Watch out for old posts brought forward by spammer

I've done the same on the kidney cancer forum.  At least 28 CSN cancer forums have been vandalised by this louse. I'm enquiring what sort of legal recourse can be taken against this sort of individual.

There are two resolves:

If the tech-team would lock down old threads, no-one would be able
to -post- to them, ending this continual problem.
(It's a simple fix that most webmasters have used to end forum problems.)

An alternative to that, is to require typing in "verification" word and/or
number codes at the time one attempts to post.

Either method should be employed here to resolve the agony of
reading new, but unanswered posts to our deceased friends.

Best wishes,

John

John23 said:

Software

There are two resolves:

If the tech-team would lock down old threads, no-one would be able
to -post- to them, ending this continual problem.
(It's a simple fix that most webmasters have used to end forum problems.)

An alternative to that, is to require typing in "verification" word and/or
number codes at the time one attempts to post.

Either method should be employed here to resolve the agony of
reading new, but unanswered posts to our deceased friends.

Best wishes,

John

John, that type of solution tends to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

God forbid that old threads should be locked down when it's often desirable to allow renewed posting on the topic in that same thread and software solutions of the CAPTCHA variety would do more harm than good on forums like CSN's.

Far better would, I believe, be to exact swingeing penalties on the sort of unconscionable activity we're witnessing - a few stiff jail sentences would be a good start.

At the moment the CSN dev team has its hands all too full and we need legal sanctions to rid us of these meddlesome touts.

Texas_wedge said:

Software

John, that type of solution tends to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

God forbid that old threads should be locked down when it's often desirable to allow renewed posting on the topic in that same thread and software solutions of the CAPTCHA variety would do more harm than good on forums like CSN's.

Far better would, I believe, be to exact swingeing penalties on the sort of unconscionable activity we're witnessing - a few stiff jail sentences would be a good start.

At the moment the CSN dev team has its hands all too full and we need legal sanctions to rid us of these meddlesome touts.

Re:
"to exact swingeing penalties on the sort of unconscionable
activity we're witnessing - a few stiff jail sentences would be a
good start."

Levying a fine to someone in Nigeria? Do you really think you
can impose fines to those in a different country?

"Locking down" old threads allows anyone to read the thread/posts,
but prevents posting new comments to that thread.

We frequently have newcomers to the board do searches, and
commence asking questions to those that have posted to the
old thread they found. All too often the person they are replying to
is has died. It's sad to see them waiting for a reply that will
never come. The problem of the resurrection of old threads
is not limited to spammers.

As far as the "CAPTCHA" system (typing in words/numbers
at time of posting) will prevent "robot posting", but the problem
of old, old threads being regenerated will still be with us.

A combination of both methods would be worthwhile, in my opinion.

Best of health,

John

Trubrit said:

We frequently have newcomers

We frequently have newcomers to the board do searches, and
commence asking questions to those that have posted to the
old thread they found.

That is exactly how I found this web site last week. I googled Port and up pops the CSN link.  I did not think to look at the date on the thread either, but I did not post to it, instead joined the forum. 

I think locking a thread is a good thing. You can still read that thread, but not reply. If you want an answer, then you can post anew. 

dmj101 said:

I am not sure how you found

I am not sure how you found them to be a spammer..

I see ould links referenced all the time..

I never see any links selling us anything.. Next time you see one.. can you please advise what you saw so we all know what a spammer looks like.

John23 said:

Hmmmm Fines?

Re:
"to exact swingeing penalties on the sort of unconscionable
activity we're witnessing - a few stiff jail sentences would be a
good start."

Levying a fine to someone in Nigeria? Do you really think you
can impose fines to those in a different country?

"Locking down" old threads allows anyone to read the thread/posts,
but prevents posting new comments to that thread.

We frequently have newcomers to the board do searches, and
commence asking questions to those that have posted to the
old thread they found. All too often the person they are replying to
is has died. It's sad to see them waiting for a reply that will
never come. The problem of the resurrection of old threads
is not limited to spammers.

As far as the "CAPTCHA" system (typing in words/numbers
at time of posting) will prevent "robot posting", but the problem
of old, old threads being regenerated will still be with us.

