Removed Posts

[starone]

Dear Ed,

I have noticed recently that a lot of posts with names made up of random letters have been removed, obviously they are trolls. If they are so easily recognisable, why are they allowed into AB in the first place, before they get a chance to place objectionable posts? Can't you remove them right away? Just wondering!

from Starbuckone.

[Prudie]

I think this has come up before, they are not trolls as such but computer generated spamming posts suggesting other websites (so don't say anything objectionable). They seem to come in the middle of the night and I thought they got removed very quickly.

[ummmm]

They are spammers.

[excelsior-1]

i have asked this question before, and wondered if they can be prevented from appearing in the first place

the ED never answered me

[cupid04]

He's always fishing, that's why!

[starone]

They do get removed very quickly as you say prudie. I had not seen the explanation before, must have missed it, so thanks for that. :-)

[ummmm]

How can the Ed prevent it? If he makes registration more difficult he risks potential new members joining up.

And in reality, they are hardly causing bother, just a bit irritating. With the amount of mods they shouldn't be around for too long anyway.

[ummmm]

he risks potential new members 'NOT' joining up.

[tiggerblue10]

They can't be prevented. I get spam emails in my junk mail box and blocke them time and time again. They just generate another email address and carry on emailing me. I don't think it can be stopped.

[excelsior-1]

thanks, tiggerblue

i am not technically minded, so i would not have known that
now you have explained, i can understand


at least you have answered, thanks again

[starone]

They are irritating ummmm. but so are the related questions. So just something to put up with then!

[factor-fiction]

I think the ed has answered before about this when i suggested it could detect certain words like Nike Jordans that always appear but I can't remember what was said. I assume that these spam posts and spammer user names can only be picked up manually so when the Ed isn't on duty the posts get through.
But given that the poster posts 20+ posts in a minute I don't know why AB can't go back to the system that stopped a new user posting more than say 5 times in 5 minutes.
The posts usually occur in the early hours and have gone when i log on at 6.30 ish so maybe the Mods are doing a pretty good job

[jno]

it's just the price of the internet: if you can sign up, anyone can. And you can't actually tell if someone's a spammer until he/she posts some spam.

After that it seems they get banned quite quickly, presumably by mods, though it might be by the Ed and his staff of gnomes - who gnows?

[joko]

because people can choose any name they want ... who can decide it doesnt 'look' right?

lots of poeple, particularly people new to the net choose daft names.

[AB Editor]

We're not quite at the point where we're reading minds of members BEFORE you post :) Sadly, we don't know someone is a spammer until they actually post a question.

If there was something unifying the users we'd be able to put a block up, but we can't do it for random jumbles of letters for a user name.

[boxtops]

LOL, Ed, we wouldn't need to type the answers if you were telepathic :-)