Why can a new account to SL Answers post many messages [I'm thinking the SPAM Sports Messages]?

[KarenMichelle Lane]

It seems to me that LL could limit new accounts to the Sl Answers Forum to a limited number of message postings based on a simple algorithm based on account age, message size and quantity.

After all, as a SL Answers volunteer I get stopped when I try to use the exact same answer for 2 or more pleas for help.

Just sain'

[Rolig Loon]

The moderators have been struggling against that spammer for several weeks, Karen.  He evidently creates several new SL accounts, uses them to spam the Answer site heavily until those accounts are banned, and then makes new ones.  The forum software does have a filter to detect when someone has tried to post the same message several  times in a short period.  However, the spammer has learned to make very small changes in each post, so that they do not appear to be duplicates. Personally, I have been very pleased that despite these challenges, our moderators have been very fast to respond and to remove these messages.  As much as they annoy us and the residents who come here looking for help, it must be extremely frustrating for the moderators.

[Peggy Paperdoll]

To Rolig:

I agree that the task for the moderators is really daunting (even near impossible).  I see where some software help is needed (as Karen implied).  What it appears is that the software keys on the account name, then content.  What's wrong with keying on the IP instead.  LL knows the IP of every poster to the forums (you can take a look at your IP that LL logs for every poster or even just users logged into the forums).  You can see your IP on your "About Rolig Loon" that LL has on record (it's the non-public stuff).  Why can't LL key on the IP.  Put some kind of restriction on the number of threads any account can start in a specified period of time?  5 or 10 minutes doesn't sound restrictive to me for sincere posts from users in "Answers" (possibly even the "Forums").  I'm not talking about responses......only starting threads.  I think that would make these spam events (that are fast becoming daily, even multi times daily) a little less of a problem.  Yeah, some spammer will find a loophole but meantime the spammer has to work harder than the moderator.

It's nothing but a game for spammers.......and the moderators have to be up for that game themselves.  And LL could certainly give the mods some ammunition to fire back.

Now to Karen:
You know, of course, that this is posted in the wrong place.    Forums > General Discussions might be better suited.    But now that it's here, lets get something hashed out just in case a mod comes by and reads it and gets inspired or something.  Permalink works for me. 

[KarenMichelle Lane]

You know, seconds after I posted this question here I realized i should have placed it in the Fourms.

[Amethyst Jetaime]

The moderators do a great job of getting rid of spam.  And really I agree with Peggy that there should be a way to better filter posts to eliminate more of it.

As for your general question about newbs being restricted to posting here:

Many new people have questions that would be better answered in the forum where people can give their opinions more freely.  For instance if a newb asks where to get great skins, I don't think it is appropriate to give anything but a factual answer on how to search for them, how to demo them, what to look for technically to determine quality etc.  Whereas, when the same thing is asked in the forum, I have no problem giving specific suggestions of what shops or designers to check out.

When I answer questions here in Answers that ask for opinions or subjective information I will oft times actually tell them to post their question in the forum and tell them the appropriate subforum to use and why it is better to ask there.

[Rolig Loon]

I agree, Amathyst. Answers is not set up for dialogs between an OP and any respondents. Questions that call for back and forth really belong in the forums, along with the "where do I find this product?" questions. I don't hesitate to ask the moderators to redirect a post that is clearly more appropriate in one of the forum than it is here, because I think it serves the OP better. As this thread shows, however, we don't have a good place to discuss questions about how Answers itself can be run better. Those of us who are here a lot have worked out informal "rules", which are much better than anything that LL might impose on us. It would be silly to put a discussion like this one in the forums, where we'd get a lot of pointless commentary from people who rarely if ever come to Answers, but it's not easy to have the discussion here either.