Spam still an issue?

[Cantufind]

I dont know about other directory owners but spam is one of the biggest pains in the backside barring none. With the ever increasing tactics employed by spammers encouraged by weak captcha are we doing enough as directory owners or script providers to fight back?

As expected with a new directory script the phpLynx it was bound to be a target and we felt confident that with our unique text/graphic anti-bot captcha system we'd beaten them. Well we have with submissions as spam is zero, you do get the odd one who will take the time to sit down for a week answering the captcha questions but all in all its all but eliminated bots.

Not content with spamming the submissions pages they targeted the 'feedback' area of the script, and sh*t I hadn't though of that one! So obvious but it took a deadhead with questionable intentions to point this out to me. It took a few hours and there you go, we put the anti-bot into the mail system as well.

Have any other scripts taken steps to combative measures against Spam? I know Anon (Rob) from phpld has made a mod for the phpld script that can prevent it but are there others who have followed suit?

[Aviva]

I'm not sure that spam is as big an issue for directories as you make it out to be.

Aviva gets no automated spam.

Captcha's really suck for directory submitters. It makes submitting sites take twice as long, and if you have many sites to submit, often a large purchaser will just skip over your directory if you have a captcha. I'd recommend against them.

[chicgeek]

Originally Posted by Aviva

Captcha's really suck for directory submitters. It makes submitting sites take twice as long, and if you have many sites to submit, often a large purchaser will just skip over your directory if you have a captcha. I'd recommend against them.

Seconded

[Cantufind]

Originally Posted by Aviva

I'm not sure that spam is as big an issue for directories as you make it out to be.

Aviva gets no automated spam.

Its great that you dont get any spam, but reading the forums of other directory scripts and having purchased and used many myself I have to disagree with you. I could quite easily pluck threads from left right and center to support this but that would direct the thread to particular scripts which is not my intention.

Captcha's really suck for directory submitters. It makes submitting sites take twice as long, and if you have many sites to submit, often a large purchaser will just skip over your directory if you have a captcha. I'd recommend against them.

Again I strongly disagree, and if you are not getting spam then its only by luck or the fact you charge and do not accept free listings which a majority do. A credible directory submittor would not hesitate in using captcha if it meant providing his/her client with a link in a reputable directory, its only the ones who want to make a quick buck with the least amount of work that would be bothered.

If you think they 'suck' then that is your opinion, I think its simply a case of we'll have to agree to disagree as you won't convince me otherwise, but I am speaking as a victim of spam, you've never been one if I read you correct which makes your words kind of obsolete. My view on things is that unless you've experienced the problem you can't really give a qualified opinion; if you'd been a victim of spam you would certainly change your view I suspect.

[Aviva]

Well, I don't think its productive to get into a big debate about this, so just a few closing points:

Originally Posted by Cantufind

if you are not getting spam then its only by luck or the fact you charge and do not accept free listings which a majority do.

Or perhaps I'm using a good script.

Originally Posted by Cantufind

A credible directory submittor would not hesitate in using captcha if it meant providing his/her client with a link in a reputable directory, its only the ones who want to make a quick buck with the least amount of work that would be bothered.

It's well known that mystikmedia won't submit to directories with captcha. He'll come buy your directory and spend $1,000 to $2,000 in one pop on featured submissions, but ignore your directory if it has captcha.

Mystikmedia is just one person. The fact is that many serious people spend a significant amount of time each month on making directory submisssions to keep their sites competitive. They need to find the quickest and most efficient ways of doing this. Avoiding directories with captcha is one such efficiency.

To say that this applies only people out for a quick buck can only mean you've never had to compete in a competitive industry in which efficiency in making lots of directory submissions is important. Many people I know who don't submit to directories with captcha spend thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars each month on directory submissions. They wouldn't be doing that if they were just looking for quick bucks.

Originally Posted by Cantufind

but I am speaking as a victim of spam, you've never been one if I read you correct which makes your words kind of obsolete. My view on things is that unless you've experienced the problem you can't really give a qualified opinion; if you'd been a victim of spam you would certainly change your view I suspect.

Well, you're changing things here. You said that one benefit of your directory script was that it prevented spam; I said that is nothing unusual - I don't get spam in my directory. The point is you can easily use other directory scripts and not be a victim of spam. And you can do this without using captcha.

[Cantufind]

[QUOTE=Aviva;576785]

...The point is you can easily use other directory scripts and not be a victim of spam. And you can do this without using captcha....

The thread is about whether any other directory scripts have taken measures to prevent spam and whether directory owners and script owners do enough to take preventative action. It wasn't aimed at people who don't get spammed but more at the majority who do.

