Scars of Hathsin he/him Posted October 15, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 I found another way to find spammers or bots, if you hover over peoples names in the birthday section, you may find a bot that escaped the first run in. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRavenHasLanded he/him Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 fancy 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRavenHasLanded he/him Posted October 30, 2023 Report Share Posted October 30, 2023 who else thinks that the bots are funny in what they try to sell? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ookla she/her Posted December 20, 2023 Report Share Posted December 20, 2023 On 10/30/2023 at 10:13 AM, TheRavenHasLanded said: who else thinks that the bots are funny in what they try to sell? I sometimes find them concerning, but at the same time it's so ridiculous that you can't help but stare at it in amused shock. I've seen some weird stuff the bots are trying to tell us about. Also, all their grammar is laughably bad. At least the average Internet user with imperfect grammar has some sense of how to put a sentence together; these things don't, somehow. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunamor she/her Posted December 21, 2023 Report Share Posted December 21, 2023 (edited) 6 hours ago, Ookla said: Also, all their grammar is laughably bad. At least the average Internet user with imperfect grammar has some sense of how to put a sentence together; these things don't, somehow. They sometimes talk like that mocking Spongebob meme. Spoiler Being unable to fall asleep helps with reporting bots that like to post at night Also, technically I have been reported many times from reporting my own status updates I post on a bot’s profile. Edited December 21, 2023 by Lunamor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faerie Braids she/her Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 I just vanquished my first bot! Hopefully the first of many... *mild cackling and finger-tenting* 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRavenHasLanded he/him Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 uh- this is getting out of hand a little bit... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lego Mistborn he/him Posted January 31 Report Share Posted January 31 Tis what happens when business is booming. And Brandon is big these days. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 *passes out* 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AonEne he/him in an enby way Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 On 8/30/2023 at 5:21 PM, Invisible said: Anyone else wonder why you can report your own posts? In case you need a thread to be moved or something else like that. Also used to be that members couldn't hide their own posts, so if you'd double posted or something. I've killed hundreds of bots, though I don't know in what range...once I went through some of the calendar feature, which used to show birthdays on a date, and banned a couple hundred all in one day. Sadly it doesn't do that anymore, meaning we have to wait for them to pop up on Today's Birthdays. It's very satisfying watching them and all their content disappear. The admins deleted all the flagged as spammer accounts from the last few years the other day and there were thousands. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortal Platypus Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 2 hours ago, Thaidakar the Ghostblood said: *passes out* 46 Notifs Thaid! AND MOST OF THEM WERE YOU! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 3 minutes ago, Immortal Platypus said: 46 Notifs Thaid! AND MOST OF THEM WERE YOU! Yes, but it twas for a good cause. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lego Mistborn he/him Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 The mods ought to add some sort of Sanderson trivia question to the signing up process, kind of like the ReCaptcha, but more effective. It could literally be "What city is Vin from?" With answers Luthadel, Chicago, New York, and Detritus. It would wipe out 1/4 of all the bots, and you could even put a little discrete notice somewhere else on the signup page so them bots won't be able to find it but even people who haven't read Mistborn can still answer the question correctly. If it fails, maybe the system can still create the account, but flag it, and block it from any action until a mod can review it. Now I want to summon a mod to see what they think of this idea. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Elantrian Elan/Elan/Elan/Elan/Elan Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 On 12/20/2023 at 3:22 PM, Ookla said: I sometimes find them concerning, but at the same time it's so ridiculous that you can't help but stare at it in amused shock. I've seen some weird stuff the bots are trying to tell us about. Also, all their grammar is laughably bad. At least the average Internet user with imperfect grammar has some sense of how to put a sentence together; these things don't, somehow. If someone actually got scammed by one of these bots... I wouldn't feel bad for them. If you're stupid enough to buy a black magic divorce specialist... maybe you deserve to be scammed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ookla she/her Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 4 hours ago, Lego Mistborn said: The mods ought to add some sort of Sanderson trivia question to the signing up process, kind of like the ReCaptcha, but more effective. It could literally be "What city is Vin from?" With answers Luthadel, Chicago, New York, and Detritus. It would wipe out 1/4 of all the bots, and you could even put a little discrete notice somewhere else on the signup page so them bots won't be able to find it but even people who haven't read Mistborn can still answer the question correctly. If it fails, maybe the system can still create the account, but flag it, and block it from any action until a mod can review it. Now I want to summon a mod to see what they think of this idea. Personally, I love this idea. It would be a) ridiculously fun, b) potentially highly effective, and c) very nicely themed toward the Shard. 1 hour ago, Invisible said: If someone actually got scammed by one of these bots... I wouldn't feel bad for them. If you're stupid enough to buy a black magic divorce specialist... maybe you deserve to be scammed. Fair. I still haven't figured out why they like the Shard so much to begin with. 'Round here, we talk about BOOKS, not (usually) divorce. