Is is such a problem to moderate posts?
is it such a problem to stop spam by moderating user posts before publishing them of those who have below 10 post in total?
Obviously spammers and jokers are taking advantage of this hole, there are plenty of posters with just 1-3 posts whose only purpose is to register to forums, post a spam, and then disappear just to make fun of the forums or what ever their reason is.
I understand the site admin wants to be invisible, but surely there are plenty of normal people here willing to take part in moderation of forums if the admin does not have time to do this job on daily basis.
even without these spammers and joke focused idiots, moderator could help newcomers format their code and abide so whatever posting rules.
I'm sure anyone with above 1K posts could be given permission to immediately move junk posts to "spamboard" subforum. if you don't like to have moderators.
Obviously spammers and jokers are taking advantage of this hole, there are plenty of posters with just 1-3 posts whose only purpose is to register to forums, post a spam, and then disappear just to make fun of the forums or what ever their reason is.
I understand the site admin wants to be invisible, but surely there are plenty of normal people here willing to take part in moderation of forums if the admin does not have time to do this job on daily basis.
even without these spammers and joke focused idiots, moderator could help newcomers format their code and abide so whatever posting rules.
I'm sure anyone with above 1K posts could be given permission to immediately move junk posts to "spamboard" subforum. if you don't like to have moderators.
| I'm sure anyone with above 1K posts could be given permission to immediately move junk posts to "spamboard" subforum. if you don't like to have moderators. |
We already do have the power to delete messages by very-low-count users, when we think they're spam. You would be seeing a lot more spam if we didn't!
As for the rest of your message, yes, that all sounds very reasonable, but you're talking to the wrong people.
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| We already do have the power to delete messages by very-low-count users |
Ah OK that's great, I used this option only once, and I probably thought this only hides a message for my self..
thanks for letting me know!
So it's possible that those disappering spammers do not really disappear as it looks like, but instead are being removed by other users?
if so it's interesting because now other people who replied to spam post make spam thread a live.
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One of the reason why people reply to spam posts is some of the spammers are being less obvious. They are copy'n'pasting what looks like legitimate questions so they can later edit a post to add spam links.
nothing really works if they are determined.
need 10 posts to have links? Now you get 10 gibberish posts + the spam post, and 10 times the problems. AI driven link removal kinda works but they have ways to mask links to fool it, at least some of the time. User moderation works to a degree, but it is abused (a couple of people have offended someone and every post is reported even if nothing wrong with it) and does not work when there are replies.
Every site is a mess these days. Even 'news' sites have virus laden external spam links on their pages. Many hobby pages have scams and spams and virus etc.
need 10 posts to have links? Now you get 10 gibberish posts + the spam post, and 10 times the problems. AI driven link removal kinda works but they have ways to mask links to fool it, at least some of the time. User moderation works to a degree, but it is abused (a couple of people have offended someone and every post is reported even if nothing wrong with it) and does not work when there are replies.
Every site is a mess these days. Even 'news' sites have virus laden external spam links on their pages. Many hobby pages have scams and spams and virus etc.
| MikeyBoy wrote: |
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| That's why you shouldn't reply to spammers. |
Lately spammers have been using a stealth method to spam. Copy'n'paste a question/topic from another site, reddit seems to be popular. The topic looks legit without looking around the interwebz.
Later the spammer edits the post and adds links.
Now, are we to not reply to low count posters, who are real - not link spammers, with posts that look similar? It is a judgement call. Made by flawed human beings.
We also have an on-going problem with online competition sites and people wanting to cheat here. Though not as bad as it used to be.
Do we really want to be a site like SO that is run like a prison camp with rule wardens eager to enforce "the rules" for what they see is the slightest infraction?
| malibor wrote: |
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| So it's possible that those disappering {sic} spammers do not really disappear as it looks like, but instead are being removed by other users? |
That is very possible. Apparently some regulars have a lower level of tolerance for BS posts than others do.
