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Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
 Posted - 2011-11-09 : 15:19:25
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alexylee www.sqlteam.com/forums/search.asp?mode=DoIt&MEMBER_ID=69884What's the site's position on spam like this? i.e. members who answer a few questions, maybe. Members who dredge up 5 year old threads and post a spurious reply. Members who make junk replies (often couched as legit posts).But all of them with a Signature blocks that link to their site, or offering "useful advice" on a blog post, on their site of course, pushing their product ... rather than just posting a response within the context of the thread.Personally I think it weakens the SQL Team brand, and I would prefer that they were removed, but having done my level-best to report them over a period of months I've got to the point of losing interest. The method of reporting them is tedious, and I don't have the time. For new posts I can (and do) NUKE them. For REPLIES I have no weapons.If policy is that the site is not bothered giving these scum a free ride for Google Link Ranking I'll bite my tongue and live with it.But if policy is that they are not to be tolerated, and either:1. an upgrade to the forum is imminent and that will fix it, and/or making reporting them a "single-click" event2. Graz is going to make me Moderator so I can just delete the junk as I see it, instead of having to spend 5 minutes to report each one, in order to keep me quiet.then that's fine  . Alternatively:3. I'm open to other suggestions |
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tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess
38200 Posts |
Posted - 2011-11-09 : 15:36:19
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| We don't have a strict policy. I haven't locked alexylee's account or deleted too many of his posts as they are on topic and the tools are free. I'd have more of a problem if they weren't free. But that's just my take. Plus he has made a point to answer some posts without pushing his software, but of course there's still his signature. I do find it annoying when they dredge up old posts and make an effort to delete the new posts with links to software. I will let Bill and Rob decide whether or not we should lock alexylee's account and delete all of his posts.Tara KizerMicrosoft MVP for Windows Server System - SQL Serverhttp://weblogs.sqlteam.com/tarad/Subscribe to my blog |
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Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2011-11-09 : 15:44:52
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| Thanks Tara. |
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robvolk
Most Valuable Yak
15732 Posts |
Posted - 2011-11-09 : 15:48:39
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| I think a modification to nuke replies as spam would be best, although it's probably trickier than what's currently in use. I'd also think automatically locking any thread that hasn't been replied to in over 2 years is a good start. That can be done at the database level if needed.I could swear Snitz had a setting that allowed certain features after a certain number of posts, but the only thing I see for signatures is on/off. It's probably easier to just lock the user if they abuse it like this.Not sure about upgrading the forum software, we didn't get to talk to Bill about it at PASS cause he's all busy being president and shit. I wouldn't worry about 13 posts affecting SQLTeam's reputation. All forums have spam. |
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Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2011-11-09 : 18:01:50
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| "I think a modification to nuke replies as spam would be best, although it's probably trickier than what's currently in use."From memory Graz said that was difficult when he originally introduced whole-thread nuking."Report this" might be an alternative (again, I have no idea of the level of difficulty to implement). Perhaps providing a "Comment" Form Field and have that POST to a page that records the Comment and the ID of the original message. But I seem to remember Tara saying that it was a PITA to delete a member's individual messages in Snitz?"I wouldn't worry about 13 posts affecting SQLTeam's reputation"Its more ... whilst not lots for any single member (because someone would report a member who did high-volume), there are usually a couple, or more, each week.But I don't know where one would draw the line. Seems to be that some spammers now put some effort (not enough IMHO) into participating in order to get away with their payload, as simple "plain spam" (vegetarian spam?!) gets deleted ... |
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TG
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
6065 Posts |
Posted - 2011-11-10 : 10:13:47
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| this one cracks me up. These two guys could could make a career out of replying to each others posts.Be One with the OptimizerTG |
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Michael Valentine Jones
Yak DBA Kernel (pronounced Colonel)
7020 Posts |
Posted - 2011-11-10 : 10:58:37
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| "Please mark answer as accepted if it helped you."CODO ERGO SUM |
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Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2011-11-10 : 11:15:54
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| I might try answering with this:Your answer is unacceptable |
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graz
Chief SQLTeam Crack Dealer
4149 Posts |
Posted - 2011-11-10 : 11:56:15
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| I love the gray areas. :). As long as they are providing valuable information with their answer and not just with their link and it's non-commercial it's usually too much trouble to deal with. Now that the summit is over I'm revisiting upgrading the forums. I've one more pass thing right before Thanksgiving and then I get a break. I'll try to put that time to good use.=================================================Creating tomorrow's legacy systems today. One crisis at a time. |
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Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2011-11-10 : 13:13:50
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| I'm busy as a busy-thing at present, but will do my best to help with any testing etc. that you might need.Do please send me a private message if you start active work and I don't show up online in a reasonable timeframe to be of some help. |
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What's the site policy on casual SPAM?