Forum Member Reactions to Spam

Why members respond and how to manage their responses to spam?.

[ken_b]

This has puzzled me for a long time.

You (I at least) see this pretty much as an issue on every forum I visit, and it always makes me wonder.

Why do members respond to spam posts? Why not just let the spam settle to the bottom of the pile, or report it to a mod or admin without posting a response in the thread itself?

Posting to a spam thread just keeps it at the top of a thread index.

It's a little harder to deal with when spam is dropped in the middle an open thread I suppose.

But I'm primarily wondering about threads where the spam is the opening post.

Sometimes you'll even see a single member responding multiple times. That always makes me wonder if they are affiliated with the spammer, but that may be another question.

How do experienced mods and admins manage member responses to spam? Any real succesful methods?

[rogerd]

The best response is to offer a "Report" link that will let members report spam when they see it.

Absent this option, or sometimes even with it, members seem to enjoy ridiculing this new irritant in the community (or, if the spam isn't too blatant, helping the newcomer adapt).

Members NEVER think about the fact that their post (even one that says, "Only a total moron will click that link!") will make the spam more visible. :)

[Automan Empire]

Maybe the no-spam rule needs a more prominent position in the site rules (yeah, like they'll listen then!)
It sounds like a case where the community at large is under-aware of the issue and its implications. Perhaps you could start a thread explaining the concept of forum-spammers and their growing presence on the web. Worded well, you can turn your members into gleefully vigilant spambusters, even if that means report-and-ignore to let the offending thread push down until a mod can clean it. This could make your community even more cohesive.
-Automan

[martinibuster]

My problem is that not only do my forum mods have a hard time recognizing it's spam... but the forum spammers themselves don't recognize that they are spammers.

Hi, my name is -----, and you have a nice forum. Good job!
Here's a great site you should visit, -------.com.

Keep up the good work!

I've emailed people who post the above type of spam and they generally don't understand that their behavior is spamming, or that what they are doing is a nuisance.

Part of that reason is that any number of how-to guides and books, including books from autoritative imprints on web design, tell you that forum posting is a great way to "get the word out" about your website.

Lax moderation on other sites is also to blame for helping this kind of spam to oroliferate.

[larryhatch]

I don't have a blog or forum of my own, so this may sound dumb.

Don't the Admin rights to forum/blog software packages have an option to easily delete entire threads?

If so, you could replace the thread with a short new MSG explaining the deletion. -Larry

[stapel]

I don't know that posting a message (and thus drawing attention to the problem) is the best way to go. Better the off-topic thread just disappears. Who's going to complain? The spammer who only joined to make that one post, and will never be back?

Just my impression....

Eliz.

[Jalinder]

Don't the Admin rights to forum/blog software packages have an option to easily delete entire threads?
>> In my case Admin rights are in place but it is not possible to constantly keep checking posts, find out the spam messages and delete them.
Cleaning up forums is my first task daily. During the day I keep checking every few hours. It sometimes get irritating though. Can't afford to hire moderators.

I have some programmatic control, like messages with www or .com or some offending words are not allowed. Users who have spammed once are not allowed to post again, etc. But this confuses normal users.

I'd like to know approach taken by other webmasters.

[rogerd]

>>I'd like to know approach taken by other webmasters.

1) Make spam disappear as quickly as possible
2) Filter or flag any persistent words, domains, etc. used by spammers
3) Get your members to help spot spam by adding a "report post" link
4) Add image verification and email confirmation to registration to slow down bot and bogus registrations
5) Add flood control to your forum (sets a minimum time between posts)
6) Use global ignore or mass pruning for quick cleanup after a major spam run.

[Casethejoint]

I have a 'report spam/posting guidelines abuse' thread, which seems to work well in getting members to take some responsibility for maintaining their own environment.