation of both question and data, but has flexible answers.

Way too hard to do, describing things can be very subjective. In your first example what if I genuinely don't have the same tastes as whoever's programmed the Captcha and think what they find pretty is 'pretty' in a 'pretty hideous' sense? In the second one wouldn't you need a giant list of every possible adjective that could be used to descibe the picture? Person a could see the pic and put 'jogging', person b could see the pic and put 'hot' if they thought the joggers were good looking etc, etc. Either scenario you're almost certainly going to be blocking off anyone who doesn't think the same way as whoever came up with the allowed terms.

Honestly, the way spambots and human-driven spam (and that is a bigger problem than a lot of people realise) work the only possible way to keep on top of it is to pounce on it hard when it happens. =/

[Greep]

I quote Monty Python.

I think auto-bans are a really bad idea. I sort of prefer the lotsanewthreads angle, but mostly I don't think a few annoying threads every now and then - or even a dozen a day - are worth so much bother, and potential for driving away potential newbies.

Well if you have it be pretty high, like containing at least 5 banned words in their first post (as most spam would), it wouldn't catch any newbies, period, unless they were blatantly flaming (in which case honestly who cares).

[teratorn]

Well, porn works, I had to check this thread to see what it was about...


I just have to say this. Charity - you are epic. (Well, at least your thread derails are.) If we weren't both married, I might actually propose.

My answers are:
1. Monstera deliciosa


I truly suggest this to people (a ripe one is yellow). It's awesome.



2. Durian (I developed a taste for that in Indonesia. It is a seriously delicious fruit.

Ughh, but the smell... it's like eating the best dessert you can imagine with a sock used for months and never washed attached to your nose.

[skywalker]

Well if you have it be pretty high, like containing at least 5 banned words in their first post (as most spam would), it wouldn't catch any newbies, period, unless they were blatantly flaming (in which case honestly who cares).

I think they're misspelling the likely banned words on purpose to stay away from this occurring.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Or that they're allowed to?
When discussing things like Batman or Mary Poppins, the mods generally allow the circumvention. Enforcement on the rule is context-sensitive that way.

[wootage]

If it is in any way human-assisted, we don't have a hope in hell of stopping it.

Shadic: That is one of the methods we are investigating. Still won't stop a human assisted bot or human spammer however.

Fortunately, humans require more pay than computers, so the key to beating them is to make their activity unprofitable on your site. Don't be discouraged, keep removing their spam, and you'll win.

[Stormthorn]

Yeah, this is spam of the WORST KIND. It doesn't even have to do with the subject matter of this forum!

I mean, get it together, guys. Come up with some elf-on-orc-on-gibbering-mouther pr0n, THEN call us back.


You realize that that would quickly turn into Gibbering Mouther-on-Gibbering Mouther-on-Gibbering Mouther?

Bah, i dont mind porn and if for some reason i dont want to look at it i just do go into suspicous threads.


Fortunately, humans require more pay than computers, so the key to beating them is to make their activity unprofitable on your site. Don't be discouraged, keep removing their spam, and you'll win.

But those poor people might NEED that money!
I actualy briefly had and considered the oppertunity to do similar work for a porn company. If you dont have a job its a mighty tempting offer.

[afroakuma]

What about this: Let a user post a thread in Board Issues with the title "******* has been reported" or something, to let people know that the threads are spam/porn and that the mods have already been notified. If people abuse it by going after legit users, then warning/infraction.

Really though, any new user who starts three or more threads in ten minutes in their first half-hour of registration could stand to have their account and all such threads suspended for a spam check in any event. How many legit new users are going to start three new threads within ten minutes out of their first 30?

Kudos to the mods for getting this guy already. Fast work. :smallcool:

[Jack Squat]

What about this: Let a user post a thread in Board Issues with the title "******* has been reported" or something, to let people know that the threads are spam/porn and that the mods have already been notified. If people abuse it by going after legit users, then warning/infraction.

I think threads so elequently titled as "punk girls sex movies girl seks videolar" are easily identified as porn, but that may just be me :smallwink:

I don't see a purpose in someone saying "Hey, I reported this". IIRC, when a thread gets reported, a notification pops up for mods (dunno if it's in their secret lair, the mod-cave, but I'm going to assume so), and then each subsequent report of that post/thread gets indexed under that one, so it's organized, rather than it being arranged like a bunch of post-it's stuck randomly around a room.

