What's the latest SPAM game?

[jeff9366]

9/13/2018

I reported five SPAM posts reported between 12:00 Midnight and 3:00 AM.

Others reported additional SPAM.

 

[oosik]

I just reported a SPAM post about half an hour ago.

 

[Diggin It]

Most of the ones he sees and reports are between those hours because, contrary to popular belief, most of the moderators are normal people that sleep during those hours. :laughing: The spam comes in at a lot of different times during the day, and TBN members report them all day long, from what I've seen. But, yes, a lot of it comes in at the wee hours of the morning.

That's why I suggested : https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/news-feedback/401326-overnight-mods.html

 

[majorwager]

There really is no harm if the spam is up during overnights while normal folks are at rest. The moderators react early enough in AM. If someone is working overnights, they would be UP but how would they have time to play on TBN.? Also doubt moderators are paid and if so likely minor compensation, free headware or tee shirt?

Headcount: how many members are reading spam at 3 AM??? Get a life OR so the adage goes !!

 

[JohnBuffaloMN]

I used to run a forum - uggh.

The problem with up front requirements is you'd probably get about 5% of those who would have signed up without the requirements. There is another forum that I tried to sign up for before this one, and it was so hard to get in that I came here instead. Lucky you guys!! ;-) That forum (going unnamed) acted like *I* was a spammer. That's not how you invite new users!

The owner of this forum is making some kind of stipend or wouldn't be doing it. Thanks for keeping the SPAM down, but I understand the challenge and just don't open those obvious SPAM posts.

 

[mikester]

Thanks for that, it makes a bizarre kind of sense.

TBN admin has tried the 'can't post links'/'can't post pictures' until so many posts for new members, in the past few years. This was a response to the SPAM-game of the day.

I have taken to scrutinising some New Member Introduction threads, where the information/text is minimal and a number of other "Posts:" appear. A quick review of their account typically shows 3-4 rapid threads/posts... sort of a shotgun approach to try and get a click or page view, I suppose. I report those too, with a caveat to the mod/admin that it looks dodgy/suspicious, and leave it up to their discretion on how to deal with it.

They are tricky and hide their referrer links well - usually provide the link back in the user's profile and not the article. That way every post of their's links back to their website indirectly.

If there is a way to flag new users posting web links in their profiles for approval you can quickly blacklist their accounts. Usually these guys link back to SEO search optimization websites...how's that for irony...

You can be really draconian and start blacklisting posters by country IP but you will start losing customers in Africa, Asia and Eastern Block countries. Do you get a lot of TBN users in Ivory Coast? ;-)

 

[mikester]

There really is no harm if the spam is up during overnights while normal folks are at rest. The moderators react early enough in AM. If someone is working overnights, they would be UP but how would they have time to play on TBN.? Also doubt moderators are paid and if so likely minor compensation, free headware or tee shirt?

Headcount: how many members are reading spam at 3 AM??? Get a life OR so the adage goes !!

Sorry I disagree. I think there is a huge, unrecognized financial cost from SPAM for businesses in lost time dealing with SPAM either tying up phone lines with SPAM faxes, or robot callers claiming to be google calling to promote your business, or even filtering emails for SPAM and trojans. Enough SPAM on a forum will kill the forum because users end up getting frustrated wading and trying to differentiate between SPAM and real posts. Do you have a firewall or anti-virus program at home? If so you too are a financial victim of SPAMMERS.

 

[JohnBuffaloMN]

SNIP

If there is a way to flag new users posting web links in their profiles for approval you can quickly blacklist their accounts. Usually these guys link back to SEO search optimization websites...how's that for irony...

You can be really draconian and start blacklisting posters by country IP but you will start losing customers in Africa, Asia and Eastern Block countries. Do you get a lot of TBN users in Ivory Coast? ;-)

And those who come here legitimately to share knowledge (and websites) will just go away quietly. They (spammers) will often be patient as well. Posting a couple lame posts and lying in wait. They've got nothing better to do, and it can be lucrative for those who are smart about it. I've got a friend who made a really nice living selling ads on his special interest website for a few years until Gooble suddenly changed the metrics and boom - no more income.

 

[newbury]

Most of the ones he sees and reports are between those hours because, contrary to popular belief, most of the moderators are normal people that sleep during those hours. :laughing: The spam comes in at a lot of different times during the day, and TBN members report them all day long, from what I've seen. But, yes, a lot of it comes in at the wee hours of the morning.

So you are inferring that those of us awake ON THIS PLANET between WHAT hours are not normal people? Just in CONUS we've got 3 time zones, so Jeff's "midnight" is 9 pm on the west coast.

