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Microstock Photography Forum - General => Site Related => Topic started by: Sean Locke Photography on July 26, 2019, 17:21

Title: Spam Posts
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on July 26, 2019, 17:21
Can we change the default of the “move” button to not post a redirection topic?  Please?
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: cathyslife on July 26, 2019, 19:11
Can we also move Garbage Bin to the top of the list of the move to choices? We use this frequently. Please?
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: leaf on July 27, 2019, 01:07
yes, good suggestions.  I'll see if it can be done.  The spammers always seem to show up when I'm travelling :( 
Anyhow I think I've taken care of it now and made it so new members need to be approved by me so hopefully this will thwart their efforts until Monday.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: marthamarks on July 27, 2019, 01:15
yes, good suggestions.  I'll see if it can be done.  The spammers always seem to show up when I'm travelling :( 
Anyhow I think I've taken care of it now and made it so new members need to be approved by me so hopefully this will thwart their efforts until Monday.

Thanks, Leaf. Happy travels!
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: cathyslife on July 27, 2019, 05:53
Thank you Leaf!
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: Uncle Pete on July 29, 2019, 09:32
Can we change the default of the “move” button to not post a redirection topic?  Please?

Good idea, I didn't know Leaf could do that. Yes sometimes I forget when trashing, and leave a link.

Can we also move Garbage Bin to the top of the list of the move to choices? We use this frequently. Please?

Also good, I know you (and a few others) visit often and keep the house clean for everyone else. (https://i.postimg.cc/Wb1BsjkY/cool-up.gif)
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: leaf on August 09, 2019, 03:27
Ok - this is what I've done so far

Members who have the status Lurker (under 3 posts) need to have their post approved by a diamond member before it will go live.  Once they have made 3 posts, they can post as normal.  Diamond members should now see a Moderate tab on the top.. this is where they can see posts than need approval.  I'll also try to check the unapproved posts regularly, and delete accounts that are simply wanting to post spam.

Hopefully this reduces the amount of spam we get here.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: cobalt on August 09, 2019, 07:27
This is a great idea. Just checked the moderate posts and all four are porn clickbait.

Is there a way I can put a block on them? Then you can just look at this whenever you like and delete the profile.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: mindstorm on August 09, 2019, 07:59
Ok - this is what I've done so far

Sounds like an excellent move!  Hopefully this will reduce the amount of spam posted here, which is downright ridiculous in spurts.

Unfortunately, on my own blog, I had to simply turn off comments. I was getting 10 spam posts for every valid one. :(
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: marthamarks on August 09, 2019, 08:30
That should work, and I'm happy to help with the moderation.

Thank you, Leaf.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: ShadySue on August 10, 2019, 14:25
Is there anything we can do with a spam post which appears within a legitimate thread, i.e. not a new thread of its own?
(Other than report it)
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: cathyslife on August 10, 2019, 15:16
Is there anything we can do with a spam post which appears within a legitimate thread, i.e. not a new thread of its own?
(Other than report it)


I reported it, but I don’t see a way to delete individual posts. Unfortunately. These spammers know every trick in the book.  >:(

Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on August 10, 2019, 15:37
Perhaps I misunderstood the new restriction. Leaf said (in the chat box) that people with 3 or fewer posts need approval for their post/new topic.

I just reported a post that was a reply and in looking at the perpetrator, that was the only post the person had made.

All posts, replies or new topics, need to be moderated for newbies if that's possible to do.

The spammer's next trick might be to post irrelevant but not obviously spam stuff  until they're off moderation. Any way we can extend the moderation period - reset the clock so 3 more are needed - if we haven't seen a post that looks legit yet?
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: leaf on August 11, 2019, 05:05
If a spam post makes it through, in the middle of a thread.. reporting it would be easiest, yeah.  That shouldn't happen though as the first posts need to be approved by someone.  Perhaps the one that made it through was mistakenly approved by someone? 

Anyhow, we can try it out for a week or two and see if it is an improvement.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: leaf on August 11, 2019, 08:17
The spammer's next trick might be to post irrelevant but not obviously spam stuff  until they're off moderation. Any way we can extend the moderation period - reset the clock so 3 more are needed - if we haven't seen a post that looks legit yet?

