http://hexwiki.com/w/index.php?title=Managing_Forum_Spammers&feed=atom&action=historyManaging Forum Spammers - Revision history2024-03-29T08:24:40ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.35.7http://hexwiki.com/w/index.php?title=Managing_Forum_Spammers&diff=287&oldid=prevVekseid at 16:00, 18 December 20142014-12-18T16:00:07Z<p></p>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Note that this requires a forum with proper access controls, and may be tricky with e.g. Drupal.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Note that this requires a forum with proper access controls, and may be tricky with e.g. Drupal.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">On a similar note, making sure newer members by some measure (whether through time, status, or post count) are not able to post links is also extremely helpful.</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>== Stop Forum Spam ==</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>== Stop Forum Spam ==</div></td></tr>
</table>Vekseidhttp://hexwiki.com/w/index.php?title=Managing_Forum_Spammers&diff=285&oldid=prevVekseid at 11:13, 7 December 20142014-12-07T11:13:32Z<p></p>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>__NOTOC__I <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">got told that some moderators on a few web forums were 'green with envy' at </del>how <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">little an issue spam was </del>on <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">most of </del>my forums.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>__NOTOC__I <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">was asked </ins>how <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">I managed spammers </ins>on my forums. </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>This <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">guide </del>is <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">really short</del>.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>This is <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">not a very big topic and it does not need to be. I have been working on some more advanced stuff, but most of that has to do with the need to lock down dedicated, experienced trolls</ins>.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>== CAPTCHAS ==</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>== CAPTCHAS ==</div></td></tr>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The net result is, I have found surprisingly little point in having a complicated captcha. A simple one is absolutely mandatory, but asking people to spell the first number in the current year or the last name of the current US president or whatnot aren't any less effective than much more complicated captchas that get wrapped in most forum scripts.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The net result is, I have found surprisingly little point in having a complicated captcha. A simple one is absolutely mandatory, but asking people to spell the first number in the current year or the last name of the current US president or whatnot aren't any less effective than much more complicated captchas that get wrapped in most forum scripts.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>This <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">has the bonus of increasing </del>community conversions, as well, since no one will get frustrated by your captcha.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>This <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">increases </ins>community conversions, as well, since no one will get frustrated by your captcha<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">, and text-only captchas are much more Accessible</ins>.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Google's [https://www.google.com/recaptcha/intro/index.html new RECAPTCHA] is likely a good solution, but I've never had a need for it personally.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Google's [https://www.google.com/recaptcha/intro/index.html new RECAPTCHA] is likely a good solution, but I've never had a need for it personally.</div></td></tr>
</table>Vekseidhttp://hexwiki.com/w/index.php?title=Managing_Forum_Spammers&diff=283&oldid=prevVekseid at 11:07, 7 December 20142014-12-07T11:07:47Z<p></p>
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<td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">Revision as of 11:07, 7 December 2014</td>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>== Choice of Script ==</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>== Choice of Script ==</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The two community packages that I've had the easiest time with handling spammers are Simple Machines Forum and MyBB. I <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">personally like the MediaWiki + SMF combo - it's fairly easy to tack a blog onto SMF and then you pretty much have a full</del>-<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">fledged community </del>site <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">with a single login</del>. <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">Your mileage will of course vary</del>, <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">though at least SMF 2.1 is finally coming out with some more modern features</del>.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The two community packages that I've had the easiest time with handling spammers are Simple Machines Forum and MyBB. <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">Xenforo seems to do okay as well, though </ins>I <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">only run one mid</ins>-<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">sized (~100k posts) Xenforo </ins>site.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div> </div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">All scripts have their pros and cons</ins>, <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">and that discussion probably belongs in its own guide</ins>.</div></td></tr>
