A possible fix to spam links by new posters

aczlan · Dec 26, 2011

I joined the forum at http://androidforums.com and noticed that they dont allow new users to post pictures or links until they have a certain number of posts (dont know how many).
That might be something worth looking into to cut down on the number of spam links from new users.
I realize that it would hurt the users who have just joined and want to post a link to go along with their question, but it might cut down on the spam to not allow links until they have 4-5 posts.

Aaron Z

Scooby074 · Dec 27, 2011

I think its a good idea personally.

Some sites i go to set 20 posts minimum before signatures or links.

There is a new trend of posters posting somewhat coherent posts (posts make some sense, just dont jive with the thread) with links in their signature to get around being labeled as a spammer right away. It usually takes several days to figure them out, all the while the links in their signature are garnering hits. A minimum count would slow them down a bit.

two_bit_score · Dec 27, 2011

I haven't noticed this to be a problem. Any examples? Are you forced to click on any links?

bcp · Dec 27, 2011

No posting allowed until they have 10 posts.

Bruce

jmurray01 · Dec 27, 2011

bcp said:
No posting allowed until they have 10 posts.

Bruce

Yeah, I like it! :thumbsup:

aczlan · Dec 27, 2011

two_bit_score said:
I haven't noticed this to be a problem. Any examples? Are you forced to click on any links?

Someone will respond to a thread (often an old one) with a half coherent post that either includes a link to their Chinese/Russian spam site, or they put a link to it as their signature.
They get reported, the moderators delete them and their posts and things are back to normal, but it seems to me that preventing users from posting links for the first 4-5 posts would reduce the workload on the moderators.

I dont have any examples as they get reported/deleted pretty quickly, but I probbaly report 2-6 posts a week that are first time posters (under 5 posts) with spammy links.

Aaron Z

jmurray01 · Dec 27, 2011

aczlan said:
Someone will respond to a thread (often an old one) with a half coherent post that either includes a link to their Chinese/Russian spam site, or they put a link to it as their signature.
They get reported, the moderators delete them and their posts and things are back to normal, but it seems to me that preventing users from posting links for the first 4-5 posts would reduce the workload on the moderators.

I dont have any examples as they get reported/deleted pretty quickly, but I probbaly report 2-6 posts a week that are first time posters (under 5 posts) with spammy links.

Aaron Z

And that is what I love about here! I haven't seen a single spam post in the time I've been here.

I'm not having a dig at LMF or anything, but I'm just saying.

I agree that prevention is better than a cure, and spammers won't want to post 4-5 threads/replies before being able to advertise pornographic sites, so they simply won't.

radrock · Dec 27, 2011

I'm a newby. So here is another post to get me a little further up the list. Haha. I haven't experience any spam so I can't say that I know what your talking about. But hope everyone had a great Christmas!!!

Scooby074 · Dec 27, 2011

two_bit_score said:
I haven't noticed this to be a problem. Any examples? Are you forced to click on any links?

Nobody is forcing anyone to click on any links, but it does clutter up the forum and put extra workload on the mods.

Like Aaron I report a fair number of posts and they get dealt with quickly. Just more work for all involved.

There are a few examples of these new style spam posts still here on the forum (they were never reported). I came across several, but cant find them. If I see them again, ill post a link. When you read the thread, and the post, you'll notice that there is something just off a bit in the reply, or its a generic "Wow, thats cool" type thing.. Followed by a spam link either in the body of the post or the sig.