You make a good point about captcha possibly being a hurdle for directory submittors, I agree, and knowing the directory arena as I do, we took that into consideration, you can turn off the captcha entirely if you wish and if needed turn it back on again at the click of a button, I do believe you may not be getting any spam due to you not allowing free listings, and good for you if you are spam free, but I believe you are in the minority at present.

It would be unfair to steer this thread away from the primary question which is aimed at those who DO get spammed, the question is, 'has there been enough done to prevent the amount of spamming in directories, and can we do more?'

[an0n]

Originally Posted by Cantufind

the question is, 'has there been enough done to prevent the amount of spamming in directories, and can we do more?'

It's kind of hard to get spammed when aviva has spam guard installed, isn't that right Jeff

So to answer your question, with can we do more; I will say that I have done enough to allow people to enjoy their morning coffee and paper, rather have to delete spam for a half an hour instead.

[Cantufind]

Thats great Rob, if you'd taken the time to look at my original thread you would have seen I gave you credit for being only one of a few that has.

Being a total thicko, what is this spamguard you are using? Is it something any 'Joe Public' can strongest links with thier directory scripts or does it take a lot of knowledge?

[an0n]

Custom script I wrote to prevent the retards from bothering. It's trainable, and can be as strict as you want or lenient. Individually controlled and configurable. My gift to the spammers. Go look at directorydump's latest links. each link is concurrent with one another. you don't see gaps, because spammers dont get in.

[Cantufind]

Originally Posted by an0n

Custom script I wrote to prevent the retards from bothering.

Cool, I just did a google for the term and found a wide range of spam guards. Is yours just for phpld or are other scripts going to be able to use it? I dont need it for the lynx script as you probably know Rob so the question is really posed to help other script users not just phpld.

[John Scott]

We have captcha on v7n directory and we still get spammed, it's just manual spam as opposed to automated spam.

[chicgeek]

Originally Posted by John Scott

We have captcha on v7n directory and we still get spammed, it's just manual spam as opposed to automated spam.

He speaks da truth.

[Cantufind]

Originally Posted by John Scott

We have captcha on v7n directory and we still get spammed, it's just manual spam as opposed to automated spam.

Yep, I suspect you do John, you'll never stop the tit who wants to sit in front of a computer and play at being the nuisance.

The only 'absolute' way to prevent them, but its not viable on a forum is to force the spammer to pay for the link. In the phplynx script we built in the feature where you can switch on or off the payment option in any level, I've set the demo to show you. Check here and you'll see that the tit with time now has to pay $1 to submit.

It won't suit everyone but it is the only 'real' way to prevent spam, for as you say there will always be the one village numbskull who can't crack the child lock his mummy put on the pc to stop him looking at nudey pics so he goes and submits on sites for fun instead. So if you do get spam the silly little tit has to pay for the privalage. I suspect that this is why Aviva don't appear to get spam, although perhaps they did or they wouldn't have needed Rob's mod.

[an0n]

Originally Posted by John Scott

We have captcha on v7n directory and we still get spammed, it's just manual spam as opposed to automated spam.

Most forms of that can be filtered too . One of these days I may be able to get around to look into the script that both you and jeff use, and be able to make something. Time is just not on my side these days.

Rob

[Cantufind]

Originally Posted by an0n

Most forms of that can be filtered too . One of these days I may be able to get around to look into the script that both you and jeff use, and be able to make something. Time is just not on my side these days.

Rob

The reality of it Rob is EVERY form of spam can be stopped if you put enough time, money and effort into it. The one thing you will need to do first though is 'Identify human spam', then when identified you can take the action to prevent it, by banning IP, domain, etc etc, banning submission from anonymous proxies, banning words, the list goes on.

[John Scott]

Welcome to v7n, Rob

[an0n]

Originally Posted by John Scott

Welcome to v7n, Rob

Thanks John. Glad to be around.
Hopefully I can cause enough trouble for you to yell at me ...a few hundred times :p hahaha

[Cantufind]

So to bring thread back on track, do we think spam has really been sorted out, we know John has/had problems with 'human spam', and this if you let it can be a pain, I'm sure you got moderators to help you id spam John? What about directory owners who don't have that luxury, could the page redirect some scripts use help on other directories?

Been following your posts on your 'mod' for this on other forums Rob, good for you and I mean that, I hope it helps a lot of people.

[ryukenden]

Yes spam is very big issue for both forum and directory. I have directory site where spamming sites (mostly porn) are waiting to be approved in my admin panel. I have to be very careful not to approve them. Hard work.

[Cantufind]

Sorry to hear that ryukenden, for all intent and purpose I thought most directory scripts had got a grip of this, maybe I was wrong? In this day and age I think anti spam features should be an industry standard feature of directory scripts to stop spammers, maybe one day it will be provided in all software susceptable to it, I know it is in mine.

Not sure what script your using but surely you must have a way to ban submissions that contain words you don't even want to read let alone permit into your directory?