Why limit reporting posts?

mjm3346

Reporting multiple post from the same user and got this after a few

• You’re posting a bit too fast for us to keep up. To prevent spammers from flooding the Forum we limit how many threads or reports you can send. Come back in five minutes and try your thread again - if you re-attempt to post or report before then, the timer will start again, so put on the kettle, take a walk or sing your favourite song – see you soon.

How can reporting posts be of any use to a spammer? While blocking reporting has to be ideal for them

molerat

Not had it on this forum though have on others when reporting multiple spam posters.  Hopefully when reporting a single poster the team would look at the poster overall.

BootsMullery

The best/most effective way of reporting Spam is to post a link to the spammers profile on the "Spam" thread here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5906563/spam#latest and add a note of the reasons why you say it is spam. You should also select the report button and click on Spam. If there are a sufficient number of clicks on the Spam report button by different people, the post will be automatically removed.
Is this relating to the "Voting" posts?

mjm3346

Voting in the TV choice awards, 2 threads and 3 comments all advertising the same thing

BootsMullery

mjm3346 said:

Voting in the TV choice awards, 2 threads and 3 comments all advertising the same thing

That's what I thought. I had already clicked the "Spam" button on all 5 posts but I don't suppose anyone else will except you. It takes at least 5 "Spam" button reports for a post to be removed automatically.
I have now posted on the Spam thread so it might happen.

MSE_James

If you know that you will be reporting several posts that are related in some way, feel free to just report one, and add a note in the box that says we should check the user's other posts, or whatever is applicable to the particular situation.

Please be very careful with the 'spam' button - it is really for junk commercial messages. If it's a case of a potential rule breach by an actual person, then the 'report' button is the route to take.

Pollycat

MSE_James said:

If you know that you will be reporting several posts that are related in some way, feel free to just report one, and add a note in the box that says we should check the user's other posts, or whatever is applicable to the particular situation.

Please be very careful with the 'spam' button - it is really for junk commercial messages. If it's a case of a potential rule breach by an actual person, then the 'report' button is the route to take.

Can you please publicise this policy as I think a lot of genuine MSE members may be in danger of falling foul of this and may be penalised for trying to do the right thing by MSE.

Thanks

MSE_Stephen

Hi Pollycat

We've made posts about this in the past and I'll look at if it's appropriate to make a new one pinned for a while. But that only helps members who regularly read this board.

We regularly check the spam queue for improper clicks. It's not the case that every incorrect click gets an infraction. The vast, vast majority of the time an improper click here or there causes no issues.

It's only rarely that we have to step in to contact members about the spam button rules. e.g. If a suggestion is made on the forum to use the button incorrectly and it causes a group of improper clicks, it's then that we might contact users who have followed through with that suggestion, to let them know when to use the spam button.

mjm3346

I used the actual reporting option and selected spam/advertising only using the spam button when the automatic delete option was mentioned.