? about spam

[OffAssist]

nevermind...

[Audrey]

Lori,

You have a great community. The spam is overwhelming. Have you thought about either moderating someone's first 5 posts or requiring opting in through a valid email address in order to join? Either of those would cut down incredibly on the amount of spam.

[OffAssist]

I guess I consider a lot of this message board spam - maybe at least have that huge adveritise and biz ops category not show up when you click "new posts" -- it's horrible trying to wade through all the spammy posts to find the good stuff.

[Lori]

Thanks gals -

I know. I'm really sorry. I agree 100%.

I'm looking into my options and will let you know what actions I take.

It's ridiculous how much spam I get even just over night. I could spend a good 2 hours a day on it.

Thanks for sticking with me -- I'm with you, and would much rather see some good discussions happening.

Lori

[sjfroh]

Have I said this before?
But do you think if you have an application process, it would cut down on the spam? I think most people are finding it too easy to post and run. Just a thought. I'd hate to see good people leave because they can't get through the spam. In all honesty, I've been only replying to posts the other people have replied to because I noticed all the topics with no replies are all spam. That's my secret anyways :)

[Lori]

I've been holding off on the application process because I'm also afraid of losing potentially good members. I can get really busy and worry that I won't be right on top of approving applications...

Last night I made a change where when someone signs up they receive an email and have to click a link on that email before their membership is activated. That's one more step -- so I'm hoping that will deter some of these spammers.

if the spam doesn't lessen then I will take stronger measures though.

Argh! :cuss:

[Audrey]

Lori,

It's not just you. This is a huge problem everywhere. I'm told it's not "humans" but "bots" that are placing these ads. By requiring email verification, I think it will cut down tremendously on your spam.

[Lori]

Thanks for the encouragement Audrey :rolleyes:

Lori,

It's not just you. This is a huge problem everywhere. I'm told it's not "humans" but "bots" that are placing these ads. By requiring email verification, I think it will cut down tremendously on your spam.

[WorkAtHomeSpace]

I just switched my registration process that the registrant click on a link sent to their email address they registered with to be verified before becoming a member. The spammers will use an email address they never check so hoping this will deter them from registering just to spam the forum. If they don't verify, they aren't even in the database, so no worries about having them inactive.

Edited: I must be losing it, my board was always set up to the verification email. It must be Friday. ;)

[Lori]

Edited: I must be losing it, my board was always set up to the verification email. It must be Friday. ;)

Ut-oh. So does that mean there isn't much hope that this is going to work?

[WorkAtHomeSpace]

Ut-oh. So does that mean there isn't much hope that this is going to work?

I'm not doing too well today am I? :eek: I should have mentioned I haven't gotten any spam posts (knock on wood) by having the forum set up that way. With the way it is set up and a human needs to verify it, I would safely assume it deters a lot of the spammers (hopefully the bots).

[TeamGopher]

I know the situation too. I run a product support and business forum as well. Spam can be a pain but I just take it as part of running a board. I just delete spam and move on :)

[Lori]

I know the situation too. I run a product support and business forum as well. Spam can be a pain but I just take it as part of running a board. I just delete spam and move on :)

That's true. But once the spam starts getting to be so much that forum members are complaining I know I have to do something! :dunno:

Actually, it does seem to help having the email verification in place. Has anyone noticed an improvement?

Lori

[Holly]

If ANYONE ever comes up with a solution to this, they will be multi-millionaires! This is a huge problem on my site as well and I am a very new site. How do they find us and is it really that profitable for them to do this?