Spam on this forum and what you can do to help

[Mark]

Hi all,

this is just a heads up for those who do not know…

if you spot spam in the forum please do not respond with a post reply - it would be really helpful if you could click the ellipsis within that post and then choose “report” from the menu. Or in other words - report that post for spam.  
 

Now - the forum software we use automatically hides the post if just two members report that post, this is especially useful when I or other moderators are offline bearing in mind we’re all in different time zones. 
 

it will be impossible to eliminate spam but this is one tool we can all use to minimise it.
 

BTW - Most spammers cannot even join as they’re already on a blacklist which I subscribe too. 
 

thanks for your help. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

3 hours ago, Mark said:

Hi all,

this is just a heads up for those who do not know…

if you spot spam in the forum please do not respond with a post reply - it would be really helpful if you could click the ellipsis within that post and then choose “report” from the menu. Or in other words - report that post for spam.  
 

Now - the forum software we use automatically hides the post if just two members report that post, this is especially useful when I or other moderators are offline bearing in mind we’re all in different time zones. 
 

it will be impossible to eliminate spam but this is one tool we can all use to minimise it.
 

BTW - Most spammers cannot even join as they’re already on a blacklist which I subscribe too. 
 

thanks for your help. 

What is classed as spam Mark ? Advertising, random posts irrelevant to watches ?

[oldhippy]

Certainly advertising that has nothing to do with this forum. Direct selling which can cover anything. If you are not sure just ask one of the mods.  

[Nucejoe]

23 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

What is classed as spam Mark ? Advertising, random posts irrelevant to watches ?

They mostly offer for sale or advertise a product. 

 There was a case where a member had responded with a post , from Mark's instruction I gather the system would then not hide the thread even if it receives two spam reports. 

[Mark]

1 hour ago, Nucejoe said:

from Mark's instruction I gather the system would then not hide the thread even if it receives two spam reports. 

No. I’ve set it so it will hide the post and an admin can review it later in case of mistake. Why it’s a bad idea for members to respond? Well I think it’s a bad idea because it lets the spammer know that their acts have been successful. 
 

1 hour ago, oldhippy said:

Certainly advertising that has nothing to do with this forum

Nope - just ANY advertising or self promotion done without permission of the site admin (me). The rules are very clear on our Rules page and Terms displayed when signing up. 

1 hour ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

What is classed as spam Mark ?

it’s worrying that you have to ask. If anyone has been involved with the internet for any small amount of time they simply must know what spam is, I shouldn’t have to explain it. However, in case of any confusion, a quick google search on the meaning of SPAM should clear any confusion. 
 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spam

And to be clear, we are not talking about a heavily processed tin of dubious meat

[VWatchie]

Just curious, let us say two members classify a post of mine as spam. Perhaps these two individuals don't like me or do it as a prank. Will I then somehow be notified of this?

[Mark]

14 minutes ago, VWatchie said:

Perhaps these two individuals don't like me or do it as a prank

As mentioned above, the post would be hidden for admin appraisal- not deleted. If I found out anybody did as you suggest (two parties would need to be complicit) I would simply ban them from the site. I could not imagine why anyone would want to do something so childish to you @VWatchie, am I missing something? Have you seen this kind of behaviour before here?

[gbyleveldt]

1 hour ago, VWatchie said:

Just curious, let us say two members classify a post of mine as spam. Perhaps these two individuals don't like me or do it as a prank. Will I then somehow be notified of this?

I can't imagine either @Neverenoughwatches or me playing a prank on you. Nope. Never crossed my mind. Till you planted that gem now of course. 

[VWatchie]

2 hours ago, Mark said:

As mentioned above, the post would be hidden for admin appraisal- not deleted.

Can I see that my post has been hidden/marked as spam? I believe some social media platforms hide messages they wish to censor. That is, they can make the poster believe the message is public when in fact no one can read it. I certainly don't expect or suspect that happening on WRT. I was merely curious to know what it would look like from the spammer's perspective.

