Troll and Fudder jail

[DaveF]

Not my idea but:

A Juniper tech forum I am part of that is run by someone outside of Juniper just enacted something interesting. There have been more and more people coming in who are pushing the Juniper is evil and you should be using router brand "X" or switch brand "Y" instead of just discussing the issue that the person posted about.

So the mod now have it set that if more then a certain number of posts are marked as spam, you wind up kind of like being shadowbaned. You can see what you post but to everyone else that post never happened. IIRC reddit has something similar. So these people can spam all day long and we never see it.

Obviously there is the massive censorship issue to overcome, in something like the Juniper tech it's not a big deal. You are there to only try to get support that you can't get elsewhere. Not sure about here. Probably not a great idea, but I saw it happen this AM as a person who just rambles on about HP switches had all their posts vanish at once. Figured it might be worth a discussion here to see what the community thinks.

-Dave

[1714006218]

1714006218

[NotATether]

The definition of what counts as "spam" is subjective person-to-person. That's why there's the ignore button. You can use it like a shadowban feature but just for yourself which stops people from crying censorship. It's amazing that a simple button can have so much utility for problems like this.

[Lucius]

Given the level of freedom of expression in this forum, I think that such a thing has no chance, because it would definitely be understood as censorship. There will always be trolls and those who spread FUD, but I think they are also an integral part of what makes the forum a place where opinions are discussed and exchanged.

Those who are active on the forum on a daily basis could certainly list at least 5 members who fall into these categories, but they will also tell you that there is an "ignore" option that anyone can use as needed. Also spam is something that is moderated and from my experience most reported posts are quickly deleted.

As for trolls, for example, I would suggest that their posts be visible, but in a way that is difficult to read - perhaps by changing a color or font that would be difficult to read on a white surface.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Not sure about here. Probably not a great idea, but I saw it happen this AM as a person who just rambles on about HP switches had all their posts vanish at once.

Not a great idea at all, and there's no way in hell Theymos would implement something like that on this forum.  I can see how it would make sense on the Juniper forum where people are probably looking for support--and they're corporate, but free speech is king here.

That's not to say I wouldn't support something like that, since shitposters and spammers are easily identifiable and don't usually become productive members of bitcointalk.  The ignore button is fine for each individual, but a shadowban system would "protect" the entire community from having to see garbage posts and wouldn't put the burden on each member to add the spammer to their ignore list.

Given the level of freedom of expression in this forum, I think that such a thing has no chance, because it would definitely be understood as censorship.

There's a low-level baseline of censorship here anyway, if you consider that there's a rule against low-value posts and spamming.  It's not as if everything goes on bitcointalk, and it's why we have the "report to moderator" button.  Even in Theymos's mind freedom of expression has limits, as it should on a discussion forum like this where making posts often leads to members getting paid.

[The Cryptovator]

The definition of what counts as "spam" is subjective person-to-person. That's why there's the ignore button. You can use it like a shadowban feature but just for yourself which stops people from crying censorship. It's amazing that a simple button can have so much utility for problems like this.

Not really, there is a clear definition.

spam
/spam/
See definitions in:
1. irrelevant or unsolicited messages sent over the internet, typically to a large number of users, for the purposes of advertising, phishing, spreading malware, etc.

Isn't the definition pretty clear? Hasn't that been happening in this forum? Sometimes I have seen a single user making 20 posts where he is sharing his referral link, malware, phishing links, and suspicious website links. I know moderators take action upon reporting such as case. But as OP said, how it would if the post not publish after reach a certain amount of posts with the same link within a certain time frame? I know it will not implement since there are many important things to implement. But the idea isn't so bad, and by using ignore button you just saving yourself from seeing unexpected posts. But it doesn't help the forum to prevent spam.

[Pmalek]

I wouldn't vote for that. This forum should be open for those who love and those who hate bitcoin. Look at it as a battle between two opposing sides. But instead of killing off the opposition, we show them all the good things they are missing out on and recruit as many as possible for the bitcoin camp. If they break forum rules (not fudding though) they should be banned.

Why should someone be banned because they think bitcoin sucks and will fail? Instead, show them the benefits of using a decentralized coin and the freedoms they don't have within the traditional financial system. Beating them with proof and real-life examples is better than shutting them up and preventing them to speak.  

[ShowOff]

In rivers with fast water, I really believe there are still fish that want to swim against the current and that is the same as people who love and hate bitcoin.

I believe that troll will remain disgruntled troll and it is still possible for spammer to change when they realize that forum are not just about making money. I have honestly been tagged as one of the worst forum member of all time as the number of post reported for deletion previously exceeded 50. Here I have a turning point that make me a more mature person and may be of use to some newbie looking to learn. This forum is neutral and we can only control spammer and troll without being able to 100% prevent it. Use the ignore button and Report post that are not of quality standard. At least that's the right option now that come to my mind.

[Lafu]

As already written from NotATether the Ignore button does his Job veery well on that !
You can ask CH about that , as he mostly talks with himself.
If we get hardcore spamming they will get deleted anyway , the only thing that would be nice and i dont know if that is already ,
would be if the posts gets deleted that also there acitivity should be reduced .

At the end of the day you cant making it right to everybody !

[lovesmayfamilis]

The problem is known and relevant. Better yet, generally protect such users from the ability to write posts. It seems that even earlier there were requests from the community that spammers and trolls who receive a lot of reports should simply be transferred to the status of readers without the ability to post. That is, it would be such a posting ban for a while. Then there would not be this heap of idiotic posts with insults and trolling. 

Well, yes, ban such trolls for a week, and during this time they will open a couple more accounts. Forgot the Korner story?  :)A troll is a hydra that has multiple heads. The best we can do is leave him hungry by pressing the ignore button.

[Quickseller]

I don’t see this being implemented on a forum basis. I could envision the forum publishing certain stats about various users, and someone could create a user script that will hide posts by people whose stats exceed certain thresholds.

Even the above may be difficult because FUD is typically allowed on this forum and there is a lot that will not get removed that might get removed on other forums that give less freedom. So even getting stats would be difficult. It might provide a good way to ignore a lot of the signature spammers who are able to avoid getting banned but post garbage nonsense.