Moderators - where are you? - Page 2

davy51 · 9 Jul 2011, 03:22 AM

in the last 6 months spammer to real user sign up has been about 20 to 1 for me in all the forums im with

chrisretusn · 9 Jul 2011, 12:36 PM

I am a moderator on four forums.

drew · 9 Jul 2011, 06:09 PM

I did help out reducing spam on a forum for Bike enthusiasts.
Sometimes it was kind of fun when "bots" had scripts that made them look like real users them copying old texts and pretending to chime in and establish themselves as true users and then suddenly add some link to their stuff.

Them could be hard to spot at times. The more easier ones had the same texts spread all over the internet that bot joining many forums same day with exact same

Hi I am new here and like to be part of this fine forum
kind of very general text. After a while one got a sense for when it sounded too good to be true and used google for key phrases and could find them had used it over and over.

But them learn from their mistakes.

One sinister tactic some bots use is to join and then be silent for days or weeks and then them check that them not revealed as bots and then them blast ten spam same days with lots of pictures and links and bragging how good their product are and them hoping as many as possible read before us mods woke up and deleted and banned them forever.

But it got rather boring to have them constantly taking up ones time so I got tired of it all.

Adam Lachlan · 18 Jul 2011, 08:45 AM

I moderate a forum that occasionally gets waves of drive-by spamming. Accounts registered, one spam thread posted, never used again. It's pointless banning them, and I don't think the admin's attempt at IP ban was very successful either.

FredOnline · 13 Dec 2012, 06:25 AM

circuit - last post January 2003
psalzer - last post August 2005
munchkin - last post November 2006
gdg - last post December 2006
gpdoyon - last post January 2007
DBH - last post February 2009
Sherry - last post August 2011

You could argue, of course, that you do not have to post to be present, but . . .

communicant · 13 Dec 2012, 08:06 AM

The mods do seem strangely passive lately, especially about duplicate and triplicate threads going at once about the same topic.

I don't want to be guilty of cross-posting, but I just tried to nip another one in the bud when someone innocently started a brand-new thread about the closure of Umail.net, unaware that the subject is already being discussed in another fully-developed thread.

Mods used to move and consolidate such threads. Now they are nowhere in evidence and seem to ignore the phenomenon, which reached crisis proportions during the height of the FastMail furor, when things really got out of control. It seems, however, to be a pattern now, and is routinely tolerated.

What is going on? It is strangely unsettling.

Bamb0 · 13 Dec 2012, 10:00 PM

I think everyone is fed up with it all...........

Chipper · 14 Dec 2012, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FredOnline

circuit - last post January 2003
psalzer - last post August 2005
munchkin - last post November 2006
gdg - last post December 2006
gpdoyon - last post January 2007
DBH - last post February 2009
Sherry - last post August 2011

You could argue, of course, that you do not have to post to be present, but . . .

Hi Fred --

This issue has come up before. Edwin has indicated that he has no "minimums" regarding amount of posts. (It's my understanding other forum owners have different rules about how often and/or when the last time they participated.)

http://www.emaildiscussions.com/show...2&postcount=41

Hope this helps!

popowich · 14 Dec 2012, 10:18 AM

I notice a decent amount of cross posted spam here.

Do the mods want to know about grey area spam that maybe is a candidate to be deleted when I see it?

**ReuvenNY** · 14 Dec 2012, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by popowich

I notice a decent amount of cross posted spam here.

Do the mods want to know about grey area spam that maybe is a candidate to be deleted when I see it?

When you see an inappropriate posting, click on the "Report" button. All the moderators receive that report and take action if and when appropriate.

FredOnline · 14 Dec 2012, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReuvenNY

When you see an inappropriate posting, click on the "Report" button. All the moderators receive that report and take action if and when appropriate.

Right, OK, got it - they're all very busy moderating.

Reminds me of a film I watched recently - The Taking of Pelham 123.

You know, when the bad guys rigged the train for automatic control, then jumped off, leaving the panicking passengers to their fate . . .

