I have a recommendation for the webmaster on how Forum readers might avoid accidentally clicking on a post that contains a link with a virus. When a person posts a topic, it would great if you could see the number of posts that person has made previously. I know you can click on the person's name and see how many posts and replies the person has made, but I think it would be helpful in raising a "red flag" if this was a persons first post and it contains a link and you could see it was their first post. I am noticing that the fraudulent postings are getting more difficult to detect from the title of the posting. Almost all fraudulent postings either contain the same title in the posting over various categories or it is the first and only posting by the person. Just a suggestion.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15806 posts
Yosemite, there is little-to-no staff on duty overnight or over the weekends so I'm guessing they leave it to us to recognize spammers when we see them, regardless of posting titles. Unless it's for an attraction/service posted by an active member within an active thread, there's no need to click on any link. Report them if you think they're an advertiser or a fake and the staff will check them out; member reporting is a function of every travel forum I've been a member of.
Clicking on a TOPIC started by a spammer doesn't connect you with their spam: only if you click on a link within their post.
Posted by
Houston
3518 posts
You can click on the posting and read it without any harm. There is no way for someone to post a virus into the messages that would infect your computer if you just read the message within the forum here. It is clicking on that link within the message that takes you out of the ricksteves.com world that would cause someone to catch the virus.
I agree that those types of messages are getting harder to spot. maybe there is some sort of automatic verification tool that could be added by the RS crew to weed out those bothersome messages.