Spam Announcement

[Black.Ice]

As you may have noticed, there is a new spam announcement. If you have not read it, please feel free to do by visiting:

http://www.warboards.org/announcement.php?f=2&a=86

You are free to raise any questions you may have here, or discuss the announcement in this thread.

[Faiien]

I am glad to see the moderators and AJ taking a more serious approach to the spam that has been going on recently. Let me be the first to extend my thanks for your hard work. I love warboards and to see the mods taking an active role in trying to improve the overall quality of the forums is great.:)

[DoctorZettabyte]

moderators and AJ
AJ, in a league of his own.

Anyway, the crackdown on spam is excellent and I'm glad to see it. I'm sick of good threads being buried under fresh spam all the time. Thank you to all higher-ups for helping to take care of the problem. Much of the task also lies with us, as we're the ones posting it, not having to complete the never-ending tedium of wading through our stuff. Thank you to the moderators, and, of course, AJ.

-DocTera

[Toucan]

It is good to see the Mods jumping back on the horse, but in fairness to them it has been the silly season. And we have quite a large well behaved member base now, witch I guess may have made them lax up a bit.

[Magmaniac]

I have mixed feelings. While I think this would be a good thing by hindering such users as should be unnamed,
ZERG_EATER, GALIANT, KONGUROUS, GUNMONK
I fear that it may also cause some of my posts to be deleted as well.
Oh well, for the greater good, right?

[Gunmonk]

I dunno... does spam contribute if it is funny?

I say that because there are somethings that are spammy but fucking hilarious.

And are one-liners good? sometimes those are on topic and funny

[Black.Ice]

The key principle is furthering the discussion. If you're funny and you do it in one word, that's absolutely fine. If you're just posting something that really has no value, but you just feel like posting, then it's spam.

[VigilanteV]

i wonder if someone has the balls to spam this thread.

Good to see that the spam crackdown is inacted once again.

looks like i will have to bulk up on wordier replies, or get beaten with the infraction stick.

[DoctorZettabyte]

It's not too tough to de-spam posts, really. The only people I can imagine having any trouble with this would be Galiant, Zerg_Eater, and worst of all, AJ himself!

It's not about postcount or rep, people, get it through your skulls...

-DocTera

[Modred]

If you're just posting something that...you just feel like posting, then it's spam.

Good to see that the spam crackdown is inacted once again.

So will Black.Ice be the chief inquisitor for our proceedings? I would certainly hate for this task to fall to lesser hands, incapable of making the hard, moral decisions that are too often necessary when purging our fair land of the filth and perversion that has slowly permeated almost to our very core.

No one expects the Spammish Inquisition

[IrishDutchman]

@Mag: Kong is hardly a spammer. It's been a while since I've seen a post by Kong that wasn't worth the read.

[Aqo]

I have a strong urge to spam this thread, but I agree with the point being made. Spam shouldn't be here. The reason myself and others keep visiting Warboards is that this board has a feeling of quality to it, which should be kept and not let off due to some people's boredom.

Although, to be honest, DocZet had a point there... I think the moderators should look at more than one direction. I'm just stating facts.

[The_Maker]

What I'm curious to, is how in the world BI will enforce this policy if his modship has mysteriously disappeared. Although, this makes me wonder now... what will become of the Game Room? The last time an anti-spam notification was posted, the old game room went the way of the Do-Do. Either way, this is good news.

[Lithium]

I'm curious as well. At the IRC I just said "Black Ice is the best" and then when I returned to warboards it was all gone. Anyways, I'll try to stop posting 1-liners from now on, which is a habit I've grown accustomed to after going to NG and the old CAD too much, heh.

[Ktan]

IMO, I don't think the Game Room will really be affected too badly by the purge.

It's threads where someone comes along and simply go 'lolz!' or 'yeah, I agree'. Almost as bad is when posters simply go "I think thing X should be like y." Without any further qualification. These things are a sign of simply posting for the sake of it.

