Common Place Spam

jak · Post by **jak** » Mon May 19, 2008 7:07 am

Should we all agree to stop posting in the Common Place section? Then we could stop wasting time checking if there's anything except that nasty spam in there.

But I guess we could never be sure everyone had signed up to this. Pity.

Celeste Stewart · Post by **Celeste Stewart** » Mon May 19, 2008 7:15 am

That thread and the video forums are spammers favorites. In the video forum, only one actual post is legit. I'd love to see that one go away completely.

In the last few weeks, I've been deleting between 100 to 150 spam messages a day in the Common Place. It's never ending. Rarely are there any legitimate messages there. Not sure why they love that particular forum but they do.

Ed · Post by Ed » Mon May 19, 2008 7:28 am

Oh, Celeste - I didn't know you were still doing that. Thank you very much, but I think it's time to say, "Just don't worry about it." Both of us working on it together can't keep ahead of it - especially since I was away and wasn't online regularly. I delete the spam in the other forums, but let it alone in Common Place. This issue will have to be dealt with another way. I hate to see the forums taken over by spam, but if we're going to get spammers, at least they can be relegated to one place where no one has to pay attention.

So everyone, just don't post or click on Common Place. Ignore the spam even though its content makes you ill.

Thanks,
Ed

Celeste Stewart · Post by **Celeste Stewart** » Mon May 19, 2008 8:10 am

Yes, I've been cleaning that forum up. I used to go in every few hours whenever I saw the little red star icon but lately I've been doing it once a day so I can delete them in mass.

At least that area is located on the bottom where we can't see it unless we look.

Elizabeth Ann West · Post by **Elizabeth Ann West** » Mon May 19, 2008 9:04 am

Hmm I think one problem is that forum registration is not linked to profile registration on the main site. One of my suggestions was to create a more private area for authors to discuss issues, especially as some of them are sensitive like pricing, and we wouldn't want buyers to necessarily be privy to.

If registration on the forums was more robust, and not automatic approval, it would cut down on the spam a great deal.

I've run tons of forums for gaming, so I learned early on that automatic registration approval is fine when a forum community is small. However, once the forum is indexed by Google with over a hundred members, some type of approval system is needed.

Another option would be to designate more moderators on the threads. I think there are a number of us here who regularly post and have shown good judgment that we could help with self-policing.

Always Smiling,
Elizabeth Ann West

Ed · Post by Ed » Mon May 19, 2008 9:20 am

This issue has been addressed to people running the site, so I'm sure a solution is on the horizon. I'll make sure to address it again.

Ed

Elizabeth Ann West · Post by **Elizabeth Ann West** » Mon May 19, 2008 9:24 am

Looks like Christmas is early again this year!

Just kidding, that's great to hear Ed. I don't think we ever got any feedback on that request (if we did, feel free to link to it and point out to me, I will happy to be wrong).

I think it will just add more professionalism to the site, and that's a great thing for online writing.

Thanks!

Ed · Post by Ed » Mon May 19, 2008 9:29 am

Yeah - I made this problem known to Support a couple of weeks ago. But they've been hugely busy dealing with other issues. I'm certain it's on the to-do list. Everyone is on the same boat when it comes to feelings about spam.

I just don't understand why the spammers don't shift to something that would capture a larger demographic, like "Free cute kitten pics!" I mean, it would be just as effective . . . right?

Ed

Celeste Stewart · Post by **Celeste Stewart** » Mon May 19, 2008 9:39 am

Unfortunately, the numbers point to the porn demographic - it's disgustingly HUGE!

Ever look at the top 100 search terms? I use WordTracker from time to time and it shows you the latest search terms. It's disheartening to see what people are searching for and I'm surprised at how many people are obsessed with Brittany's undies (or lack of).

(WordTracker does also have an option where you can filter out the adult content).

grouchy · Post by **grouchy** » Mon May 19, 2008 10:03 am

Good grief, Celeste - I had no idea.

Sorry for what you've had to do - you too, Ed.