Do me a favor other members

If a thread pops up and you notice that it is ANCIENT (especially if it wasn't particularly popular), go to the last page and see what the poster that dredged it up is saying. More often than not I find a brand new account that's pretty blatantly advertising something.

Perhaps check a few of their other posts, and if they all look like ads please hit ALERT on one of their posts and tell the mods about it.

Just saw one, the person was hawking Cialis.

a reply to: Domo1
Very true. I've noticed and alerted a few from time to time.
It's not the whole story, though. For some reason, genuine new members frequently decide to rack up their qualifying posts by bumping very old threads, especially in the Theology forum (what's wrong with bumping one of mine instead?)

a reply to: Domo1

go to the last page and see what the poster that dredged it up is saying. More often than not I find a brand new account that's pretty blatantly advertising something.

But I don't want to watch / look for ads...

Hey, is this an ad?

I also notice some members bring CNN segments here for 'debate'. I despise CNN, never watch it, one of these threads is at the top of the front page right now.

Its like, here this sucks, watch it.

Not...

a reply to: DISRAELI

I'm talking REAL blatant. Like there's no way it's not an ad. This is also why I go check other posts to see if it's the same thing being spammed in other posts, and why instead of responding I just hit ALERT.

It might be a real stupid post if it's a new member, but it's not going read like an actual commercial, even if they are recommending some product.

a reply to: Domo1

I trashed a thread recently that was 9/10 spam posts going back over a year. The OP hasn't been around for months so I PMd them an explanation. Didn't seem fair to have a two-page thread with 90% of posts being removed and it was like a honey trap for spambots and spammers. It's hard to believe how some threads are never, ever noticed unless it's by a spammer.

It's always appreciated when members alert these spam accounts and we ban them quickly.

The internet has seen newer versions of the spammer in the past two years or so. One was like watching evolution in progress. We had accounts with *John Smith* common names that would post in threads and basically be on topic. What they were doing was snipping a couple of sentences from the thread and posting them as their own - automated. Only a keen eye could pick up on it. Subsequently some would drop spam links (banned them) and others seemed to have no purpose other than blending in.

The latter (in my opinion) were prototypes for the social media comment bots that became fake accounts for pushing partisan politics. We banned them too.

a reply to: Domo1
Yes, I know what you mean. When the "new member" offers up a link, that's almost guaranteed spam.

originally posted by: DISRAELI
a reply to: Domo1
Yes, I know what you mean. When the "new member" offers up a link, that's almost guaranteed spam.

Or worse. Be careful about clicking on links from 'new members'. I hit quote on their post and see what site is listed, then search to see what its about, first.

Mostly its benign, butcha neber no...

a reply to: Domo1

Really? Cialis?
Was it a good deal?

a reply to: Domo1

I've had a necromancer fairy before. I seem to get newly created members posting on my old, inconsequential threads.

I'm pretty sure a lot of new members are just the same couple hundred recycled through the wash ;-)

a reply to: IAMTAT

2 for 1 but 3 for 2

originally posted by: IAMTAT
Really? Cialis?
Was it a good deal?

It was. But the one for Viagra may give them some stiff competition.

a reply to: Domo1

I feel strongly about this.



But not as strong as the cleaning power of Ajax!

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: IAMTAT
Really? Cialis?
Was it a good deal?

It was. But the one for Viagra may give them some stiff competition.

That reminds me of FedEx...

When it absolutely--positively--has to be there overnight!
FedEx

a reply to: Kandinsky
About two years ago, there was a new member who had a suspicious sounding name juxtaposed to a cult experience I had years ago. In the introduction post I queried softly about the name and did not get a forth coming reply.
Then later that day I found one cryptic reply in my old introduction where I had mentioned my experience in that cult. That nom-de- plume never showed up again, under that name at least.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

There are certainly some highly unusual folk out there and some, like yours, are very intriguing.

We had one who would repeatedly edit their short posts until it had slowly built up to a few hundred words of mystical doom and gloom. Then they'd (just as slowly) snip and delete little bits until the post was a one-liner or nothing left. To me it was like a (very crazy) flower growing from bud* to bloom and then dying back again. The funkiest thing about it was how nobody really noticed. A couple of alerts and that was all.

* more than likely a LOT of bud

It's always a good idea to alert the mods to spam and potential T&C abuse.

The sooner it is alerted, the better the chance it will be removed quickly.

So, thanks for the help.

Thread closed.