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Spam

Mr_Pot

Mr_Pot

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,573
Location
Berkshire
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Is it not possible for the site software to reject posts that are not in Latin characters?
 
Very sensible but I Suspect that would be far too logical for software programmes to deal with!
If software followed logic then the chinese bots would have given up attacking the site after the first couple of multiple deletions of their posts.
 
I don't know if a lot of members are aware of this but I have witnessed DCUKMod and Rachox here at 3am/4am doing the housework so that the Chinese Spam is cleared before we in Western Europe open our eyes in the morning. A big Ta Very Much to all mods who go above and beyond when it comes to keeping the forum running smoothly.
 
Yep, by the time I wake up at 6.30 they've done all the work.
 
Guzzler said:
I don't know if a lot of members are aware of this but I have witnessed DCUKMod and Rachox here at 3am/4am doing the housework so that the Chinese Spam is cleared before we in Western Europe open our eyes in the morning. A big Ta Very Much to all mods who go above and beyond when it comes to keeping the forum running smoothly.
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Agreed but why not get some software to do most of the work?
 
Mr_Pot said:
Agreed but why not get some software to do most of the work?
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This has been going on for a few years now, I recently saw a lot of Chinese posts at lunchtime I think it was and posts with just a random number. I did ask this question recently on a thread, as the forum was filled with spam and I didn't get a reply :rolleyes: Probably down to cost, as they have a workforce in Coventry I believe that need paying.
 
Thanks, if they were gone Mods spotted and removed. If no one reports them it is reliant on us being online at the time and seeing them.
 
I think they are trying to get lots of likes for there posts, so they can then post links before the account is deleted. They often use many accounts.

The software this forum uses is used by thousands of other forums, they only need to find a few forums without hard working mods, so as to cover the cost of writing their attack software. Also remember that lots of other forums do need none Latin text, hence the forum software can't auto delete these posts.

I do however question why new accounts are allowed to post so much in a short length of time.
 
Diakat said:
Thanks, if they were gone Mods spotted and removed. If no one reports them it is reliant on us being online at the time and seeing them.
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As there were member's online, this site is normally quite busy, someone would of seen them ( as Mr pot did) and reported it.
 
Boo1979 said:
Very sensible but I Suspect that would be far too logical for software programmes to deal with!
If software followed logic then the chinese bots would have given up attacking the site after the first couple of multiple deletions of their posts.
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But bots don't usually contain real brains so I suspect will continue flooding our forum regardliess. And each time they do so they're continuing to causie extra disruption and inconvenience as our mods still have to work on removing the posts.

It should be possible to use filtering such as is already used for bad language, by using a list of chinese characters instead of a "naughty words" list. But it may not be so straightforward - some modifications/customizations can done via an admin user interface, others may require actual software modifications. But if the software is not actually owned by Diabetes.co.uk, then there may be (coptright) restrictions on what modifcations they can legally make to it.

Robbity
 
Lets say 5 days work at a rate of £1000 per day, to be repeated each time a new version of the forum software comes out.....

That is what I would expect a quote from the software vendor to look like!
 
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Considering that this forum costs members nothing are we really in a position to demand change? Yes, the spam is irritating and there may even be an element of security involved but in return for nothing we get a shedload of support and knowledge. I am prepared to be ever so slightly irritated in exchange.
 
I guess I go along with Guzzler: spam doesn't really bother me as such: I just feel sorry for the mods.
 
Guzzler said:
Considering that this forum costs members nothing are we really in a position to demand change? Yes, the spam is irritating and there may even be an element of security involved but in return for nothing we get a shedload of support and knowledge. I am prepared to be ever so slightly irritated in exchange.
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Geordie_P said:
I guess I go along with Guzzler: spam doesn't really bother me as such: I just feel sorry for the mods.
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I agree. I have no idea what the security element is, but all I do is scroll past them and ignore (or report). They don't even irritate me.
 
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