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Elantrian Elan/Elan/Elan/Elan/Elan Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 49 minutes ago, Ookla said: Personally, I love this idea. It would be a) ridiculously fun, b) potentially highly effective, and c) very nicely themed toward the Shard. Fair. I still haven't figured out why they like the Shard so much to begin with. 'Round here, we talk about BOOKS, not (usually) divorce. I guess they think the black magic will appeal to fantasy peeps? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AonEne he/him in an enby way Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 On 2/2/2024 at 4:38 AM, Lego Mistborn said: The mods ought to add some sort of Sanderson trivia question to the signing up process, kind of like the ReCaptcha, but more effective. It could literally be "What city is Vin from?" With answers Luthadel, Chicago, New York, and Detritus. It would wipe out 1/4 of all the bots, and you could even put a little discrete notice somewhere else on the signup page so them bots won't be able to find it but even people who haven't read Mistborn can still answer the question correctly. If it fails, maybe the system can still create the account, but flag it, and block it from any action until a mod can review it. Now I want to summon a mod to see what they think of this idea. This might get some bots, but a lot are controlled by humans who could just google the answer. It's an idea we've considered and might implement, but as you say, isn't perfect. On 2/2/2024 at 9:14 AM, Ookla said: I still haven't figured out why they like the Shard so much to begin with. 'Round here, we talk about BOOKS, not (usually) divorce. They don't care about us specifically - bots spam lots of forums websites randomly. Anyway, killing your wife is a kind of divorce, right? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lego Mistborn he/him Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 2 hours ago, AonEne said: This might get some bots, but a lot are controlled by humans who could just google the answer. It's an idea we've considered and might implement, but as you say, isn't perfect. Really? I kind of imagined them being controlled by a script that just searched for places to sign up and automated that + posting. Either way, my idea was mostly just goofy, but I do wish you mods didn't have to deal with them (You already have enough to do, keeping the forum up and running). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 4 hours ago, AonEne said: Anyway, killing your wife is a kind of divorce, right? besides, we already know how to divorce... people from life... *sharpens spiked cookie.* 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lego Mistborn he/him Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 1 hour ago, Thaidakar the Ghostblood said: besides, we already know how to divorce... people from life... *sharpens spiked cookie.* I though we were done with that. Do I need to reactivate the CIA? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 1 minute ago, Lego Mistborn said: I though we were done with that. Do I need to reactivate the CIA? lol. I'm not throwing them at newcomers, I am merely humbly referencing a roleplay- However... would you like one? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aeoryi she/her Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 I'm not even sure what the bots are doing here lol 6 hours ago, AonEne said: This might get some bots, but a lot are controlled by humans who could just google the answer. It's an idea we've considered and might implement, but as you say, isn't perfect. Agreed. Imo, the people who make bots probably think like this: 1. Human decide human need profit. Need free advertisement. 2. Why not bother people on end for no reason? Surely that's the smartest way to get someone's attention to buy your product 3. Create 17s account, bypassing the human test (probably). This also entails creating a new email (which is quite easy) per account. Name the account either: a) name of thing that's being marketed b) a random string of letters 4. SPAM POSTS FOR HOURS ON END. Utilizing tricks like posting in WeIRd CaPitAliZation. Phone numbers can have a randΩm character at the start. Images may be utilized for some reason. 5. Spam account goes bye-bye. Since that worked sooooo well it's obvious that it must be repeated. Repeat process within 1-5 days There you go. You now know what's flowing through the botmakers' (rather hollow) heads. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AonEne he/him in an enby way Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 On 2/3/2024 at 3:23 PM, Lego Mistborn said: Really? I kind of imagined them being controlled by a script that just searched for places to sign up and automated that + posting. Either way, my idea was mostly just goofy, but I do wish you mods didn't have to deal with them (You already have enough to do, keeping the forum up and running). A lot are probably like that too! I mean I've never made one lol but I do know they get started off by humans at various points in the process. It's not the worst, they're pretty annoying and they never stop coming but at least they're usually easy to deal with. On 2/3/2024 at 8:02 PM, Aeoryi said: There you go. You now know what's flowing through the botmakers' (rather hollow) heads. All about money! Doesn't have to be smart advertising, with enough links someone somewhere will click, even if by accident. (Though people do fall for this stuff, don't ask me why (okay, the why is that they don't know better, which sucks because this is really basic internet safety lol).) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ookla she/her Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 @AonEne I just reported one that was barely getting started on its posting spree. Hopefully somebody sees that soon enough that it'll be easy to deal with, rather than having to go through and delete twenty-something posts later! We little non-mod folk have to make it easier for you guys somehow! Y'all are good folk; you don't deserve to have to deal with bots, and I thank you for doing it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AonEne he/him in an enby way Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 42 minutes ago, Ookla said: @AonEne I just reported one that was barely getting started on its posting spree. Hopefully somebody sees that soon enough that it'll be easy to deal with, rather than having to go through and delete twenty-something posts later! We little non-mod folk have to make it easier for you guys somehow! Y'all are good folk; you don't deserve to have to deal with bots, and I thank you for doing it! Don't worry, we don't have to delete them individually! We just hit a button that bans the account and deletes all its posts. Thanks for reporting! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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