[Newbie scrutiny instead of jail] Every new user's first post: loyce.club/patrol

[LoyceV]

I'll keep it short
The recent spam wave made me realize I can quite easily track the first post of every user. See loyce.club/patrol/

Please Report (or Merit) the posts when needed

It's updated every 5 20 minutes. It currently treats every user as a new user (but only once), so the next post from any user will show up. After a few days it should show only first posts from (mostly) new users.

Sample:

[RapTarX]

Just checked out and it's good one since it includes report option & merit. It can be useful for merit source as well for finding latest post and merit them.
But it would be pretty good if it created new tab when we click on report or merit option. Otherwise, whenever I'm clicking on report, I'm going to the report page and then to the board the post was. But if your site would create a new tab when click on a link, anyone can easily report.

[LoyceMobile]

But it would be pretty good if it created new tab when we click on report or merit option.

I don't like that. Now you can choose by using right or middle mouse button.

[Timelord2067]

I saw you posted a link to another patrol page:

Code:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=recent;patrol

Can you just outline how your patrol page differs from the other?  I'm still looking over that other one.

could the patrol page be narrowed down to a specific section (e.g. meta or reputation (not very good examples, but still...) ? ) ??

[Upgrade00]

I saw you posted a link to another patrol page:

That's a link to the forum's default patrol page, it tracks posts of newbie ranked users, this would include all their posts and replies till they get the required activity and merit for the next rank. Go to forum profile information, you'll find the option to activate patrol link.

The loyce patrol page tracks first post of users only (subsequent posts are not tracked). It primarily targets new members.
From the topic title it follows the suggestions on some other thread about newbie scrutiny as an alternative to newbie jail.
The tool would be used to analyze first posts and to determine which new accounts are possible bots and spammers.

[tranthidung]

could the patrol page be narrowed down to a specific section (e.g. meta or reputation (not very good examples, but still...) ? ) ??

You have customization for patrol page. Please see Hidden pages/ features on the forum

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Patrol

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Recent posts

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Last 100 recent posts (from all accounts)

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Patrol

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Last 200 recent posts (from Newbie accounts)

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No-bounty patrol

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Last 200 recent posts (from Newbie accounts (outside bounty threads)

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Customized recent posts

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Last 100 recent posts (from all accounts) in a specific board (ex: 1 ~ Bitcoin discussion)

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No-bounty customized patrol

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Last 200 recent posts (from Newbie accounts (outside bounty threads) (ex: 1 ~ Bitcoin discussion)

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[NotATether]

I think that for the link spam, you can filter all new posts that have at least 3 URLs in them and put them on a different page. It will help moderators find the spam sooner than just a bunch of reports.

[PrimeNumber7]

There are many new users whose posts are removed due to spam (among other reasons). It would probably not be uncommon for one spambot to create thousands of accounts that eventually get banned in a short period of time.

Unless your page will update when a user is nuked or a post is removed, it will result in a lot of duplication of work for anyone using your site to find spammers. Someone could find hundreds of spammers on your page that have already been nuked.

[nullius]

Objections:

• It won’t work.  This is trivial for spambot authors to work around.  All that a bot needs to do is to make one post which will have a high probability of passing human review from someone who is not following the thread in which the post is made.  The old spammer trick of copying and pasting an earlier post in a long thread can be fully automated—as can a text spinner, to prevent catching that with a bot, too.
• It will result in overreporting of legitimate humans.  Most people are injudicious.  Most people will not use this only to report obvious spambot activity.  Many people will apply their own biases when reporting; and moderators are not always perfect in filtering that out.
  
  This always happens; but I think that it will be worse when those biases are focused on every new user’s first post, especially since people using this will also suffer confirmation bias when they are looking for something bad.  Use of this tool will bias the whole process to err toward the deletion of new users’ first posts.

Unfun fact that I have not hereto mentioned:  My own first post was trashed.  I am still not sure why.  There is a reason why I have oftentimes referred to “the first post in my post history”.  My actual first post on this forum was deleted almost immediately.

Given that experience, I know how discouraging it can be to a human with a Brand New account.  I don’t expect for it to discourage the spambot authors.

[LoyceV]

The loyce patrol page tracks first post of users only (subsequent posts are not tracked). It primarily targets new members.

Correct, although it includes all old members too. The active users will all disappear from the list soon enough, but old users who wake up will still show up.

I think that for the link spam, you can filter all new posts that have at least 3 URLs in them and put them on a different page.