I agree with the idea that repeatedly abusing the report feature should earn an infraction, but I'm pretty sure that the rules can't be changed via Parliamentary Procedure. On the off chance that they are, though, I second the motion.

[afroakuma]

I think threads so elequently titled as "punk girls sex movies girl seks videolar" are easily identified as porn, but that may just be me :smallwink:

Yeah, but recently I've been seeing relatively new posters going in and commenting on how inappropriate X thread is, or how they hope the mods will deal with it soon, which is A) going to get them a warning and B) going to bump it back to the top.


I don't see a purpose in someone saying "Hey, I reported this".

One person takes the punch so others don't have to. Also to know who to ignore. Hence the point about not shouting about other people who you've reported.

I much prefer the other idea, though; auto-suspends with a reasonable notice can be tolerated by someone who randomly fulfilled the rather unlikely terms needed to hit it, and it's not an auto-ban. Spambot would fail, though.

[Haruki-kun]

Yeah, but recently I've been seeing relatively new posters going in and commenting on how inappropriate X thread is, or how they hope the mods will deal with it soon, which is A) going to get them a warning and B) going to bump it back to the top.



One person takes the punch so others don't have to. Also to know who to ignore. Hence the point about not shouting about other people who you've reported.

I much prefer the other idea, though; auto-suspends with a reasonable notice can be tolerated by someone who randomly fulfilled the rather unlikely terms needed to hit it, and it's not an auto-ban. Spambot would fail, though.

1) I sincerely doubt anyone will be coming to Board Issues every so often to check if any new thread is porn.

2) Even if they don't, I honestly think the titles are self explanatory.

[Zherog]

When discussing things like Batman or Mary Poppins, the mods generally allow the circumvention. Enforcement on the rule is context-sensitive that way.

Yes, I know. But my point was that new people will not know.

[Charity]

I often wonder why Richard jnr is in the bumper book of banned words it's about the mildest swear I can think of... though that may say more about me than anything else...


Yes, I know. But my point was that new people will not know.


Lets go shout it from the rooftops!

[Ashen Lilies]

And they have begun to strike again. :smallsigh:

[Morty]

This time, the thread names begin with something innocent and end in... well, porn. Do they really think they can fool anyone?:smallconfused:

[Ashen Lilies]

:eek:
That was... fast. Grats to the mod squad.

[Mauve Shirt]

This is ridiculous. We used to get spam that was NOT porn, now it's every single spam thread.
Any spam is bad, of course, but this new porn fad among bots is pretty distressing. :smallsigh:

[wootage]

But those poor people might NEED that money!
I actualy briefly had and considered the oppertunity to do similar work for a porn company. If you dont have a job its a mighty tempting offer.

Try tempting yourself with a job offer for a business that actually produces something useful. That way you:
a) will be working with people who don't regard other humans as things to be manipulated for their sick enjoyment. Just because you're not in the pictures doesn't mean those people will treat you any differently.
b) won't be getting slime all over your future
c) and won't be risking having all of your computer equipment confiscated as part of a legal action. We are no longer anonymous on the Internet, you know - through legal means, you can absolutely haul someone into court to answer for their actions.

[Skippy]

We are no longer anonymous on the Internet

Anon is legion. Anon never forgives, Anon never forgets [/4chan]

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Yes, I know. But my point was that new people will not know.
Yeah, misunderstood what you were getting at. I thought you had been in some of the threads where the exception to the "No circumventing the filter thread" bit was formally addressed. But I misread that anyway.

Yeah, that's the point here. We can't expect the newbies to know anything that's not explicitly called out in the rules. And it's probably a good idea not to call this particular exception out anyway. If the newbies do get in discussions where circumvention is justified, they'll find out about it soon enough.

[Zherog]

Yeah, misunderstood what you were getting at.

No sweat. :smallsmile:

I really don't think this is something that's worth adding extra code to the registration process over. If the spammer jerks think this forum is worth their time, they'll bypass whatever gets put in place. As I understand it, in a lot of cases, they aren't even counting on a small fraction of click-throughs. Instead, they're simply trying to maximize their position on Google searches by posting links.

Just ignore the threads; it's not like they don't stick out as being highly inappropriate.

[Haven]

In Webcomics, some bot posted an ad for a "babepsi", which is apparently pepsi combined with...babies...or something. It didn't have any images, but it was still spam.

So I think our solution should be this: You can't post until you've made ten posts. Let's see spambots get around that!

[afroakuma]

ANNNNNND here we go again.

