Pony99CA
03-26-2007, 08:14 PM
We get lots of link spamming here. I try to detect and delete spammers by employing several criteria before they can even post. However, in order to avoid incorrectly deleting real users, I have to err on the side of caution and give people the benefit of the doubt if it's not completely obvious they're a low-life scumbag spammer. Unfortunately, sometimes it's hard to tell who is a spammer and who is a real user, so I'm looking for ways to make it easier to detect real users -- and also to enhance the experience here.
By far the most important thing to do is to confirm your registration. We send an E-mail confirmation out when somebody registers, and if you don't visit the link in it, some features of the forums are disabled (like the ability to send and receive Private Messages).
In addition, I delete all users with no posts who haven't confirmed their registration after three weeks to cut down on the possibility of spammers registering without obnoxious Web sites and signatures at first and adding them later. You don't need to register to read the forums, so if you do register, join in the conversation.
Here are some other suggestions to make it more obvious that you're a real user.
Put your name in when you register. If you don't want to use your full name, at least put in your first name or a nickname (even if it's only your user name or a shorter version). Spammers rarely do this.
If you use a Windows Mobile device, list it in the Pocket PC/Smartphone section of the profile. Spammers almost never do this.
Set your time zone. This allows you to see post times relative to your area, and spammers usually either leave the default or choose a very unlikely time zone.
List your home town. If you don't want to be specific, list an area like a nearby city or your state (or whatever regions your country may have). I compare every new registration's IP address with its time zone as one indication of "spamminess", but IP addresses are often pretty generic. Your home location makes it easier to compare with your time zone.
If you follow these simple guidelines, it will make my life easier and make it easier to detect spammers.
If you've already registered but haven't done those four things, please do them anyway. It allows people to get to know you a little bit better, and won't hurt your privacy much (if you don't get too specific). Click on the User CP link, then click the Edit Options link to set your time zone and the Edit Profile link to edit the rest.
Thanks,
Steve
By far the most important thing to do is to confirm your registration. We send an E-mail confirmation out when somebody registers, and if you don't visit the link in it, some features of the forums are disabled (like the ability to send and receive Private Messages).
In addition, I delete all users with no posts who haven't confirmed their registration after three weeks to cut down on the possibility of spammers registering without obnoxious Web sites and signatures at first and adding them later. You don't need to register to read the forums, so if you do register, join in the conversation.
Here are some other suggestions to make it more obvious that you're a real user.
Put your name in when you register. If you don't want to use your full name, at least put in your first name or a nickname (even if it's only your user name or a shorter version). Spammers rarely do this.
If you use a Windows Mobile device, list it in the Pocket PC/Smartphone section of the profile. Spammers almost never do this.
Set your time zone. This allows you to see post times relative to your area, and spammers usually either leave the default or choose a very unlikely time zone.
List your home town. If you don't want to be specific, list an area like a nearby city or your state (or whatever regions your country may have). I compare every new registration's IP address with its time zone as one indication of "spamminess", but IP addresses are often pretty generic. Your home location makes it easier to compare with your time zone.
If you follow these simple guidelines, it will make my life easier and make it easier to detect spammers.
If you've already registered but haven't done those four things, please do them anyway. It allows people to get to know you a little bit better, and won't hurt your privacy much (if you don't get too specific). Click on the User CP link, then click the Edit Options link to set your time zone and the Edit Profile link to edit the rest.
Thanks,
Steve