Sorry this is so lengthy... I've made these suggestions before (mainly in chat)... The main one is basically a combination of a few suggestions, some of which have been floating around PSC for a while. Even combined, this approach would not be spam-proof, but I think would help. And let me preface it all by saying I have no idea what goes in to coding or what coding would be necessary...
I don't know how many of the spammers are automated/bots, but maybe adding one of those colorful "type the characters you see in this box" security measures during registration might help--if there isn't one already...I don't remember.
(Speaking of bots: I LOVE a suggestion Tofu posted not long ago where an extra field was created but hidden in the CSS (I think it was?) code. People wouldn't see it, but bots would and would fill it in. Messages could then be filtered and any with that field filled in would not make it to the boards.)
If a PSCer's first post, whether it's a new thread or a reply to participate in a thread meets at least
one of these three criteria, I think much of the spam will be prevented from getting through:
1) Must have entered at least one contest entry. It would be nice if Mods would go through and delete "please delete" image messages so those would not count toward either forum posting or the 10 image minimum before earning the right to vote. Splodge has a point about porn being posted, but inappropriate contest images have traditionally gotten deleted fairly quickly.
OR
2) First forum post (without contest entry) is held "pending" until approved by either a mod or a long-standing community member. I think if it's possible to give long-time and active members the power to approve or disapprove first posts, it will lessen the load on the mods.
OR
3) Acquisition or past membership of Advantage (preferably more than 3 months).
I mentioned allowing long-time users to help out without full mod powers. You can have people automatically qualify (have some "community watch" abilities "unlock") in any number of ways, from time served to number of entries or wins to number of forum posts... or a combination. Qualified users can then "approve" other users' first forum posts if the posters have not yet entered any contests. Some newbies do have questions about the contests or otherwise are having difficulties and do not know who to contact. A lot of newbies just want to introduce themselves ("hello, I'm new") before submitting their artwork for possible criticism, and a guideline would need to be set about whether this would be an allowable exception to the "post one entry first" rule.
For spam that gets through, and there will still be plenty, it would be beneficial if every new forum message can include a button "this is spam / offensive" that can be clicked by any registered user. After a certain number of (DIFFERENT) clicks, that message can be temporarily removed and sent to a holding folder for the mods to check and either delete or reinstate. Patterns of abuse will need to be watched for, of course, but I have high hopes.
During JMH's long absence(s), it became apparent that the mods do not have the power to ban other users, including repeat spammers. My suggestion, if possible, is similar to the "spam" button above. If, say, four or more Mods vote (within a certain time frame) to remove one user's account, that account can be frozen/suspended and rendered unusable until Procyon was able to review the case and either ban or reinstate the user.
Anyway, I know that was a lot of reading. Congratulations! It's almost over! As you can see, I have thought about it a bit. The more frustrated I got with the spam, the more complex and complicated my suggestions became.
There are probably downsides to these suggestions or other factors I haven't thought of...but whatcha think? (
Besides the fact that I can apparently give Marx-Man a run for his money when it comes to lengthiness of forum posts.
)