**Shelded** · 14 Dec 2012, 03:18 PM

Remember, you're not to debate what a moderator says

so don't discount what ReuvenNY said. He left something out: I have a new job, seasonal deadlines, and large family. There's no time for this now, so other mods usually have stepped forward at these times.

Yeah, mods here get a free account. Just like you do. We get to post here.

It is true, I wore myself out cleaning up the Fastmail barn droppings a few months back. I won't tell you the last time Edwin logged in (it's not correlated to when he posted). I still believe in email but but lost much interest in Fastmail's future.

just1acc · 16 Dec 2012, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shelded

Yeah, mods here get a free account. Just like you do. We get to post here.

I'm not agree with you. A moderator must moderate a forum. I appreciate despite of job/family situations...You, ReuvenNY come here and do your best. But somebody who haven't logged in since 2005/2009 clearly don't deserve to be a moderator. Its nothing like demoting them, its the process of running a forum more smoothly.

I'd suggest users having moderator status but haven't logged in since 2011 should give 'veteran' status and promote some active contributors like Bill (nb5..),Tsunami as moderator.

And it 'll decrease workload on the active mods too.

FredOnline · 16 Dec 2012, 10:01 PM

The thing is, don't take this as a vendetta against the mods.

I think I also speak for others here, in that we are concerned about the present and the future of this forum.

Just looking at the current forum statistics:

Threads: 61,264, Posts: 536,294, Members: 21,341

There is an absolute wealth of information here, that we don't want to lose - we want it to continue and thrive.

Unfortunately, as I have stated previously, this forum is not a democracy - we have no say in it's running.

This is Edwin's forum - he's the man in charge - he could suddenly decide to shut down the forum, for whatever reason, and there's absolutely nothing we could do about it.

And then what?

**Shelded** · 17 Dec 2012, 12:32 AM

Edwin's decisions about moderators or the entire site are not subject to our informed analysis. Moderators don't ask or (typically) know any more than you do. Please be careful about the rumors you start; rumors consume quite a lot of moderation time

The forum existed (and some of the moderators were members) before Runbox and Fastmail had forums devoted to them. If some of those stale moderators were to log in today they would be quite welcome here. If we stop discussing Fastmail in the huge volumes that we have, some of us will remain here.

I'm not aware of any moderator complaining about the workload, nor of Edwin asking us to do more than we are. Am I noting that some of you wish we had more cleanup occurring? Sure. I'll make a bit more effort.

Nowadays I read most my email on my phone. Since I never do forum moderation on the phone, I have to change my moderation work flow to do this at home. At the same time, the phone has drastically reduced the amount of time I sit at the home PC. I am sure in some ways I am a typical user case, consuming all day long on a portable device, and creating content for minutes a day at a personal desktop computer.

13 Dec 2012, 06:25 AM	#20
FredOnline The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Manchester UK Posts: 2,616	Where are they now? circuit - last post January 2003 psalzer - last post August 2005 munchkin - last post November 2006 gdg - last post December 2006 gpdoyon - last post January 2007 DBH - last post February 2009 Sherry - last post August 2011 You could argue, of course, that you do not have to post to be present, but . . .

13 Dec 2012, 08:06 AM	#21
communicant Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 879	mods now seem to ignore a proliferation of overlapping threads The mods do seem strangely passive lately, especially about duplicate and triplicate threads going at once about the same topic. I don't want to be guilty of cross-posting, but I just tried to nip another one in the bud when someone innocently started a brand-new thread about the closure of Umail.net, unaware that the subject is already being discussed in another fully-developed thread. Mods used to move and consolidate such threads. Now they are nowhere in evidence and seem to ignore the phenomenon, which reached crisis proportions during the height of the FastMail furor, when things really got out of control. It seems, however, to be a pattern now, and is routinely tolerated. What is going on? It is strangely unsettling.

9 Jul 2011, 03:22 AM	#16
davy51 Master of the @ Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: USA Posts: 1,077	in the last 6 months spammer to real user sign up has been about 20 to 1 for me in all the forums im with

9 Jul 2011, 12:36 PM	#17
chrisretusn Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Philippines Posts: 846	I am a moderator on four forums.

