Spam threads

[Waylander]

Why are there so many spam threads recently? Im not saying its anyone from MR's fault, but its only recently that there have been a glut. Today, 21st Dec 2013, there is a spam thread in every major general section of MR. Why can't they just leave us alone? I'm really fed up with seeing them.

[Kumabjorn]

They appear every now and then, but the moderators are really good about blocking them and removing the spam. This is actually one site that has only limited problems with crap like that.

[Waylander]

I really appreciate the good job the moderators do, as along with the mature, insightful and thoughtful discussions, it makes this site one of the few on the internet a pleasure to use.

[Dr. Drib]

This does not belong in News.


Now moved to the Feedback forum.



Don
(Moderator)

[Mike L]

Almost every busy forum on the Web attracts spam. What make MobileRead different is that the moderators do such a good job of eradicating it. So, on those occasions when it does slip through, it's that much more noticeable.

Mike

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by Waylander

Why are there so many spam threads recently? Im not saying its anyone from MR's fault, but its only recently that there have been a glut. Today, 21st Dec 2013, there is a spam thread in every major general section of MR. Why can't they just leave us alone? I'm really fed up with seeing them.

Two things:

There has been an uptick in the amount of spam lately, yes. I think, based on what I am seeing at my blog, that it is on an annual cycle. Hopefully this will drop off after Christmas.

And part of the reason more spam is showing up here is that lately the spammers have been getting the upper hand in the eternal struggle of good vs evil. It's not visible, but Alex has configured this forum to block something like 99% of spam. He also regularly updates the blocks with new tricks as the spammers adapt to the existing tricks. But thanks to the seasonal uptick in spam more is getting through.

[cromag]

Nice job with the clean-up in General Discussions, mods!

[dreams]

Pesky little spammers aren't they?

My fingers are getting tired trying to keep up.

[eschwartz]

Thanks for the effort you put into keeping this place so clean!

(Just reported about 7 thread in the last hour, but I'm sure we should've had a lot more.)

[doubleshuffle]

+1

Much appreciate the efforts in killing off the spam.

[beachwanderer]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Thanks for the effort you put into keeping this place so clean!)

+1

[Kumabjorn]

There's been quite an attack today.
Mods have been hard at work for no pay.
We are all very grateful.

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

There's been quite an attack today.
Mods have been hard at work for no pay.
We are all very grateful.

I'll say, and still coming!

I often use the Forum Spy and right now that seems to be inundated with spam posts in Japanese (probably?). Normally the mods do a great job of getting rid of this before we even see it and I'm sure they're working equally hard (if not harder) today, so it must be quite a volume coming through.

I have noticed that, for some reason, all of the user names posting that spam seem to start with a 'k' - perhaps banning all users whose user names start with a 'k' would be the answer

[Kumabjorn]

If I have to take one for the team, then so be it.

BTW, what is the Forum Spy?

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

I'll say, and still coming!

I often use the Forum Spy and right now that seems to be inundated with spam posts in Japanese (probably?). Normally the mods do a great job of getting rid of this before we even see it and I'm sure they're working equally hard (if not harder) today, so it must be quite a volume coming through.

I have noticed that, for some reason, all of the user names posting that spam seem to start with a 'k' - perhaps banning all users whose user names start with a 'k' would be the answer

It's tough. Generally the first step is to check the IPs of the spammers and if the same, then just block the IP from creating accounts, in some cases they use IP spoofing so it is different every time and blocking the originating larger group of IPs can affect real users. I find the spam on MobileRead is pretty low, but there's been a bunch this morning.