2020-09-02, 10:55
There are three basic models that are used:
1) restricting user capabilities based on the number of posts made (or other criteria) - basically the option we use.
2) have the first (or first few) posts require moderators to approve them before they appear to the public - we did consider that, but with the amount of posts/users we have here it would not be practical.
3) free-for-all and clean up the mess afterwards - how it originally was, and too much work to hunt down all the spam that gets dropped by bots who use the various tricks already outlined to get past moderation (for example returning to edit previously innocuous posts).
Similarly not all forums have a PM system, and there is an argument that for a public user support forum then PM's aren't a necessary tool as everything should be done in the open. This is not a method we have chosen to adopt (at least at the moment), but again if the PM system is found to be being abused then that may be reconsidered. I have experience on other forums where the PM system has been used for spam purposes and it's a real pain to have to deal with sometimes.
What you can do is "mention" them using the @ symbol. So for example if I do @StorageFan then you will get a notification next time you log in that I've mentioned you, which can draw a users attention to a post. Whether they actually react to the post or any question/request made in it is of course quite another matter.
1) restricting user capabilities based on the number of posts made (or other criteria) - basically the option we use.
2) have the first (or first few) posts require moderators to approve them before they appear to the public - we did consider that, but with the amount of posts/users we have here it would not be practical.
3) free-for-all and clean up the mess afterwards - how it originally was, and too much work to hunt down all the spam that gets dropped by bots who use the various tricks already outlined to get past moderation (for example returning to edit previously innocuous posts).
Similarly not all forums have a PM system, and there is an argument that for a public user support forum then PM's aren't a necessary tool as everything should be done in the open. This is not a method we have chosen to adopt (at least at the moment), but again if the PM system is found to be being abused then that may be reconsidered. I have experience on other forums where the PM system has been used for spam purposes and it's a real pain to have to deal with sometimes.
What you can do is "mention" them using the @ symbol. So for example if I do @StorageFan then you will get a notification next time you log in that I've mentioned you, which can draw a users attention to a post. Whether they actually react to the post or any question/request made in it is of course quite another matter.