9 Jul 2011, 06:09 PM	#18
drew The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,626	I did help out reducing spam on a forum for Bike enthusiasts. Sometimes it was kind of fun when "bots" had scripts that made them look like real users them copying old texts and pretending to chime in and establish themselves as true users and then suddenly add some link to their stuff. Them could be hard to spot at times. The more easier ones had the same texts spread all over the internet that bot joining many forums same day with exact same Hi I am new here and like to be part of this fine forum kind of very general text. After a while one got a sense for when it sounded too good to be true and used google for key phrases and could find them had used it over and over. But them learn from their mistakes. One sinister tactic some bots use is to join and then be silent for days or weeks and then them check that them not revealed as bots and then them blast ten spam same days with lots of pictures and links and bragging how good their product are and them hoping as many as possible read before us mods woke up and deleted and banned them forever. But it got rather boring to have them constantly taking up ones time so I got tired of it all.

18 Jul 2011, 08:45 AM	#19
Adam Lachlan Master of the @ Join Date: May 2002 Location: UK Posts: 1,004	I moderate a forum that occasionally gets waves of drive-by spamming. Accounts registered, one spam thread posted, never used again. It's pointless banning them, and I don't think the admin's attempt at IP ban was very successful either.

13 Dec 2012, 10:00 PM	#22
Bamb0 Master of the @ Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: USA Posts: 1,876	I think everyone is fed up with it all...........

14 Dec 2012, 10:18 AM	#24
popowich Essential Contributor Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 263 Representative of: EmailQuestions.com	I notice a decent amount of cross posted spam here. Do the mods want to know about grey area spam that maybe is a candidate to be deleted when I see it?

14 Dec 2012, 03:18 PM	#27
Shelded Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: USA Northwest Posts: 3,849	Remember, you're not to debate what a moderator says so don't discount what ReuvenNY said. He left something out: I have a new job, seasonal deadlines, and large family. There's no time for this now, so other mods usually have stepped forward at these times. Yeah, mods here get a free account. Just like you do. We get to post here. It is true, I wore myself out cleaning up the Fastmail barn droppings a few months back. I won't tell you the last time Edwin logged in (it's not correlated to when he posted). I still believe in email but but lost much interest in Fastmail's future.

16 Dec 2012, 10:01 PM	#29
FredOnline The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Manchester UK Posts: 2,616	The thing is, don't take this as a vendetta against the mods. I think I also speak for others here, in that we are concerned about the present and the future of this forum. Just looking at the current forum statistics: Threads: 61,264, Posts: 536,294, Members: 21,341 There is an absolute wealth of information here, that we don't want to lose - we want it to continue and thrive. Unfortunately, as I have stated previously, this forum is not a democracy - we have no say in it's running. This is Edwin's forum - he's the man in charge - he could suddenly decide to shut down the forum, for whatever reason, and there's absolutely nothing we could do about it. And then what?

17 Dec 2012, 12:32 AM	#30
Shelded Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: USA Northwest Posts: 3,849	Edwin's decisions about moderators or the entire site are not subject to our informed analysis. Moderators don't ask or (typically) know any more than you do. Please be careful about the rumors you start; rumors consume quite a lot of moderation time The forum existed (and some of the moderators were members) before Runbox and Fastmail had forums devoted to them. If some of those stale moderators were to log in today they would be quite welcome here. If we stop discussing Fastmail in the huge volumes that we have, some of us will remain here. I'm not aware of any moderator complaining about the workload, nor of Edwin asking us to do more than we are. Am I noting that some of you wish we had more cleanup occurring? Sure. I'll make a bit more effort. Nowadays I read most my email on my phone. Since I never do forum moderation on the phone, I have to change my moderation work flow to do this at home. At the same time, the phone has drastically reduced the amount of time I sit at the home PC. I am sure in some ways I am a typical user case, consuming all day long on a portable device, and creating content for minutes a day at a personal desktop computer.