Yet again there is another influx of spam posts by presumably bots. Why is it seemingly so easy to do this on Macrumors? I'm no website expert so this is a genuine question.
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Another Spambot Attack
- Thread starter StumpyBloke
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It might not even be a bot, sadly. There are countless people in the world who will do this stuff manually for very little pay, and who are just savvy enough to be taught the rudimentary tools it takes to be a menace.
It's not sophisticated, it's not inspired, it's nothing to be proud of, but it puts food on the table. It's a sad state of affairs for people who have few opportunities in life.
It's not sophisticated, it's not inspired, it's nothing to be proud of, but it puts food on the table. It's a sad state of affairs for people who have few opportunities in life.
Just report the posts as spam and let the mods lay down the ban hammer.
This forum allows newbies to create accounts and post immediately with no admin approvals needed. The moderators all tend to be in the same/similar timezone so there are periods where spam can remain for a few hours.
However, they do all get deleted relatively quickly, and so far the spams look so obvious that one hopes, on a tech site like this one, no one is fooled.
Considering the popularity of this site and the number of posts and posters, I think it's moderated well enough.
I'm absolutely not dissing the moderators. They do a great job. But a few hours later the site is still being inundated with the same spam posts. I think it's crazy that as mentioned above, new members can join and post immediately. I think that needs to stop, just my opinion.
This issue is plaguing many forums currently, there are some I have seen completely sieged down and overrun, enough so that it is impossible to find real posts. One forum I went to even had to shut down until re-opening with new registration requirements. It is simply inadequate to just block them as they appear, their numbers are growing rapidly as the botmakers are selling their way into the mainstream, it is everywhere. I fear at this rate, this site will be completely unusable during the night hours during some attacks. I have already seen it elsewhere.
Whether they are computer units or real human spammers is uncertain, but this latest wave seems bot like.
Whether they are computer units or real human spammers is uncertain, but this latest wave seems bot like.
I know of forums that tried "first x posts have to be manually approved", but the mods complained that it was a huge amount of extra work.
One could also limit newbies to x new posts, but then the bots can simply keep creating new user accounts.
If it were me, and the tech allowed, I'd block newbies from posting during the hours when there are no moderators online. (For a forum this size, having no moderators online is risky anyway.)
Surely there must be a way to mitigate this issue. It may cost, but it is a worthwhile investment. I wish that it were as simple as approving new users or having a 'cool-off', because this is untenable in the long term. I don't blame the moderators as it is simply unrealistic and asinine to expect them to be available 24/7, maybe we need some mods in different time zones or something, anything that's within the realm of possibility.
Currently the attack continues. Probably around 12 hours straight now.
Currently the attack continues. Probably around 12 hours straight now.
That's a good point. I wonder where the mods are situated? Maybe all in America? If that's the case then that's no good and something else that could be changed and very easily I would suggest?
Well there is one thing that is certain, any idea that creates extra work for the moderators is going to be dumped. Why? the site forum feedback section is littered with threads and posts asking for this to be done or that to be done only for arn to respond saying this and that cannot be done because it would create too much work for the mods.
So, come up with an idea that does not create more workload and your on to a winner.
So, come up with an idea that does not create more workload and your on to a winner.
From having past discussions in this forum section about moderation issues I believe it was mentioned that there are some mods based in Europe. If that is true then they are either currently asleep, on holiday or fired/quit.
Maybe they are asleep. Lots of spam now in iPhone, iPad and iOS sections. Wasn't there earlier today. (I'm in UK.)
Wow... This is the problem. How is anyone supposed to trust MR as a reputable source of information when this is what's present next to their articles? It's not even the same dilemma as ads, this is going on within the site itself.
Over 12 hours now and no signs of slowing. I have been reporting them, but for every two there are four more that crop up.
I wouldn't waste your time reporting anymore. Absolutely no point. I think the owner or owners of this site need to have a good rethink on how the website is run especially regarding moderating and new users. Clearly the current system does not work.
And again, I am not dissing in any way shape or form the moderators!
And again, I am not dissing in any way shape or form the moderators!
Fighting spam bots is a constant cat-and-mouse game of us deploying new filters and other tools while the spammers adjust their tactics. And yes, we also didn't have anyone around to manually with deal with it this morning.
A lot of this current flood is being filtered out before it even gets posted, but obviously a good bit was still making it through. We've made some changes to hopefully catch more of it, and we're keeping an eye on things to handle the rest.
A lot of this current flood is being filtered out before it even gets posted, but obviously a good bit was still making it through. We've made some changes to hopefully catch more of it, and we're keeping an eye on things to handle the rest.
Thanks for the update.
Why can new users post immediately? Maybe that needs changing?
The vast majority of new users are here for legitimate purposes, many of them experiencing problems with their devices, and it's frustrating to have to wait for approval before your posts can be seen.
New users posting links do have to wait for approval, and there are other filters that catch a good bit of the other spam. Attacks like these that make it through in large numbers are a small fraction of the spam we deal with. Obviously we prefer they happen while staff are around to deal with them, but that wasn't the case today unfortunately.
@WildCowboy I reported a bunch of spam in the past 8 hours and all of it got quickly removed.
If there were no mods around (I didn't check myself, but going by what's being said in this thread), how did those threads get removed so fast?
If there were no mods around (I didn't check myself, but going by what's being said in this thread), how did those threads get removed so fast?
Admin staff will have the same forum rights as mod's so I suspect it was an admin that removed them.
I haven't examined the logs in detail, but I think there were staff members popping in from time to time to handle the reports and clean things up, but it was a sustained attack over many hours and we didn't have 100% coverage during that time.
Is eight moderators enough for a site this size? (Yes, I know that admins/other staff will also help with these issues if necessary, but the question remains.)
FWIW, I checked in around 7:00 AM Eastern time and saw a flood of spam that somehow evaded the filters. They were registering and making multiple posts about as fast as I could ban them! Had to go out for awhile, but alerted the other mods/admins at that time, so everyone knows about the issue and is working on it.
No. Moderation here is garbage and admin has made it clear it's functioning as intended.