Time to make forums private?

[wallyworld]

With the amount of spam threads coming into the forums lately (posts to chinese websites/live stream spam threads), is it time to make the forums private? It seems like at night in the US, the latest threads section is filled with nothing but these types of threads.

Also, do we really need 500-1000 guests browsing these forums all the time?

 

[bambam922]

No. Just report the posts.
It will get taken care of.

 

[wallyworld]

Much like most of the support you provide, it won't be in a timely manner.

If even 1 person on these forums clicks on one of these links and gets a virus because of it, you have failed.

Why exactly do you think that your open forums policy is so much better than a closed, private forum?

 

[bambam922]

What is your definition of a closed, private forum?

 

[wallyworld]

What is your definition of a closed, private forum?

A forum where the Buddy team actually has to verify an account before it can be registered.

I know you guys hate doing work, but I don't see how it doesn't benefit your actual users on these forums.

 

[Ferhal]

Or have the first 1-2 post approvaed by a moderator ?

 

[wallyworld]

Or have the first 1-2 post approvaed by a moderator ?

This is another great idea.

 

[Raaz]

Or limit new thread creation per hour or day.

 

[bambam922]

A forum where the Buddy team actually has to verify an account before it can be registered.

I know you guys hate doing work, but I don't see how it doesn't benefit your actual users on these forums.

If we verified accounts, then you wouldn't be able to return after the first time we banned you. I guess you can stay.

There are a number of anti-spam measures in place that prevent a majority of the spam coming through. For example, new users must pass a 2 part verification similar to captcha.
Here's an example:

New users now have to pass the same verification for I believe their first 5 posts.

The spam everyone has been seeing lately has not been the work of bots, but rather a human. You should have noticed a distinct decline in the amount of mass-spam Chinese threads such as those prevalent in the PokemonGo section since we turned on the post verification.

If someone is dead set on spamming, it is going to happen. I just cleaned up 20+ spam threads from 4 different accounts. However not one was a reported post. Whenever there's a reported post, all staff members get an email about it and it will eventually get taken care of.

I just recently mentioned to the rest of the staff how we need to further step up the anti-spam by turning on more features of Spam-O-Matic because the spam in the last week has been getting worse. We are also looking into other modules, but at the same time we are making sure that these forum modules would not cause a security risk to our users. There's also innocent people who get in the crossfire of auto-moderation, which is why we stopped using an auto-banner that we had used previously on the forum.

We keep the forums open because we have many active users that do not wish to create a forum account, but still would like to browse threads or download profiles.
Again, we are open to suggestions.

 

[wallyworld]

If we verified accounts, then you wouldn't be able to return after the first time we banned you. I guess you can stay.

There are a number of anti-spam measures in place that prevent a majority of the spam coming through. For example, new users must pass a 2 part verification similar to captcha.
Here's an example:

New users now have to pass the same verification for I believe their first 5 posts.

The spam everyone has been seeing lately has not been the work of bots, but rather a human. You should have noticed a distinct decline in the amount of mass-spam Chinese threads such as those prevalent in the PokemonGo section since we turned on the post verification.

If someone is dead set on spamming, it is going to happen. I just cleaned up 20+ spam threads from 4 different accounts. However not one was a reported post. Whenever there's a reported post, all staff members get an email about it and it will eventually get taken care of.

I just recently mentioned to the rest of the staff how we need to further step up the anti-spam by turning on more features of Spam-O-Matic because the spam in the last week has been getting worse. We are also looking into other modules, but at the same time we are making sure that these forum modules would not cause a security risk to our users. There's also innocent people who get in the crossfire of auto-moderation, which is why we stopped using an auto-banner that we had used previously on the forum.

We keep the forums open because we have many active users that do not wish to create a forum account, but still would like to browse threads or download profiles.
Again, we are open to suggestions.

It hasn't been in the last week, it's been in the last month. The spammers clearly know when the support team is participating less in threads (HAH!) and target those times.

You guys can't honestly think that allowing non-verified users to download files is a good idea. And if you have so many "active users" that want to download the files, I see absolutely no reason that an "active user" wouldn't want an account.

Who cares if a few innocent users get caught...It means your tools are actually working.

 

[Angrybudd]

Just disable the links tbh
Almost clicked one myself where it said something about hot asian chicks having fun, and I'm not even that stupid

 

[Azoth]

It hasn't been in the last week, it's been in the last month. The spammers clearly know when the support team is participating less in threads (HAH!) and target those times.

You guys can't honestly think that allowing non-verified users to download files is a good idea. And if you have so many "active users" that want to download the files, I see absolutely no reason that an "active user" wouldn't want an account.

Who cares if a few innocent users get caught...It means your tools are actually working.

Ah yes, the old 'nuke everything' style of problem solving.
Last time I checked, a working tool catches the guilty, not the innocent, but you clearly know better than everyone here including the mods.

 

[socrates3]

I really don't see how you are having so much of a problem with it. It's pretty few and far between, it gets taken care of.

I mean, are you really gonna click on a link for a USA v SPAIN soccer match in a honorbuddy forum?

Bossland can't stop people from being stupid.

Verifying accounts would do little, and if anything, would force us to tie our buddystore accounts to our forum accounts. This would be terrible.

Just report the threads and move on. When they are consistently taking up 30% of posts I will care. Otherwise it's a nuisance you can avoid.

Also, just a word of advice, your never going to get anything with an attitude like that. Even if you had valid points to make, mods are just gonna stop listening when you start attacking them and their work.

 

[wallyworld]

Ah yes, the old 'nuke everything' style of problem solving.
Last time I checked, a working tool catches the guilty, not the innocent, but you clearly know better than everyone here including the mods.

If the mods knew what they were doing, we wouldn't have this problem...

Oh look, there's another one of these posts right now.

Yup, mods are doing a great job!

 

[wallyworld]

Just report the threads and move on. When they are consistently taking up 30% of posts I will care. Otherwise it's a nuisance you can avoid.

Also, just a word of advice, your never going to get anything with an attitude like that. Even if you had valid points to make, mods are just gonna stop listening when you start attacking them and their work.

They wouldn't need to be attacked if they actually did good work...If you think their 3 word answers (which seems to be all they can be bothered to respond with in support threads) is good, I feel sorry for you.

And you obviously haven't been on the forums around 10pm EST when 18-19 of the 20 threads posted on the trending threads are these spam threads.

 

[Coffee4MePlz]

I mean, are you really gonna click on a link for a USA v SPAIN soccer match in a honorbuddy forum?

A USA v SPAIN soccer match ? ohh i need to see that !!! Link please !!

lol

 

[joseph]

With the amount of spam threads coming into the forums lately (posts to chinese websites/live stream spam threads), is it time to make the forums private? It seems like at night in the US, the latest threads section is filled with nothing but these types of threads.

Also, do we really need 500-1000 guests browsing these forums all the time?

they have private forums called Legendary Buddy . pay for it or be happy with what you have

 

[miloos]

the most simple way is to make a purchase and you will get access to forum , without buying a key you cant post,download or anything else just read some part's of forum... spammers will not buy keys just to have option to make post's

 

[BotOperator]

the most simple way is to make a purchase and you will get access to forum , without buying a key you cant post,download or anything else just read some part's of forum... spammers will not buy keys just to have option to make post's

Good idea but what about the people banned here but still customers? ^^
No, I have an idea already how to stop those spammers for a while but atm. we have to ban them one by one.

 

[miloos]

warning first ban on some time, second time removing key and acc