Why are the spammers/bots allowed here?
 

Just curious? They are very obvious to many of us old timers and surely someone is reporting
them? If not, should I or someone start?

Edited: Here is the list compiled so far ... I'll start with one from a few months back:

Dannyjewelry
jessyrich
Maddygobi
KilluaOreo784
richardgravner
roselewis

And that Glen guy ... he's the worst :D

There are more, but this is a start....

I've never noticed them be "allowed".

There are several on here right now that have been pointed out by several posters (but maybe have not been reported). That's why I started this thread....

I'm assuming that if they respond to threads but don't actually post links to other sites, then there's not a good reason to ban them.

If you create a login and start posting, and every post includes links to external sites, I suspect that'll get you banned.

If you create a login and just start posting, but don't actually post links to sites, then you're just another poster. Several of them seem to do that. Which is weird, are they playing the long game? Or maybe they'll get on and have a few innocuous posts and only post a link every 5 or 10 posts. I don't know, it's weird.

I don't report them if they aren't posting outside links or hidden images or something.

They seem to be building up post numbers by making inane comments on various threads. Gotta confess, I never reported one...maybe I should.

They typically show up, revive an ancient thread or two, add nothing really, and have just a few posts.

Methinks they return much later, after the thread has aged a bit..... that's when the links, sometimes invisible, are edited in .... that's my guess.

The few that are here now are contributing nada ....

They go back and edit the posts 2 or 3 weeks later. They only want the webcrawlers to see the links, they don't care if *you* see the links or not. They're just as happy having the links stay far away from the front page.

An example...

jessyrich posted on 11/11, I already had them pegged as a spammer and replied as such. I quoted their entire post, as did others. Yet, you can see that the post was edited on 11/29, where lots of key words and a link were added. Classic spammer.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1129533-how-many-pullups-can-you-do-4.html#post11845619

So like in that pullup thread, is that spammer a real person or a bot?
If it’s a bot and is somehow doing that automatically on multiple webpages with little or no human input, that’s pretty impressive. That particular spammer/bot has 32 posts here, and they seem coherent and in context with the threads they are in.
If it’s a real person, that seems like a lot of work for a few spam posts. Reading the threads, coming up with decent sounding responses, going back and editing to put the links in, etc.
Anyways, while waiting for response I think I’ll go enjoy some of the best online poker at http://best-poker-yeponline.com thank you.

Years ago "Nostatic" said that this is our forum and therefore we should look after it.

In other words if you think a post is spam you need to report it to the moderators.
- They're not online 24/7 so it may take a while before anything is done.

Jessy, you just might be legit, based upon a couple of peeks at your posting history and high post count now ;). If so, welcome to PPOT and continue to contribute to the nonsense here .... we need more ladies to participate too! The ones I started this thread about are around and almost certainly real spammers ... they are easy to spot also and only make 2-3 posts then Poof .... gone like Vash ;).

Years ago, every morning at this time, one (likely a real person) would post on several threads and it was obvious.... I used to report them ... this was maybe 12-15 yesrs ago, but then it ceased after some time.

If the mods want to clean this nonsense up & out, it would be fairly easy imo with a bit of help from the rest of the flock pointing them out, and then a PM exchange with a mod to "trust but verify".

Say the word Seahawk, and I'll post the current ones in the OP or start another theead. It's not my intent to chase away a legitimate newcomer, and I called it "incorrectly" recently on a "racer" thread that Milt/Zeke set me straight on :).

Thanks!

I “frequently” will use the report button when I see a obvious spammer to let the moderators know and then I post that I reported them by name so the moderators don’t get a whole bunch of alerts.

Seems like they go in spurts. I get up early, so usually see the overseas spam before most people.

PM Matt.

report them

The newest twist is invisible micro dot links, more on phones than here but it's just a matter of time

Paul, years ago, I would use the icon on a spammer's post to report their daily appearances.... does Matt see those?

Because if we all start pointing out this BS and proper action is taken, it will cease .... I hope ;).

Or is a direct PM to Matt what we should use?

....and does Pelican care these days?

KC - they care and Matt is excellent. I just do not feel comfortable with certain actions here and defer to Matt and Z...I start mucking about and we could lose the power grid.

Matt lives in CT so he is on East Coast time...direct PM is good. That is what I do.

^^^^ Perfect! If just a few of us start doing this, we can, as B. Fife would say..... "Nip it..."

Thanks!

Maddygobi and KilluaOreo784 as well as JR.

Send Matt a PM .... no need for several of us to bug him!

Or I will ;)

With the huge salaries the moderators get, they do decent work. Maybe if the backed off paying me for my posts, they car raise the mods salaries.

The real bottom line is the web site is just a freebee paid for but the parts business. This site may draw many to the site that are looking for information on how to fix an air cooled 911 and they may buy some parts here. The forum makes the owners zero dollars, and is just an expense paid for by your subscription, that pays the moderators salaries and for my posts.