A combination of both methods would be worthwhile, in my opinion.

Best of health,

John

 

John, where did you get the idea of fines from and how do you figure Nigeria is involved? This looks like a criminal outfit and it shouldn't be too difficult to run them to earth and shut them down.

Both of your suggestions for dealing with this problem are bad ideas. I, too, have pointed out to newcomers that they have posted a 'response' to a posting that was many years old, and to a person who was almost certainly no longer alive. However, I've been met with the valid reply that the new posting contained information that will prove of value to subsequent visitors and it's best kept on a thread where wisdom on the subject has already been accumulated, rather than constantly re-inventing the wheel. (It's easy enough to point out to a newcomer that they've responded to an ancient message.)

The imposition of a system such as I mentioned (CAPTCHA) would put an unacceptable impediment in the way of genuine would-be contributors and we would lose many of them as a consequence. The spammers would have thereby wrought yet further damage.

The spammers should be dealt with in other ways.

There is no problem of "old, old threads being regenerated". If someone has searched and found a thread on the topic they wish to address, it's still a live topic.

The true evil is the constant creation, by newcomers and established members alike, of unnecessary new threads. This fragments information that should be kept together, scattering it thinly over innumerable threads and perpetually causing useful threads to get lost. This is why it's proved necessary on other forums to combat this by other devices such as the "Superthread" on the Head and Neck cancer forum. It devalues the potential worth of forums like this when ridiculous new threads are started by newcomers with pointless titles such as 'The day has arrived' and content like 'I'm about to have an operation. Is there anyone out there who's had an operation?' Newcomers should take the trouble to search and read what's there already and post on an appropriate existing thread on the topic and only start a new thread if there's nothing on the subject already.  The ridiculous extreme can be seen on the Rare and Other Cancers forum where there are dozens of threads about pancreatic cancer, many with exactly the same title as others and each with only one or two postings on it.  That does nobody any favours.

As you'll have gathered, I have strong feelings on the subject (and I'm involved in computer software) but I don't belong on this particular forum so I'll leave you in peace.

I reciprocate your wish for good health for us all and I do hope we can see off the spammers that we all detest.

Trubrit said:

Texas_wedge posts: The true

Texas_wedge posts: The true evil is the constant creation, by newcomers and established members alike, of unnecessary new threads. This fragments information that should be kept together, scattering it thinly over innumerable threads and perpetually causing useful threads to get lost. This is why it's proved necessary on other forums to combat this by other devices such as the "Superthread" on the Head and Neck cancer forum. It devalues the potential worth of forums like this when ridiculous new threads are started by newcomers with pointless titles such as 'The day has arrived' and content like 'I'm about to have an operation. Is there anyone out there who's had an operation?' Newcomers should take the trouble to search and read what's there already and post on an appropriate existing thread on the topic and only start a new thread if there's nothing on the subject already. 

OK! I will have to be more careful how I post in future. Truth is for me, an old woman not overly familiar with the computer, I'm not quite up to scratch with how to navigate the threads.  Maybe I should take the time to become familiar with the forum before I post any more. I'll see if I can behave myself so as not to annoy good folks by 'devaluing the potential of the forum' with 'pointless titels'

That is so ridiculous.     Trubrit - you shouldn't feel worried about posting anything.  I haven't been here long, but I have found the folks that post here to be so helpful and caring.  Texas Wedge isn't even a poster here so I'm sure he/she won't be offended by any posts you make.   The problem with just searching for answers is you find old threads.  Things can change so much from the time of the post.  I think it makes good sense to start a new post and give the nice people here to opportunity to help.  

Texas_wedge said:

Combating spam

John, where did you get the idea of fines from and how do you figure Nigeria is involved? This looks like a criminal outfit and it shouldn't be too difficult to run them to earth and shut them down.

Both of your suggestions for dealing with this problem are bad ideas. I, too, have pointed out to newcomers that they have posted a 'response' to a posting that was many years old, and to a person who was almost certainly no longer alive. However, I've been met with the valid reply that the new posting contained information that will prove of value to subsequent visitors and it's best kept on a thread where wisdom on the subject has already been accumulated, rather than constantly re-inventing the wheel. (It's easy enough to point out to a newcomer that they've responded to an ancient message.)

