A note about spammers

[thewoodwhisperer]

Forum spam is certainly nothing new. But it's interesting to see how spam floods ebb and flow and recently we've been getting hammered. The forum has numerous safeguards against spammers but it's always a catch-22. Anything that helps block spammers also generally makes things inhospitable for legitimate new members. And without a crap-ton of moderators, it's hard to manually keep things clean.

I spent some time digging into the forum's current feature set and found a setting that allows user reports to be more effective. Previously, a user report of a spammer was just a flag that told a moderator to take a look. Now, your reports truly matter. If two legitimate members report a post, the post is hidden until a moderator can take action. This should really improve the experience and puts more control in the hands of the users. So if you see spam, please report it immediately.

We're keeping an eye on things and hopefully this change will help curtail some of the spam BS. Thanks for your patience.

[BonPacific]

Thanks for the update and the digging Marc. This is still the best forum/community I've yet found online.

[Tpt life]

I truly appreciate this. I try to faithfully report posts, now knowing it only takes two of us to make this step happen is awesome. 

[Mark J]

I am very happy to hear there is something I can do.  

It was truly an inundation this morning, almost a denial of service attack. 

[Immortan D]

Excellent! We have the power!

[curlyoak]

On 6/29/2023 at 12:14 PM, thewoodwhisperer said:

found a setting that allows user reports

Good idea! Where do I find that setting? Thanks

[Chestnut]

Thanks for the hard work it's appreciated.

When this occurred I looked for a way to report a user. Is that a possibility? I hate to ask a question that may lead to a lot of work for a person that is supposed to be on vacation?

[Mark J]

1 hour ago, Chestnut said:

Thanks for the hard work it's appreciated.

When this occurred I looked for a way to report a user. Is that a possibility? I hate to ask a question that may lead to a lot of work for a person that is supposed to be on vacation?

I was wondering if two reports would temporarily suspend the user, or only hide the post?

[Mark J]

1 hour ago, curlyoak said:

Good idea! Where do I find that setting? Thanks

Curlyoak, there is a "3 dot" pull down menu in the top roght corner of every post.  "Report" is one of the options on that menu.

[difalkner]

I'm an admin on 6 other sites and reported the spam here over the last couple of days; I wondered how the process worked in the background on this software.  Thanks for taking care of this, Marc!

[Immortan D]

On 6/29/2023 at 5:31 PM, Mark J said:

I was wondering if two reports would temporarily suspend the user, or only hide the post?

It should work that way because the spammer is usually a bot that will keep creating new threads until a ban is applied.

[JohnG]

Lately whenever I’ve tried to report posts it says that I have already reported it. Not sure if that means that other users have already reported it or if it’s a bug. I’ve noticed some within a couple minutes of the original post, but maybe I’m slow compared to some other members? 
 

[Tpt life]

I think that’s an inappropriate splash screen that should say “thanks for reporting.”  I reported it at a forum update some time ago, and never saw any action on it. 

[JohnG]

I used to always get “Thanks for reporting this” but it’s been a while since I’ve gotten that one. Maybe a software update changed the splash screen. 

[difalkner]

I've always gotten the "You've already reported this" screen but I reported several of these new ones in the past couple of days and got the "Thanks for reporting this" screen (first time I've seen it here, actually).  But I did report them within a few minutes of the original post so maybe I reported them first.  Either way it appears they're gone.

[wtnhighlander]

The membership here is great at reporting such posts rather quickly. I felt like John Henry, swinging the "ban hammer" so much for a day or so. Good work, everyone!

Hopefully, the new feature will keep the clutter from building up so quickly.

[Chet]

On 7/1/2023 at 8:31 AM, wtnhighlander said:

I felt like John Henry, swinging the "ban hammer" so much for a day or so. Good work, everyone!

Wack-A-Mole was how I felt the first day it happened.

[JohnG]

Thanks to the mods for doing a great job on this site, and not just in these recent waves of spam. 

[Mark J]

So that works for obvious spam, but what about insipid posts like these two that appeared back to back in an otherwise 4 year old dead thread*?  These are not unique, but just most recent examples.

*Hand Tools:  Shipping vs Traveling With Tools

ToriGlass

Posted 17 hours ago

 If you're flying and need to bring your tools for the molding-plane-making class, I'd suggest checking a pelican case. It's convenient and secure, and as long as it's under 50 lbs, you won't have to pay extra.

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• Quote

YvonneClark

Posted 16 hours ago

Hey! That molding-plane-making class in May sounds awesome! When it comes to bringing your tools with you, I'd recommend checking a bag or case rather than shipping them. Shipping can be a hassle, and you don't want to risk any delays or damage to your tools. Just make sure to pack them securely, and if you're concerned about weight fees, keep it under 50 lbs. That way, you won't have to worry about any extra charges

[JohnG]

I often report those, or the very odd post with an obvious spam link imbedded. 

[drzaius]

Boy, they've sure been busy this morning!

[Mark J]

I wish there were some other automatic filters we could apply e.g. no phone number in the title.

[Tpt life]

I felt like SPAM CRUSHER this morning. 

[bug_hunter]

Nice to no that someone is hearing the report, and it has an impact.  Tons of spammers on FB Marketplace, and the reporting does not seem to reach anyone or have any impact.  Thanks a bunch for the effort!

[Mark J]

Another Wack-A-Mole morning.