Your Cousin's Stepmother Needs To Shut The Hell Up

I'm sure you've all noticed the influx of SPAM in the N4G comment sections lately, and I'm sure they annoy you as much as they annoy me.
It's gotten so bad that the comment sections play out like this: N4G User, SPAM, N4G User, SPAM, N4G User, SPAM.....
I have no doubt in my mind that certain N4G users have become suicidal, or worse, have already downed the pills and are now in Hell being Spammed for all eternity.

It wasn't really that bad until a few days ago. You could even have little jokes with the SPAM before it eventually got taken down by the Mods. But now, it's become a nightmare in the comment sections.
The SPAM has almost completely taken over N4G. If drastic measures aren't taken soon, N4G will become too annoying to visit, which is sad because this is my favourite gaming website.

Reporting the SPAM to the Mods when you see them can help get rid of them faster, but people should realise that the Mods don't live on N4G, waiting for someone to complain about something.
They have other stuff to do, like looking for troll accounts and looking at porn when they should be banning those troll accounts.

My suggestion? FREEZE THOSE B*****S!

The SPAM I mean, not the Mods.

When HAVAmedia (or whatever the hell they're called) finally get around to releasing the 'New N4G', they should give each member an option to lock SPAM accounts on sight. Yes, that's right, every user!

The locked/frozen account could then be sent straight to the Mods to be killed, and if it was a legitimate user being frozen (by someone who didn't like the same console as him/her, most likely), the person who froze his/her account would face a restriction or be banned, and the 'good guy' could then be released back into the wild.

Now here's how you guarantee that this system works: COLD HARD CASH!

It doesn't have to be as high as the Contributor contest prizes, but it should be enough to get peoples' attention. Everyone loves to have the chance to win some money, right? I know people who won't even get out of bed in the morning unless they're handed a lottery ticket first.
Money makes the world go round, and I'm sure N4G is no exception to that rule.

Enter everyone who freezes SPAM into a monthly draw, like the Comment Lottery, and N4G users will jump on the SPAM the second it appears.
N4G would be clean as a whistle, and users could get more involved in maintaining the website because they have a chance to earn money.

Just a thought.....

Anyway, I'm sure the 'Freeze' feature I mentioned has it's flaws that I can't see.
Point them out in the comment section.

[zerocrossing]

I have a suggestion of my own that should help deal with most of, if not all of the SPAM. Just make the sign up process a little more complicated, not too complex mind you, just enough so as to put off spammers but still easy enough so that new users don't feel like they are being subjected to personal interrogation.

It might still put some people off of joining N4G but it would be a fair trade if we were to have our articles and blogs SPAM free again.

[iamnsuperman]

The question remains how can that be done. What exactly are you suggesting to make it more complicated yet easy for users? Just out of curiosity.

I say spamming is inevitable until you employ actually people to monitor it. These people would obviously need to be trusted.

I guess a way to get the community involved would be good. You could send every spam report into some sort page on N4G that users vote if they are spam or not (to avoid abuse by users). The people who do more managing on this website get more votes and this goes towards a competition of some sorts to get people involved (could be as simple as more votes next round to a bubble). People who abuse the system get banned for the service.

The spam reports could be instantly blacked out/hidden when reported(but similar to trolling you can choose to see them but instead able to reply back to avoid innocent people getting spam reported) and then the community decides if it is okay or not. The issue with this is getting people to use the system (incentive)

[zerocrossing]

To be honest with you I haven't been able to think up such a way that wouldn't put new users off all together.

I do think the suggestion regarding freezing accounts that submit SPAM is a smart idea, but then we'd only be able to stop those accounts from posting more spam instead of stopping it all together, but I guess that's better than the current system so long as nobody abuses it.

[zeal0us]

Well a comment system where the comments have to be approved before being posted could work. But the downside mods and admin would have a workload on their hands.

Gawker used that Kinja comment system and it seem to be working well for them. I haven't seen any spam on those sites for a long time.

[HammadTheBeast]

Please no. Comments sections that require approval are incredibly dull, you have 0 trolls/fanboys which are the lifeblood of N4G.

[SaffronCurse]

That would be a start. Maybe new accounts for 30 days will have to wait for approval for each comment made.

[SeraphimBlade]

I agree, some incentive for reporting and cleaning up spam could be a huge help. We need to do something about this so that we can all focus on helping that Nigerian prince.

On the topic of making a more complex sign-up, i really wish I could offer some insight. I know quite a bit about programming but not with web stuff. I always figured captcha was enough.

[Christopher]

Captcha is easy to get around now.

- IP bans
- MAC address bans
- Dynamic user-entry requirements upon registration (not image-based)
- Require all new accounts be validated by a mod
- Stricter e-mail address requirements
- Better spam detection (key words, duplicate posting detection, etc.) for new accounts.

[HammadTheBeast]

Instead of Captcha, why not use that other program which asks you a simple maths question?

[Christopher]

@Hammad: There are a lot of better solutions. but, the best solution? Develop a unique one instead of a canned option.

If I did it, I'd combine Captcha and questions in one.

For example: Have a captcha that shows a small sentence. Something like "Princess in another castle". Then a form field that asks: What game is this from? Have an ongoing growing list of similar concepts. Something that can't be auto-bypassed through scripts that others have developed to bypass them (something standard captchas have had done for years now).

