What to do in case we have a spambot. - Please read again!!!

DarthDimi

(Please also check out this.)

Dear members,

Spambots and other auto-generated forms of digital madness cannot be communicated with. They will not respond. Hence, any reply to an automatically generated spam post is a waste of energy. Please understand that IFM,

* ignore
* flag
* move on,

is the best tactic to efficiently stop their filth. This forum prides itself on the quick action it takes in case we have a spambot. It prides itself even more on the strict application of IFM by almost all its members. But sometimes comments are still made in a thread that's doomed to end up in the bin. Please refrain from making such futile comments.

Thanks to all for your willingness to keep this forum clean and in order, and to report spam via the flag system.

chrisisall

I think the point also has to be made that the first rule of IFM is not to post that you're IFMing. :))

Dragonpol

Received and understood; it's what I mostly do, although I may have been guilty of commenting in the past. Where do these spambots originate from, I wonder?

DiscoVolante

chrisisall wrote:

I think the point also has to be made that the first rule of IFM is not to post that you're IFMing. :))

Exactly.

"Don't reply to this, it's a spambot, IFM!" is not the way to go, in other words.

DarthDimi

Going to need that IFM tattoo. ;-)

MajorDSmythe

The Ian Fleming Maneuver, it kills all known trolls. And some not known.

Dragonpol

MajorDSmythe wrote:

The Ian Fleming Maneuver, it kills all known trolls. And some not known.

Sounds like a weed-killer. It'd be right at home in Blofeld's Garden of Death, though.

DarthDimi

Folks, don't reply to trolls! They won't interact with you. Many have by now learned to leave those threads empty and merely flag.

Creasy47

It's a beautiful maneuver that shouldn't be negated by ignoring the first step.

QBranch

I check the activity page often, and notice there's always spam-and-go users signing up. It's hard to spot them sometimes, but the ones who have 10 random letters and numbers in their user name, (for example 'sP4mTr0Ll5'), are always guaranteed to be spammers. Some of them even hibernate for weeks before they decide to strike. Yes, it's a waste of time responding to them, as they never read the threads they create. Once they post the link to whatever they're selling, they've done their job.

Dragonpol

QBranch wrote:

I check the activity page often, and notice there's always spam-and-go users signing up. It's hard to spot them sometimes, but the ones who have 10 random letters and numbers in their user name, (for example 'sP4mTr0Ll5'), are always guaranteed to be spammers. Some of them even hibernate for weeks before they decide to strike. Yes, it's a waste of time responding to them, as they never read the threads they create. Once they post the link to whatever they're selling, they've done their job.

My thoughts exactly regarding the Activity page - I think that these spambots and trolls can be nipped in the bud at an early point before their registration is accepted.

CriticAndProud

I haven't seen many spammers/trolls around so IFM must be working. Good job keeping the place clean !

WillyGalore

CriticAndProud wrote:

I haven't seen many spammers/trolls around so IFM must be working. Good job keeping the place clean !

Yes it is although you missed yesterday's troll. Thankfully, he was wiped from history within a few hours.

Dragonpol

I do think there are a few trolls still lurking around though, so it's no time for complacency! Some trolls are more subtle than others of course and hence it is longer before they are unmasked for what they really are. Some of their daft avatars is as good a guide as any.