The Introduction Thread

[Cobraroll]

Is it possible to take some steps to prevent the spambots from posting?

I.e. change some of our forum code slightly, to confuse them?
Yet better, a method used by another forum I visit: You can't post links, images or comments on the main site until you have at least 10 posts.
Or require members to be "approved" by another member before they can post links.

By the way, most of our spambots are probably there just to boost search engine ratings. They post once, and the links in their signatures are picked up by a search engine spider. I know it's a drastic step, but is there a way to replace the [url] tag?

[Jamaha]

I've tried different anti-spam mods, no luck so far.

[Ruto]

I say we just give someone an axe...


Then delete their posts and accounts >__>

[DrP]

have you tried catchpas?

[Ragster2448]

Now hang on, am I the spambot here? If I did something wrong, just tell me and I'll fix it. I really have no idea what a spambot is, actually.

[Saria]

Now hang on, am I the spambot here? If I did something wrong, just tell me and I'll fix it. I really have no idea what a spambot is, actually.

Spambots are people who sign in once and create advertisement posts. You aren't a spambot.

[Ruto]

Best solution:


@Ragster
Do a search for a stupid user name like "LadyPrecious" and read "her" only post here. That's a spambot.

Edit: Fixed gif url

[Ragster2448]

I really need to get to know all of this computer lingo. 

[Roz~]

Best solution:

HOHOHOHOHO YES. YEEEEEEEEESSSSSS.

[Cobraroll]

Spambots are people who sign in once and create advertisement posts. You aren't a spambot.

To elaborate, Spambots are usually automatic programs that set up an account in as many forums as possible, usually for advertising purposes.

Many spambots just posts a ton of links in as many topics as possible, usually starting their own topics just to spam. We had one on NSM last year, which flooded the Creativity Corner.

Other spambots are more modest, simply making a topic where they advertise some random crap. This is the most common kind of spambot on NSM.

The even more modest type of spambot, as can be seen in our Harry Potter topic over in Movies & TV, just makes a single vaguely on-topic post in an already existing thread.

Somewhere in the bot's signature or even profile page is a link to a site. The words in the link are often vague, such as "cheap used cars near LA" or "yoga therapy" or something. This is meant to be picked up by search engine scripts, so that if you search for "yoga therapy" on Google, the script will notice a lot of mentions of "yoga therapy" on several different sites, all leading to the same page. In short, the goal of the spambot is putting a link to its page on as many sites as possible, to generate higher rankings in a search engine search (i.e. getting the bot creator's yoga therapy site on the first page of a Google search).

Older bots aren't nearly as creative, but put ads of their site/product in comments sections on popular web sites, for example Cracked.com or large news sites, in order to get as many people as possible to read the advertisement. Those are the most obvious bots, and will often get deleted by mods quickly.

Hope my introduction to spambots was useful.

[Saria]

Stop being smarter than me.

[Winter]

HOHOHOHOHO YES. YEEEEEEEEESSSSSS.

Ofcourse Roz. ofcourse

[Roz~]

Inorite. ;o

[ETFROXX]

Hi, I'm Jordan, and I'm a Starbucks addict.

Oh. Not that kind of introduction, okay.

[SlowPokemon]

"I'm Jordan..."

"HI JORDAN"

"...and I am too friendly."

...ok now I really need to give this joke a rest.