Thread: Spam in the Open Tracker Section

MOD EDIT: A poll has been added to this post. Please cast vote and add your thoughts in the comments. --Jenna

Yes, like the title says, it´s a help thread for TI. But helping on what?
I just checked the open trackers board, and opening a topic, i saw so many GREAT JOB and THNX MATE that made me sick. All the ones that practice this type of SPAM, REALLY BIG SPAM, should be aware of the thnx button. But most people know about the button, don´t you? You all should be grateful for having such nice mods here, cause if i was one of them, you only would put ONCE your GREAT JOB and THNX MATE, a second time and it was ban time.
I really don´t get how can we afford to have so many spam here and there, make it stop mods, or the good users here put suggestion here, as harsh as it can be, no matter. Sorry for my honesty.

i'd recommend that all the threads in open trackers section should be automatically closed after creation. 'cause it is literally full of spam. and whenever the tracker finally closes, people should crasp in the the fact that they were probably too late. we really don't need 5 copy-pastes of the same text "sorry. we are closed but check back later".

though there are some "treatments" to hinder the spam. i, for example, like to use bold, colored text like "THANK YOU", "JUST JOINED" AND "GREAT LIST" POSTS ARE CONSIDERED AS SPAM!!!. still, there are a few morons that, i don't know HOW, miss that big eye-catching warning. in which case i report their posts to be deleted.

but again, if there is no spam control by the threads creator, i see no other way other than to close that thread.

I agree with what you said Imagine, although it was SOOO hard to focus on your post and read it with that huge picture below it. Took me much longer than it should

Moved to suggestions. +1 for the closing thread after it's been posted. Like you said, thanks button is there for a reason.

If the threads are closed right after posting then you'll get a ton of threads titled "so-and-so tracker is open again".

Seems like this might be the place to brainstorm ideas to clean up that section. We do have numerous mods dedicated there, but it doesn't seem the 5 are enough to prevent the sheer amount of spam within that section. Perhaps we should turn off the post count within the section.

If you have suggestions that may mitigate some of the spam, please don't hesitate and post them here. Thanks.

it's impossible to control the spam. we could go full-hardcore, meaning disable post count, auto-close threads (though we'd need some sort of bumping enabled for the "l33t" trackers) and just report dupers seen in the first 2 pages or posted in between 48h.

the other option would be to disable the open trackers sub-forum as it is and create a thread for all the openings. dupe info within the last 48h will be edited to avoid spam and any posts without significance will be deleted (like "thank you" posts). ofcourse that one thread will grow in size significantly but there's always the option to make a new thread (for example, new thread by every 2 months or 30 pages).

also, it'd be amazing if we'd have an IRC invite channels list stickied somewhere near that place and a list of trackers the have auto-pruning systems (midgets don't know that clicking REFRESH will work for those trackers)




@DeltaMacht. my sig is for distraction and for my pleasure.

Personally, I wouldn't make any changes. All the scenarios I can think of, such as creating a new sub section or making a list, just involves a little bit more work.

I would just make an announcement that excessive spamming in this section will no longer be tolerated and will result in infractions and possibly, losing your account.

Seems harsh but you can only warn people so much that spam is not to be done as it is really undermining the T-I system in some ways.

I certainly wouldn't disable post counts because the section is very important and members should get a post credit for providing the information.

That's just my 2 cents.

Edit: Another option would be for the thread starter to immediate close the thread and the onus would be on this member to change the status to closed, once it is closed.

Originally Posted by maverick2001

I certainly wouldn't disable post counts because the section is very important and members should get a post credit for providing the information.

i think the +rep they earn for notifying us, is more valuable that +1 to their post count.

you are forgetting the fact that new members join us DAILY and most of them don't read announcements. maybe a sticky thread titled "SPAM WILL BE NOTIFIED" (or something) could be more helpful but i seriously doubt that.

Originally Posted by IMAGINE

i think the +rep they earn for notifying us, is more valuable that +1 to their post count.

you are forgetting the fact that new members join us DAILY and most of them don't read announcements. maybe a sticky thread titled "SPAM WILL BE NOTIFIED" (or something) could be more helpful but i seriously doubt that.

I just edited my initial response.

That may be the case but I don't see why post counts should be disabled as one, it is a very important (to me anyway) and two, some of the responses are very valid. I just came back from that section and I thanked a member but I also responded by asking the member if the tracker was ratioless, which is a very reasonable response and some may get benefit out of the answer.

The Open Tracker section is one of the best sections on the forum and and I personally don't think post counts should be disable, for this reason because it is very important.

Also, I guarantee you if people started getting infractions and the repeat offenders start to lose their account, people will get the message that the Staff means business.

Anywho, at the end of the day, I won't be upset with any decision made about this. I personally don't get too upset about the spam. Yes, some people do it to pad stats but I think most people just do because it is the most natural reflex.