The spam problem

[rapidshare]

I apologize to all of our users who have to deal with this. We're under heavy hits by the spambots for reasons unknown.

Our response is three-fold:

1. Outgoing links on this forum no longer have Google rank (used the rel nofollow attribute).

2. We banned all high-frequency IPs, which caught most of the spammers, using a log watcher script.

3. This one is controversial for me, and I don't like it as a long term solution, but for the next few weeks: all .cn addresses are banned, as 75% of the spammers (roughly) were using these. I am sorry for our Chinese posters, but it's a temporary move until the spambots move on to the next target.

If you see spam, feel free to report it if I or another admin don't clear it out in a timely manner -- it may mean we overlooked it.

[Umbrage]

3. This one is controversial for me, and I don't like it as a long term solution, but for the next few weeks: all .cn addresses are banned, as 75% of the spammers (roughly) were using these. I am sorry for our Chinese posters, but it's a temporary move until the spambots move on to the next target.

[rapidshare]

I agree it's a suboptimal solution.

We already found one case where we banned someone who was innocent, but had been scouring the message boards for something or other, so "looked like" a bot to our script. Obviously, that ban has been reversed.

If you can't get in through your normal account/IP (not much good posting it here, but better than not posting it):

1. Use http://anonymouse.org/ to view the forum. If you can see it, you've been IP banned.
2. Write an email to editor at a n u s dot com and include your forum login name.

[Humanicide]

I'm guessing with the increased traffic ANUS has been getting, more spambots congregate to try to take advantage of this traffic.

Or, it could always be those damned trolls.

[Transcix]

I've really been wondering about this, and I'm very grateful to see this explanation. In my experience many metal websites for example just stop being updated one day, and their owners never so much as post a brief explanation on the front page. I fucking hate that. (Lamentations of the Flame Princess comes to mind... an RPG accessory store? Seriously?)

[Winter]

Its not a spam problem but im having a problem with staying signed in and everyone in a while the website will timeout when loading a page.  Is this happening to anyone else?

[Andrew]

I love how the "Weight Loss Services" thread has twenty views, when usually the spam threads don't get more than five or so.

[rapidshare]

For all who wondered why we didn't like spam filters: they never work as well as intended.

I just un-banned two users and undeleted over a dozen posts that the spam system accidentally flagged as spam.

If anything else is broken, please msg me and I'll clean it up.

[nous]

The situation has improved a lot... for now.

I do not have a problem with my posts showing up a bit later as long as they do show up eventually.

NB everyone, excluding spammers: if your post does not show, either remove certain trigger keywords or wait until an admin consents.

[Transcix]

I started a new thread in the metal forum and it got caught by the spam filter, if someone could fish it back out that would be great.

[WAAAAAAGH!]

I have had problems using the search function on the main website since this was implemented. I get the, ".. but your computer or network may be sending automated queries. To protect our users, we can't process your request right now." response everytime I search from the mainpage. Which is ridiculous considering I have made few forum posts and one maybe two comment posts on the blog sections of the website.

[death metal black metal]

Uber:

Someone on your local ISP or IP block is spamming and Akismet flagged the origin IP block.

All:

We've cut spam down to zero at this point, but there has been a cost:

1. New users must email the forum admin in order to be approved. Most ignore the new user contract and so miss out on this knowledge.
2. Sometimes, your posts will be flagged by Akismet. If you post something, and it doesn't appear, this is what has happened. Message an admin and do not repost.
3. If your ISP is spammer-friendly, Akismet will punish you. It keeps a bank of known spammer IPs and assumes related IPs are also spamhappy.

This whole thing is really stupid; first, that people spam (morons) and second that the solutions are so primitive. But until I write one, I really don't expect more from the tech monkeys.

[Spectrum]

But until I write one, I really don't expect more from the tech monkeys.

All in all, anti-spamming is a tough task, so marginal blame goes towards code monkeys. My perspective:

1) Registering an account requires completing COMPLICATED captcha in conjuction with a question. The questions work best when cycled, and math related questions are busted by bots more easily. Also, only allow a couple or few registration attempts per user. If someone attempts to register more than the allotted attempts, said user goes on lockdown (usually 15 minutes, but some admins use an hour or two).

2) Upon registration, the password is emailed to the user, so the activation requires a little more interaction on the user side. This allows admins to focus on better things than accepting new users via email.

3) Flood intervals should be used more heavily. Rather than letting a poster post every 15 seconds, go for a minute or so.

4) Use announcements to stress the use of the report feature. Atheistforums.org is extremely secure, because there are more mods, a bigger hierarchy, and the regular users report the trolls and spammers. The report feature is fucking crucial.

5) One supermod per forum, and a couple or few mods for chasm (which is hit the hardest). Tyrannies work in forums.

6) IP bans are generally useless, and it's funnier to alter the spammer's password so that he cannot access his account any longer. IP tracking allows you to find the occasional dumbass creating multiple accounts, so IP bans do actually work on them. This is basically your last line of defense, if you can even call it that.

The trick is to build an impenetrable fortress against bots, so that you can focus on the Dave's and Brunhilde's of ANUS. Also, Amerika.org should link to this forum for open discussion. Facebook is too scattered. Trust me....