We have a problem...

[Rafael Domination]

SPAMMER ALERT! SPAMMER ALERT!

Who here has noticed the increased uprising of these pests? I for one am sick of these uninvited advertisements and am this close (one inch) from tracking down whatever company they're from and giving them a good verbal thrashing. (Yes, I'm nice, but when Azrael comes out, things get ugly pretty quick.)

Now, I'm not saying Shaun and Andy aren't doing their jobs. Matter of fact, I'm honored to have them as my admins. They've even banned a few of them already (I've seen the list) It's just that as a member of the site, I wish there was something more I could do than send threatening (not too threatening, though) PM's to those spammers.

Isn't there anything we can do to limit invasions from those pathetic little bugs @#^*!? (Oh yeah: I'm feeling harsh today)

[Lykaios]

There's another one . . . :(

I think it's like a spammer bot, it says the same thing all the time with no relivance to any of the previous posts and with funny squares at the end.

What's this 'gold' anyway? I'd look but I'm too scared to click on the sodding links as I've only just got rid of a load of Trojans.

[Rafael Domination]

I agree. Don't you just wanna choke the enzymes out of those guys? :glare:

[Shaun]

The best thing we can do right now guys is to alert all the admins and mods any time there is a spammer. So if you see a spammer, PM all of us at the same time. We aren't always online at the exact same time of day so if we all get the PM the first one online can catch them.

[Imelda]

The trouble is, I always find these things at like, 8am, or 2pm or something, and I know it's going to be hours before anyone with the power to delete them comes online. I'm not hinting :p but you need a mod at this side of the Atlantic, even if they're only a delete-stuff kind of mod.

EDIT: Having taken a gander at your registration process, the solution is simple. Add one of those letter-recognition thingies. Totally stops the bots. I don't want to preach, but TW had loads of spammers before we got that. After that we've only had one, who was a human, and was also an idiot to boot.

Good luck with that, Andrew. :p

[Andy]

Okay, I'm investigating the problem at the moment. It seems that all the spammers have different IP addresses, so an IP ban won't work.

For now, I'm going to change the anti-spam question users are asked when they register. I've got an exam in 3 hours, so if this doesn't solve the problem, I'll have more time later to do it.

UPDATE: I've banned all email addresses from a site which several of the spammers are from. This site seems be be known for spammers. I don't expect any serious users to register from there.

[Andy]

EDIT: Having taken a gander at your registration process, the solution is simple. Add one of those letter-recognition thingies. Totally stops the bots. I don't want to preach, but TW had loads of spammers before we got that. After that we've only had one, who was a human, and was also an idiot to boot.
Actually, it was the Askimet Anti-Spam system which stopped the spam at TW. It blocked all posts from new users that had a lot of links.

Letter-recognition and Askimet are two possible solutions. If my recent fixes have no effect, we'll try them.

[Imelda]

We don't get them joining anymore, though, Andrew. We haven't had a 'BiGb00bsRuS' join for ages. :p

[Carraka]

I'm so tempted to newly register under that name now. Some days I just want to come up and spam the heart out of you guys to see what happens. Actually, I really want to do that on TW, because I know I'll get ripped apart.

Some day ... in the mean time, good luck with implementing whatever anti-spam measures you choose to implement.

[Guessed]

That never ends well - I did it with AIM years back and learned my lesson. But whenever a touchy argument starts boiling on some forum, I'm always tempted to sign up with a new name and take the side of the opposing force - only act so moronic the opposing force will start to question why they're really on the same side as THIS nutjob. I've seen this work in real life, too - and on me, even.

Edit: After thinking about this I can conclude this temptation stems from my inability to argue intelligently and my ease at being stupid. Huh.

[Midnight_Moon]

I think we have another spammer on our hands (not the one we already got rid of).

[Shaun]

Gone and gone.

[Rafael Domination]

Honestly, I'm this close *once inch* from chasing those guys down and spamming up their e-mail with everything from ads promoting anal fungus to friggin' 'how-to-eat-your-arm' junk mail. :mad:

[GeorgeMichael]

Now Now Raf... that just takes you down to their level...


Make a different account and do it :P


(Kidding of course)