Anti-spam measures

Post questions or suggestions here.
Locked
Kevin Solway
Posts: 2766
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2001 8:43 am
Location: Australia
Contact:

Anti-spam measures

Post by Kevin Solway »

Anti-spam measures

This post describes how our simple anti-spam measures work.

These restrictions only apply to new users. They are removed automatically after your account meets certain criteria. Normal users will never be effected by these restrictions.

How does it work?

New user accounts are slightly restricted to deny spammers a place to put a link.

These restrictions only apply to new users. They are removed automatically after your account meets certain criteria. Normal users will never be effected by these restrictions.
  • New users receive an error if they use off-site links in posts or signatures. New users can still link to web pages on this site.
  • New users receive an error if they use certain forbidden words in posts or signatures. The error reports the trigger word to help you find and remove it.
  • New users receive an error if they enter non-English characters (like Cyrillic).
  • New users can't save a personal profile. Spammers like to put a URL in the personal profile.
  • Accounts that don't post within 24 hours of registration are automatically disabled and then purged.
Who is a new user?

The above restrictions only apply to new users. We are constantly tweaking the definition of a new user to stop spam while not annoying real people. These restrictions currently apply to users who:
  • Have less than 1 post
  • Registered in the last 24 hours
The restrictions are automatically removed once an account meets these criteria.

Help, I'm stuck

We apologize if you get caught in the filter. We'll keep tweaking it to find a good balance of usability.
Serendipper
Posts: 136
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2017 12:43 pm

Re: Anti-spam measures

Post by Serendipper »

Kevin Solway wrote:Accounts that don't post within 24 hours of registration are automatically disabled and then purged.

We apologize if you get caught in the filter. We'll keep tweaking it to find a good balance of usability.
I was caught in the filter and accidentally discovered the 24 hour rule. In hindsight, the spooky coincidence is that I lived up to my name. I had registered late and decided to post later, but by the time "later" arrived, a few days had past. Oops.

Are unused accounts problematic? Maybe consider stretching it to 72 hours. I hope this counts as my first post because I don't have anything in mind to post about, only that I would want to when time and mood coincide.
User avatar
Diebert van Rhijn
Posts: 6469
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2005 4:43 pm

Re: Anti-spam measures

Post by Diebert van Rhijn »

Serendipper wrote:
Kevin Solway wrote:Accounts that don't post within 24 hours of registration are automatically disabled and then purged.

We apologize if you get caught in the filter. We'll keep tweaking it to find a good balance of usability.
I was caught in the filter and accidentally discovered the 24 hour rule. In hindsight, the spooky coincidence is that I lived up to my name. I had registered late and decided to post later, but by the time "later" arrived, a few days had past. Oops.

Are unused accounts problematic? Maybe consider stretching it to 72 hours. I hope this counts as my first post because I don't have anything in mind to post about, only that I would want to when time and mood coincide.
Hi Serendipper, sorry about the System deleting you. But good you tried again and welcome!

It's all about that first post. Then there's a restriction for a day in terms of posting links. All has to do with the pattern of the average spam account, which is the majority of the sign-ups these days. Their posts are often auto-rejected for obvious keywords and links, which would keep their post count zero.

But after the first is in, post whenever you want. Some only post once a year here! So be patient reply wise :)
Serendipper
Posts: 136
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2017 12:43 pm

Re: Anti-spam measures

Post by Serendipper »

Diebert van Rhijn wrote:Hi Serendipper, sorry about the System deleting you. But good you tried again and welcome!

It's all about that first post. Then there's a restriction for a day in terms of posting links. All has to do with the pattern of the average spam account, which is the majority of the sign-ups these days. Their posts are often auto-rejected for obvious keywords and links, which would keep their post count zero.

But after the first is in, post whenever you want. Some only post once a year here! So be patient reply wise :)
Thanks for the welcome and I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I'm imagining that I am the only one to have had this trouble because finding novel problems where none otherwise exist is often the narrative with me.

If talent is hitting the target that no one else can hit and genius is hitting the target no one else can see, then what is walking in to (into) a bar that no one knew existed? (My attempt at self-deprecating humor :)

If history is a guide, I'm slow to start, but fairly active once in motion.

I won't clutter this thread; I just wanted to say thanks!
Locked