Responding to spammers

Thank you for posting this, Frank. It's a good reminder to keep in mind.

I have reported several posts lately that didn’t have any reply yet.
Next time, should I write “reported to webmaster for review” ?

I have learned to let it be and not add to the thread if I see someone has already reported it.

Joy, there's no issue with responding to a thread in order to let others know that it's been reported, but sometimes some will make jokes and continue the thread on, and that leads to the situation Frank talked about above.

I do the same thing when I am reporting spam that is a response to someone else's thread. I will report it, then leave a short reply that says it's been reported and perhaps warn people to not click on the link. I keep an eye on it, though, and go back after a while and after the spam has been reported. I'll delete my own reply. Sometimes the tech staff will remove it for me if they see it in there, but not always.

Thanks for the reminder, Frank II.

I've seen a lot of posts lately where responders are engaging with the spammer.

"You just help the spammer. The more responses the more AI sees the thread and gives it priority regarding the subject."

I understand what you are saying BUT how does this matter if you know Andrew & IT TEAM are going to be removing the thread in a few hours?

When we reply to a SPAM thread, to point out that it is SPAM and it's reported, it keeps the SPAM at the Top since our forum has a bump system. Every time we reply and bump the thread, we're giving the spammer maximum visibility. Instead of just deleting a single spam thread with just the original post, the moderator now has to delete a thread containing multiple replies, or manually clean up the user accounts involved.

Spammers or their bots look for signs of engagement. When we reply, it proves to the spammer that the forum has active, human eyes on it marking the site as a target for future spam attacks.

It is just best not to reply report and move along

I happen to think it is useful to point out NOT to click on any links in the spam post. Many are cleverly (for AI) written and the unwary may click on the links.

Bumping this post because not everyone may have read it.
If another member has already written that they’ve reported the post, don’t engage any further, as tempting as it may be. You may think your reply is funny and witty, but all it does is help the spammer.

Even after posting this, some people are still doing it.

The thing is responding to SPAM threads often increases their visibility and treats users like children. Simply reporting and ignoring SPAM is a more effective community standard. Allowing SPAM threads to die ensures a cleaner, safer forum.

I like that someone who has reported a spam also adds that info in a reply. That way, when I see a thread that looks "spam-ish" and there's a single reply, I don't waste my time to open it.

I see a thread that looks "spam-ish" and there's a single reply, I don't waste my time to open it.

That's a good point. And if the first person to report a spam doesn't post a message that they did, then dozens of folks will then report it again and again. More reports for the Admin to check out.

If I see a spam with zero replies, then I WILL click on the thread and report it. So one reply saying "reported" will probably make fewer clicks happen.

Lately, I have noticed spammers inserting their link in a legitimate thread. Then you just have to report it and let the admins do their job.

i will say that the admins on this forum do a very job of handling spam in all of its forms. Not an easy task.

This isn’t about the first reply in which someone writes they reported the spam to the webmaster.
It’s about the subsequent “funny” replies that keep bumping the spam thread in question to the top of the board.

It would be great if Andrew/Webmaster could reply here and let us know the preference. I know the Community Guidelines say to report it, and to not engage in a spam thread. But I also think it's helpful to see a single reply "reported to webmaster" as a warning and heads-up that the thread was reported.

But, I also don't know how things look in the backend for the webmaster. Does threads with multiple reports go to the top of webmaster's review list? And by writing "reported to webmaster" others may not report and therefore that thread won't be top priority for webmaster? If that's the case, a better reply would be something like "Reported to webmaster- don't add reply".

He's talked about it multiple times, Joy. You can actually go back through the threads and look for his responses. Just click on his profile and look for threads about spam, and you'll find his take on it. Here's a link to his profile: https://community.ricksteves.com/users/1000

ETA: for what it's worth, I don't think there's a real problem with one response that says "reported to Webmaster" or something similar. It's the multiple responses with the jokes and the comments that make the spammer realize that people are paying attention to this spam, remarking on it, and therefore they come back with even more spam later.

And with regards to leaving a reply in a post, as someone pointed out above, there's a risk of someone clicking on a link that could take you to a spammy website so it's good to give a warning. I do monitor the posts and keep them open so that I can go back and check later to see if the spam has been removed and if my post has been removed. If it hasn't, and the spam is gone, then I delete it myself, as there's no more need for it.

In fact, sometimes I will find posts made by other members here that remark on a spam post above them. The spam post is gone, but the members' post is still there. So I will just report it, and in the comment section, say "spam post gone-pls delete" or something like that. Then the tech team can delete the post that is no longer needed.

I make lots of reports to the webmaster about sketchy posts, and I can't recall a single time I have posted that I had done so.

Why post? Report it, and move on...you are adding to the problem, not reducing it, by posting.

Jojo, I get what you're saying, but the problem is there are too many people here. There is no way you can stop everyone from posting. It's physically not possible unless it's done through technology. Probably 85% of people that come here will not even read this post and still will report a thread and then put a comment behind it.

I do it because I know if I don't post something saying it's been reported, other people will, and then more and more people keep looking at the post. I just think it's easier.

I also will scroll down through All Topics. If I see something that looks very spammy (and you can usually tell the bad ones), I look to see if there's a 1 or a 0 under the Replies column. If there is a 0, I'll check it out and report it. If there's a 1, I know that somebody has already reported it, so I can ignore it, knowing someone else has already done so.

"you know Andrew & IT TEAM are going to be removing the thread in a few hours" - That sums it up; no need for any replies.

As the great Brian Clough might have said about Andrew and team, "That's what they are paid to do."

Gundersen, I understand your logic, but the the only problem is that many of these spam posts appear on the weekend when the tech team isn't really monitoring it. Occasionally I'll see a few deletions, but usually they stick around till Monday. If someone replies with a funny response and then someone else responds, it keeps the thread going, which means there's a lot more visibility for the spammer.

On ocassion posts are branded as spam by someone other than the Webmaster ... they turn out not to be spam.

On ocassion posts are branded as spam by someone other than the Webmaster ... they turn out not to be spam.

I see sometimes a “reported to webmaster for review”. Followed by a reply from webmaster “post approved to stay” at which point I feel comfortable replying if I have something to contribute.