Hey spammers

[King Speedy]

Take it easy.

[schnitzel_bob]

And stuff you. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM05_SEFeqk)

[Yian]

Damn spammers trying to ruin our community!

[King Speedy]

This is getting insane. I'm deleting close to 100 threads a day. Maybe I should just start leaving them up as a form of protest. Or laziness.

[Fatty]

Holy jesus fuck.

[King Speedy]

Registration stats for the last month:

http://i.imgur.com/PblrZ.png

[tisl]

All 107 are spam bots.

[jujumusiq]

I'm new to here... whats the best way to tell if they are a bot?

[Lehesu]

I'm new to here... whats the best way to tell if they are a bot?
...
Now the bots are just laughing at us.

[King Speedy]

http://i.imgur.com/VhXCV.png

[tisl]

UNDER ATTACK. ALMOST OVERRUN. SEND HELP.

[Fatty]

spam (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anwy2MPT5RE)

[IcedEarth]

For as many as there are registering daily, the amount of spam seems rather low, then. Or are you just deleting that many posts/threads every day?

[King Speedy]

It's definitely north of 100 bans a day. I couldn't give you the exact numbers since I do them in chunks, but it's gotten pretty insane. We've gone from getting 10-15 registrations a day to 150-200 over the past few.

[RacerX]

Time to close new registrations?

[jujumusiq]

I've noticed this is a major problem on all messageboards... how can we stop this in order to save them?

[King Speedy]

http://www.allspammedup.com/2010/01/google-recaptcha-cracked/

That explains it.

Edit: From the article

Unlike most CAPTCHA systems, Google’s uses images with two words. That’s because Google uses reCAPTCHA for two purposes. Like other CAPTCHA systems, it’s designed to frustrate spammers, but it’s also incorporated into Google’s efforts to digitize books. When a word in a book scan can’t be recognized by Google’s OCR software, it’s sent to the reCAPTCHA pool. So when a person enters a reCAPTCHA phrase into a form, Google can discover what its OCR program couldn’t, without having to hire human editors to review scanning results.

Nifty

[RacerX]

That is nifty!

[King Speedy]

It is, though the explanation leaves some holes. For example, how does reCAPTCHA know that an entry is correct if the OCR software couldn't recognize it?

[farsimon]

Multiple matches. Similar to voting.

[Lehesu]

I say we make our last stand in the BOTD Detective thread. The irony would be delicious enough to eat for days.

[IcedEarth]

I say we make our last stand in the BOTD Detective thread. The irony would be delicious enough to eat for days.

Just like some of the babes.

http://i.imgur.com/eIII1.jpg

[Fatty]

Is there a way for you to get rid of reCaptcha and use something else, or does dex or somebody have to do that?

[King Speedy]

I'm hoping that Google will get their act together and fix it. It's definitely more likely to happen than the lazy bastards that run this place actually doing something about it.

[Rhenna]

This is getting insane. I'm deleting close to 100 threads a day. Maybe I should just start leaving them up as a form of protest. Or laziness.

Are you getting any help with this issue, or are you doing all the heavy-lifting on your own?

I'd say shut down the registration function for a month. I mean, how many newbies have made the cut in the last year or so, anyway? Now, I suppose that tactic might not align too well with the business model in mind for this particular operation. But, on the other hand, would whoever occupies the captain's chair really scuttle this rusty wreck of a Forum if the front door was locked for awhile? All the vermin sneaking in isn't exactly enticing.

[King Speedy]

I asked the powers-that-be to implement a simple question and answer section to the registration, which should fix everything. Something like "What color do you get when you mix yellow and blue?" would suffice. Aside from that, it looks like something was added since I last logged in, as I'm now getting moderation notices for new threads and there's a new "submit to anti-spam service" option. Shiny.

Edit:

So it looks like a question and answer section was implemented (just a simple math question), which should stop spam registrations completely. Also I'm getting moderation notices for new threads by spammers that registered before but haven't posted yet (just means that I have to approve them before you see them), but I'm not sure if this happens for any new thread or just from a user under a certain post count. I'll see what I can find out. I've got internet access out here in the Middle of Nowhere, Montana (thanks for Verizon's absurd 3G coverage and tethering), so I'll try to hit the forums twice a day to clear out anything that gets through. Overall, it looks like we're coming out of this storm.

[RacerX]

Yay!

[IcedEarth]

Thanks for your diligence, Speedster.

[Rhenna]

I asked the powers-that-be to implement a simple question and answer section to the registration, which should fix everything. Something like "What color do you get when you mix yellow and blue?" would suffice. Aside from that, it looks like something was added since I last logged in, as I'm now getting moderation notices for new threads and there's a new "submit to anti-spam service" option. Shiny.