However, we don't mind attempts at humour (as long as they aren't just a single picture, or a lame, overused one liner like tl;dr or something like that) or even, heaven forbid, deviation from the initial topic. It's more about quality.

There will be exceptions. For example, I've just read a post in the thread 'What will you do when you first get SC II'. SilverCrusader, simply posted 'Play it!!!'. However, this is more a stab at humour by pointing out the painfully obvious, rather than something that is blatant spam.

Another prong that I'm going to take, I don't know about other mods, but this is my personal mission, is to not only improve the content of posts but also the presentation. As well as having good content, I'm personally going to, wherever possible, encourage people to use good/passable grammar and spelling wherever possible. This won't be a penalising initiative, more a promotional one. I won't infract you for posting like a two year old, unless it's spam. I will, however, be more likely to praise/rep you if a post is well constructed and clearly thought out.

I guess, it's an attempt at a pincer approach. Encourage good posts from the top, and discourage low quality and spammy posts from the bottom, so to speak.

[TranquilNightElf]

Addressing the issue of One liners being spam:
I think the issue of one-liners and few-word funny input being spam or being suitable to the thread context is one that should probably be decided on a case by case basis; It would be tough for mods to give a clear cut black and white rule saying that one line or one word is spam.

~TNE

[hammocksleeper]

Addressing the issue of One liners being spam:
I think the issue of one-liners and few-word funny input being spam or being suitable to the thread context is one that should probably be decided on a case by case basis; It would be tough for mods to give a clear cut black and white rule saying that one line or one word is spam.

~TNE

Too late: aj has already installed a vB update that automatically deletes any post under two lines long. Now if only they could design an update that can automatically remove unfunny posts like this one...

[Aqo]

...under two lines? How the hell is that supposed to work? What about people's screen resolutions?

Besides, a post doesn't have to be long to be informative or to be worthwhile - for instance, I didn't say much here but I still believe I made a point; two lines is too much for a minimum.

[Ktan]

I have a feeling that Hammock was joking.

Sometimes you don't need more than two lines to express a point accurately without waffling.

Of course, I also agree with TranquilNightElf, and should perhaps (re)iterate that I too would approach all these one liners on a case by case basis.

[Neo]

Just thought I'd mention that if your asking us open ended questions about stuff (ie: things AJ can answer) then if "no" or "yes" answers the question, then it's not like there's anything else that needs to be typed.

We aren't looking for you to type essay length posts, but the single-line, image spam fests have to stop.

Yes it's funny sometimes, but we've entered the "constantly" stage, which means it's old and not so funny anymore.

Besides that, AJ can post however he wants. seriously, wtf. comparing him to zergeater?

-Neo

[Basan]

Aww, does this means that my feline closing thread pictures will have to reach an end? :P

Now for real, I think that we've been seeing a lot of blatant spam lately and to be honest imho most of it wasn't even trying to make a jab in the funny department. And those are the kind of posts that should be the main target in two fronts for us: One, to avoid making and Second, for us all to react upon sight either reporting it or being staff to deal with it.
Now, let's all still be merry and a wee bit more intelligible. And thus bringing back up the posting quality that we are more accustomed to see around here. ;)

[DarkMirror]

In all seriousness, yeah, this is a good idea. I eagerly await to see the first ban that results from this. Hopefully Z_E or Galiant.


HAHAHAHAHAHA! You thought you could squelch me, but you cant! I shall continue in my resistance! THE CAKE IS A LIE![COLOR]

[COLOR="Red"]cut it out - kongurous

[QuothTheRaven]

I have mixed feelings. While I think this would be a good thing by hindering such users as should be unnamed,
ZERG_EATER, GALIANT, KONGUROUS, GUNMONK
I fear that it may also cause some of my posts to be deleted as well.
Oh well, for the greater good, right? I'm very sad to see Magmaniac handicapped for the greater good:cry:. Your posts are funny hell but they are spam sometimes, you should be given a spam pardon or something. Most of my posts are spam, so it's a matter of time before I get banned. Anyways for most of that don't know what spam stands for I'll show a little common knowledge. Stupid Pointless Annoying Messages SPAM. Or so I'm told.