</table>Vekseidhttp://hexwiki.com/w/index.php?title=Managing_Forum_Spammers&diff=282&oldid=prevVekseid at 10:57, 7 December 20142014-12-07T10:57:36Z<p></p>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Note that this requires a forum with proper access controls, and may be tricky with e.g. Drupal.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Note that this requires a forum with proper access controls, and may be tricky with e.g. Drupal.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>== Stop Forum Spam <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">=</del>==</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>== Stop Forum Spam ==</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>[http://www.stopforumspam.com/ Stop Forum Spam] is an amazing service. I set it to bock registrations from known spammer IPs and e-mail addresses. Between SFS and the first technique, only a handful of spammers ever get through to require reporting.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>[http://www.stopforumspam.com/ Stop Forum Spam] is an amazing service. I set it to bock registrations from known spammer IPs and e-mail addresses. Between SFS and the first technique, only a handful of spammers ever get through to require reporting.</div></td></tr>
</table>Vekseidhttp://hexwiki.com/w/index.php?title=Managing_Forum_Spammers&diff=281&oldid=prevVekseid: Created page with "__NOTOC__I got told that some moderators on a few web forums were 'green with envy' at how little an issue spam was on most of my forums. This guide is really short. == CAPT..."2014-12-07T10:57:19Z<p>Created page with "__NOTOC__I got told that some moderators on a few web forums were 'green with envy' at how little an issue spam was on most of my forums. This guide is really short. == CAPT..."</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>__NOTOC__I got told that some moderators on a few web forums were 'green with envy' at how little an issue spam was on most of my forums.<br />
<br />
This guide is really short.<br />
<br />
== CAPTCHAS ==<br />
<br />
When dealing with spammers, you are typically dealing with two different kinds.<br />
<br />
# Automated bots that know your community script and pretty much roll over and die if you deviate from the pattern.<br />
# Actual human beings, either directly or via proxy, that create the account and then add the account to their spamming software or whatever.<br />
<br />
The third kind, actual scripts capable of defeating captchas... is surprisingly rare for common community scripts. <br />
<br />
The net result is, I have found surprisingly little point in having a complicated captcha. A simple one is absolutely mandatory, but asking people to spell the first number in the current year or the last name of the current US president or whatnot aren't any less effective than much more complicated captchas that get wrapped in most forum scripts.<br />
<br />
This has the bonus of increasing community conversions, as well, since no one will get frustrated by your captcha.<br />
<br />
Google's [https://www.google.com/recaptcha/intro/index.html new RECAPTCHA] is likely a good solution, but I've never had a need for it personally.<br />
<br />
== Introduction Funnel ==<br />
<br />
A method I developed for one of my now-failed forums, but now repeat elsewhere: Force all new members to create a topic in the introduction forum. Either manually approve members or write a quick script to upgrade them automagically. I currently have this working on [http://worldunbent.com/ Legends of a World Unbent] and a few other SMF forums I run, though I originally did this it for a MyBB forum.<br />
<br />
This gives your community a bit of added activity as people go about welcoming each other. <br />
<br />
In my experience, this tends to pretty seriously thwart spammers - they have to call attention to themselves in order to spam, so... they just do not even seem to try after getting registered. <br />
<br />
Note that this requires a forum with proper access controls, and may be tricky with e.g. Drupal.<br />
<br />
== Stop Forum Spam ===<br />
<br />
[http://www.stopforumspam.com/ Stop Forum Spam] is an amazing service. I set it to bock registrations from known spammer IPs and e-mail addresses. Between SFS and the first technique, only a handful of spammers ever get through to require reporting.<br />
<br />
There are integration mods available for many community scripts:<br />
<br />
* [https://www.drupal.org/project/spambot Spambot for Drupal]<br />
* [http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/?mod=1547 Stop Spammer for SMF]<br />
* [http://mods.mybb.com/view/stopforumspam-com-for-mybb SFS.com for MyBB]<br />
<br />
You will need to sign up and get a key from SFS. If your script is different from the one above, chances are a mod exists for it if it is of any meaningful note. Just seek it out.<br />
<br />
== Choice of Script ==<br />
<br />
The two community packages that I've had the easiest time with handling spammers are Simple Machines Forum and MyBB. I personally like the MediaWiki + SMF combo - it's fairly easy to tack a blog onto SMF and then you pretty much have a full-fledged community site with a single login. Your mileage will of course vary, though at least SMF 2.1 is finally coming out with some more modern features.</div>Vekseid