Add a "delete me" category

[Cheiromancer]

I've noticed that all the spambots post their spam under the category "bug," which is the first entry in the category list for this forum.

How about you make the first category "delete me" and have such posts be automatically deleted?

It would be an automatic spam catcher.

Just a thought.

 

[Umbran]

Such a thing has been considered before. Probably a bit moot, though. With anonymous posting turned off, the oneswho do get through are a little more sophisticated, and will more be less likely to just go for the first category.

 

[Cheiromancer]

Well, I think anonymous posting is a life saver in certain circumstances (when folks are having log-in trouble of some kind). I suppose such people could email a moderator instead of posting, but anonymous posting still seems like the kind of feature that would be a shame to lose permanently.

Just before I made the original post I had noticed a bit of spam from a registered user. It was in the "bug" category, so it made wonder if a different kind of automated filter would be possible.

 

[Piratecat]

Good thinking, but it turns out they use a couple of different labels already. I may see if we can stop people from posting urls for their first couple of posts; we'll have to see.

 

[Darkness]

Good thinking, but it turns out they use a couple of different labels already.

Back in early June, when I made the same suggestion in the Staff Forum as Cheiromancer here, all the registered spammers at the time used 'Bug' (it's the unregistered ones who weren't as predictable). That doesn't seem to have changed so far, though I may of course have missed a rare exception or two. (For example, considering how the auto spam-killer works, I can't tell what category the spammers caught by it used.)

Of course, Umbran has a point that spammers improve over time. Until they do, though... *shrug* Just my 2 cents.

 

[Cheiromancer]

Great minds think alike!

 

[Darkness]

You did a really good job, by the way. For one thing, you probably didn't have as much data to work with. For another, you didn't get your thread buried under a million spam alerts.

 

[Rystil Arden]

2 new registered spams, both in Bugs category :\

 

[Cheiromancer]

lol!

I just saw an "I'm a spammer" post!

Glad the suggestion is working.