The imposition of a system such as I mentioned (CAPTCHA) would put an unacceptable impediment in the way of genuine would-be contributors and we would lose many of them as a consequence. The spammers would have thereby wrought yet further damage.

The spammers should be dealt with in other ways.

There is no problem of "old, old threads being regenerated". If someone has searched and found a thread on the topic they wish to address, it's still a live topic.

The true evil is the constant creation, by newcomers and established members alike, of unnecessary new threads. This fragments information that should be kept together, scattering it thinly over innumerable threads and perpetually causing useful threads to get lost. This is why it's proved necessary on other forums to combat this by other devices such as the "Superthread" on the Head and Neck cancer forum. It devalues the potential worth of forums like this when ridiculous new threads are started by newcomers with pointless titles such as 'The day has arrived' and content like 'I'm about to have an operation. Is there anyone out there who's had an operation?' Newcomers should take the trouble to search and read what's there already and post on an appropriate existing thread on the topic and only start a new thread if there's nothing on the subject already.  The ridiculous extreme can be seen on the Rare and Other Cancers forum where there are dozens of threads about pancreatic cancer, many with exactly the same title as others and each with only one or two postings on it.  That does nobody any favours.

As you'll have gathered, I have strong feelings on the subject (and I'm involved in computer software) but I don't belong on this particular forum so I'll leave you in peace.

I reciprocate your wish for good health for us all and I do hope we can see off the spammers that we all detest.

How dare you insult the new members on this forum!!  Most are in shock from a devastating diagnosis and want to reach out for any help that we can offer.  I'm so angry at your words right now that I'm simply going to tell you to kindly go back to whatever forum will tolerate you and to stay away from this one!!!

Trubrit said:

Texas_wedge posts: The true

Texas_wedge posts: The true evil is the constant creation, by newcomers and established members alike, of unnecessary new threads. This fragments information that should be kept together, scattering it thinly over innumerable threads and perpetually causing useful threads to get lost. This is why it's proved necessary on other forums to combat this by other devices such as the "Superthread" on the Head and Neck cancer forum. It devalues the potential worth of forums like this when ridiculous new threads are started by newcomers with pointless titles such as 'The day has arrived' and content like 'I'm about to have an operation. Is there anyone out there who's had an operation?' Newcomers should take the trouble to search and read what's there already and post on an appropriate existing thread on the topic and only start a new thread if there's nothing on the subject already. 

OK! I will have to be more careful how I post in future. Truth is for me, an old woman not overly familiar with the computer, I'm not quite up to scratch with how to navigate the threads.  Maybe I should take the time to become familiar with the forum before I post any more. I'll see if I can behave myself so as not to annoy good folks by 'devaluing the potential of the forum' with 'pointless titels'

OK! I will have to be more careful how I post in future......Maybe I should take the time to become familiar with the forum before I post any more.

This was truthful, I will indeed try to be careful and look around more. And thanks to Texas, I did look for the search button and found some excelletnt older posts about Ports, which right now, is my main concern (Chemo starts in next week, so I'm sure I will move on to that soon).

Truth is for me, an old woman 

OK! I'm only 54, not so old. But I'm not as computer savy as I could or should be. 

 'devaluing the potential of the forum' with 'pointless titels'

Yes John23. I am English and my humour is dry, but I was also trying to make a point along with the humourt. I am pretty thick skinned, comes with 'old' age, but I did find Texas comments like 'true evil' and 'pointless titles' to be somewhat insensitive.

 I'll see if I can behave myself so as not to annoy good folks by....

As for behaving myself, it aint gunna happen. I've never behaved myself and I can't see it happening now  . 

I will though, start using smilies, they certainly do help paint a picture. 

And thank you Jen2012 and LivingNH for standing up and protecting us newbies. Much appreciated! 

We all have a place here on the fourm. Survivors, sufferers, old, young, educated and less educated.