Removal of Spam threads.

I haven't been around much lately but come on today and see this stuff going on.

I did report the first dozen threads created but gave up when I figured out there isn't any mods currently online to actually deal with it.

Restricting new threads is one idea but it depends on the spammers end goals as they may just switch to replying to existing threads.

Good coverage of the site by mods from all time zones is the best idea, though right now is probably the worst possible time as it's the end of week for most countries and people tend to go out, etc

I wonder why. It is not about spamming, whatever the message is it is not getting readers from here.

Originally Posted by Emerson I wonder why. It is not about spamming, whatever the message is it is not getting readers from here.

There may be no "why", it is probably just intended to disrupt and give some cyber-ninja-pervert his jollies. Maybe someone who was told to RTFM or something and thinks this is a way to get back at everyone else... or nothing at all.

The problem now is several fold:

* The cloud and botnet resources that can be easily organized for such attacks are massive and cheap
* Human respect for others seems to be at some historical low, so non-bot resources are easily motivated
* There are no consequences to those who do it and little risk of any accountability, so it is a game

This is just symptomatic of a larger problem, until man can be changed the internet model itself must ultimately be changed.

*** Added ***

But really, this particular one is easily dealt with algorithmically.

Fayrouz327Rae - Signed up today, and between 8:34 and 9:01 made 37 trash posts... 1.4 posts per minute!

Come on, that behavior should be EASILY detected and limited.

Looks like Jeremy has taken care of it.

I pumped some of the spams into Google Translate. They seemed to be advertising something. The translations were imperfect, to put it mildly, but the content referred to "episodes."

My guess is that it has nothing to do specifically with LQ, but with trying to pump up the search engine ranking of whatever they are advertising and, for whatever reason, they consider LQ a vehicle.

In a related thought, SEO is evil.

It appears that he has.

He and the mods definitely have my sympathy and I hope they do not take my posts on the subject as any kind of complaint toward them - they do an amazing job of keeping LQ clean and safe. My own point is just that the nature and scale of the problem is rapidly changing for the worse, from first hand experience.

Based on the events of the past 24+ hours, this one looks more like a profiling probe than a concerted attack... they'll be back.

Originally Posted by frankbell In a related thought, SEO is evil.

A simple truth plainly stated.

I will second what astrogeek said. The LQ mods do amazing work, not only in this area but also in counseling new LQ members, and deserve our gratitude.

I was exchanging PMs with another LQer yesterday about this topic and we agreed that 1) we are glad we are not mods and 2) the mods are due many thanks.

Take note, mods.

And right on cue, back again...

Mallan423Abert opened today, 30 posts in 24 minutes...

The little friends box on the user page is at least correct:

Mallan423Abert has not made any friends yet

Quite an understatement.

Hi all...

Looks like "Round 2" has begun....

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...archid=8296931

Regards...

Yep, Mallan423Abert did 52 trash posts in 35 minutes (1.5 posts/minute), now a second, joshua244 has entered the game...

Well, this is no fun any more, I think I'll go read a book or two.

*** Updated ***

Checking in after watching 1984 (I wasn't up to the book tonight)...

Stephens37 between 11:31 and 1:31 has made 137 trash posts totally destroying any use of LQ Spy, Zero Reply List and whatever forum they are posted to...

That does not include posts by joshua244 who continues to post, and any others.

...and 170 posts by 1:55...

Originally Posted by TobiSGD Won't happen, at least not with me onboard. Having some spammer's actions restrict access for legitimate users doesn't fly with me.

While I actually do share your opinion on this, as I watch another night of spam make the LQ Spy and Zero Reply lists totally unavailable and useless to those who might answer real posts, I can see no other option but to place some sort of limit on new user posts, even if only as a temporary measure. At the moment, those legitimate users are not being served at all...

And apparently the filters adopted last night fail to stop the spam tonight, even though it is the same spam from the same source, but at a faster rate than last night according to my samples so far. It is not a filtering problem any more.

The nature of the game has changed I think. We all, LQ included, must set some new rules or just give it to the spammers. It is a fight that can not be won any more with an open forum, IMO, sorry to say.