I could, but for now I want to see how this turns out after most existing users disappear from the list. It was a quick fix the way it is, and I don't want this to turn into another one of my time-consuming projects.

Unless your page will update when a user is nuked or a post is removed, it will result in a lot of duplication of work for anyone using your site to find spammers.

At the moment, I don't check for banned users. I update my list of banned users once an hour, but it has an exception for users who recently posted. Modlog doesn't show time stamps, and I made this exception to remove unbanned users from my list again.
I don't check for deleted posts. For now I just want to see if this turns out useful.

Someone could find hundreds of spammers on your page that have already been nuked.

In that case stick to the top of the list only.

[Pmalek]

I would have to agree with nullius regarding point #1.
Eventually, these spammers will find out about this feature and understand that all they need to do to avoid it is to create one post that won't be considered spam, and after that they can continue with their routine. Instead of one, would you consider tracking the first 3 or 5 posts (and listing them one below the other) of each new user? Chances that they will go through the trouble of creating 3-4 legit posts before they start spamming are significantly lower.

But it would be pretty good if it created new tab when we click on report or merit option. Otherwise, whenever I'm clicking on report, I'm going to the report page and then to the board the post was. But if your site would create a new tab when click on a link, anyone can easily report.

Don't click on the merit/report button directly on the page, instead right click on it and open it in a new tab. That will take you straight to the merit or report window.

[LoyceV]

Eventually, these spammers will find out about this feature and understand that all they need to do to avoid it is to create one post that won't be considered spam, and after that they can continue with their routine. Instead of one, would you consider tracking the first 3 or 5 posts (and listing them one below the other) of each new user?

I can add that when needed, but for now I prefer to keep the list short. It's always a cat and mouse game against spam, and I have no illusions this will stop them all. I did however already use it to report several posts that I wouldn't have reported without this.

[mole0815]

Wow this is very helpful.
I guess you never run out of good ideas either
Will visit the site more often and thanks to the shortcuts directly even more practical.
And if then really only the first posts are taken, the tool is a real asset ... thanks!

[PrimeNumber7]

IMO this is something that needs to be done via automation. Most spammers are using automation to make spam posts and the mods nuke *many* newbies. If you use automation, you can report posts automatically, and in the report note specifically state that the account should be reviewed to get nuked and that you are using a script to make the report.

Wow this is very helpful.

As a FYI, there is always the patrol.

[mole0815]

Wow this is very helpful.

As a FYI, there is always the patrol.

Yes, of course I know that. Thanks!
But the new/additional page offers a few nice features that makes it quite easier to work through

[LoyceV]

And if then really only the first posts are taken, the tool is a real asset ... thanks!

It's not really their first post, but the first post they make since (a few hours before) I created this topic.
It's currently down to showing about 50 posts per hour, I expect it to get a lot lower the coming days/weeks.

IMO this is something that needs to be done via automation. Most spammers are using automation to make spam posts and the mods nuke *many* newbies. If you use automation, you can report posts automatically, and in the report note specifically state that the account should be reviewed to get nuked and that you are using a script to make the report.

I can only dream of that I still don't have a reliable posting bot, so I can't automate reporting either. But if it's a bot anyway, MindlessElectron can take care of that without reporting.
I agree it would be better to remove posts that have been deleted, but that requires a lot of scraping to check, while I didn't need any additional scraping to create the current version.

there is always the patrol.

I barely use that because it's filled with bounty spam reports. That's allowed, but makes it harder to find spam that can be reported.

I count a total of 3699 users posting until now

[wooI_Ioow]

 Post 55819586   caught by tool is de facto  from Legendary. A bug?

[LoyceV]

Post 55819586   caught by tool is de facto  from Legendary. A bug?

No, it's the first post he made since I created this project. I show those.

[FatFork]

LoyceV, I like this idea very much. Can we have a timestamp (posting time) for each post as well? It would be helpful to see the rate of new spam being generated.

[Upgrade00]

Suggestion: Make links within posts un-clickable.

Since this project was inspired by the wave of spam links being posted on the forum, it is likely that the first post of some of the new members would contain phishing or malware links, and scrolling through, especially on mobile a user can mistakenly click on one of such links.
I do not know if it's possible but making links within tracked posts not clickable could help.
If someone is interested in the links posted they could follow the post number hyperlink back to the forum and check it here. If it is a spam post which would likely already be deleted, they can always check it on archive (although, there's little reason to want to do so).