I haven't been around here long, but it seems to me like there are too many spammers posting links in discussions - it isn't like that on other discussion groups I am part of... Are we very popular or are we having a hard time keeping out bots?
Too many spammers?
Not bots
Yes, we are very popular. Although we may not have a huge amount of conversation, what we do have is really good and helpful for a lot of people. That gives us a high ranking in google searches and that, in turn, makes us more of a target for spammers that other sites.
No, we are not having trouble keeping out bots. 99% of the spam that gets through is actually posted by humans. They sign up for accounts, do the anti-bot steps, confirm their email, and all the rest. Then, they post their junk. Sadly, there is an army of low-paid people (located in certain regions of the world) that do this thing for a living.
I do my best to delete the spam as soon as I see it. So, it may pop up, but it usually doesn't stay around long. Then, I delete the account. Then, another one of the spamming minions starts again.
I've also taken legal action, and succeeded, in situations where that makes sense. Section 2 of our terms (Terms of Use) makes this fairly straightforward.
So, I will continue doing all of the above, and I'm also working on some other anti-spam measures for the future.
Joined: 2010-02-16
Dad Points: 105