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#1 2010-06-02 06:32:46

Chrischb
Scratcher
Registered: 2008-07-24
Posts: 1000+

How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

This works pretty well, in my opinion. :-)
________________________________________________________________________________
When you happen to see a thread/forum actively posted in by someone with an odd username, check it.

But how do you know what usernames they use?
Read!  big_smile

The Guidebook Says:

Look for the following:
• All lowercase (laptopsfree)
• Include names (petercars)
• Include commonly sold items (pauls_computers)

Examples:

grocerytile10
office_plus

Once you arrive at the user's post, look for the following:

The Guidebook Says:

• A link (very crucial! This makes it commercial spam)
• Lousy grammar (very common)
• No attempts to hide (lazy...)
• Recently registered (they should be less than a day old)
• Fake signature lines (--------, ......., _ _ _ _ _)
• FAIL attempts to fit in

Beware of the following:

• Hidden links (!)
• Old users (17/2/07)

Yay! Once you've found your commercial spammer, clickeh teh Report button...

You can type in anything you want there; the moderators don't care. Put your message in all caps, shout - who cares?  big_smile  Just make sure you get the point across properly, and don't type 98368325 characters in your report.

Once you report that post, check how many posts they have. If they have more, find them all and REPORT THEM!!!

But remember: don't mention a commercial spammer's username. It's not respectful, so it'll get edited... even though they're not even human. D:

Now for some example posts - these imitations were all rated 10/10 in this thread.

nice idea! i really want to see this implemented.



...............
scratch text-based games forum

great work guys
i'm looking forward to seeing your end result
---
flag store

I am a new user here and everyone seems really cool and friendly. I noticed that lots of users give advice, so I thought I'd give some of my own. If you want tips on losing weight, you should go to HeathCenter. It is a great site and it really helped me!

Here are some good places to look - commercial spammers like them.

The Guidebook Says:

-Announcements Forum
  -Curator speech thread
-New Scratch Members Forum
  -Topmost stickies
-Show and Tell Forum
  -Topmost stickies, sometimes new threads
-All about Scratch
  -New threads, normal threads
-Miscellaneous
  -Normal threads
-Other Languages
  -Anywhere

You can go looking for them if you want.
....................................
Have fun!

Last edited by Chrischb (2010-06-04 19:51:31)


I fall: It's a tragedy. You fall: It's comedy.
Hmph enjoy your fall - I get a lovely spring... without pans of new leaves.

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#2 2010-06-02 06:58:54

Wolfie1996
Retired Community Moderator
Registered: 2009-07-08
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Chrischb wrote:

You can type in anything you want there; the moderators don't care. Put your message in all caps, shout - who cares?  big_smile

ORLY? xP

Nah, I don't mind - as long as it makes sense to me! (not "ohai i likes waffles and im reporting this" - we like to know why you guys are reporting things! (you can tell us that you like waffles if you like, but it isn't as important as the rest of the report)  tongue  )

Once you report that post, check how many posts they have. If they have more, find them all and REPORT THEM!!!

I usually check through their posts anyway (I find a fair few unreported spammers - one earlier that had gone unnoticed for weeks!  yikes ), so this one isn't necessary - but it's a good habit to get into  smile


"...Jargon - the practice of never calling a spade a spade, when you might instead call it a manual earth-restructing implement..." - Bill Bryson, Mother Tongue

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#3 2010-06-02 07:19:23

MyRedNeptune
Community Moderator
Registered: 2007-05-07
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Chrischb wrote:

Once you report that post, check how many posts they have. If they have more, find them all and REPORT THEM!!!

That's annoying to me personally 3:

Mods check posts themselves. xD


http://i52.tinypic.com/5es7t0.png I know what you're thinking! "Neptune! Get rid of those filthy advertisements and give us back the Zarathustra siggy, you horrible person!" Well, don't worry about it, the Zara siggy will be back soon, new and improved! ^^ Meanwhile, just do what the sig tells you to. >.>

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#4 2010-06-02 07:30:25

Chrischb
Scratcher
Registered: 2008-07-24
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Should I remove that bit?


I fall: It's a tragedy. You fall: It's comedy.
Hmph enjoy your fall - I get a lovely spring... without pans of new leaves.

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#5 2010-06-02 07:56:47

Jonathanpb
Scratcher
Registered: 2008-07-25
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Awesome!  smile

Am I allowed to insult commercial spammers in my reports?
...

MyRedNeptune wrote:

Chrischb wrote:

Once you report that post, check how many posts they have. If they have more, find them all and REPORT THEM!!!

That's annoying to me personally 3:

Mods check posts themselves. xD

yikes  I report all of the posts... should I only report one and mention that the commercial spammer has more posts?

Last edited by Jonathanpb (2010-06-02 07:57:04)


"Human beings... must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it.
-Charlotte Brontë

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#6 2010-06-02 08:02:37

MyRedNeptune
Community Moderator
Registered: 2007-05-07
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Jonathanpb wrote:

MyRedNeptune wrote:

Chrischb wrote:

Once you report that post, check how many posts they have. If they have more, find them all and REPORT THEM!!!

