Spammers are getting out of hand

[lordy]

So many spam posts are showing up for phones and golf clubs that it is out of hand. Please PM BonsaiNut and let him know what forum and thread is spam so they can be deleted. If they dont get views then they will decide to go elsewhere.

 

[A Random User]

But then how will I learn of all these wonderful products,
I just have to have ???

 

[gionk]

i agree i click the little exclamation point every time and leave a short comment. doesnt that email bonsainut admin?

 

[sherwoodschwartz]

i love them. especially the ones that read like deranged ukranian translations of dr suess translated back into english.

hey friend, do you have to unlock secrets of pumpernickle iphone? bazooka time deals!

 

[Paradox]

I agree, the spam is getting rediculous and taking up space for no good reason.
VBulletin is considered one of the better forums. They must have some type of antispam plugin to prevent the crap posts? I've used SMF forums a lot in the past, and that's a free forums, even they have anti-spam mods.

 

[QuintinBonsai]

Spambots have always been an on going issue for most forums. Just report them, and they will be deleted. I'm not certain if there's a sure fire way to prevent them from entering. Maybe a double, or triple 'captcha' would help.

 

[coh]

Most of the spammers seem to have a couple of characteristics:
1) "new" posters with low post counts
2) they use certain "key" words or phrases in the post title or body (apple, phone, viagra, golf, etc)

So...can the software be configured to block posts that meet the above criteria, i.e. (1) low post count (less than 5, or 10), and (2) contain certain "key" words or phrases in the title or body of the post? Blocked posts would have to be sorted by a moderator since some of them might be real bonsai posts (i.e. a new member trying to post a thread about apple bonsai would get flagged)...more work for moderators. There is no perfect solution to this annoying problem...

 

[Poink88]

A few elite SPAM GUARDS should do the trick...and blast those pesky spam within a few minutes.

Most will probably won't come back and move on easier target if they see their efforts are thwarted fast. Problem is...we are the easy target right now (being a bit lenient and slow in addressing the problem).

 

[catfish chapstick]

i got a sweet deal on a iphone. you guys are just jealous

 

[Bonsai Nut]

If I moderate new users - even for a couple of hours - I get rid of 95% of them.

I just turned on moderation for a week or two to get rid of the traffic.