SPAM Re-visited.

SoLiDUS · **SPAM Re-visited. -** 04-01-2003, 06:02 AM

The topic of SPAM seems to come up quite a bit in this section of our dear
forum and even though the concerns exhibited by my fellow moderators is
warranted to some extent, in another it is simply foolish to even bring up.

Before I continue, SPAM must first be defined so as to avoid any possible
confusion. I have chosen to describe it as follows:

The posting of massive pieces of irrelevant, innapropriate information or
material in regards to the established forum rules.

Now that we have a proper definition, we can proceed to the concerns and
typical "SPAM occurences". The first part I would like to adress is the one
relating to MASSIVE amounts of posted information: granted, several new
threads or posts (under the same topic) by the same person can be quite
annoying so here are some general guidelines concerning the quantity and
speed of posting new information:

- Unless you strongly believe your new posts are worthy and justified, with
good reason (which relates to common sense, let's not get into semantics
here), chances are you just spammed.

- Unless you strongly believe your new topics are worthy and justified, with
good reason (which relates to common sense, let's not get into semantics
here), chances are you just spammed. Keep in mind this has to do with a
person posting several new threads in a very small time interval.

Concerning IRRELEVANCY of new posts or threads: this is a very delicate
subject. One must understand that most postings and threads are matters
of opinion (unless the topic or post specifically deals with facts) and thus,
are subjective in nature. Since different people place a different amount
of importance on any particular subject, it isn't always easy to judge how
something should be considered SPAM. With new topics, unless it is shown
that they have no quantifiable value, they cannot be deemed SPAM under
the criteria of irrelevancy: as stated above, they must be dealt with another
way. Posts are a different matter: using the method of contrasts, through
common sense, we can determine whether a post in a specific topic is spam
or not.

INNAPROPRIATE information is easier to define, as it has less to do with
subjectivity and more to do with the already pre-existing rules Badscript
made initially. Repeated and excessive cursing, posting of pornographic
material and personal attacks are examples which readily come to mind.
This is not a section with requires much more elaboration so I will move
on to my final thoughts on this topic.

Throughout this essay, I've tried to define SPAM and enumerate the different
ways a person might do so. I understand that several topics and posts might
seem irrelevant or innapropriate at first glance but upon further investigation
and inspection, they could very well be worthy additions to the forum section.
I honestly don't believe we have that big of a problem with SPAM in the O-T
section of the AA.COM Forum and a reason we should lower our guard from now
on is simple: this is an OFFTOPIC forum. Whatever doesn't and shouldn't fit
into the other sections, so long as it isn't spam, must therefore have a place,
here.

I hope this clears things up and helps you better understand the position of
some of our members who seem constantly infuriated at the locking of their
topics or repeated warnings at their most recent posts. Thank you for your
patience.

Eight Ace · 04-01-2003, 07:13 AM

SoLiDUS, well said and no argument....but please consider, how do the untold threads that defied all the rules and logic,
that began badly or whatever, but went on to be solid gold, how do they fit in?...you've been in on all the classics,
would you really have done away with any of them?...I asks ya!!

Also, just out of curiosity, do mods consult each other at all, or is it just a personal choice to lock/delete threads?
For example if one mod thought a thread was harmless fun, but another mod come along and locked it,
...y'know, how would that work? Just that I saw a bit of moderating earlier today that was decidedly hake:

yours, Eight Ace

SoLiDUS · 04-01-2003, 07:20 AM

The second point first: I think it's all personal. I haven't been around long
enough to know if everyone consults one another but it's safe to assume no
one does.

If I read you correctly, you basically ask me "Would you remove a seemingly
bad thread right away or give it some time to check whether or not something
valuable comes from it?", correct ? Well, I will wait to see if things work out for
the better: if not, chances are the thread will be locked.

Ydiss · 04-01-2003, 07:40 AM

I can't disagree with your reasoning but there is still no mention of thread lockage due to a topic being discussed before, so I would still have to presume that this isn't spam, it's just lockable because Mods have spent more time on these boards and as such think all "boring" topics don't deserve to be discussed.

That is, if a mod doesn't feel a thread is worthy of their time to discuss in then it's lockable.

I would like to see a rule that deems it right that a mod can lock a thread due to this reason and, if this is done, also some kind of responsability shown by mods to ensure that the author of the thread is pointed in the right direction so they can get the info/discussion they need.

The thing is, just because a topic has been discussed before doesn't mean that we should always refer to that single thread to discuss it.

Otherwise we'd have threads over 100 pages long all over the shop and they are much harder to read and reply to than a fresh thread of a similar topic.