Edit:

So it looks like a question and answer section was implemented (just a simple math question), which should stop spam registrations completely. Also I'm getting moderation notices for new threads by spammers that registered before but haven't posted yet (just means that I have to approve them before you see them), but I'm not sure if this happens for any new thread or just from a user under a certain post count. I'll see what I can find out. I've got internet access out here in the Middle of Nowhere, Montana (thanks for Verizon's absurd 3G coverage and tethering), so I'll try to hit the forums twice a day to clear out anything that gets through. Overall, it looks like we're coming out of this storm.

It should slow down the bots, but not be fireproof for the "spam websites for a free Sega Genesis" crowd.

I know many of the forums I'm a member of *do not* immediately display posts from new users until reviewed. So, a comment might not show up for some 6 ~ 12 hours; maybe longer. (Of course, I sense these forums have a larger moderator staff than we have, here.) Once, a mod determines you are the real deal, typically about 5 ~ 6 posts, you're allowed real-time posting. There seems to be an attempt made to keep a delayed post in chronological context, but that may just be automatic.

Even after getting past that hurdle, I've seen posts delayed for review yet again when there is a URL embedded. (Which is perfectly understandable.) I know we've been down this path of discussion before, but one really gets the impression that these are software options being employed, rather than real-time intercepts by mods.

Montana isn't the middle of nowhere, although it may seem like it in January. Having spent some time in North Dakota, I can relate. Just remember there are millions of people North of your location, who, although they are often drunk, are living full and productive lives. If you said you were visiting Yellowknife, NT, I might be more inclined to agree with you.

If you're around Bozeman, you should try and look up boardryder. I would.

[tisl]

Awesome to hear. If you guys want another moderator just to check if a new user's thread is spammy or not before it gets posted, I'd be happy to help; since the people that own the forum slightly care now, it's not a completely futile attempt to try and make it a better place.

[King Speedy]

If you're around Bozeman, you should try and look up boardryder. I would.

I'm actually very near Bozeman. I ate dinner there last night and skied at Bridger Bowl today. Alas, I'm only in town till Monday.

Awesome to hear. If you guys want another moderator just to check if a new user's thread is spammy or not before it gets posted, I'd be happy to help; since the people that own the forum slightly care now, it's not a completely futile attempt to try and make it a better place.

I think we're alright on moderators at the moment. I've had a lot of people come forward and offer their services after the last week, but I think now that the storm has been weathered we're fine. I think three is plenty given the size of the populace. If Vader comes through on his promise to better integrate the forums into the rest of the size, we can revisit that.

[schnitzel_bob]

Just remember there are millions of people North of your location, who, although they are often drunk, are living full and productive lives.

Hey, I'm not always drunk. Though I do have a beer in my hand.

[Yian]

Looks like the spams is now under control. Did King Speedy or Vader finally managed to do something about it?

[schnitzel_bob]

I'm pretty sure Speedy went all

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/5210/youshallnotpassf.jpg (http://img51.imageshack.us/i/youshallnotpassf.jpg/)

[IcedEarth]

Hey, I'm not always drunk. Though I do have a beer in my hand.

Maple syrup for me.

[RAY16]

Blargh, the new anti-spam measures apparently don't take post count into consideration. Tried to post some oh-so-important screenshots last night and thought it just didn't go through. Tried to post those same shots just now and noticed the message saying it got sent to the moderation queue...¬_¬

[Digital Limit]

Yeah, these measures should be in effect such that they don't affect long-time members. It'd be nice to know which powers that be are solving problems.

Also, I don't think I have access to the moderation queue, if you want help with that, Speedy.

[future man]

Well, if it makes you feel any better, just as many people will see the shots in moderation queue as would in the thread.

[Digital Limit]

Fuck you.

[IcedEarth]

lolz

[King Speedy]

I'll mention it to Dex.

[Yian]

The forum is back to normal! Now we can all have a good time again.

[RAY16]

The forum is back to normal! Now we can all have a good time again.

I find your delusions amusing.

[future man]

I find your delusions amusing.

And I find your musings delusional.

[King Speedy]

At least when the spammers were here there was some interesting conversation on the boards.

[Digital Limit]

What's going on in your life, Speedy?

[IcedEarth]

Close Encounters of the Phallic Kind.

[schnitzel_bob]

Like a penis. I get it.

[Yian]

Wait, King Speedy has to approve every post we make now? Hmmmm. I'm not sure if this is good news. But i guess this does get things under control.

[Lehesu]

And I find your musings delusional.

I often muse over your delusional findings.