That is in no way a criticism of LQ mods or policies - just taking note that the battlefield conditions have changed and some change in strategy is obviously necessary to have hope of holding ground.

Originally Posted by TB0ne Incorrect. Restricting access is "You aren't allowed to join/post/do something else"....WAITING is not restricting anyone. And honestly, so what if there is a delay? This isn't the emergency room at the hospital, and as has been pointed out to countless people before, there are no 'urgent' threads here. ..and no one is saying ANYONE is guilty, are they? This is a safety measure, nothing more. Do you leave your doors unlocked, and windows open when you leave your house? Hand random people keys with your address? After all...people are INNOCENT until proven guilty, right? Or do you use common-sense, and give keys to people you know can be trusted, and make everyone else wait until you get home, to determine whether they get in or not? Yesterday's festivities skew things, whether you like it or not. Would this have been an issue if there was a five-post mod limit? Nope...ALL of those 'users' would have been shoved somewhere unseen, along with the many "plz to be giving the links" people. Spammers get deleted easily, others get an auto-response about question guidelines. Still not seeing how this is bad. This, from some time ago: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ml#post5260949 ...remains valid. While you may come from an academia background, and I understand how environments can color your views, I do not, although I have spent quite some time in schools, pursing my degrees. I also firmly believe that people will rise to whatever expectations are set of them. There are NO SHORTCUTS, EVER for anything, be it knowledge, skills, or strength. You will either suffer the pain of discipline, or the pain of regret, the latter being FAR worse. Someone might want bigger muscles, and it's for damned sure they won't get them sitting on the couch...they have to actually DO something. Want to learn how to write scripts/program?? There is NOTHING stopping anyone in this day and age, except lack of drive. Giving people handouts only spurs them on to do the bare minimum they have to, and you'll be doing it for them, for as long as you LET THEM get away with it. I have seen posters here play what I call 'forum tennis'...they beg/whine for a sample script, and someone hands them one at another forum. They come HERE, and post it VERBATIM, saying "plz to be helping", and someone does more...which they take to ANOTHER forum, where someone completes it. What's missing? Effort on their part..they have learned and done NOTHING. They will be back, and do the same thing for EVERY assignment they get, until someone, somewhere, puts foot to ass and tells them to stand on their own two feet. I don't ask anything of anyone, that I don't expect of and demand from myself. I ask for help, but I'm damned sure I'm out of options when I do, and that I've researched/done/tried EVERYTHING I can think of first.

No, I am not coming from academia. Anyways, I see what you want to do here, turn a discussion about preventing spam to a discussion about posting style of newbies. We had threads about that and you know how they turned out, but it is not the topic of this thread.

Originally Posted by astrogeek While I actually do share your opinion on this, as I watch another night of spam make the LQ Spy and Zero Reply lists totally unavailable and useless to those who might answer real posts, I can see no other option but to place some sort of limit on new user posts, even if only as a temporary measure. At the moment, those legitimate users are not being served at all... And apparently the filters adopted last night fail to stop the spam tonight, even though it is the same spam from the same source, but at a faster rate than last night according to my samples so far. It is not a filtering problem any more.

As I said, battling spam is a never ending battle. I am quite sure that Jeremy will figure out the right filters.

The nature of the game has changed I think. We all, LQ included, must set some new rules or just give it to the spammers. It is a fight that can not be won any more with an open forum, IMO, sorry to say. That is in no way a criticism of LQ mods or policies - just taking note that the battlefield conditions have changed and some change in strategy is obviously necessary to have hope of holding ground.

If there are changes necessary to LQ (and again, I think people give a few spam attacks way to much weight) the Jeremy will do them, after thinking about all options and their consequences. I am by no means knowledgeable about the forum software or the filter rules, so I don't know which options are even possible. I still think however that sending all posts of new members to the moderation queue is ultimately damaging to LQ and helping us.

Originally Posted by TobiSGD No, I am not coming from academia.

My apologies..I misread the previous thread.

Anyways, I see what you want to do here, turn a discussion about preventing spam to a discussion about posting style of newbies. We had threads about that and you know how they turned out, but it is not the topic of this thread.

No, I'm pointing out how the two dovetail nicely. And they do.