MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

IMHO there is recent proliferation of spammers on the forum .

Some of them are the usual junk texts that try to trap one into non-relevant links
Some of them do it via "revival" of years-old previous posts
One that appeared today (24.6) is a wierd copy-paste of a legitimate post

There was a recent debate and some stated that too much spam-blocking could shut the entrance door in the face of legitimate new members, but is there really no intelligent filtering algorithm ?

The site needs spam-focused moderators at the very least. Pairing that with manual post approval for a user's first ~3 posts would likely eliminate the problem entirely.

Oliver - I hope you see this. It has been discussed before and there are likely several trusted contributors here who could help - for example along the lines Stephen (Scarodactyl) suggested earlier of screening the first few posts. Or, perhaps, promptly removing the spam.

Please see past posts on the topic - and on why more careful filters or moderation are a win-win for the site, eventually it's search engine rankings, and especially users. Personally, I'm happy to help legitimate users. Increasingly disenchanted dodging the spam posts - as I suspect many others.

Ditto the above. Especially many in the newcomers intro section!

I haven't checked in in quite a while and I must say that I am astonished and saddened by all the SPAM. It certainly makes the forum a much less comfortable place to spend the odd free few minutes.
CE

PeteM wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:47 pm

Oliver - I hope you see this.

I think that pretty much sums it up.

I am happy to volunteer as a spam remover, and don’t need any other privileges.

Would be nice to have a back-up “spam remover” though, as I sometimes travel and cannot get on this web site.

I've messaged Oliver. We'll see . . . I'd think there are likely a half dozen long-time contributors, self included, who check in somewhat frequently and would be willing to help.

I report all I find, but I can't do anything more than flag it and leave notes.

I have reported three posts from this ‘forum member’ this morning:
memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4457

There are many more

Termination ‘with extreme prejudice’ might be appropriate !

MichaelG.

< BUMP >

Another BUMP … Spammer is still very active !!

This really has to spot. Oliver, give someone admin privileges now!

Well, can this be regarded as an attack on the website?

Sadly, @tygqazxop329 is still online, defacing topics.

As it happens, many topics resurfaced are more useful to me now than when originally browsed,
so a bit of silver lining to the cloud...

I'm also happy to help with spam removal, once instructed on how to do so.

This is getting way past a joke

Can no-one terminate the spammer’s account ??

MichaelG.

Yes, Oliver can but he has to be attentive to the forum he created .

Looks like the deed is done

Hurrah !

MichaelG.

They are taking a break and counting shoes.

apochronaut wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 04, 2022 6:23 pm

They are taking a break and counting shoes.

Seems there are plenty of shoes left, and spammers take over the forum once more. This is a nuisance for the users as well as for the administrator of the forum. I do not understand why the offer of long-standing contributors to help solving this problem remains unanswered.

This is a definite attack on the website. Long term results will be very damaging without action. Trouble is that proper action requires almost constant manual observation.
The number of spam messages just this morning is dramatic.

This needs to stop. This forum will die if this spamming is allowed to continue like this.

viktor j nilsson wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 10, 2022 10:46 am

This needs to stop. This forum will die if this spamming is allowed to continue like this.

I agree, it is very annoying. Apparently not so much to our admin.

As resolving the spam issue apparently has no priority (or even confirmed attention) of our host,
And only reading replies of users known to me is a nuisance, I have decided to end my account end of this month.

I tried to contribute some of my experience with the Olympus BH2 line.

I learned a lot on microscopy in general and other brands and want to thank you all for the sharing of knowledge, thanks to Oliver for creating the opportunity.

Best, deBult.

deBult wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 10, 2022 12:02 pm

As resolving the spam issue apparently has no priority (or even confirmed attention) of our host,
And only reading replies of users known to me is a nuisance, I have decided to end my account end of this month.

I tried to contribute some of my experience with the Olympus BH2 line.

I learned a lot on microscopy in general and other brands and want to thank you all for the sharing of knowledge, thanks to Oliver for creating the opportunity.

Best, deBult.

That's too bad. I wish this issue could be fixed to still see you around.

Best,
Javier.

Well, no apparent actions from our host, continuous series of spam postings.

I hate it to check each time the # of postings of a new “name” , net result is I keep ignoring most posts, only opening the ones from familiar names.

Decided to no longer annoy myself, and stop my active participation to this forum, shame though.

All the best,
deBult

Even since this thread was started two months ago, spammers continue to raid.

I really do not understand why it is not possible to initially block and prevent spamming by an algorithm that will recognize obvious spams (such as are present at this very moment on, say, the "Phone illumination - poor man confocal" or "...FIFA23" posts).

Immediately when such a spam message is posted, the algorithm should delete it, with an appropriate (and polite) refusal message to the spammer. Even if that complicates the introduction and acceptance of new members by just a tiny bit.

Hobbyst46 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 25, 2022 7:51 pm

I really do not understand why it is not possible to initially block and prevent spamming by an algorithm that will recognize obvious spams

Probably because it requires some effort on side of the admin who runs this site as a hobby and has a life to deal with, family etc. I doubt spammers affect his bottom line so no pressing incentive to deal with them.

Thereare solutions that wouldn't add to his personal workload, but I am not sure he's willing to delegate forums maintenance. Which is a bummer but there you have it