Forum policies, etc.

[Clinton]

I deleted a spam post today that brought to mind some comments made earlier in the thread about detecting certain keywords and approving posts if they used the right keywords within the text.

Anyway, here's that post I just deleted

Knoppix 6.2 is composed of Debian testing packages chanel handbags <link deleted> with special configuration scripts made by Klaus Knopper. You can always use Debian packages to update or upgrade your Knoppix system. Therefore one can find valuable gucci bags <link deleted> information in the Debian wiki. Sometimes it is useful to read the Ubuntu wiki, but there are differences between Ubuntu and Debian. If you want to add a package to Knoppix then you should use a package manager like synaptic or aptitude.gucci wallets <link deleted> They use the Debian package repositorys.

Keeping this place spam free is not as easy as some people may think - spammers are constantly finding new ways and are even willing to spend time building up a few genuine looking posts first before spamming.

[klaus2008]

My original post was in the thread Broadcom b43 driver firmware download help http://www.knoppix.net/forum/threads...l=1#post119562

Did someone change the content or was it a new post in another thread?

[kl522]

I deleted a spam post today that brought to mind some comments made earlier in the thread about detecting certain keywords and approving posts if they used the right keywords within the text.

You are taking what I said out of context and let me make it clear ( AGAIN ) what I said before in point form :-

1. I never proposed to "automate" the detection of spam based on keywords.
2. I only proposed we hasten the process of quarantine.
3. I would like to believe that when people make a first post, if it is not a spam, or has no intention to spam, then subsequently he will not spam. Thus we can use this to hasten the process of quarantine.
4. The decision of whether a post is spam is still a manual process. We do not insult the intelligence of the moderators. If moderators is in doubt, he could extend the quarantine period. So averagely speaking, majority of users get out of quarantine after the first post. Perhaps some 10% or less needs further quarantine.
5. If one ever makes a spam post, the account should be removed.

[ This is my second post. My first post did not appear. Looks like I am under quarantine now ]

[Clinton]

I would like to believe that when people make a first post, if it is not a spam, or has no intention to spam, then subsequently he will not spam. Thus we can use this to hasten the process of quarantine.

I'd like to believe that too, but the facts don't support it. It's often the case that someone makes a few non-spam posts first. Hence we can't work on the first post good principle. Also, if I automate removing restrictions after the first post, we'll get inundated with spammers who figure the system and make one good post just so they can then immediately flood us with several spam posts. Cleaning those posts is a major pain in the ass.

I'm always looking for ways in which to improve the board and make it more useful for members and if there's some way I can hasten the approval process of account and posts, I'm happy to take a look.

I consider you a valuable member, you are not under quarantine and there are no posts of yours in the moderation queue.

[evenso]

I'd like to believe that too, but the facts don't support it. It's often the case that someone makes a few non-spam posts first. Hence we can't work on the first post good principle. Also, if I automate removing restrictions after the first post, we'll get inundated with spammers who figure the system and make one good post just so they can then immediately flood us with several spam posts. Cleaning those posts is a major pain in the ass.

I don't pretend to knowledge of the spammer world but I would think it much like the pyramid sales world.

The actual spammers themselves are often the most duped of all, desperate to recover their ill-considered commitment of time/money, willing to go to illogical lengths, employ entire work weeks and deploy any acumen they have to discover some sort of profitable method of breaking through.

Who could be more evil than the little rats? The big rats who are spamming them into their sad and increasingly desperate situation.

[Harry Kuhman]

I don't pretend to knowledge of the spammer world but I would think it much like the pyramid sales world.

The actual spammers themselves are often the most duped of all,......

That's an interesting theory, but not supported by years of evidence.

We, of course, have dealt with many different spammers here, but over several years I was able to determine that the majority of our attacks (span, new accounts created for spamming, and even attempts to create banned accounts) could all be traced back to one individual or spamming organization with a vast bot army. We would get hit with hundreds of new account creations a day, sometimes approaching a thousand, with only a very few legitimate new members. By comparing IP addresses, e-mail addresses, and other factors, and coordinating our information with other forums (yes, we have ways to share this information) and even doing Google searches, I was able to determine that the majority of these attacks came from a common source. These would be for widely varying spam topics, including porn, drugs, cheap "goods", malware and viruses and more (even including "make money with your computer by spamming forums" schemes) , but most traced back to the same source. So your "most duped of all" theory doesn't hold up, this one spammer has been aggressively hitting us for years, and if anything has only rampped up the effort in recent years. Not what you would expect from someone who had been duped and was struggling to make ends meet.

[krishna.murphy]

I don't pretend to knowledge of the spammer world but I would think it much like the pyramid sales world.

The actual spammers themselves are often the most duped of all, desperate to recover their ill-considered commitment of time/money, willing to go to illogical lengths, employ entire work weeks and deploy any acumen they have to discover some sort of profitable method of breaking through.

Who could be more evil than the little rats? The big rats who are spamming them into their sad and increasingly desperate situation.

I claim no special knowledge of the spammers, too - but I do know that HUGE amounts of money are involved. Greed is one of the most seductive temptations there are, and open-source software is a way I see hope coming for the human race.

Buckminster Fuller wrote that (paraphrasing) It will become a privilege to be allowed to join a team doing "work", and no one will need fear that their basic needs will not be met. I think he may be right - he was right about a lot of things, though not all.

Cheers!
Krishna

[Clinton]

klaus2008, thanks for pointing me to the original source. Yes, it looks like this wuchun character copied that, added a couple of keywords and reposted it in another thread.

Of course, I've dealt with that account. (Don't be fooled by the fact that he still seems to be around. I don't want to disclose too much of how we deal with these accounts, but rest assured that once someone spams his account becomes useless and he can't post again. His IP and other information is stored as well, that's in addition to it being passed to anti-spam agencies)