Spam posts - please just report rather than quote/reply

jem16

Hopefully the MSE team can find a way to cut down/stop the number of spam posts that have appeared recently.

Meanwhile could everyone please not reply to their posts (especially with quotes) as it ends up still there after the mods have removed the spam posts and ends up looking like someone else's helpful reply is spam.

Instead just report the post by hitting the Abuse button at the bottom right of the spam post.

PS - sorry if I'm preaching to the regular contributors.

evenasus

Good idea to post this topic.

I always hit the abuse button and sometimes hit the reply button just to say I've reported.
I wouldn't quote the spammers posts - as you say, their link info would stay on the thread.
Some posters unfortunately haven't considered that - now they will!

Biggles

I have suggested - on the Feedback thread - that there could be some flag appear to show that a post has been reported. That would save people saying 'Spam - reported' and it would save several people reporting the same post.

jem16

Biggles wrote: »

I have suggested - on the Feedback thread - that there could be some flag appear to show that a post has been reported. That would save people saying 'Spam - reported' and it would save several people reporting the same post.

Good idea.

alanq

Biggles wrote: »

I have suggested - on the Feedback thread - that there could be some flag appear to show that a post has been reported. That would save people saying 'Spam - reported' and it would save several people reporting the same post.

The spam button relies on a number of people reporting a thread as spam before automatically hiding a thread. Perhaps better to extend this system to hide individual posts as clearly the mods are taking too long to react to the flood of spam currently being received. Perhaps (we can only hope!) if the spam was removed within a few minutes the spammers would not think it worth their while to post here.

Also, as spammers tend to post nothing but spam in many threads at once, rather than flag an individual post as "reported" better to flag the member as "reported" to save reporting each post separately.

jem16

alanq wrote: »

The spam button relies on a number of people reporting a thread as spam before automatically hiding a thread. Better to extend this system to hide individual posts as clearly the mods are taking too long to react to the flood of spam currently being received. Perhaps (we can only hope!) if the spam was removed within a few minutes the spammers would not think it worth their while to post here.

I agree re use of Spam button.

My post was more in relation to posts added on to the end of legitimate threads though.

fairtrade

When you report abuse you could also state the number of posts the spammer has left as generally they are a newbie so this should be picked up more quickly.

Sceptic001

I know resources are limited but, as has already been mentioned, it would be great if MSE could remove spam messages quicker. Sometimes they do disappear quickly but other times they remain visible for several hours even though they have been reported.

Our current spammer follows a regular routine, posting a dozen or more identical messages in this one forum mid-afternoon or early evening. If someone at MSE Towers could close down their account after the first three or four, they would soon get the message and p*** off elsewhere.

As an afterthought, would it be possible to have a button to report a poster as a spammer to get their account temporarily suspended, rather than having to report individual posts?

Reaper

You will find some of these suggestions already being discussed in the site feedback forum on this thread (including one from me).

MSE are also trialing an improved post reporting system that uses a form instead of email. See this thread.

evenasus

alanq wrote: »

Also, as spammers tend to post nothing but spam in many threads at once, rather than flag an individual post as "reported" better to flag the member as "reported" to save reporting each post separately.

This is what I do. I hit the abuse button on one of the spammers posts but in my text, I quote the username and the number of posts they've made.

Biggles

alanq wrote: »

The spam button relies on a number of people reporting a thread as spam before automatically hiding a thread.

Yes, but I wasn't referring to the 'Spam' button (which relates to a whole thread and relies on several 'clicks').

This thread is discussing the 'Abuse' button (which generates a direct report that is acted on individually in response to a complaint about a single post within a perfectly normal thread).