GDB Spam

Started by ShaLeah, June 14, 2006, 08:19:55 AM

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June 14, 2006, 08:19:55 AM
Every day I log on to a different spam/bot/bs thing and it occurred to me that it HAS to be bothersome for the staff to remove all that crap so I wondered if maybe we should:

1) Disallow "guest" postings by just anyone.  Maybe if we can offer an option to "hide your identity".  It may annoy 2Lazy2LoginShaL and everyone else but it'll cut down on the bs I think.

and/or


2) Send a password to the new member before they're allowed to post.  You register, wait for the password, then are able to log in kinda thing.


Thoughts?

ShaLeah
-who doesn't like ping pong Sam I am...[/color]
I'm taking an indeterminate break from Armageddon for the foreseeable future and thereby am not available for mudsex.
Quote
In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so.
June 14, 2006, 08:24:50 AM #1
I am sure someone is working on it. :mrgreen:

Code Select
>drop pants
You do not have that item.
June 14, 2006, 08:35:59 AM #2
Actually I'd imagine they're mainly worried about the lag ;) I'd say the easiest option would be make new accounts be staff-approved (I believe I've seen this done on phpBB). But yes, I'd like whatever it takes (except money of course ;)) to be done to get rid of the spam bots.
June 14, 2006, 08:55:00 AM #3
I thought one of the board-admin staff said they were working on adding one of those distorted-text registration things for new accounts and for each time you make an anonymous post.

If not... they should.  :wink:

EDIT: Yeah, this connectivity problem with the game is certainly a higher priority, though.
June 14, 2006, 09:10:54 AM #4
The staff is willing to deal with spam bots if it means that the GDB is newbie-friendly.
Nyr: newbs killing newbs
Nyr: hot newb on newb violence
Ath: Mmmmmm, HOT!
June 14, 2006, 11:27:53 AM #5
Quote from: "Vanth"The staff is willing to deal with spam bots if it means that the GDB is newbie-friendly.

Currently, there is a little box that says, 'SUBMIT POST?' and you have to click the pulldown box to 'YES' in order to submit a post while you are a guest user.

That little box prevents almost all the spam bots recently, because they haven't taken that into account.


What is missing, and what I believe it is industry standard now, is to have a visible check box to sign up new forum members.  It's not a hassle or non-newbie-friendly when the whole internet requires it.  In My Opinion.
New Players Guide: http://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,33512.0.html


Quote from: Morgenes on April 01, 2011, 10:33:11 PM
You win Armageddon, congratulations!  Type 'credits', then store your character and make a new one
June 14, 2006, 11:52:33 AM #6
I'm not sure if this is what you were talking about mansa, but on a lot of sites, when you sign up for a new account the last step is to confirm your account by typing what you see in the box.  It's usually randomly generated letters or numbers kind of twisted and warped a little, but spambots can't recognize them and type them as it's an image file.   That's one little step in creation that might stop a lot of garbage getting onto the board, and is certainly not a hassle to newbies.  There must be code out there somewhere for something like this.

Just had another thought -- I participate on a dicussion board on "Runboard" (at which there are countless varieties of boards).  That board has never had a single spam-bot post in the year and a half I've been there.  I can't remember what I had to do when signing up, but they have something in place to stop the spam.  It looks much like this board and when submitting a post you just have the same two "preview" and "submit" buttons, so it's not addressed by changing those.  The people who own runboard and are top admin/coders are quite approachable.  Maybe I'll ask them what they do.
es, Narnia, the film that teaches kids that Jesus is a lion that kills people by biting them in the face...
June 14, 2006, 12:30:55 PM #7
The spambot postings seem to be filtered out by the imms fairly quick. I don't have a problem with the way it is working at the moment.

Quote from: "Vanth"The staff is willing to deal with spam bots if it means that the GDB is newbie-friendly.

[sarcasm]"Newbie-friendly?" If being dropped naked into a pit of snarling gortok is newbie-friendly, I suppose you could put it that way.  :mrgreen: [/sarcasm]
quote="Morgenes"]
Quote from: "The Philosopher Jagger"You can't always get what you want.
[/quote]
June 14, 2006, 12:50:39 PM #8
We are working on a solution for this already; it's a matter of Brix's schedule being awfully busy lately.
June 14, 2006, 01:49:40 PM #9
I didn't read all the posts cause I only have one thing to say

NO GUESTS.... if they really wanna write they can use 5 minutes max and then be able to write everyday, even get an e-mail when someone replies to their posts.
rmageddon is the true teachings about the art of dying
June 14, 2006, 06:14:27 PM #10
I think guest postings shouldn't be disallowed, but the distorted text box would be a good idea since spambots can't get through that.
...so instead of stealing an uneaten one, like a normal person, I decided I wanted the one already in her mouth."