[kongurous]

In all seriousness, yeah, this is a good idea. I eagerly await to see the first ban that results from this. Hopefully Z_E or Galiant.
HAHAHAHAHAHA! You thought you could squelch me, but you cant! I shall continue in my resistance! THE CAKE IS A LIE!

You're a fairly good candidate yourself.

[Basan]

SpawnOfAlucard, this improvement campaign if you will call it that isn't meant to "handicap" anyone but instead is more aimed in trying to lower the tendency to leave the 'usual' bloggish/spammish one liner quips that have been popping around more than it probably should anyway. Smart jests or one liners are fine and dandy as Ktan previously alluded here (http://www.warboards.org/showthread.php?p=564699#post564699) but you all must keep aware that many times it's a thin line that separates the spammish quick quip and the more elaborate ones.

[QuothTheRaven]

SpawnOfAlucard, this improvement campaign if you will call it that isn't meant to "handicap" anyone but instead is more aimed in trying to lower the tendency to leave the 'usual' bloggish/spammish one liner quips that have been popping around more than it probably should anyway. Smart jests or one liners are fine and dandy as Ktan previously alluded here (http://www.warboards.org/showthread.php?p=564699#post564699) but you all must keep aware that many times it's a thin line that separates the spammish quick quip and the more elaborate ones. yeah, when I first showed up at warboards it was really strict then eventually standards watered down sadly enough. I joined in 06 and saw very little of the fenguin:cry:, say does the fenguin log in anymore? I personally think warboards has a better evolved social/posting system then starcraft.org .

[hammocksleeper]

SpawnOfAlucard, this improvement campaign if you will call it that isn't meant to "handicap" anyone but instead is more aimed in trying to lower the tendency to leave the 'usual' bloggish/spammish one liner quips that have been popping around more than it probably should anyway. Smart jests or one liners are fine and dandy as Ktan previously alluded here (http://www.warboards.org/showthread.php?p=564699#post564699) but you all must keep aware that many times it's a thin line that separates the spammish quick quip and the more elaborate ones.

It's like pruning the dead buds off a shrub so that new flowers may grow!

[Gunmonk]

I have mixed feelings. While I think this would be a good thing by hindering such users as should be unnamed,
ZERG_EATER, GALIANT, KONGUROUS, GUNMONK
I fear that it may also cause some of my posts to be deleted as well.
Oh well, for the greater good, right?


Sweet my name made the list!!

Oh well, I have been doing some thinking, are derailing comments spam? I know I have made some in the past and I also know this from experience. Sorry Darksoul. Can we broaden this category or is it meant to stay in its form as it is at the moment?

[kongurous]

Sweet my name made the list!!

Oh well, I have been doing some thinking, are derailing comments spam? I know I have made some in the past and I also know this from experience. Sorry Darksoul. Can we broaden this category or is it meant to stay in its form as it is at the moment?

Derailing comments will get a thread locked. The line between spam and off-topic discussion is practically nil; both end in the same result and both should be avoided.

[Basan]

At 'Monk (and everybody else for that matter ;)): Again, there's a thin line between furthering the conversation onto other subjects and plain thread derailment/high-jacking. Provided that the post that diverted the topic is useful and continues the debate in an interesting manner I trust that no problems should arise from it.

Side note example: For instance we can see it plenty of times occurring in the SC sections when somebody asks for help and then uses the same thread to assist him on other hassles.

[Darkslayer633]

Hell, Its about time

Spam is annoying, I have made several posts showing my utter hate for spam, and this new initiative by the mods furthers my hope to get WB back up to snuff, expect me to double or triple the number of posts I report now :P