Don't reply to the spam

[gerryhatrick]

We get a fair amount of spam. I've noticed some posters "bump" this up by replying.

DON'T!

[Charles Anthony]

I think GerryhAtrick is correct that it is wrong to BUMP up spam.

However, if spam is detected very early, (i.e., so that it does NOT bump its ranking in the forum) I think it is wise to indicate that it has been reported. The reason: to prevent Greg from being inundated with many reports for the same spam-message.

Greg, please tell us what you think.

Also, I would add to Gerry's advice:

You should never click on a link in a spam message. The spammer receives notification in his server logs of which forum is good bait.

[kimmy]

You should never click on a link in a spam message. The spammer receives notification in his server logs of which forum is good bait.

But what if I really want the herbal breast enhancers?

-k

[Charles Anthony]

All kidding aside, it would be better to hover your cursor over the link and copy the link location. Open a separate browser and paste the link location in the address field. That way, the spammer's server logs will not directly associate your interest in herbal breast enhancers with the Maple Leaf Forum.

[Greg]

However, if spam is detected very early, (i.e., so that it does NOT bump its ranking in the forum) I think it is wise to indicate that it has been reported. The reason: to prevent Greg from being inundated with many reports for the same spam-message.

Greg, please tell us what you think.

Yes, I agree. If you see spam, please take the time to notify me, and post a reply that you're reported the thread.

Please note, even the most sophisticated anti-spam solution won't catch all spam. In some cases, spammers are hiring people to manually post spam in forums (to get around filters), so don't get yourself too worked up about the odd spam posting.

Deleting the spam the second it is reported is the best option, and I appreciate everyones efforts in that regard!

[Cameron]

When I saw the topic and your name at the front Gerry...I was tempted....But I'll hold my tongue.

[gerryhatrick]

When I saw the topic and your name at the front Gerry...I was tempted....But I'll hold my tongue.

go right ahead.

[gerryhatrick]

Yes, I agree. If you see spam, please take the time to notify me, and post a reply that you're reported the thread.

Why would you want anyone to post that it's been reported?

IMO the best is NO posts, NO reporting.

Let them sink into oblivion...if you happen to log on at the time (prior to the sink to oblivion) then you can delete.

[Charles Anthony]

Why would you want anyone to post that it's been reported?

To prevent the second (and the third and the fourth and the fifth and .... and the next who just logged in) person from reporting it too -- obviously.

Why would Greg want to be get a million PMs about the same spam message????

IMO the best is NO posts, NO reporting.

The best for who??

Try to think of what it is like to be Greg. He probably gets a million PMs everyday. Some of those are reports of spam and some of those are reports of childish flame-bait threads. He only needs ONE notification for a spam message.

[Greg]

He only needs ONE notification for a spam message.

Agreed - I do get quite a few PMs and emails a day, so anything to cut down on the amount is a good idea. Also, if I don't respond to your report, please understand that I appreciate you taking the time to report the post, however, I can't possibly respond to everyone.

Rest assured, I read every PM and Report that is sent in.

Thanks

Greg

Admin

[gerryhatrick]

Why would you want anyone to post that it's been reported?

To prevent the second (and the third and the fourth and the fifth and .... and the next who just logged in) person from reporting it too -- obviously.

Why would Greg want to be get a million PMs about the same spam message????

You're missing my point. I'm saying encourage NO PM's for spam. None, nadda, zip.

Greg will either see them and delete them or they can sink into oblivion.

[Charles Anthony]

they can sink into oblivion.

No. So long as the link is still active, search engine robots will follow them.

By the way, have you ever seen BoardTracker and Google.com log in to the forum??

It is not just deleting the messages but the IP addresses are blocked so that the forum does not receive more spam. The sooner the spam address is blocked, the less spam the forum will receive.

If the spam message contains links and people click on those links -- or if search engine robots follow them; something nobody can control -- the spammer receives notification through server logs that this forum is alive and a good target.

[GostHacked]

I think GerryhAtrick is correct that it is wrong to BUMP up spam.

However, if spam is detected very early, (i.e., so that it does NOT bump its ranking in the forum) I think it is wise to indicate that it has been reported. The reason: to prevent Greg from being inundated with many reports for the same spam-message.

Greg, please tell us what you think.

Also, I would add to Gerry's advice:

You should never click on a link in a spam message. The spammer receives notification in his server logs of which forum is good bait.

Maybe you know something about this that I do not. How would a spammer get a notification that the link was clicked from this site? I know it can track YOUR IP address ect, but I am not sure how the link reports it. Being in IT, this is something I am interested in to know.

[Riverwind]

Maybe you know something about this that I do not. How would a spammer get a notification that the link was clicked from this site? I know it can track YOUR IP address ect, but I am not sure how the link reports it. Being in IT, this is something I am interested in to know.

Many spammers and legimate advertisers append a unique number to the end of the URL (usually shows up after a '?'). When you click on the link they can look up the unique number in their database which will tell them exactly where the link was.

[gerryhatrick]

they can sink into oblivion.

No. So long as the link is still active, search engine robots will follow them.

Are you saying that spam companies have search engines that go looking for websites that contain their links?

If that's the case then I change my position on it....Greg would be right to want a report so he can zap them.

[gerryhatrick]

After watching this for a few days, I am convinced that it's a bad idea to respond to this crap.

Greg, even if you only log on only once a week the spam for the past week will still be on the front page.

Responding just to say "reported" just makes the impact of the shit worse for everyone.

Report the garbage, sure, but leave it alone. It won't "sink into oblivion" like I mentioned before, Greg will see it either way.

[Charles Anthony]

reported

[sorry, I am just trying to be funny. I could not resist.]

Report the garbage, sure, but leave it alone. It won't "sink into oblivion" like I mentioned before, Greg will see it either way.

Greg probably receives several PMs reporting the exact same spam message. What part of that do you not understand?????

[gerryhatrick]

reported

[sorry, I am just trying to be funny. I could not resist.]

Report the garbage, sure, but leave it alone. It won't "sink into oblivion" like I mentioned before, Greg will see it either way.

Greg probably receives several PMs reporting the exact same spam message. What part of that do you not understand?????

Sigh. You post that like it's relavent to the point I just made, and it's not. So, the part I don't understand is what you're point is.

Your assumption is that if the mail is not "marked" as reported by some jokester's reply that reams of people will PM greg. There's no evidence of that. Regulars will soon learn (if it were policy) not to report them. Who are all these good samaritens that will run around reporting each of the multiple spams we get a day? Nah, you're wrong on that one.

And besides that, have you noticed how the spams have increased since this little reply policy was started?

Maybe these spammers have a little network in which they share information about favorable forums that bump their topics.

It doesn't matter anyway since greg is working on a solution. You keep up the good work 'til then Charlie.

[geoffrey]

Bumping it to the top from 3rd position is hardly a crisis. Plus it saves an inbox full of reports for Greg.

[Greg]

Report it and reply, its the best method to ensure that the spam is removed quickly.