I’ve been away from CC for a while, but I’ve noticed a lot of spam from outside sources in the Parents’ forum lately. Has this become usual?
Example: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/633652-your-second-thousand-posts.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/633652-your-second-thousand-posts.html</a> (post #8)
Use the Report Problem Post link on the bottom right of any post to report it if you see a spam post.
What’s the deal with this type of spam? Is it automatically generated by computer to be posted on fora all over the Internet?
The best guess is that people in dirt-poor counties post it on commission.
But it often comes across on CC posts as gibberish as if its being spontaneously generated in response to keywords.
I’ve been enjoying the ones that have gone through a computer-generated translator. It’s like reading Dr. Seuss on steroids.
Kudos to the moderators in the parent’s forum. I reported a spam post and 3 minutes later the thread was closed. Good job!
I have been hanging around cc for over a year, but just starting seeing spam posts in the last week. I have reported 5 or 6 (would have reported more, but there is some weird rule that you can’t report more than oen post per minute?)
We are working on ways to solve the problem. In the meantime, please use the Report Problem Post. (And yes, it’s a technical issue that you can only report every 60 seconds.)
Another hint - if there are multiple spam posts in a row, please report the first one. We’ll then see and deal with the subsequent ones when we respond to the reported post.
Thanks.
I’ve been seeing a lot more spam, too. I report it when I find it. I hope there is a way to eliminate it. Perhaps by having more of a lag between when people register for CC and when they can post. Most of the spam shows 1 post.
We have made a few changes to the registration system in an attempt to cut down on automated, or semi-automated, spam. Many US online communities block entire countries from access (the vast majority of these spammers are offshore), but we know that we have members and readers from dozens of countries and don’t want to cut them off.
We appreciate everyone’s cooperation in reporting spam posts, and we will continue to try new approaches to prevent it from being posted in the first place.
Most of the spam posts I’ve seen are from new members who have spammed on their first post. Perhaps there could be a requirement that first posts must be mediated – that is reviewed by a moderator before they go up.
Now we are getting spam threads! Noticed 3 or 4 viagra type threads in the Parents Forum this AM. Wish there were some way to prevent this…
THANK YOU all for the reports and alerts on the increased spam activity. Yes, there appear to be some new strategies the spammers are using to get through the system. The mods have asked that this issue be given top priority. Meanwhile, do continue to use the “report problem post” option to alert us as these annoying things pop up, and we will strive to clean them up ASAP.
Thanks for your help in addressing this problem.