Dear lord! It's not THAT bad. All you have to do is click the little "!" symbol of the spam post and let the Mods know. That's what I've done and all of them have been deleted. Not immediately, but, usually by the next day.
Every forum has this problem, so, it's not like you're going to find some forum that is magically free of all Spam. if it is, it's probably because there are too few members to even bother. I used to see spam at that macrumors site all the time, too. The difference is that if you dare to question the high and mighty mods there, you get banned for good.
This is a free site, don't be so hateful. Instead, do your part to help by simply reporting the spam and allowing the volunteer mods to remove them.
Every forum has this problem, so, it's not like you're going to find some forum that is magically free of all Spam. if it is, it's probably because there are too few members to even bother.
Try Ars Technica. I personally have never seen any spam there and it's a decently sized site and community.
AI used to be virtually spam-free and now spam is taking over.
If Ars can do it and AI used to be able to do it, why can't AI be virtually spam-free now?
I think the reason is the same as that embodied in your post: Indifference.
You really expect people not to complain? If a fire is raging people can only ignore it for so long until finally someone yells "FIRE!"
Anyways, isn't there something else you can do about this? I've never seen any tech site forum get targeted like this from random spammers. Its like they've singled out appleinsider for some reason. Isn't there some sort of software filter that can be used or some technique to deal with all of this?
There are software means, but that doesn't mean that other forums don't get spammed. There is one forum that I go to where I've heard they deal with a hundred bot spams a day. They manage to clean it up before most people notice. Here, we only have maybe five active mods, the rest are dormant.
I've reported spam and complained about the spam and contacted Mods directly. The later received no response at all. I see zero change in the level of spam over the past 6 months - it's increasing if anything.
Personally, I'm at a loss for a solution
I've followed up on all the spam reports that I get.
I've found one relevant plug-in that makes it easy to ban spammers, two clicks instead of eight, but the dev died and no one has resumed development that I've heard, it's not compatible with the current forum version.
I deleted six spam threads, and after I wrote this post, another one popped up! It's a never ending cycle.
Try Ars Technica. I personally have never seen any spam there and it's a decently sized site and community.
Yes, but, Ars doesn't use vBulletin, they use a different commercial software for their forums. vBulletin is targeted by spammers because it is very popular and they can count on the same set of "features" on every site which makes it somewhat easier for them to spam.
Every forum has this problem. If a few extra mods or helpers would help, then maybe AI needs to recruit a few more to squash more spam faster. But, don't blame AI for the spam, blame the bloody spammers.
Comments
Every forum has this problem, so, it's not like you're going to find some forum that is magically free of all Spam. if it is, it's probably because there are too few members to even bother. I used to see spam at that macrumors site all the time, too. The difference is that if you dare to question the high and mighty mods there, you get banned for good.
This is a free site, don't be so hateful. Instead, do your part to help by simply reporting the spam and allowing the volunteer mods to remove them.
I no longer respect AppleInsider. This forum is nothing but an over-sized cesspool. I am so outta here.
Milk the applause ... exit stage left.
Bravo!
Every forum has this problem, so, it's not like you're going to find some forum that is magically free of all Spam. if it is, it's probably because there are too few members to even bother.
Try Ars Technica. I personally have never seen any spam there and it's a decently sized site and community.
AI used to be virtually spam-free and now spam is taking over.
If Ars can do it and AI used to be able to do it, why can't AI be virtually spam-free now?
I think the reason is the same as that embodied in your post: Indifference.
You really expect people not to complain? If a fire is raging people can only ignore it for so long until finally someone yells "FIRE!"
Anyways, isn't there something else you can do about this? I've never seen any tech site forum get targeted like this from random spammers. Its like they've singled out appleinsider for some reason. Isn't there some sort of software filter that can be used or some technique to deal with all of this?
There are software means, but that doesn't mean that other forums don't get spammed. There is one forum that I go to where I've heard they deal with a hundred bot spams a day. They manage to clean it up before most people notice. Here, we only have maybe five active mods, the rest are dormant.
I've reported spam and complained about the spam and contacted Mods directly. The later received no response at all. I see zero change in the level of spam over the past 6 months - it's increasing if anything.
Personally, I'm at a loss for a solution
I've followed up on all the spam reports that I get.
I've found one relevant plug-in that makes it easy to ban spammers, two clicks instead of eight, but the dev died and no one has resumed development that I've heard, it's not compatible with the current forum version.
I deleted six spam threads, and after I wrote this post, another one popped up! It's a never ending cycle.
Personally, I'm at a loss for a solution
Jeff, have you guys implemented any of these measures?
http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=275800
Jeff, have you guys implemented any of these measures?
http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=275800
Thanks, that looks like a good list. I have passed that link on.
Try Ars Technica. I personally have never seen any spam there and it's a decently sized site and community.
Yes, but, Ars doesn't use vBulletin, they use a different commercial software for their forums. vBulletin is targeted by spammers because it is very popular and they can count on the same set of "features" on every site which makes it somewhat easier for them to spam.
Every forum has this problem. If a few extra mods or helpers would help, then maybe AI needs to recruit a few more to squash more spam faster. But, don't blame AI for the spam, blame the bloody spammers.