Reporting

[MaryAnn]

Is there a way to report a post without having to actually open it????? There have been more than a few recently - I don't know why/how they attack here and not the other forums I visit. I would like to report them without having to actually view them.

[Audrey]

MaryAnn,

I have a few answers. The first answer is that you do have to open the post to report it.

My 2nd answer is that I'm here at least twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. When I'm going to be out of town, I let Lori know so she knows I'm not here to check the boards.

I at least scan every board when I'm here.

I know everyone hates spam and I do get rid of it as time allows.

Here's a suggestion so you're not having to open the posts....let the spam sit here for 24 hours. If you see I've missed it, then open it and hit report. I get an email when you do that and I'll know I've missed something and I'll come take care of it.

What do you think?

[Lori]

I know the spam is just awful. I'm continually amazed that these people somehow think posting here will bring them traffic. It's appalling.

I so appreciate Audrey's efforts moderating. Things would be SO much worse without her.

I get emails when new posts are made and so I catch quite a few during the day also... I've also been trying to actually ban these people from the server all together. The problem is that they seem to have multiple ip addresses so it's hard to completely irradicate them.

I also really value members who take the time to report posts -- thank you so much!

I have had an offer from another forum member to help with the moderating. I just haven't had time to talk with her. Maybe another person will make a big difference!

Thanks for sticking around in spite of these posts MaryAnn!

Lori

[MaryAnn]

First I want to thank you all for doing a great job. I hope my post didn't sound like I was complaining that you weren't doing a good job. I just wanted to know how I could help without actually opening up the post.

I don't know why these obscene posts have been cropping up here lately. I wanted to report them but I didn't know how without actually opening them to click on the report icon.

Audrey - I like your suggestion. The obvious ones I'll ignore. The one's I happen to open out of ignorance :) I'll just let set for the day. If I still see them, I'll report them.

[WorkAtHomeSpace]

Hi Lori,

I noticed you're on vBulletin. On another board I moderate, the owner recently made it so the new members posts were put in a moderation queue so any spammers trying to spam would have their spam post waiting in moderation and not be posted on the board. Yes, legitimate members also had to wait to be validated, but I think it's worth the wait instead of having visitors and members be subject to the spam.

It works beautifully and the site is spam free.

[Audrey]

Hi Lori,

I noticed you're on vBulletin. On another board I moderate, the owner recently made it so the new members posts were put in a moderation queue so any spammers trying to spam would have their spam post waiting in moderation and not be posted on the board. Yes, legitimate members also had to wait to be validated, but I think it's worth the wait instead of having visitors and members be subject to the spam.

It works beautifully and the site is spam free.

Really...after their first post we know if they are legitimate or not. Hmmm Lori...what do you think?

[WorkAtHomeSpace]

The true human spammers who post all the nasties you will know right away and their usernames are usually dead giveaways. The genuine ones usually posts in the Intro thread or other parts of the forum and the posts are certainly not spammy looking. Of course, you would also have to use your own judgement. The spammers are definitely obvious.

[Lori]

Well -- this is something I haven't wanted to do, but I think you ladies are right.

I've gone ahead and made it so that new members need to be approved before they can post.

We'll see how it goes :)

Lori

[Audrey]

Lori,

If you want me to help with that, just let me know. I'm happy to.

[Audrey]

I just want to add, that it might take 30 days or 60 days and we might be able to go back to the other way. I think sometimes lists get put out there and this board "might" be on that list.

[WorkAtHomeSpace]

I automatically assumed you had the "power" to do that Audrey. :oops:

[Audrey]

Nope....I'm a moderator on most of the boards, not all of them. I have no admin rights.

[Lori]

Well, I have to say -- there has been a lot less spam!

It's a little bit difficult trying to determine if they are a spammer with just the username -- but I'm finding many of the ip addresses are similar and they register in clusters at a time.

Hopefully soon we'll find the forum much more enjoyable!!!

The other thing that really bugs me is people only posting ads... We tried to address this by saying that people had to have 10 quality posts before posting -- but really it hasn't changed things much.

I'm always open to everyone's suggestions on how to make the forums better -- so please always give your feedback. I really appreciate that you care!

Lori

[Audrey]

Lori,

There are only so many choices for the folks who only place ads:

1. get rid of the ad boards
2. delete the ads off every 3-5 days so if someone only comes by once a month, their ad will only be up for 3 days
3. delete one of the two boards, so all the ads are only on the one board
4. ignore it and know that others do look at post counts before answering ads and often skip over those ads that come from folks who never do anything but place ads :)

[MaryAnn]

I think having a separate place for ads only is good. I also like the idea of deleting them all once or twice a week. I'm also a fan of tough love - if your ad is in the wrong place, it gets removed immediately. If you continue and don't learn from your past mistakes, you get banned.