The user-moderation we have at present does a decent job of keeping the spam/troll chaos less of a problem than it could be.
| Do we really want to be a site like SO that is run like a prison camp with rule wardens eager to enforce "the rules" for what they see is the slightest infraction? |
I don't think we should be like SO(*), but my preference would be for a little more active moderation, to make this place a little friendlier. I think we're good at getting rid of spam and disruptive new users, but I wouldn't mind some more active moderation regarding posters who've passed the auto-deletion stage of their posting career.
I'm also a fan of transparent moderation - i.e. moderation that happens out in the open so that it's clear when it's happening, to whom it's happening, and why it's happening.
Obviously, for active moderation, we'd need active moderators, which we don't have, so it's all moot.
(*) I have no problem with SO. The people running it have a firm idea of what they want it to be, and are doing what they think is best to achieve that. It's a fantastic resource, and pro-actively keeping the signal-to-noise ratio high is a big part of making that way.
Obviously, this forum is a very different kind of resource, and it would help nobody to try and moderate it like SO.
| That is very possible. Apparently some regulars have a lower level of tolerance for BS posts than others do. |
FTR, I tend to repost posts that I believe deserve reporting; that is, posts which I'd like to bring to the mods' attention. If it happens that the user has a low enough post count that their post gets autodeleted, then that's a side-effect that admin has decided to build into the system, and it's for the admin to decide whether that's a good or bad side-effect.
I don't report posts maliciously or frivolously, and I certainly don't go looking to delete posts for no good reason.
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| a little more active moderation |
The amount, of course, is open to interpretation. Good and bad.
The thing is this site is what the admin wants. Either through action or inaction.
I simply use it, to help answer questions and ask my own.
| transparent moderation |
That would slow down the "fit of rage/I don't like you" reporting that sometimes happens. Sadly that would require more hands on from the admin. Even if it means the low level task of appointing trusted user moderators.
Currently we have to put up with "orphan" posts from time to time. Being more accessible to newbies overall is a good thing.
SO has its place, though being a newbie-friendly site isn't on their to-do list. CPlusPlus tries to be, and for the most part succeeds.
Heh, looks like some one is having a hissy fit.
I have my suspicions who. If they did this it would simply confirm my opinion of their "troll here" status.
I have my suspicions who. If they did this it would simply confirm my opinion of their "troll here" status.
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I have a somewhat more cynical view. A few years back someone admitted to having hundreds of user names to troll us with. That person is still with us IMO.
Even more cynical I can perhaps guess at a motivation: site traffic. Who wants to advertise on a site that is heavily moderated and only gets 1 C++ post per day? There is another cpp forum which fits that description. Site traffic means added value to the website.
The trolling / spam is not all that obvious, sometimes it is hard to tell a real beginner with no idea, from a troll.
The reposts from reddit and codechef are just another way of increasing traffic. We also seem to have the same old questions recycled over & over for years. This is one of the reasons why SO is the way it is. Here we also have questions which ask about some quirk or alternative way of doing something in c++, sometimes the trolls are quite imaginative in coming up with these ideas. The trolls have all kinds of strategies to lure people into answering.
In short, IMO we have very few questions which are genuine. Perhaps those are the ones who take on board the advice given to them, ask a proper question, say what they have done to solve the problem, and are thankful for the advice.
On the flip side we do have some very knowledgeable people from which I have learnt a great deal in the last few years.
Even more cynical I can perhaps guess at a motivation: site traffic. Who wants to advertise on a site that is heavily moderated and only gets 1 C++ post per day? There is another cpp forum which fits that description. Site traffic means added value to the website.
The trolling / spam is not all that obvious, sometimes it is hard to tell a real beginner with no idea, from a troll.
The reposts from reddit and codechef are just another way of increasing traffic. We also seem to have the same old questions recycled over & over for years. This is one of the reasons why SO is the way it is. Here we also have questions which ask about some quirk or alternative way of doing something in c++, sometimes the trolls are quite imaginative in coming up with these ideas. The trolls have all kinds of strategies to lure people into answering.
In short, IMO we have very few questions which are genuine. Perhaps those are the ones who take on board the advice given to them, ask a proper question, say what they have done to solve the problem, and are thankful for the advice.
On the flip side we do have some very knowledgeable people from which I have learnt a great deal in the last few years.
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