I always thought the adage that "You don't have to read it if you don't want to" was better than "It's been said before so it's locked".

pest · 04-01-2003, 09:08 AM

I agree with ydiss. (Is that spam?)

I also think the mods should take a deep breath and count ot 10 before lockng any thread. The locking has gotten out of hand. I also think it is chickenshit for a mod to reopen a locked thread, make a post and relock the thread. Mods are here to enforce the rules, they shouldnt be above them.

LoneGunner87 · 04-01-2003, 12:00 PM

Ive not been spamming but bck in the past the only spammer that we couldnt handle was spammachine who spammed mostly everyone off the AA forums. He also came bck later as Horumbus code of spam or some other thing but spamming is becoming a problem in the forums these days since new comers done know wat to post.

P.S. plz notify me if i spam at all and i will correct my mistake.

Ydiss · 04-01-2003, 12:14 PM

If it gets to the point where legitimate posters are asking if they're spaming it's gone too far.

HobbitUK · 04-01-2003, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ydiss

If it gets to the point where legitimate posters are asking if they're spaming it's gone too far.

lol, yup biggrin:

LoneGunner87 · 04-01-2003, 12:37 PM

We should request BadScript to put like a limit or something that u have to type a certain amount in order to make a post that way people wont be spamming with smileys are doing short sentences. On http://www.neoseeker.com they have something i dont know wat it is but u have to type up a certain amount in order to get your post even though it may show up it doesnt add to your posts. Maybe BadScript could come up with something like that or a better solution to stop spam.

A HUNGRY FATMAN · 04-01-2003, 12:56 PM

thats wierd how you can only type a limited amount of text

descry · 04-01-2003, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoneGunner87

We should request BadScript to put like a limit or something that u have to type a certain amount in order to make a post that way people wont be spamming with smileys are doing short sentences. On http://www.neoseeker.com they have something i dont know wat it is but u have to type up a certain amount in order to get your post even though it may show up it doesnt add to your posts. Maybe BadScript could come up with something like that or a better solution to stop spam.

We all know thats never gonna happen, and also, thats the stupidest thing ive ever heard. The amount of text shouldnt matter, you can keep it short and simple (with the exceptions of "lol", and "ya") and still have a point. Offtopic Forum = SPAM, thats what its for, if you want to stop spam on this website, take this forum away.

Bazooka_Joe · 04-01-2003, 01:11 PM

OK, here's my point of view:

First off, let me say that no ones perfect, including myself or any other mod. Just because we have privs over regular members here, it dosen't make us more knowledgeable as to what stays and what goes. So even we, including myself, make mistakes.

Now, as far as spamming goes on these forums, Solidus knows that some of his posts in the past have irritated me, as I saw no potential value of a conversation in them. That, is my personal opinion. But as of late, I really don't bother with him anymore, frankily, because the threads aren't meaningless as they used to be; a fine example would be this one.

Simply put, I'll give you some examples of what I (ME, no one else) consider spam:

http://www.alliedassault.com/phpBB2/vie ... p?t=142486

http://www.alliedassault.com/phpBB2/vie ... p?t=142529

To be honest, I don't mean to put anyone here down, but I think the problem mainly generates from the fact that we have too many immature or younger people here, and they just neglect to keep to a civil point of view. Even with the Offtopic, there's a line that you just shouldn't cross, as there are still young people here that these posts are driving away from this website, and the game.

IMO, you guys should all just browse the http://www.allaboutnothing.net forums for a few pages, and just take a look at some of the posts there. I don't mean to criticize, but there's times I'd rather not be here to read what people have to say, and just rather chill there with some good, trusting gamers of mine. Read some of the posts, and take it into consideration.

ED! Ban #126 · 04-01-2003, 01:13 PM

[quote:e9f45]I also think it is chickenshit for a mod to reopen a locked thread, make a post and relock the thread. Mods are here to enforce the rules, they shouldnt be above them.[/quote:e9f45]

Didn't you know thats one of the perks of being a mod.

Simo Häyhä · 04-01-2003, 02:00 PM

to whomever deleted my post here....i hope you get cancer hake:

Judas · 04-01-2003, 02:31 PM

honestly, spam doesnt bother me a bit. most of the topics posted are not interesting in the first place, and i read just for the humor. what bothers me is, there isnt any humor anymore because the threads dont last long enough. i do agree that childish 14yr flames between people, and being an asshole for no reason is uncalled for, but locking threads because of it has never been until joe became mod. why not just remove the posts instead of locking the thread, and let the thread continue.

there is very little worth reading here anymore ...