That's annoying to me personally 3:

Mods check posts themselves. xD

yikes  I report all of the posts... should I only report one and mention that the commercial spammer has more posts?

That's what most people do... A moderator always checks other posts from the user before banning them.


http://i52.tinypic.com/5es7t0.png I know what you're thinking! "Neptune! Get rid of those filthy advertisements and give us back the Zarathustra siggy, you horrible person!" Well, don't worry about it, the Zara siggy will be back soon, new and improved! ^^ Meanwhile, just do what the sig tells you to. >.>

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#7 2010-06-02 11:36:01

scmb1
Scratch Team
Registered: 2009-03-19
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Grr... I hate commercial spammers! Thanks for creating this thread and I'm glad you  used my imitation.

One concern: My imitation does actually link to a project (for humor  tongue ). You might want to remove the link- people might think it is spam.

Last edited by scmb1 (2010-06-02 12:49:01)


http://i48.tinypic.com/2z5pqad.png

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#8 2010-06-02 12:01:31

fullmoon
Retired Community Moderator
Registered: 2007-06-04
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Actually the only reason I signed up for this forum was because I wanted tips on losing weight  neutral

Just kidding! This is brilliant!


http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn100/fullmoon32/wow.jpg

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#9 2010-06-02 15:34:05

Lucario621
Community Moderator
Registered: 2007-10-03
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Nice guide!  smile


http://i.imgur.com/WBkM2QQ.png

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#10 2010-06-02 16:23:38

coolstuff
Community Moderator
Registered: 2008-03-06
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Thanks for adding this. I can't stress enough as a moderator how helpful it is when people report posts.

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#11 2010-06-02 17:31:48

scmb1
Scratch Team
Registered: 2009-03-19
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Here are a few things I've noticed:

-Sometimes, a commercial spammer will pretend to be just a kid who made a website, looking for critiques. If a user is advertising a website s/he made and has a very small post count, definitely click on the link. If the website looks really professional and especially if it sells something, you've probably got a commercial spammer, so hit Report.

-I've found a lot of commercial spammers in the New Scratch Members forum. Some make their own topics, but it seems like most post in one of the stickied topics. If you are going spammer-hunting, I suggest you look there first.


http://i48.tinypic.com/2z5pqad.png

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#12 2010-06-02 17:39:59

cheddargirl
Scratch Team
Registered: 2008-09-15
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Jonathanpb wrote:

Awesome!  smile

Am I allowed to insult commercial spammers in my reports?

For me, I prefer if reports about commercial spam would just spare the negative drama and insults. A simple report saying "commercial spam" is good enough to get the point across.

However, I wouldn't mind if someone wrote something hilarious in the report such as: "AHHH! COMMERCIAL SPAM! RUN FER YER LIVES!"  tongue


http://i.imgur.com/8QRYx.png
Everything is better when you add a little cheddar, because when you have cheese your life is at ease  smile

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#13 2010-06-02 19:38:47

laser100
Scratcher
Registered: 2009-12-04
Posts: 100+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

cheddargirl wrote:

However, I wouldn't mind if someone wrote something hilarious in the report such as: "AHHH! COMMERCIAL SPAM! RUN FER YER LIVES!"  tongue

lol. I hate spammers, any type of spam.

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#14 2010-06-03 01:42:41

Chrischb
Scratcher
Registered: 2008-07-24
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Lucario621 wrote:

Nice guide!  smile

This isn't one of my actual guides - it's too relaxed and doesn't have chapters.  tongue

I'll add a new section soon: Popular areas.


I fall: It's a tragedy. You fall: It's comedy.
Hmph enjoy your fall - I get a lovely spring... without pans of new leaves.

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#15 2010-06-03 02:05:21

Chrischb
Scratcher
Registered: 2008-07-24
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Done.  big_smile

Now I need to polish this up and divide it into chapters - then it can be one of my actual guides!  big_smile


I fall: It's a tragedy. You fall: It's comedy.
Hmph enjoy your fall - I get a lovely spring... without pans of new leaves.

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#16 2010-06-03 12:39:36

technoguyx
Scratcher
Registered: 2008-10-18
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Another thing lazy spammers do is coying an existing post in the thread and adding the spam link.


http://getgnulinux.org/links/en/linuxliberated_4_78x116.png

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#17 2010-06-03 12:50:56

shamrocker
Scratcher
Registered: 2009-03-19
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Chrischb wrote:

Done.  big_smile

Now I need to polish this up and divide it into chapters - then it can be one of my actual guides!  big_smile

I could do that.  tongue  Anyway, nice guide!  big_smile  Chris! You inspired me!  big_smile  I'll organize a Spam Hunt in Misc.!  big_smile  You wanna be a part of it?

