GUMPY Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 It seems that there are a lot of new people posting members markers from far away paces with apparently no canal connection. Does this mean we are about to get an influx of spam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solution Guest Posted February 20, 2023 Solution Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 1 minute ago, Loddon said: It seems that there are a lot of new people posting members markers from far away paces with apparently no canal connection. Does this mean we are about to get an influx of spam? Already have. A number of posts have been hidden this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtB Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 I suspect ChatGPT has worked out how to register itself a tonne of new usernames. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyG Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 There were three or four overnight. Possibly the same person being paid to waste our resources. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtB Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 And here comes the first of the spam!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Brooks Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 I think we may well have a recent AI "member" in the politics section. He/it seems to post in a very simplistic/childish way, yet some are engaging with it/him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty69 Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 2 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said: I think we may well have a recent AI "member" in the politics section. He/it seems to post in a very simplistic/childish way, yet some are engaging with it/him. I've been doing that for years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUMPY Posted February 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 1 hour ago, Tony Brooks said: I think we may well have a recent AI "member" in the politics section. He/it seems to post in a very simplistic/childish way, yet some are engaging with it/him. I thought that was how you were supposed to post in that section given the example set by WC and H 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athy Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 We have received a number of unauthorised commercial posts today, from places as far away as Australia nd Seattle. But don't worry, they're being removed as soon as a moddy spots them, and the posters have been banned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty69 Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 12 minutes ago, Loddon said: I thought that was how you were supposed to post in that section given the example set by WC and H That is correct. It is the section reserved for those with little or no interest in boats. It seems to work quite well though keeping them of of sight of the rest of the forum, though for the life of me, I can't understand why they don't just find a political forum to go and post on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BilgePump Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 4 minutes ago, Athy said: We have received a number of unauthorised commercial posts today, from places as far away as Australia nd Seattle. But don't worry, they're being removed as soon as a moddy spots them, and the posters have been banned. They may say that they are from there but I'm betting that the cheap cost of labour of spammers for hire from the developing world means that the chances of them being located in Oz or the US are slim. There did seem to be a spate of them this morning from different accounts. Mods responses to reports and nuking them are appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BilgePump Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 Just now, rusty69 said: That is correct. It is the section reserved for those with little or no interest in boats. It seems to work quite well though keeping them of of sight of the rest of the forum, though for the life of me, I can't understand why they don't just find a political forum to go and post on. I regard myself as a pretty politically leaning member here but can't imagine why anyone would want to spend days arguing with fellow boaters about politics. VNC filters it out so never look in there. Don't know what everyone in there is talking about and glad about that fact. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athy Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 12 minutes ago, BilgePump said: They may say that they are from there but I'm betting that the cheap cost of labour of spammers for hire from the developing world means that the chances of them being located in Oz or the US are slim. Well, one of them was advertising "Stan". I've checked, and this does exist: it's a subscription T.V. company in Australia. Depends on whether you regard Oz as a third-world country; I believe that opinions are divided. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BilgePump Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 (edited) 4 minutes ago, Athy said: Well, one of them was advertising "Stan". I've checked, and this does exist: it's a subscription T.V. company in Australia. Depends on whether you regard Oz as a third-world country; I believe that opinions are divided. What I meant was that the chances are that the actual person and company doing the poorly worded spam are located in the developing world, subcontracted by a dodgy agency that is contracted by a company in the US or Oz. A lot of the spammers are also working under affiliate schemes where they're not 'contracted' by the, say TV company, but can get a commission from any subscriptions derived from the links on the webpage that they're trying to get you to visit. eta: Athy, you made me waste my thousandth post on a discussion of spam. Curses to you 😁😛 Edited February 20, 2023 by BilgePump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBiscuits Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 32 minutes ago, BilgePump said: Don't know what everyone in there is talking about Neither do most of those participating! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudds Lad Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 It's like when you get a spam call that the number purports to originate from an area of the UK, but in reality is a call centre in India. Spoofing. Anyway, if you believe in Simulation Theory, ALL posts here are AI generated 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUMPY Posted February 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 1 hour ago, rusty69 said: , I can't understand why they don't just find a political forum to go and post on. Because they would get blown to bits by the heavyweights on such forums 😱 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athy Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 1 hour ago, BilgePump said: eta: Athy, you made me waste my thousandth post on a discussion of spam. Curses to you 😁😛 You're welcome. See you again in 999 posts' time. Yes, it's quite possible that the work is "outsourced", quite a common practice I believe, but it was surely commissioned by "Stan" in the first place. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Brooks Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 1 hour ago, BilgePump said: I regard myself as a pretty politically leaning member here but can't imagine why anyone would want to spend days arguing with fellow boaters about politics. VNC filters it out so never look in there. Don't know what everyone in there is talking about and glad about that fact. I consider the members here span all sectors of society, with far wider skills and experience than many forums. I would like to get a wide range of views and opinions about political issues so do post there, but unfortunately a very few of the regulars have taken to posting yar - boo type nonsense with very little in the way of defending or justifying their views, so of which I think would be offensive to many in a supposedly civilised society. What makes it worse, some are very quick to criticise others but offer no concrete suggestions of ways forward themselves. Any value it had, I think, has been destroyed by maybe four or five members. Still, if it keeps them away from the main forum I suppose it is valuable. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanD Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 23 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said: I consider the members here span all sectors of society, with far wider skills and experience than many forums. I would like to get a wide range of views and opinions about political issues so do post there, but unfortunately a very few of the regulars have taken to posting yar - boo type nonsense with very little in the way of defending or justifying their views, so of which I think would be offensive to many in a supposedly civilised society. What makes it worse, some are very quick to criticise others but offer no concrete suggestions of ways forward themselves. Any value it had, I think, has been destroyed by maybe four or five members. Still, if it keeps them away from the main forum I suppose it is valuable. Not just in the political forum, unfortunately... 😞 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgs Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Loddon said: Because they would get blown to bits by the heavyweights on such forums 😱 This is not the political section, but I hadn't noticed you putting anyone in their place in that section. Edited February 20, 2023 by Higgs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BilgePump Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 1 hour ago, Athy said: You're welcome. See you again in 999 posts' time. Yes, it's quite possible that the work is "outsourced", quite a common practice I believe, but it was surely commissioned by "Stan" in the first place. No, no. Apparently I need over 3000 points to progress to the next daft level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 2 hours ago, Loddon said: Because they would get blown to bits by the heavyweights on such forums 😱 I agree, but I would also say that often applies to both sides of the political 'discussions' in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Mack Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 4 hours ago, Athy said: Well, one of them was advertising "Stan". I've checked, and this does exist: it's a subscription T.V. company in Australia. Depends on whether you regard Oz as a third-world country; I believe that opinions are divided. I remember when "Stan" was the Huddersfield Canal Society trip boat that operated into the tunnel at Marsden! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichM Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 Thanks for flagging. We were indeed hit by a targeted spam attack. In this scenario the best thing is to report their posts. If enough people do this, the forum system will intervene automatically. It's really important we get spammers off the forum asap. All valid post reports are much appreciated. This will help the mods who do a fantastic job towards keeping the forum a safe & enjoyable place to be. I have also put in place some other measures to prevent these spam attacks. Unfortunately spammers are always finding new ways to advance their methods to try and circumvent measures put in place to protect against them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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