Most spamming is done by bots I think.  It is probably much to much work to pretend to be part of the conversation and then start spamming.  It's pretty easy to delete a user and all their posts as well, so the rare time it happens, they are pretty easy to zap.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: cathyslife on August 13, 2019, 15:17
Leaf (or anybody) can you explain how to delete a post in the moderate area? There is one there now from our friends the essay writer. There’s a green button with the word approve. I don’t want to do that. Theres a dropdown that says “with selected” then you have a choice of approve or delete. if i choose delete it says are you sure you want to do this and i say yes. nothing happens. both ipad and iphone. what am i doing wrong?
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: leaf on August 13, 2019, 15:57
Leaf (or anybody) can you explain how to delete a post in the moderate area? There is one there now from our friends the essay writer. There’s a green button with the word approve. I don’t want to do that. Theres a dropdown that says “with selected” then you have a choice of approve or delete. if i choose delete it says are you sure you want to do this and i say yes. nothing happens. both ipad and iphone. what am i doing wrong?

perhaps there is a bug in mobile browsers or on safari.  I just deleted it on chrome on a desktop.  You are doing the right thing though.  There should also be a 'delete / remove' button on the bottom of the post itself.  The dropdown is to do an action with all posts awaiting moderation.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on August 13, 2019, 15:59
It didn't do anything for me on firefox either, and I don't see any delete on the post itself.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: cathyslife on August 13, 2019, 20:00
Yeah, I didn’t see a delete on the post itself either. Glad to know it’s not just me, though. Next time I am at my computer I will look, but I use firefox on mac so it might be what Sean sees.
edit: i just added chrome to my ipad so next time i will try it with that.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: cathyslife on August 15, 2019, 06:47
I added chrome on my ipad. There is a topic in the moderate panel now that is garbage. There is no way to delete it. I looked in Safari, Firefox and chrome on my computer (mac) and there is no way to delete it, only approve.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on August 15, 2019, 09:12
With Chrome on a Mac (Mojave) I tried to delete one of the spam posts and received the following error message:

"Wrong value type sent to the database. Array of integers expected. (topics)"
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: cathyslife on August 15, 2019, 09:41
If it’s a topic, wonder if we can just approve it, then immediately move it to the garbage.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: Stu99 on August 15, 2019, 09:56
I have to share this exciting news announcement as this is a spam thread. Pumpkin Spice Spam is a real thing  ;D

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/autumn-coming-so-course-pumpkin-spice-spam-too-n1042531 (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/autumn-coming-so-course-pumpkin-spice-spam-too-n1042531)
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: cathyslife on August 16, 2019, 01:04
I just went ahead and approved that topic, then moved it to the garbage bin.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: cobalt on August 16, 2019, 01:21
Ah, ok, I was wondering what to do with it.

Having a move to Garbage option would be great.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: leaf on August 16, 2019, 01:23
Hmm.. ok I'll investigate some more and see if I can figure it out when a few more spams come up.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: Uncle Pete on August 17, 2019, 10:57
If it’s a topic, wonder if we can just approve it, then immediately move it to the garbage.

That works, but my question is, when someone adds to an existing thread, how do I remove the spam post and not move the entire thread. Move Topic to Garbage is the only option I see, not delete the offending post. Is there a way to trash just one message?
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: cathyslife on August 17, 2019, 12:58
If it’s a topic, wonder if we can just approve it, then immediately move it to the garbage.

That works, but my question is, when someone adds to an existing thread, how do I remove the spam post and not move the entire thread. Move Topic to Garbage is the only option I see, not delete the offending post. Is there a way to trash just one message?


No, but I wish there was. So far, only Leaf can do that, I think.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on August 18, 2019, 01:41
Somehow there was another rash of spam posts - I moved to the Garbage Bin. The account was created August 12th, so how did they get to post without moderator approval? A total of 8 posts in the account stats.

There was one reply I can't do anything about:

https://www.microstockgroup.com/newby-discussion/workflow-tools/msg537122/#msg537122 (https://www.microstockgroup.com/newby-discussion/workflow-tools/msg537122/#msg537122)

And can Leaf ban the user?
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: cathyslife on August 18, 2019, 02:20
Somehow there was another rash of spam posts - I moved to the Garbage Bin. The account was created August 12th, so how did they get to post without moderator approval? A total of 8 posts in the account stats.

There was one reply I can't do anything about:

https://www.microstockgroup.com/newby-discussion/workflow-tools/msg537122/#msg537122 (https://www.microstockgroup.com/newby-discussion/workflow-tools/msg537122/#msg537122)

And can Leaf ban the user?


