Notices About Sports in The Just Diagnosed Forum

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pupmom
pupmom Member Posts: 5,068

Why do we keep seeing notices about sports in the Just Diagnosed forum? These seem like spam, but, at the least, they belong in the Moving Beyond Cancer forum. I find them irritating, and don't understand the point of these posts.

Comments

  • MelissaDallas
    MelissaDallas Member Posts: 7,268
    edited November 2012

    They ARE spam. Report them. Why do You THINK you would be seeing them?

  • MelissaDallas
    MelissaDallas Member Posts: 7,268
    edited November 2012

    All you do is click on "report this post" and then click on " report as spam"

  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited November 2012

    yorkiemom, they're definitely spam, and we delete and ban them as quickly as we can. The professional spammers who post them are trying to sell live streaming and other "services," and they spam this stuff all over the internet.

    We believe they most often post in Just Diagnosed and Not Diagnosed but Worried forums because their programming (these are bots, not real people) sends them to large and active forums.

    Thanks to so many members who report these spammy posts!

  • pupmom
    pupmom Member Posts: 5,068
    edited November 2012

    Thanks Mods. I didn't know they were making money. I will definitely report them.

  • curveball
    curveball Member Posts: 3,040
    edited November 2012

    Early in my membership on bco, I reported a post which I thought was spam. It wasn't one of these "streaming" posts, but looked "off" somehow. It was a generic statement, which to me sounded like the lead in to a sales pitch, and the username sounded like it might be a business rather than an individual. The mods determined the post was not a spam, and I received in reply to my report a warning against abusing the "report" feature, which IIRC included a statement that I could be banned for inappropriately reporting posts. Since that first experience I haven't reported any posts, even obvious spams like the ones mentioned by the OP, lest I end up the one who gets banned, rather than the spammer. Instead, I just block the sender.

    If the mods want bco members to notify them of spammers, they might want to use a lighter touch, and not issue a warning the first time someone submits a report, even if it is determined that the reported post is OK. I think the time for a warning is if someone repeatedly reports posts that are nothing like spam, not on the first report, and not for a post that (in my opinion) was on the borderline of spam/not spam. (It's interesting to note that the post I reported, and the other three by the same user, are no longer on bco.)  I also re-read a thread I started about reporting that post, and someone on that thread mentioned that there are only two choices in the report feature-- reporting as a rules violation and reporting as spam. I think it would be good if there were a box for "Mods please review" for posts like the one I reported, that just seem "off".

  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited November 2012

    curveball, members are always welcome to send us a PM about questionable posts - just give us the URL of the thread, or its title and forum and we'll check it out.

    For the future, our wish list for a technical upgrade includes giving Mods the option to tell the system to not send those automatic emails when they're not appropriate.

  • curveball
    curveball Member Posts: 3,040
    edited November 2012

    Mods, just to clarify, if I see a post that seems iffy or off in some way I should send you a PM about it rather than using the "report" feature?

    I didn't realize the warning email is automatic. I agree that having the mods decide whether a warning message is appropriate would be a big improvement over sending it automatically! Until that capacity is added, are you mods able to change the text of the automatic email so it's milder in tone? The wording of the message I got really scared me out of reporting anything at all, even obvious spams.

  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited November 2012

    curveball, using the Report link is easier for most members, and gives us all the info we need to review the report, but if you're not comfortable reporting that way, or you're not sure if something is a violation, by all means send us a PM!

  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited November 2012

    I just spent 10 minutes reporting a deluge of "watch sports" type SPAM. What's going on?

    Caryn

  • pupmom
    pupmom Member Posts: 5,068
    edited November 2012

    It's a real spam attack today! I reported some, but is there a limit to how many reports we can make?

  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 57,235
    edited November 2012

    I have been reporting them too. Crazy!

  • julz4
    julz4 Member Posts: 2,490
    edited November 2012

    You both are right! I have been reporting a bunch too. I sure hope there is no reporting limit. 4 years ago we had a really bad spam attack & they had to shut things down for a while here. Because the content was far from sport related! It will get sorted out hopefully sooner.

  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 57,235
    edited November 2012

    Good Grief! You think people would have better things to do!

  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited November 2012

    I don't think there is a limit on reporting legit spam. Mods, is that correct? I am also wondering if the SPAM is "robo" generated, rather than sent by individuals.

    Caryn

  • julz4
    julz4 Member Posts: 2,490
    edited November 2012

    So true Ruth! If you read the first responce from the Mods here. They say they are doing this to sell the ads....to make money. It's all computer programed by a person to repeat this process many many times here & other places. With the touch of a few buttons! Looks like our reports are taking effect & stopping some of it.

  • Crescent5
    Crescent5 Member Posts: 442
    edited November 2012

    I report them all the time and just called one a moron. Sorry, but it's so offensive to spam that board!

  • pupmom
    pupmom Member Posts: 5,068
    edited November 2012

    Crescent, I'm wondering if that is a real person, because the moron posted a complete listing of his/her spam links. Makes me wonder.

  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited November 2012

    I really think there is no person/persons behind all this spam. Just robo generated junk.

    Caryn

  • curveball
    curveball Member Posts: 3,040
    edited November 2012

    I think @exbrnxgrl is right. It seems like most of these posts come from a username that has only one post. I bet the program that generates the messages changes username each time to make it harder to ban the spammer.

  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited November 2012

    It's not getting better, it's getting worse. They come out every weekend and before every major sporting event or t.v. event. It's predictable.  

    The really offensive spam that we used to get has been taken care of.  Thank you to BC.org for figuring that out.  Now there needs to be some way to get rid of these bot and/or paid spammers.  Particularly bad are the ones that use a subject line that appears to be related to breast cancer because these draw a lot more women in, and it tends to take a lot longer before they are "Deleted by the Community".

    I used to report the spam posts but I know longer do. There are just too many of them. I would like to see BC.org come up with a solution that keeps these off the board, rather than continue to rely on members to delete the posts (but often the threads stay open for the better part of a day, with the subject line listed on the list of discussion lists, until someone within BC.org is able to get around to deleting the whole thread).  There must be a way to stop this. If these are bots, what's the process they use to join the board so that they are able to post?  Can something not be changed within the process that stops these bots from being able to join BC.org?

  • Marple
    Marple Member Posts: 19,143
    edited November 2012

    When someone tries to join BCO couldn't there be one of those windows with the funny letters and/or numbers that have to be reproduced by the person trying to sign up?  Would that stop this type of spam? 

  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited December 2012

    Mods, there are some spam threads that have been sitting in the "Not Diagnosed" forum for 12 hours now.  The content of the posts have been deleted by the community, but the threads are still sitting there, with their subject lines cluttering the list the threads.  Can't something be done about this?  

  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited December 2012

    We hate the spammy posts too, and although today's were banned promptly, we missed the additional step of also deleting them. We'll work on that, and also see if the tech team can suggest changes that will slow spambots down without also restricting access for those who genuinely need to get in without delays.

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