New Users, No Signatures?

[Austin]

We get a lot of spam bots that will register just for the sole purpose of having their links in their signatures. Other the this, they're harmless. When they do this, they pretty much mooch off our google ranks. Google bots will go through our forums and visit their profiles. When they visit their profiles, the links in their sites get some of our ranks. The solution I have is to make it where users without 1 post can't have signatures. They are able to get signatures as soon as they register. This will reduce the number of spam bots register. It also allows us to spot them more quicker, and be able to handle them. It also allows moderators to submit them to our anti-spam system. They store a database of various information relating to different bots. Then, they prevent them from registering again or making multiple accounts.

What do you guys think?

The Spam-o-matic option for moderators​

 

[David]

I think that its a good solution. I've been to forums that won't let you do much of anything without having a handful of posts first. Its a good way of cutting down on the amount of spam signatures and spam posts that I've seen a ton of lately, both here and other places.

 

[dur.i.am]

I think it would be safer to make it 5 posts, usually for normal members that's probably around 1 or 2 days after registering then they can have a signature. It sounds like a good system to, glad that you've managed to find it to block a fair amount of the bots.

 

[Locke]

Yes.

You should make it 1273 or whatever. and call them koopas.
No, 1 should be sufficient. probably no more than three; I rarely if ever see bots get more than two posts.

This might also have the side-effect of giving new users more time to read the rules before adding huge signatures.

 

[Ikana]

I don't see any problem with this as other forums I've been to do this also. Just to be safe 2 or 4 would be best, but no more then 5.

 

[basement24]

I would think five posts would be better as well. Maybe even ten. We used to get a lot of posts that were actually related to the topic at hand oddly enough, but had links to the sales of shoes in their signature. It was an odd mix, because they were on the subject of Zelda, and would often be in referral to the subject of the thread. Just... they wanted to sell shoes...

So, it was hard to decide what to do with them in the end, but if I recall correctly we called them spam and moved them along. They would post more than once, but not five times or more. So, a one-port limit wouldn't really solve the case of the phantom shoe peddlers, but might resolve more current cases of spammy oddities.

 

[Kybyrian]

It sounds like a swell idea. I think one should be sufficient. If not, then like Locke said, no more than 3. Bots who post are generally spotted quickly, anyway. If they do knock off 1 post it will usually be gone.

 

[Meego]

That sounds great! Good idea, less bots around here would benefit us all.

 

[Hero of Time]

I think ten would be best. I also think this is a great idea. But hopefully it doesn't lead to new users (real users, that is) making ten crappy posts so they can have a signature

 

[Petman1325]

This honestly sounds like a pretty good idea. It can help us prevent bots from entering the forum, and help us decipher who is a bot and who isn't.

One thing I wish the Spam-O-Matic thing could do is go through the forums and trash all posts from the bot, because it's a pain with VBulletin's inability to track posts.

 

[Nicole]

I think that's a fine idea. Before I read though the original post, I was just like, "Wait. Now you have to earn the signature privilege?" But that's not what you meant.

Anyway, I think this is a good idea. I do agree that some bots would take advantage of our "Google ranks," so it would be fitting to implement this. I, personally, think 5 posts is a better idea than, say, two or three. It's really not to hard to come up with 5 posts that add something to the discussion, even if you are new.

 

[Baysiderulez]

I agree with Locke 1 is sufficient, but definitely no more then 3.

For those of you with numbers like ten, remember that new members who WANT to post in their sigs will be more inclined to spam in order to make it to the required number, rather then post as they feel led to based on topic. By creating a rule to limit bots, we do not want a side effect to be more spam by legit registered members.

 

[(◕‿◕✿)]

One or two posts is sufficient. I agree with Baysiderulez that any more than that would just encourage spam from new members who want to have a signature. Usually bots are caught by one or two posts anyway.

 

[PhantomTriforce]

This is a great idea, but I think that the best way of cutting down on the number of bots is that they can only customize signatures if they have 1 post and 1 reputation point (I think new users start with zero), or whatever the starting amount is +1.

Also, I understand that regular members have negative reputation, so in case they do not get positive reputation for a while, you could also add a limit on how long they have been a member - say a fortnight or so. What do you think?

Another thing - I've also seen bots VM themselves that are links to external sources. Is there any way to prevent that from happening?

 

[LANZZ]

I also think this is a great idea, less bots would benefit us all. I think five posts is sufficient...