Jump to content

Ask the Mods questions about the Forums!


Dman979

Recommended Posts

Disclaimer: Some questions may not be answerable, for various reasons.

The word of the thread is: Automagically.

THIS IS NOT A CHAT THREAD.

Mods-

How often are you called upon to examine the post of a Curious George, only to have it be a spambot?

Can you show us an example of what their messages look like?

Are the majority of the users on the forum humans? About how many unique users are active on the forum per month?

What do you do with a spambot?

About how many people join the forums per day?

Everyone else-

Have you ever wondered about this, or is it just me?

Edited by Dman979
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1) Most unfortunate typo ever

2) I don't really think spambots are too big of a problem on here. Either the mods handle them with such efficiency that I've never noticed one, or they just plain dont exist here.

3) Not just you, I've wondered about it briefly in the past.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The post moderation system (The thing that means that your first 5 posts need to be approved) helps us spot most of them. They post mostly just inane words, with links to what they are advertising. Can't see any spam in the modqueue, so no examples. Some have semi relevant things to say, often with a link at the end. I would say most users on the forum are human, even us mods. Don't know about unique users on the forum per month.

Now this is where it gets fun. First, allow me to describe it in pokemon battle format:

A wild spambot appears!

Go, Modkip!

Spambot uses spam!

It isn't very effective...

Modkip uses Spam-O-Matic!

It's super effective!

Spambot is banished from the forum!

Modkip gets satisfaction for winning!

*ahem*

"But what is the Spam-O-Matic?" I hear you ask! We can tick posts, and can perform a list of actions to said posts. Ranging from Delete Post, to Move Post, and many in between. Spam-O-Matic is one of these, and is my personal favourite. We tick the post, proceed with the action, and it then removes the spambot from the forum. Aspiring mods can look forward to their first squishing of a bot.

Hope this helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How often are you called upon to examine the post of a Curious George, only to have it be a spambot?

Can't speak for the other mods, but I get at least a half dozen a week, sometimes substantially more.

Can you show us an example of what their messages look like?

Not a specific one, but most of them are your typical spam email-like content. Some are in foreign languages in the English sections, some are really sketchy looking (can't tell specifics without violating the posting guidelines), those ones are easy to catch.

The more troubling ones are clever, they copy text from an existing post and repost it with a link added. This is easy to miss as the posts seem coherent and on-topic.

Are the majority of the users on the forum humans?

AFAIK all our users are human. Except Rainbowtrout, he's a mudkip. :P

About how many unique users are active on the forum per month?

I don't see that info, sorry. Maybe Kasper or one of the admins can comment.

What do you do with a spambot?

As Rainbowtrout said, we have a "Spam-O-Matic" tool, which automagically removes the user and deletes all threads, posts and blog entries made by them.

About how many people join the forums per day?

When I started moderating back in January it was only a couple of users a day. Since 1.0 was released we've seen a real surge in new users, not unusual to see twenty or more per day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AFAIK all our users are human. Except Rainbowtrout, he's a mudkip. :P

*cough*

I remember when I helped catch some spambot that had taken one of Wallygator's posts. I'm not a mod but it was pretty darn satisfying. :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Huh, wow! You guys do a great job. Remind me not to mess with the Spam-o-matic.

So, when I go on to the member list, I see all sorts of weird names with crazy numbers-letter combinations. They normally have less than 3 posts. Are they spambots that haven't posted anything yet, or just really really inactive users?'

Modkip, when I joined, the CG limit was 3. Has it changed to reflect the new users?

Red Iron Crown, I like that word which you used; "Automagically." I can't figure out if it's a typo or a real thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Huh, wow! You guys do a great job. Remind me not to mess with the Spam-o-matic.

it a magnetic emotive field micro variation you throw in the key when your typing something on your keyboard or touchpad that flow trough the internet ;) (*scarry mode on/off*)

hum just kidding "automagically" it's what it is ;) magic so yup don't mess with the spam o matic it's everywhere ; ) basicaly spam o atic just use the force ;)

Edited by WinkAllKerb''
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, when I go on to the member list, I see all sorts of weird names with crazy numbers-letter combinations. They normally have less than 3 posts. Are they spambots that haven't posted anything yet, or just really really inactive users?'

Modkip, when I joined, the CG limit was 3. Has it changed to reflect the new users?

1) Could be either, really. It's impossible to say without looking at what they've posted.

2) The CG limit was originally 5. It was temporarily changed to 3 just to alleviate possible headache for users who had to make a new account on the forums following the forum crash and subsequent data loss that happened a while back, but it was returned to its original value after that. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like that word which you used; "Automagically." I can't figure out if it's a typo or a real thing.

It's deliberate. I like the word, even if it's made-up. :)

Can I change this to "Ask the Mods questions about the Forums?"

Or "Infrequently Asked Questions!"

Is that ok with you guys?

Go ahead, the first is probably the better title. Be aware, though, that not all questions can be answered, some things have to remain private.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's the list of default ones:

0 Curious George

5 Bottle Rocketeer

25 Rocketeer

50 Rocketry Enthusiast

100 Spacecraft Engineer

250 Sr. Spacecraft Engineer

500 Junior Rocket Scientist

750 Rocket Scientist

1000 Senior Rocket Scientist

1500 Capsule Communicator

3000 Flight Director

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've heard a rumor that the forum staff lounge has a 50 inch HDTV, and a really comfy couch. Can you confirm/deny? Also, how many threads have been made in the staff area? Finally, how many big secrets do you know off the top of your head that we can't know about? 3? 1? 4? 1? 5? 9?..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've heard a rumor that the forum staff lounge has a 50 inch HDTV, and a really comfy couch. Can you confirm/deny?

No, it's kind of run down, with a bunch of mismatched desks and a very old coffee machine.

Also, how many threads have been made in the staff area?

6,160 at time of writing. About two thirds of them are for reported posts, most of the rest are stuff moved to the Fault Vault, and the tiny remainder are mods talking to each other about mod stuff. It's less interesting than you'd think.

Finally, how many big secrets do you know off the top of your head that we can't know about? 3? 1? 4? 1? 5? 9?..

None, really.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mathematically there must be an average, but there is no typical day. Sometimes you guys are grumpy, and we have a lot of fires to put out in the span of a few hours. Other times, we can go days without needing to intervene. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Other times, we can go days without needing to intervene. :)

I imagine those days are your favorite.

Also, I'm surprised no one has asked this yet. How was your day, all of you? I don't see why all these questions have to be inquiring. Why not just a simple one?

I do hope it was lovely for each of you. It is well deserved.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, I have a couple of questions:

  1. When a post is reported, is it looked at right away, or do you wait for posts to be reported multiple times before you look at it?
  2. How many reports do you get a day?
  3. Of those, how many do not require action and/or are people just reporting posts to be rude?

Thanks for your time. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...