Possible solution leading to no more spam, AT ALL

submitted by HugodeCrevellier from self.SaidIt

No new Accounts permitted until the US Elections, combined with the zapping of all current spam accounts.

End of problem.

I can't imagine that whoever owns/controls saidit expects many actual/real/human accounts to sign up, given the current, already mentioned, situation:

If you check the top comments sitewide for the last year, they have between 30 and 60 upvotes. Five to three years ago, it was between 300 to over 500. So, given no downvote button, this forum/site seems to have about 50 real, actually active, users, with the rest either people that stopped visiting long ago or ... bots. Let's say that the real, actually active, users are double that, like 100.

So, how about pausing new accounts, to make this forum actually functional and pleasant for the ~100 real, actually active, users?

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[–]Fark_magnora7 5 insightful - 3 fun5 insightful - 2 fun6 insightful - 3 fun -  (1 child)

You think that magnora7 actually wants this site to succeed?

M7 has done nothing but ignore all appeals to sanity, improvement, and fair management.

[–]LarrySwinger2 4 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

This. We've been very patient with him, to no avail.

[–][deleted] 4 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 2 fun -  (15 children)

I was thinking about that too, turn off automatic registration.

Honestly we probably get few enough actual humans checking the place out it would be trivial to vet over email first.

[–]HugodeCrevellier[S] 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Giving one's email might present privacy issues, but sure.

And since, as you say, there are few actual humans checking the place out, one can also, more simply, pause new (almost certainly spam) subscriptions for a while ...

... and zap all obvious spam accounts.

It should work.

[–]YoMamma 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (12 children)

What users here don't seem to appreciate is that new accounts and numerous page visits increase traffic to Saidit, which raises its profile. M7 has noted in the past that increased traffic is helpful, even if Ed generated it at that time. So I think the solution is automoderator development and many additional moderators who can ban/remove spam, while also adding and upvoting content.

I did much of this over the past few days in several subs, but the spammers now avoid those subs. Their strategy is to use a new username a few dozen times, and when that's not working, they reduce activity in the subs where their usernames have been banned. (Admins can ban the usernames for all of Saidit, but I am not sure that's happening.)

[–]thethrowaway 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Dude all he needs to do is give a whole bunch of trusted longer term members the ability to perma ban accounts and if they abuse it take it away. I've been here since the r/tumblrinaction shutdown of 2022 and I don't go outside s/tumblrinaction much but even I have been noticing all the spam.

[–]HugodeCrevellier[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

What users here don't seem to appreciate is that new accounts and numerous page visits increase traffic to Saidit, which raises its profile.

What some others don't seem to appreciate is that to pursue [fake/bot] new accounts and [fake/bot] numerous page visits in order to increase [fake/bot] traffic, and to thus [dishonestly] create some fake popularity profile, makes Saidit seem like a kind of scam. But to what end? Is someone making money from this, somehow? Seems unlikely, doesn't it?

Now, if/when any censorship-fleeing actual human ever happens to chance upon Saidit, they'll be immediately assaulted by all the spam and will likely leave in disgust. They're almost certainly not going to create an account. Basically, only spambots create new accounts on Saidit. Human participation has been dwindling.

Also, allowing spam (to artificially inflate Saidit's popularity profile?) implies a shocking level of disregard towards any remaining real, actually active, Saidit users.

M7 has noted in the past that increased traffic is helpful, even if Ed generated it at that time.

Increased traffic, if essentially all fake/bot/spam, is helpful toward ... what exactly?

So I think the solution is automoderator development and many additional moderators who can ban/remove spam, while also adding and upvoting content.

Really? The actual solution seems rather to be to pause new subscriptions, which are essentially ALL spambots, at least until the elections. This would not only show respect for Saidit's current real, active human users, but it would actually be honest: You'll then get Saidit's REAL 'profile', not some fake spam-inflated bullshit 'profile'.

I did much of this over the past few days in several subs, but the spammers now avoid those subs. Their strategy is to use a new username a few dozen times, and when that's not working, they reduce activity in the subs where their usernames have been banned. (Admins can ban the usernames for all of Saidit, but I am not sure that's happening.)

