Topic: Lots of spam accounts and posts…

[Lazvon]

Thank you everyone for the reports of spam posts. I try to get to them as fast I can.

The AI Bot posters are definitely active.

In other news, wish I could actually play Rolemaster and participate in the forums, but happy to help out with spam if nothing else. Someday… free time again… I hope.

[Elrich Maltah]

Thanks for your help in keeping these forums under control from spam and bots.

I'm a moderator on another legacy game's forums (defined as one that's still around, but definitely had its IP heyday a decade or more ago), and this is something that we've been battling lately, too. One thing that seems to have helped vs. fake profile creation is changing the challenge questions that registrants must answer. The previous batch was what I would define as "gimme" questions that didn't really require any knowledge of the property. I suggested a longer list of new ones that people who actually played the game would know, but also could be answered by doing general internet searches. This seems to have stumped the bots completely, at least for now. I don't know if this would be a viable solution for these forums (I don't even remember if there were questions when I registered here), but it ought to be an option since you use a newer version of the SMF software than we do.

Another thing I'm doing is closing profiles that have never posted and have never been "Last Active" on the forums. When I started on this, we had more than 36,000 profiles, but over half of those were added after the retail version of the game shut down. This told me that there was obvious bloat and risk of profiles that could be turned to promote unwanted content. The ICE members list is nowhere near that size (less than 9,500 profiles as of today), but I can still see examples that are hiding external sites in their profiles (at least seven with websites in the last 45 days when sorted by registration date). This could be another front to consider tackling in your anti-spam efforts.

[nash]

Thanks for your efforts Lazvon!  Definitely been a surge in spam bots.

A quick question:  Is it helpful when we report to moderator spam posts?  When I see one I report it - but I just wanted to check it actually makes your job easier.

And maybe more VTT support will make it easier to find a game ;-)

[Lazvon]

Yes, please report. Not being active means that is the way I see them.

We definitely had a few logins a few months ago from years ago. Since it wa several accounts, I assume someone just requested “password resets” for email addresses they had taken over, then once recovered spammed with those.

Will see if I have any access to do anything preventive, but will validate with others before doing anything.

[Elrich Maltah]

Will see if I have any access to do anything preventive, but will validate with others before doing anything.

Since your last post, there's been a rash of new profiles created that clearly seem to not have this site's best interests in mind. This is because of the websites that are included in those profiles that show up on the members list. Such website topics include:

"How To Change The Windshield Wiper Blades"
"Cardboard Recyling Ideas For You Personally Personally"
"Raising A Newborn On The Cheap"
"How To Get A Baby Belly - 4 Ab Rehab 'Musts'"
"Losing Pregnancy Weight"
"5 The Things I Learned From Breastfeeding"
"Car Windshield Repair And Replacement"
"Babywearing - Choosing The Right Baby Carrier"
"Automotive Business Choices"
"Moving Boxes - A Necessity For Moving - Storing And Packing Items"
"Windshield And Possibly A Replacement Whether Or Not This Shatters"
"The Benefits Of Playing Poker Online"
"Where To Buy A Lots Roses Online - A Pet Dog Home View Of How To Avoid The Risks"
"Baby Carriers Backpacks - How Did We Ever Live Without?"
"Make Sure Your Glass Is Covered"
"Windshield Repair And Replacement - Ideas For Your Family's Safety"
"Packing Items For Real Estate Removals"
"How Much Will It Cost Me In Replacing My Car Window?"
"Baby Carrier Stroller - Comfort And Safety For Your Baby"
"5 Factors As To Why You Are Better Off Playing Bingo Online"
"Live Online Poker Event - Earning Money On The Net!"
"Online Gaming Establishments Can Capture And Grab You For Keeps"

Whatever permission you need to ask for might be good to purge some of these profiles.

[nash]

FWIW Lazvon; considering the age of the forum software and how bad spamming is on the internet... You guys are doing an amazing job of keeping this place mostly clean!

We appreciate the work you and all the other moderators do to keep this place clean, and I know it's generally a thankless job... So here's a thanks from me!

And you always have a spot at the (virtual) table in my games!