I approved them then was going to send them to the garbage bin. Apparently you were deleting the same time as I was approving. 😀 Its 3am here on the east coast, I am listening to a broadcast of woodstock, as it was recorded 50 years ago, so figured i would do it now, thinking not many would be around. The moderate feature doesn’t have a delete button. There were 6 topics that i approved, so all 6 should have been able to have been deleted. If one went to a post, that’s another bug.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on August 18, 2019, 10:39

I approved them then was going to send them to the garbage bin. Apparently you were deleting the same time as I was approving. 😀 Its 3am here on the east coast, I am listening to a broadcast of woodstock, as it was recorded 50 years ago, so figured i would do it now, thinking not many would be around. The moderate feature doesn’t have a delete button. There were 6 topics that i approved, so all 6 should have been able to have been deleted. If one went to a post, that’s another bug.

I checked the site late in the evening (I'm on the West coast, so 3 hours behind) and saw spam posts on the home page. I just went ahead and moved them as there is no way to see they were in the process of moderation (as it were). I guess someone's always up somewhere around the globe :)

I moved 7 - plus there was the reply I couldn't do anything about.

I think the solution is to be able to delete versus approve+garbage bin. Failing that, can there be a list of moderator actions with dates/times that we can all see - perhaps just the last 20 or so - so one person can know that another moderator is handling things?
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: cathyslife on August 18, 2019, 14:44

I approved them then was going to send them to the garbage bin. Apparently you were deleting the same time as I was approving. 😀 Its 3am here on the east coast, I am listening to a broadcast of woodstock, as it was recorded 50 years ago, so figured i would do it now, thinking not many would be around. The moderate feature doesn’t have a delete button. There were 6 topics that i approved, so all 6 should have been able to have been deleted. If one went to a post, that’s another bug.

I checked the site late in the evening (I'm on the West coast, so 3 hours behind) and saw spam posts on the home page. I just went ahead and moved them as there is no way to see they were in the process of moderation (as it were). I guess someone's always up somewhere around the globe :)

I moved 7 - plus there was the reply I couldn't do anything about.

I think the solution is to be able to delete versus approve+garbage bin. Failing that, can there be a list of moderator actions with dates/times that we can all see - perhaps just the last 20 or so - so one person can know that another moderator is handling things?


Yes, that all sounds good. Even just a red light with delete, underneath the green light/ approve would be helpful.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on August 22, 2019, 21:09
Still can't delete spam posts under the moderate link, or in line with current threads.  In firefox or Edge.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: cathyslife on August 22, 2019, 21:51
I know. If it’s a topic, you can at least approve it then hurry up and send it to the garbage bin. But posts can’t be deleted. I can’t figure out why there is a moderate feature at all, if you can’t delete stuff. Pretty weird.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on September 13, 2019, 15:37
I tried to delete the current post in moderation and it gives and error: Wrong value type sent to the database. Array of integers expected. (topics)
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: cathyslife on September 13, 2019, 16:28
I tried to delete the current post in moderation and it gives and error: Wrong value type sent to the database. Array of integers expected. (topics)


i just approved a topic, then hurried up and sent it to the garbage bin. if it’s the same one you had trouble with. 🤷🏼‍♀️
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: leaf on September 16, 2019, 05:42
hmmm yeah - it looks like maybe I can only delete posts - seems strange than I can't pick who can remove posts.  You all can approve good posts however when you see them. 
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: cathyslife on September 16, 2019, 09:58
hmmm yeah - it looks like maybe I can only delete posts - seems strange than I can't pick who can remove posts.  You all can approve good posts however when you see them.


I had a feeling that might be the case. We can help wherever we can.
Title: Re: Spam Posts
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on September 28, 2019, 14:24
One day this week I happened upon a reply needing approval from a poster who already had a number of posts. I assumed it was because there was an attachment - a screenshot that seemed pertinent to me, so I approved the post. I wondered if I had missed some sort of marker on the "Moderate" menu that indicated there was something needing attention.

A day or two later when I came to check the forum I decided to look in the Moderate section, even though it had no indicator that posts were awaiting an approval, and there were several replies from a new poster. They all looked fine to me, so I approved them.

My suggestion, if it's possible, is that the "Moderate" menu should have an indicator - like "My Messages" does if you have new private messages - letting us know something needs attention.