There really is no harm if the spam is up during overnights while normal folks are at rest. The moderators react early enough in AM. If someone is working overnights, they would be UP but how would they have time to play on TBN.? Also doubt moderators are paid and if so likely minor compensation, free headware or tee shirt?

Headcount: how many members are reading spam at 3 AM??? Get a life OR so the adage goes !!

Like I wrote - what's 3 AM? what time zone? I've been reading TBN in places from Serbia to Korea.

Ad as far as I can tell there is REALLY no harm with the spam other than taking up bandwidth, user names, and screen space. I treat spam like litter on the street. I might pick it up and put it in the trash can (report it) but it generally doesn't hurt me..

 

[MossRoad]

So you are inferring that those of us awake ON THIS PLANET between WHAT hours are not normal people? Just in CONUS we've got 3 time zones, so Jeff's "midnight" is 9 pm on the west coast.


Like I wrote - what's 3 AM? what time zone? I've been reading TBN in places from Serbia to Korea.

Ad as far as I can tell there is REALLY no harm with the spam other than taking up bandwidth, user names, and screen space. I treat spam like litter on the street. I might pick it up and put it in the trash can (report it) but it generally doesn't hurt me..

Bandwidth? You're dating yourself. :laughing:

 

[Diggin It]

Bandwidth? You're dating yourself. :laughing:

Lots or rural people are currently on satellite or cell type services that meter bandwidth. And unfortunately, all too many are still left with dial-up as their only option.

 

[oosik]

You are absolutely right - Diggin it. My internet provider is HughesNet and they DEFINITELY meter my bandwidth. Out here its either HughesNet or smoke signals. I DO NOT have a land line of any kind. Same with TV - Dish. Telephone is cell - when it works.

 

[Wagtail]

They are tricky and hide their referrer links well - usually provide the link back in the user's profile and not the article. That way every post of their's links back to their website indirectly.

If there is a way to flag new users posting web links in their profiles for approval you can quickly blacklist their accounts. Usually these guys link back to SEO search optimization websites...how's that for irony...

You can be really draconian and start blacklisting posters by country IP but you will start losing customers in Africa, Asia and Eastern Block countries. Do you get a lot of TBN users in Ivory Coast? ;-)

Ta for the further information... from one of the abnormal people who aren't a-bed whilst the normal moderators are sleeping. (14hrs ahead of EDT)

 

[California]

Yep, in a post in the kubota forums, it got auto-linked to Kubota's website. So it's probably something selective and advertising based, and arranged through the owners of TBN.

IT'S NOT MALWARE!]

It's not quite malware but for a while my ISP didn't like some intermediate service that diverted any mention of Harbor Freight on TBN. Apparently so that the mention (not link) could be counted for affiliate marketing rewards or something. For a few days I got scary full screen blood-red warnings of doom - generated at my ISP - while that diversionary service remained on somebody's blacklist. Apparently in some other context they had served malware instead of, or along with, allowing a link to reach its apparent destination.

Typing kubota anywhere on TBN becomes a link in my experience. Let's see if this one does.

Update: The first mention of kubota - in the post I cited above - is a link. As you said, subsequent use of the word does not become a link.

 

[4570Man]

I haven’t noticed the Kubota link thing. Maybe it doesn’t happen on iPhones. Edit. I just viewed the site from a computer and quickly found several Kubota links which link to the Kubota website.

 

[California]

Re spammers - On a smaller VB site where I'm a moderator we asked new members to put something related to the site focus, in their mandatory About Me part of the signup. Similar to responding to a captcha.

I think that blocked some bots. And in reviewing questionable posts we found some real nonsense in the About Me's - sufficient to conclude that the 'new member' was some boiler room operation. Plonk!

 

[4570Man]

So I just thought of this. Wouldn’t limiting the word count in the title for new members make their game useless. All the ones I’ve seen have a fairly long website “link” in the title.

 

[newbury]

So I just thought of this. Wouldn稚 limiting the word count in the title for new members make their game useless. All the ones I致e seen have a fairly long website 斗ink in the title.

Or character count? I just reported on this am that was 1 word, a link.

 

[4570Man]

Or character count? I just reported on this am that was 1 word, a link.

Every one I’ve seen from the last couple weeks has been a 1 word dead link. I think if you prevent that you ruin their game.

 

[RayfromTX]

We don't get nearly as much spam on the board I moderate on and it is similar in size. I'm not sure what we do that this site doesn't do but if we had as much as is being reported here we would go to war. I do notice that this site is showing 7,000 visitors right now which seems high. Our site only shows 1,000 guests. Member participation is similar and we have more threads and 50% more posts. We have about 20 new members per day. I'm not sure about this site. We use zenforo. I'm not sure about this site. @muhammad ?