[fsfsxii]

My cousin's step sister's mother was surprised she could make 20$ on the computer. Go here >>>spam.url.whatever

Obvious silly joke.
We need more mods. The fanboys who live here can make one helluva mod. Since they have their war going on

[MidnytRain]

When I see those first few words I usually and impulsively hit the report->spam button. You got lucky. ;)

Btw, catchy title GreenRanger. The spam is annoying, but I think you're making out worse than it really is.

[fsfsxii]

If a mod instantly did what the ranger said i would've been long gone

[Christopher]

More mods isn't the answer. The answer is to prevent, not have more people on hand to increase human errors and the like.

[GreenRanger]

I've noticed that a lot of Spam comments get agrees.

That's just lame.

[Godmars290]

Or it could be the spammers w/phantom accounts thinking they can legitimize their own spam.

[DragonKnight]

I saw a spam account with 5 bubbles about a week ago.

[zerocrossing]

Wow! That suggests there's either a lot of phantom accounts or that's one popular spammer.

[BillytheBarbarian]

That was because n4g gave everyone 5 bubbles for awhile during e3. It was something to do with the new site and eventually doing away with the bubble system.

[DragonKnight]

@Billy: That suggests that this spam account had been around for months and got away with it though.

[Christopher]

All accounts were reset back to 5 bubbles a few weeks ago, including new accounts.

[Kevlar009]

I would think you could create a program that matches up words in a post to compare to blacklisted spam posts. Like if a post has 90% of the same words in the exact same spot as a spam one it would be closed to spam. Most of these spam posts just switch names and figures around, but have similar word counts and phrases for a majority of the post

In the mean time if a post has been flagged for Spam the account should be either removed or given a week ban instantly. How many legitimate accounts make a spam post then proceed to make tons of legit posts? Once a spammer always a spammer imo. While some may be unintentionaly flagged for spam (like duplicate posts back to back), most are just ghost accounts

Spammers and hackers go where the security is weakest. They would rather hit a site with no security than a site where everyone is in solidarity over keeping these people out. We have a duty to flag these as spam (which we do) but the site needs to do their part as well

[Dunban67]

If I make even a slight negative comment about gamer journalism (on click bait rumor/satire/theory stories posted on N4G) my comment does not last seconds before it is taken down- usually I my comments are 20 to 100+ comments down

How can these blatant spam comments last as long as they do right at the top of the comments in plan view?

any chance they are paying for the right to be on N4G for defined amount of time? I have no idea- just asking

[Cam977]

Maybe you're right, but I've only been using N4G to submit content lately because the spam is displacing any worthwile conversations. It needs to stop.

[Kevlar009]

Just saw a spam post with an actual avatar.

[SilentNegotiator]

OMG...It's learning! We're doooooooomed!!

[Cryptcuzz]

I am one that agrees that these SPAM accounts needs to be removed completely or minimize, so that it does not get too annoying.

A lot of the times I see an article that I am interested in and would like to go through the comment sections to see the discussions being made. Scrolling down one comment at a time and reading each one (sometimes in anger and sometimes in laughter) only to come across a SPAM comment that totally ruins the experience IMO.

I suggest that a system be implemented where new accounts needs to input a "Captcha" for a certain amount of comments and or time (maybe one week) before they can freely make a comment without needing to do so.

With a system like that in place, it might not be worthwhile for the SPAM accounts to want to attempt to place SPAM comments on N4G.

[Bathyj]

I was also thinking of taking it out of the mods hands. If a comment gets say 5 or 10 Spam reports its automatically deleted.

I like the restrictions for the person reporting if its not Spam, that addresses my concern about people abusing the system.

The lottery thing is also a good idea to help everyone get involved in reporting it. I must admit I rarely report it because I figure it either does nothing, or someone else will do it, but if the first 10 people went into the lottery people would be clamouring to report Spam.

[Christopher]

***Now here's how you guarantee that this system works: COLD HARD CASH!***

Too easy to exploit.

User uses proxy site to create and spam comments section and uses personal account from their native IP to report and earn rewards.

---

Having said that, the system could definitely benefit from some better tools to help prevent spam accounts and spamming in general.

[M-M]

I'm also tired of these spam comments, and other ways to avoid spam accounts are risky. One risky example is one time phone verification, but not everyone likes to give their numbers to sites or don't have a phone at all.

Another risky move is to verify ALL first comments by new users, but that can be a ton of work. Another thing is to have a certified group of people manage comments marked as spam(kind of like mods, but they're only job is to remove spam, not fail articles and such).

For example, someone sees a spam comment and flags it, the spam comment and user shows up on a special panel that only certified, trusted users can see to verify if it really is a spam comment.

If 2 or more people vote it's a spam comment within that panel, then all of their comments get removed, or if it isn't a spam comment and it's just some guy trolling then that one comment should be removed. If he doesn't stop, then the admins can handle the decision for the troll account. Just trying to throw some ideas out there, this needs to be stopped because the spam account rate is off the charts right now.

[Sarick]

Just start making the low bubble count NEW users use a captcha verification system each comment until they are given full access by verified user/moderators ratings. That way the automated BOTS posting spam comments would need to work a lot harder each step.

For example. They'd need to type out the word listed in the box each comment. Then the user based spam detection would kick in. Once reported the comments are blocked until given the green light. In other words instead of a passive system it'll be actively blocking most comments until the user shows they aren't a spammer.

When I see the spam I don't mark the message the first thing I do is look at the profile ans see all the spam they created. There is a report user up there to. Just type in SPAMMER after hitting report.