OpenStreetMap
The world is discovering how easy it is to spam OSM. These are the latest:
(gone spam 1) …leading to an inspiring talk on “Become a Respected Leader of the Good and Easy” (zero application to OSM; just more spam)
(gone spam2) …leading to an inspiring webpage on Jeep - it’s natural agate (Round trips organized fun days possible integration of ATV trips rural romantic campfire meals around the campfire gourmet meals)
(many thanks to admin + mods for removing these users)
Абмеркаванне
Камэнтар Piskvor ад 26 Ліпень 2016 у 14:32
Well, the question is - what to do? CAPTCHAs? I fear that the spam is made by mechanized humans, so traditional methods wouldn’t be effective.
Камэнтар alexkemp ад 26 Ліпень 2016 у 16:08
Hi @Piskvor
It is fully possible. I’m a Mod at SFS & it operates a crowd-sourced system that stops 99.9% of spammers dead. The human-mediated spammers can usually get through, but only once. The problem is that it will need custom-built changes to the Diary pages, and my time is solid with surveying whilst the sun shines.
Камэнтар Warin61 ад 27 Ліпень 2016 у 06:01
Most spammers will; not have any edits … only make the one dairy entry …
Human moderation of the first post would probably get most of them … but in terms of work/benefit in OSM ?
Камэнтар alexkemp ад 27 Ліпень 2016 у 11:58
@Warin61: if fully implemented it requires a push-button for each post/comment (“Report as Spam”) + a similar procedure to confirm the report from a Mod/Admin. All known spammers are auto-stopped from Registering (that is the 99.9%) + each Admin-confirmed report puts that spammer into a DB as a known spammer. The amount of human intervention required is minimal compared to the number of attempts.
What I’m about to say is drawn from 12 years of running a website + ~8 years of being a mod on StopForumSpam:
(tornevall operates a good one)
(other RBL also exist)
The above requires local caching within the DB of remotely-obtained data to prevent undue strain upon the remote servers. RBL checks are via the well-understood DNS TXT mechanism (this is all from memory, so expect some mistakes) whilst SFS provides an API.
The above mechanism stopped ALL bot spam on my site (it was otherwise thousands daily). The only spam that could get through was human-mediated spam, and that was only the first time (worldwide, any SFS-protected site). Once reported to SFS that spammer is in the SFS DB & any site that makes use of SFS is protected.
Камэнтар naoliv ад 28 Ліпень 2016 у 14:59
There is https://github.com/openstreetmap/openstreetmap-website/issues/841