THERE ARE 6 SPAM TOPICS, ON THIS VERY FORUM?

[GOLDEN-ARM]

Look below, and see SIX topics that need pruning/locking/removing. I find at least one to be insensitive, for religious reasons (no, I am not Jewish), thinking of others. Don't believe this forum is for dating, or "alternative" lifestyles either. Otto, Mike?

[John_Perkowski]

GA,

Agree, and there's another one that hit at 0352 today. Called Mike as well as emailed him, since we don't have moderator rights here.

[benltrain]

While I don't know how, we should try to make sure first time users aren't just going to be trolls. Most of them only have one post, for obvious reasons, but isn't there a way that's easier than deleting their accounts once they've posted crap? Give more members (or maybe all the mods) the power to delete spam in all forums?

[GOLDEN-ARM]

Not sure exactlly what a "troll" is, but if the only thing they can bring to the forum, is a list of "shemale" fantasy sites, I say to hell with them. Probably no way to pre-screen them, unless you had some kind of "application" sheet, with easily answered railroad questions, to weed out the truely vile...........

[Irish Chieftain]

Trolls are actual human beings typing on computers that hurl invective, insults, false information et al in order to disrupt a board.

What you see posting spam on the site are spambots, aka robot software designed to create usernames on message boards and hit them with spam. They're automated programs that run on servers that are either located on our soil or from other countries (which is more likely, of course). There may or may not be upgrades to this message board software that can block them; don't know for sure…

[Aa3rt]

While I don't know how, we should try to make sure first time users aren't just going to be trolls. Most of them only have one post, for obvious reasons, but isn't there a way that's easier than deleting their accounts once they've posted crap? Give more members (or maybe all the mods) the power to delete spam in all forums?

A couple of notes on this topic-In addition to moderating a couple of forums here, I also co-moderate the Washington Nationals forum at a popular baseball website.

Many of these "spambots" that have shown up here at Railroad.net in the last two weeks have also appeared at the baseball website with the same username. Generally they appear to originate from foreign countries.

I do not know if the software here would allow for each moderator to have "supermoderator" privleges that would permit a mod to go to a forum where they aren't a moderator and remove offending posts, nor do I know how Mike or Otto would feel about giving moderators the autonomy to venture outside their assigned areas of responsibility.

[Gilbert B Norman]

Just as well my term as Moderator at the Amtrak Forum expired July 31.

Apparently, these spambots are "the guns of August".

[MEC407]

I think the best solution is for individual moderators to be active in their own forums and do their jobs.

When spam gets posted on any of my forums, I delete it and contact Mike and Otto with the username of the person/bot who posted it.

If all other moderators did the same thing, we'd be all set. No need for me to be policing some other mod's forum, or vice versa.

[Rockingham Racer]

I think the best solution is for individual moderators to be active in their own forums and do their jobs.

When spam gets posted on any of my forums, I delete it and contact Mike and Otto with the username of the person/bot who posted it.

If all other moderators did the same thing, we'd be all set. No need for me to be policing some other mod's forum, or vice versa.

That works if the forum has a moderator; the Fairbanks Morse forum does not, and there are two spam messages there right now.

[MEC407]

In the case of a forum without a moderator, the users should email Mike and/or Otto so one of them can delete the offending post.

[Mike Roque]

Please refer to the following post about handling spammers:
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 955#290955