Best movies EVAR:
1. Boondock Saints
2. Green Street Hooligans
3. Fight Club

Norman Reedus is my hero.
June 15, 2006, 07:43:57 PM #11
All you need to do is add a human test to guest posting.

You know, one of those graphics with letters on it, and you have to type in the letters. Still lets guests in, but keeps bots out.

Edit: Well aren't I just Johnny-Come-Lately!
Amor Fati
June 15, 2006, 08:50:22 PM #12
What if, each game account could auto-link to two forum names? One for a "usual" GDB name and one for times when you want to be anonymous? And then, allow only "ask the players" and "ask the staff" to get guest posts. Since you really don't need non-members posting in OOC idle chatter or anywhere else and the only people who should be posting here, are players and people who are thinking about playing. Then if a member wants to add a third GDB name they can request it through that report tool I've read about, that was recently implemented.

It seems like something like this would make things a whole lot easier for your overlords to keep track of who's who and eliminate any need for multiple e-mail addresses since member forum accounts would be linked to their game account which only uses a single e-mail address.

L. Stanson
Talia said: Notice to all: Do not mess with Lizzie's GDB. She will cut you.
Delirium said: Notice to all: do not mess with Lizzie's soap. She will cut you.
June 15, 2006, 08:58:50 PM #13
Yeah, that would be neat.
b]YB <3[/b]

June 17, 2006, 03:35:30 PM #14
I'm not sure if this is a priority for Brix or anyone messing with the board code... but my suggestion would be to remove the ability to post url tags on the GDB from guests.  New players should not be horribly affected by this, but it would definitely cut down on/disturb spammers.  I'm not sure how easily configured phpBB is, just a modest suggestion.

Lord Templar Hard Nose is no coder, and has nothing very witty to contribute to this... odd.
June 17, 2006, 06:08:44 PM #15
Considering it's only one post a day I don't think it's that big of a deal.
June 17, 2006, 10:09:08 PM #16
It is way more than one a day, the staff are just good at removing them quickly.
Treat the other man's faith gently; it is all he has to believe with."     Henry S. Haskins
June 18, 2006, 09:17:41 AM #17
They trying to lunch it big!


That's one's the best so far.   Voted no because, well, it is the internet.  You learn to ignore stupidity.
June 22, 2006, 10:40:33 PM #18
Okay I changed my opinion. I draw the line at bad joke telling bots.  This is starting to get absurd.
quote="Morgenes"]
Quote from: "The Philosopher Jagger"You can't always get what you want.
[/quote]
June 22, 2006, 10:42:20 PM #19
The joke bots make me giggle.
Crotch kick!  Bees!  ..Grandma boobies!!!11
quote="CRW"]i very nearly crapped my pants today very far from my house in someone else's vehicle, what a day[/quote]
June 23, 2006, 12:52:20 AM #20
Quote from: "Lazloth"The joke bots make me giggle.
Crotch kick!  Bees!  ..Grandma boobies!!!11

Yea, the spam is getting pretty funny.

Code Select
>drop pants
You do not have that item.
June 23, 2006, 05:22:12 PM #21
It seems as if the spam is growing worse.

Code Select
>drop pants
You do not have that item.
June 23, 2006, 09:55:34 PM #22
I've been clearing off some of the spambot users, but it's slow going (And be aware that if you are a legitimate user, that having interests like discount cigarettes, golden showers, ephedra or hot russian babes in your profile may result in your account being mistakenly removed as I continue working my way through the mass).*  I also find myself removing about half a dozen spammy posts each day and it's tedious.  Brix is going to put in the character recognition thingie for creating accounts when he gets the chance, but I figured I'd do what I can to clear things a bit for now.  Go vote in the poll in the other thread if you feel strongly about the issue.

*Also banning some IPs.  If yours get banned, just drop me a note in the request tool.  Please include the numeric IP.)
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