Seriously, does anyone see a flaw in the 3/10/30 suspension thing? Because at this point I'm thinking it would be more than fair.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

And here we go again! Spammer in the playground. I've already reported one thread, but others are already popping up.

:smallsigh:

[The Rose Dragon]

This is the third wave just today, isn't it?

Man, they are really persistent.

[Crispy Dave]

maybe a waiting period for new users on starting threads?

[afroakuma]

maybe a waiting period for new users on starting threads?

Well, that was my basic idea: if you start three threads within ten of your first thirty minutes, all three, as well as your account, are immediately suspended (not banned) for a mod to review. Very few (if any) legitimate users would even have to deal with the suspension, but a spammer would be reduced to making a minimal mess (and more often than not would put their foot in their own face and lose all their threads.) You could even suspend just the new thread privilege and leave the posting privilege; spammers are more likely to give up or be banned before they get wise.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

maybe a waiting period for new users on starting threads?

I like this idea. 24-48 hours, PLUS a mandatory reading of the most common "theory threads." This way we can reduce the countless "V is a guy/girl because random NPC #47 said him/her when speaking about V" or "I think the MitD is the Snarl" as well as slowing down and frustrating the spammers.

Unfortunately, legitimate newbies might not feel as welcome as they should be. We were all new once, and if I had to wait to say something, I might not have bothered to come back and say it later...

[Iku Rex]

From the rules (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/announcement.php?f=25&a=1):


Responding to Spam
If you see a Spam post, please Report it. DO NOT respond to it, even if your response is "This is spam!" or a similar variation. All this does is draw attention to the thread, furthering the spammer's goals, and potentially make it more difficult for a Moderator to correct the problem; it does not in any way help.

This needs to be emphasized more. A lot of spam threads get bumped by idiots trying to "help" by scolding the spambots.

[Weimann]

There's one in the board game board.

It amuses me that it included the word elephant in the title. Sure, it's the Internet, but still.

[Innis Cabal]

Can't you all just...ignore it and let the mods do their jobs? Is that really so hard? Who cares, they are winning if their getting to you.

[Mr. Mud]

Can't you all just...ignore it and let the mods do their jobs? Is that really so hard? Who cares, they are winning if their getting to you.

Agreed. We're shedding more light on this then we ought to... Let's just leave it be, and hope it sinks down to the bottom of the pages :smallannoyed:. Albeit, it is getting rather annoying.

[Rutskarn]

Can't you all just...ignore it and let the mods do their jobs? Is that really so hard? Who cares, they are winning if their getting to you.

Technically, they're winning if we're infected with spyware and fund their efforts.

But yeah, let's ignore them.

[jogiff]

I don't think I've ever seen porn on this site? Where can I find it?

[dish]

I don't think I've ever seen porn on this site? Where can I find it?

Well, there's this epic battle going on between our mods and the spammers. You don't see the porn because our divinely*-appointed mods are zealous in their pursuit of truth, goodness, and a family-friendly forum.

* Rich-appointed, at least.

[Rutskarn]

I don't think I've ever seen porn on this site? Where can I find it?

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume this is just a poorly worded statement.

Long story short: in theory, you don't.

[Haruki-kun]

Who cares, they are winning if their getting to you.

They're not trolls, they're spambots. And this isn't an elementary school where councilors remind us to "just ignore them and they'll go away".

The fact of the matter is that they're not going away, so we're just trying to figure out a way to stop it. We might not be admins, but this is like our home too, and we feel the need to protect it.

[Dallas-Dakota]

The fact of the matter is that they're not going away, so we're just trying to figure out a way to stop it. We might not be admins, but this is like our home too, and we feel the need to protect it.
This.

This is 100% truth, if not more.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

The fact of the matter is that they're not going away, so we're just trying to figure out a way to stop it. We might not be admins, but this is like our home too, and we feel the need to protect it.
Exactly.

And talking about it helps remind everyone of the proper "Report, don't respond to it" response and all those other details, too.

[stabbybelkar]

is anyone else tired of the inappropriate content of some of these posts?

I'll admit that this might be due to simple nieveity on my part, but what aleded "porn" are you talking about?:smallconfused:

[FatJose]

I'll admit that this might be due to simple nieveity on my part, but what aleded "porn" are you talking about?:smallconfused:

Theres a bad case of PornAd bombing on this site. Robot accounts being made that just post walls of porn links and pics

[Shhalahr Windrider]

It's part of the Mods' jobs to make sure you don't see it. So if you aren't seeing it, all is as it should be.

