Moderating new users

[kirkmc]

Don't you all think that setting new users to be moderated for their first post might be a good idea? It would prevent pretty much all spammers, like the one that dumped a bunch of stuff on the forum today.

I do it on two other phpBB forums; it's easy to do, and just requires that admins check for posts being held in moderation.

[tj86430]

It's ok, if mods/admins are able to do it quickly enough (say within 24 hrs). OTOH, if mods/admins are active, they will spot spam and remove it pretty quickly anyway.

I'm fine with both methods.

[gaius]

Why do this? A little bit of fresh troll meat will not harm anyone, and it's not like there is a huge flood of spam on this forum. I see no reason to put obstacles in the way of first posts.

[cdybeijing]

Don't you all think that setting new users to be moderated for their first post might be a good idea? It would prevent pretty much all spammers, like the one that dumped a bunch of stuff on the forum today.

I do it on two other phpBB forums; it's easy to do, and just requires that admins check for posts being held in moderation.

Seems like a good suggestion for me - it's only for the first post, and any mod or admin would be able to approve.

[kirkmc]

Why do this? A little bit of fresh troll meat will not harm anyone, and it's not like there is a huge flood of spam on this forum. I see no reason to put obstacles in the way of first posts.

There were about ten spam posts when I looked this morning. Once a forum gets in the radar of spammers, it'll just get worse.

[DrStraw]

Seems like it would be a good idea if it really got to be a problem. I haven't seen much spam myself so I am guess it is not a big problem yet.

[Joaz Banbeck]

Why do this? A little bit of fresh troll meat will not harm anyone, and it's not like there is a huge flood of spam on this forum...

Actually, there has been a relatively huge attempt at trolling/spamming in the last week. I've been killing spammers/trolls left and right. ( Due to the horrible weather here in LA I've been stuck indoors, so I've been able to check the forum frequently )

FWIW, the trolls seem to be kiddy go players from Russia; the spammers seem to be clothing sellers from China.

EDIT: I looked at the admin and mod logs. It appears that Topazg has been deleteing a lot recently too.

[judicata]

I think the admins are doing a great job at keeping the spam/trolling at bay right now.

This probably cannot be done, but it might be nice to permit normal users (users who've posted over a certain number) to censor posts by users of under, say, 10 posts.

But so far, it doesn't seem to be a major problem as it is.

[amnal]

I think the admins are doing a great job at keeping the spam/trolling at bay right now.

This probably cannot be done, but it might be nice to permit normal users (users who've posted over a certain number) to censor posts by users of under, say, 10 posts.

But so far, it doesn't seem to be a major problem as it is.

This seems like a terrible idea. It isn't obvious to me that it's reasonable to assume they are unwanted, and even if it was, I think other methods (like moderation) would be better.

[judicata]

This seems like a terrible idea. It isn't obvious to me that it's reasonable to assume they are unwanted, and even if it was, I think other methods (like moderation) would be better.

ok

[kirkmc]

I'm bumping this again. Wouldn't it be easier just to have new users set to moderation? In the few times I've checked the forum today, I've seen a half-dozen spams. I know it can be done (auto-moderation), because I do it on a forum I run...

[amnal]

My feelings are:
- Occasionally I see a bit of spam here
- It quickly disappears as the mods delete it, and is very obvious
- As a new user, I always find it extremely annoying to have to await moderation. It is a strong push to not sign up at all.


=> I would rather see this small amount of spam occasionally than have to await moderation, and personally don't think moderation is necessary/a good idea

[Redundant]

I wonder if we could implement the xkcd forum system for links. It's not allowed to post a link until a user has made five posts. This would make spam a little more difficult.

[kirkmc]

I wonder if we could implement the xkcd forum system for links. It's not allowed to post a link until a user has made five posts. This would make spam a little more difficult.

phpBB has a feature whereby you can mod a user until a first post is approved. That's generally all you need in a specialized forum like this to know if they're for real.

And I highly doubt that many people would be put off by that type of moderation.

[Bill Spight]

I wonder if we could implement the xkcd forum system for links. It's not allowed to post a link until a user has made five posts. This would make spam a little more difficult.

Or perhaps there could be a list of approved sites for links. Any post that links elsewhere would await moderation.