2 hours ago, Mark said:

If I found out anybody did as you suggest (two parties would need to be complicit) I would simply ban them from the site.

Decisive and excellent! No room for interpretation! 

2 hours ago, Mark said:

I could not imagine why anyone would want to do something so childish to you @VWatchie, am I missing something?

No, you are not! I feel most welcome at WRT, and if I may say so, it appears to me that many of my posts are appreciated  As I said, I'm just being curious.

2 hours ago, Mark said:

Have you seen this kind of behaviour before here?

Never, and I don't expect it either. The exception of course is  @gbyleveldtand @Neverenoughwatches which can't be trusted but now that they are fully aware of the consequences I think and hope they will refrain from marking my posts as spam 

[Mark]

23 minutes ago, VWatchie said:

Can I see that my post has been hidden/marked as spam? I believe some social media platforms hide messages they wish to censor. That is, they can make the poster believe the message is public when in fact no one can read it.

Hidden posts are not seen by anyone except mods or admin until un-hidden. This forum software is most likely not anywhere near as sophisticated as FB and doesn’t even try to be thank goodness

[clockboy]

Just to be clear if two moderators report a post it automatically gets hidden. 
 

PS perhaps it’s a time zone issue or maybe I am not the forum too often all these spam,s  seem to have been spotted and reported before I see them..

Del

 

[Mark]

12 minutes ago, clockboy said:

Just to be clear if two moderators report a post it automatically gets hidden. 

No. Its if two members report a post. Naturally A moderator does not need to report a post because a moderator has the ability to flag a member as being a spammer directly and ban them, and this will inherently hide their rubbish it’s one of the jobs moderators volunteer to do. Most recent spam actions have been executed by myself or Paolo or members reporting of which there are two members in particular who have gotten very good at spotting the spam (you know who you are and I thank you ). Perhaps it’s a time zone thing, we just happen to be getting in there quite quickly

[MechanicMike]

16 hours ago, Mark said:

And to be clear, we are not talking about a heavily processed tin of dubious meat

hay as a consumer of said processed tin of dubious meat that also happens to be process...er manufactured about 80 miles away from me, I resemble that!

[Neverenoughwatches]

18 hours ago, VWatchie said:

Just curious, let us say two members classify a post of mine as spam. Perhaps these two individuals don't like me or do it as a prank. Will I then somehow be notified of this?

Unlikely watchie, I'm sure you are liked, I like you and that's all that matters

19 hours ago, Mark said:

it’s worrying that you have to ask. If anyone has been involved with the internet for any small amount of time they simply must know what spam is, I shouldn’t have to explain it. However.

Haha,I'm touched that you are worried about me Mark, thank you that makes me feel special.

17 hours ago, gbyleveldt said:

I can't imagine either @Neverenoughwatches or me playing a prank on you. Nope. Never crossed my mind. Till you planted that gem now of course. 

As if we would do such a thing .

[clockboy]

15 hours ago, Mark said:

No. Its if two members report a post. Naturally A moderator does not need to report a post because a moderator has the ability to flag a member as being a spammer directly and ban them, and this will inherently hide their rubbish it’s one of the jobs moderators volunteer to do. Most recent spam actions have been executed by myself or Paolo or members reporting of which there are two members in particular who have gotten very good at spotting the spam (you know who you are and I thank you ). Perhaps it’s a time zone thing, we just happen to be getting in there quite quickly

Getting quicker than me nowadays is not difficult. Getting older is just managed decline. Ps Mark still a great forum despite a few spammers. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

On 10/9/2022 at 3:28 PM, VWatchie said:

Never, and I don't expect it either. The exception of course is  @gbyleveldtand @Neverenoughwatches which can't be trusted but now that they are fully aware of the consequences I think and hope they will refrain from marking my posts as spam

Haha.  Like two naughty school boys.