[Innis Cabal]

They're not trolls, they're spambots. And this isn't an elementary school where councilors remind us to "just ignore them and they'll go away".

The fact of the matter is that they're not going away, so we're just trying to figure out a way to stop it. We might not be admins, but this is like our home too, and we feel the need to protect it.

Thats all well and good. But there are mods. Let them handle it and ignore it. Giving it more coverage dosn't actually help anything.

[Mystic Muse]

Theres a bad case of PornAd bombing on this site. Robot accounts being made that just post walls of porn links and pics

have no idea why but I'm curious.RL human, animated or some third option I don't want to know about?

[Zherog]

have no idea why but I'm curious.RL human, animated or some third option I don't want to know about?

If I had to guess, I'd say RL human who is being paid to spam.

[The Rose Dragon]

If I had to guess, I'd say RL human who is being paid to spam.

I think he was asking about the content of the pornographic material.

[Douglas]

I've reported at least 3 or 4 of the posts myself, and the pics were all RL human.

[H. Zee]

:smallsigh: Does it really matter what type of porn it is? It's porn. It doesn't belong in GitP. Get rid of it. That's all anyone need know.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Unless I missed something, it looks like we had a porn free weekend. I guess the spammers were off enjoying the Memorial Day Holiday!

Good Job to the moderators if they were able to stop the porn before it got out of hand.

[Haruki-kun]

Unless I missed something, it looks like we had a porn free weekend. I guess the spammers were off enjoying the Memorial Day Holiday!

Good Job to the moderators if they were able to stop the porn before it got out of hand.

It does look like there wasn't any... Maybe it's over?

[evnafets]

It does look like there wasn't any... Maybe it's over?

It will never be over. The Internet is for porn (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhTxRssxfuI) (note that the previous link is safe for work, and contains no pornography as far as I am aware)

[Alarra]

We've put in some new anti-spam thing (yes...that's the technical term for it :smallwink:) which appears to have fixed the problem. *knocks on wood*

[Lerky]

whoa, 7 pages? Giggity.

anyway, seriously, who has seen inappropriate content on this site? I haven't seen one lick of it...yet:smallconfused:

[Shhalahr Windrider]

anyway, seriously, who has seen inappropriate content on this site? I haven't seen one lick of it...yet:smallconfused:
As mentioned (several times) above, if you aren't seeing it, then all is as it should be. The point is that it is getting removed.

[Rawhide]

We've put in some new anti-spam thing (yes...that's the technical term for it :smallwink:) which appears to have fixed the problem. *knocks on wood*

Only until such time as the bots target this site specifically and/or a human or human assisted bot targets it.

[bluewind95]

*hugs and loves all the mods and admins*

[Haruki-kun]

We've put in some new anti-spam thing (yes...that's the technical term for it :smallwink:) which appears to have fixed the problem. *knocks on wood*

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll190/Haruki-san/Emotes/andthatsthat.png

....I hope. :smallbiggrin:

[Skippy]

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll190/Haruki-san/Emotes/andthatsthat.png

....I hope. :smallbiggrin:

OR IS IT???

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN...

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Only until such time as the bots target this site specifically and/or a human or human assisted bot targets it.
You just wanna spoil all our fun! :smalltongue:

[Rawhide]

You just wanna spoil all our fun! :smalltongue:

No, I'm just being a realist.

[RabbitHoleLost]

*hugs and loves all the mods and admins*

Ditto this.
You people are awesome <3

[Shhalahr Windrider]

No, I'm just being a realist.
Like I said, you wanna spoil our fun. Nothing spoils fun like a dose of realism. :smallamused:

[daggaz]

lol, trust me i know about computers lol i run 3 different up to date virus scans a day. but i clicked the report button and it jumped right to that site, thats what happened i have no reason to lie.

Hate to say it but this right here says you dont know too much about computers, or at least, about antivirus programs.

That they will report eachother is the very least of your worries. Antivirus programs actively block other antivirus programs from scanning correctly. Its part of the whole anti-virus protection. Running AVG and Norton simultaneously, for example, leaves whole swaths of your computer completely UNSCANNED as these programs are entirely incompatible.

There are other issues as well which can lead to serious problems with your OS.

Pick one antivirus scanner, stick to it, and remove all the others. If you dont believe me, go to any anti-virus message board and ask a mod.

[FerhagoRosewood]

Gotta say, out of context of the whole situation, this thread title is quite humorous.