There seems to be a perfectly good site-wide actual solution to spam that some people seem to be straining to pretend is not available.

[–]YoMamma 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

to pursue [fake/bot] new accounts and ...

These are not persued or favored on Saidit. My point is that there is a minor benefit to the extra traffic; hence deletion of spam upon its arrival and account bans is manageable, via automoderation and extra mods (if Saidit wants to do that).

actual human ... they'll be immediately assaulted by all the spam

Agreed, failure to get the spam is likely losing Saidit potential new users

allowing spam (to artificially inflate Saidit's popularity profile?)

No - that's not proposed in my comment. I propose that more mods help delete spam and ban spammers

Increased traffic, if essentially all fake/bot/spam, is helpful toward ... what exactly?

Higher website traffic stats makes Saidit more visible via searches &c

Really? The actual solution seems rather to be to pause new subscriptions

Pausing new subscriptions would pause new users and Saidit would die. However, restricting posts by new users is something automoderators can do.

There seems to be a perfectly good site-wide actual solution to spam that some people seem to be straining to pretend is not available.

I think we all agree on some basic solutions. We'll need m7 to allow us to try them.

[–]HugodeCrevellier[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I think we all agree on some basic solutions.

Yes, and to prevent newly-subscribed accounts from posting (for x time) seems milder but also similar to preventing new accounts from being created altogether (for x time).

[–]Poofer 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

I'm pretty sure that you will enjoy phase two of my bot.

Absolutely nothing that you just mentioned will do anything to stop it.

https://youtu.be/FHh86ySgKrA?si=LWw29Q3Aw0609AB2

[–]YoMamma 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I'll upvote all Sugababes spam. Bring it.

[–]LarrySwinger2 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

There are many solutions but the admin isn't responsive at all. That's why we have to migrate to something else already. Matrix is perfect.

[–]Jiminy 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

How is that site deader then this one

[–]iamonlyoneman 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Because it's his pet project nobody else cares about or uses. I just report all his matrix-shilling as spam.

[–]Fark_magnora7 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Which Matrix chat client(s) do you prefer, and why?

[–]Canbot 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (7 children)

You can change it to invitation only and get the same result.

[–]Poofer 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (6 children)

Oh that's a great solution you can have a public forum inside of a vacuum

[–]Canbot 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

It's not a vacuum at all.

[–]Poofer 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

Whether it's a vacuum or not you suck donkey balls as a manager.

[–]Canbot 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Pee-ons always think that about management because they lack the intelligence to understand what is going on, or make accurate predictions about what will and won't work.

[–]Poofer 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Incompetent managers like to have discussions that include insults, instead of having discussions that produce solutions.

[–]Canbot 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Well, you just contradicted yourself then.

[–]Poofer 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

There is actually a very simple solution that would eliminate 100% of spam.

[–]NutterButterFlutter 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

What do people think (including u/magnora7) if we all volunteer to mod a single sub we care about that's getting worked overtime by the spam, and help clean up for a while until M7 can find more admins willing to help (and/or mods who truly want to manage the sub)?

I've got several subs of my own already, but they're pretty dead. I would be willing to take on one more temporarily for the sole purpose of removing spam. Don't even have to give me permissions to ban or use Automoderator, just remove posts.

It's the same amount of effort reporting that spam ... only instead, I would actually be removing it from the site for everyone else too. I can commit to logging in once a day and doing that.

[–]Poofer 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

/u/magnora7 invented Bitcoin.

[–]Drewski 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Or require you to fill out an application to join, like some lemmy instances do. It'd be a pain for users and admin, but possibly less so than all this spam.

[–]Poofer 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

require them to submit a notarized copy of their passport and including their social security number and date of birth and a copy of their most recent seven years of tax returns and a picture of their genitals and their titties.

/u/musky

[–]Drewski 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Are you volunteering to review them?

[–]Poofer 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I am slightly busy chewing Copenhagen at the moment.

Please check back with me at a time that might be more convenient for myself.