spam stopping idea

[Cuog]

One method that another forum I am on uses is to have the first 2 posts verified by a moderator before they show up after that its like normal.(It is another vBulletin forum so it shouldnt be hard)

[Koko Ed]

We gotta do something fast.
The last spammer was posting porn on the site.
That is unacceptable!
I say if they don't post a team number they don't get an account.
At the very least it'll slow them down.

[Pavan Dave]

My friend called me up and told me that his torrent host was down and he told me to help him look, and I got a call from him less than 30 seconds later saying that a site called Demoniod has an odd registration key you need since their registration is off so he couldn't download. Anyways here is a link to Demonoid's registration here and it requires an invite. Maybe we could have something like that with team names, numbers, etc. Where the invitation code is a team name, sponsor, or something along those lines.

Pavan.

[Schnabel]

Is there any way we can see where the spam comes from (IP address for example) and then just block it?

[Brandon Martus]

Originally Posted by Schnabel

Is there any way we can see where the spam comes from (IP address for example) and then just block it?

Yes, but it wouldn't stop it -- very very few of the spammers will be coming from the same IP address. We can stop repeat spam -- the moderators do a good job of shutting off the spamming accounts quickly after reported.

I installed a hack last week that requires a user to answer a simple question (2+2, etc.) when making a new account. Since then, we have had a dramatic drop in spam, so I guess it worked. So until the bots figure that out.. I think we're safe.

[Kyle]

Make the answer wrong for 2+2 so it will be 1 or 5 and put then in the registration process that way they can't program the bots to just use math.

[Brandon Martus]

Originally Posted by Kyle

Make the answer wrong for 2+2 so it will be 1 or 5 and put then in the registration process that way they can't program the bots to just use math.

That's one of many questions that may come up. Others are things like 'Dean Kamens last name is ..' or 'Type the word Inspiration in the box provided ..', etc..

[Adam Y.]

Originally Posted by Brandon Martus

There is a hack like this for vBulletin -- I may install it to try and slow down some of this spam.

I actually had this idea of just blocking certain screenames of spammers. If one bot is found spamming then more than likly a google search will multiple other hits on other message boards. It's not something that I would expect you to do but Im just throwing it out there.

[Schnabel]

Originally Posted by Brandon Martus

That's one of many questions that may come up. Others are things like 'Dean Kamens last name is ..' or 'Type the word Inspiration in the box provided ..', etc..

That is hilarious!

[Gabe]

Ugh, today there was four different spam threads created within five minutes.. It makes me wonder if it is really a bot or if it is a person.

[Ricky Q.]

they are bots. 4 is nothing, it has been a lot better lately.

[Gabe]

Originally Posted by Ricky Q.

they are bots. 4 is nothing, it has been a lot better lately.

Just how bad is bad? 4 spam posts seems like a lot, but maybe I haven't seen enough.

[Gabe]

Originally Posted by whytheheckme

As mentioned earlier (I think,) this would be difficult for rookie teams. I have been in Chief for a few years now, but this new team that I am on is a whole bunch of students who have never seen Chief. If they have a quick question to ask but have never used CD before, then they are kind of out of luck and would have to ask someone else to use their account. Then that post would not count toward their 'good posts', and the next time they have a problem it would be the same situation.

Just looking at it from this way (and BTW, you guys are really good about handling spammers,)

Jacob

I like this idea and would like to extend it a little to the Word Association thread. Have a every new member post on the association thread. When they post that one time they also have to include in parantheses () why they chose the word that they did. Assuming that the answer is satisfactory, they are free to post as they wish. But by giving a series of tasks that require a human to do, you might be able to reduce the amount of spam a little more.

[Cuog]

How about asking what does FIRST stand for. Thats abstract enough that a bot would have to be specifically written to invade these forums