Last edited by shamrocker (2010-06-03 12:52:11)


http://i46.tinypic.com/2s1b32e.png
respect the oxford comma

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#18 2010-06-03 13:51:14

Wolfie1996
Retired Community Moderator
Registered: 2009-07-08
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Also, commercial spammers also pick on the languages forums - less people use them, so it takes longer for spam to be reported. Even if you don't speak the language, a link is always pretty obvious. And you can always double check by clicking the link, and seeing where it takes you  wink


"...Jargon - the practice of never calling a spade a spade, when you might instead call it a manual earth-restructing implement..." - Bill Bryson, Mother Tongue

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#19 2010-06-04 19:50:26

Chrischb
Scratcher
Registered: 2008-07-24
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Ooh...  yikes
I'll add that.  smile


I fall: It's a tragedy. You fall: It's comedy.
Hmph enjoy your fall - I get a lovely spring... without pans of new leaves.

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#20 2010-06-04 21:34:41

technoguyx
Scratcher
Registered: 2008-10-18
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Wolfie1996 wrote:

Also, commercial spammers also pick on the languages forums - less people use them, so it takes longer for spam to be reported. Even if you don't speak the language, a link is always pretty obvious. And you can always double check by clicking the link, and seeing where it takes you  wink

That's right, I saw a Spanish spammer once. D:

Also I think it would be better to mouse-over the link and see where it leads in the status bar, that way you don't give them hits.  tongue

Last edited by technoguyx (2010-06-04 21:35:35)


http://getgnulinux.org/links/en/linuxliberated_4_78x116.png

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#21 2010-06-05 02:15:48

Chrischb
Scratcher
Registered: 2008-07-24
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

technoguyx wrote:

Wolfie1996 wrote:

Also, commercial spammers also pick on the languages forums - less people use them, so it takes longer for spam to be reported. Even if you don't speak the language, a link is always pretty obvious. And you can always double check by clicking the link, and seeing where it takes you  wink

That's right, I saw a Spanish spammer once. D:

I reported one in the Korean (I think; I can't remember exactly) forum once.  big_smile

technoguyx wrote:

Also I think it would be better to mouse-over the link and see where it leads in the status bar, that way you don't give them hits.  tongue

Same - but I do that for safety, not to avoid giving them hits. ^^


I fall: It's a tragedy. You fall: It's comedy.
Hmph enjoy your fall - I get a lovely spring... without pans of new leaves.

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#22 2010-06-05 02:49:05

Jonathanpb
Scratcher
Registered: 2008-07-25
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Whenever I look at the forum index and I see that the last post in a forum was made by a suspicious username (one that looks like a commercial spammer's), I check the post.  smile


"Human beings... must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it.
-Charlotte Brontë

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#23 2010-06-05 15:12:42

soupoftomato
Scratcher
Registered: 2009-07-18
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Wolfie1996 wrote:

Chrischb wrote:

You can type in anything you want there; the moderators don't care. Put your message in all caps, shout - who cares?  big_smile

ORLY? xP

Nah, I don't mind - as long as it makes sense to me! (not "ohai i likes waffles and im reporting this" - we like to know why you guys are reporting things! (you can tell us that you like waffles if you like, but it isn't as important as the rest of the report)  tongue  )

cheddargirl wrote:

However, I wouldn't mind if someone wrote something hilarious in the report such as: "AHHH! COMMERCIAL SPAM! RUN FER YER LIVES!"   tongue

Next time I report soemthing, I'm going to say, "Run for you lives, a [reason for reporting] is stealing our waffles!"


I'm glad to think that the community will always be kind and helpful, the language will always be a fun and easy way to be introduced into programming, the motto will always be: Imagine, Program, Share - Nomolos

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#24 2010-06-05 15:46:06

Wolfie1996
Retired Community Moderator
Registered: 2009-07-08
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

soupoftomato wrote:

Wolfie1996 wrote:

Chrischb wrote:

You can type in anything you want there; the moderators don't care. Put your message in all caps, shout - who cares?  big_smile

ORLY? xP

Nah, I don't mind - as long as it makes sense to me! (not "ohai i likes waffles and im reporting this" - we like to know why you guys are reporting things! (you can tell us that you like waffles if you like, but it isn't as important as the rest of the report)  tongue  )

cheddargirl wrote:

However, I wouldn't mind if someone wrote something hilarious in the report such as: "AHHH! COMMERCIAL SPAM! RUN FER YER LIVES!"   tongue

Next time I report soemthing, I'm going to say, "Run for you lives, a [reason for reporting] is stealing our waffles!"

lol  I look forward to reading it  wink


"...Jargon - the practice of never calling a spade a spade, when you might instead call it a manual earth-restructing implement..." - Bill Bryson, Mother Tongue

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#25 2010-06-05 16:31:12

fg123
Scratcher
Registered: 2008-11-13
Posts: 1000+

Re: How to tell if someone's a commercial spammer! :D (not 100% perfect)

Great tips! Nice guide. You should have a sticky linking to all of yours and Jonathanpb's guides.  wink   wink


Hai.

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