Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 19

Thread: Reasons for banning

  1. #1
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Durban, South Africa
    Posts
    22,648
    Thanks
    3,304
    Thanked 2,676 Times in 2,257 Posts
    Blog Entries
    12

    Reasons for banning

    I'm currently engaged in some email correspondence with a recently banned "new" member - banned for using a particular method to circumvent the spam control measures of this website.

    Here's the conversation so far:
    Good day I would just like to know why my account has been suspended.

    Thanks
    > You were banned effectively for deceptive posting practices. The spam
    > control mechanisms are there for a reason.
    >
    > Ironically your post might have been approved, but the (and let's be
    > honest here just for a moment) method by which you got your links in,
    > thereby circumventing moderation, is not accidental and is
    > automatically considered an offence worthy of a permanent ban regardless of the content.
    My aim however was to help the businesses on the forum, by sllowing them to advertise for free, so obviously the site needs to be mentioned.

    Business forums are there to help businesses and if by offering free services and then getting banned is a policy, the policy should be reviewed.
    Person's name - I've approved similar content in the past. But that's not the issue. To be clear - right now I only care about one "intention" in this transaction - your deliberate avoidance of the spam controls of TFSA. Why did you do that?

    You can try to rationalise this as "the ends justify the means" - but ultimately you didn't trust me to recognise the value in what you are trying to do - so why should I or anyone else on TFSA trust you?
    Am I being too harsh?

  2. #2
    Moderator IanF's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Jhb
    Posts
    2,679
    Thanks
    197
    Thanked 529 Times in 405 Posts
    Dave,
    Can you be too strict on spam?
    This member did circumvent the anti spam measures then he should be banned. This is your forum and 99% of the gut feel is right.
    Only stress when you can change the outcome!

  3. #3
    Gold Member Mark Atkinson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Melbourne, Australia
    Posts
    796
    Thanks
    212
    Thanked 150 Times in 117 Posts
    Blog Entries
    12
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave A View Post
    Am I being too harsh?
    Not at all. If his aim was to help the businesses on the forum, he would surely have taken the (limited) time necessary to rack up some posts in order to be able to include links.

    Spam is spam is spam.

  4. #4
    Gold Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Johannesburg
    Posts
    843
    Thanks
    181
    Thanked 177 Times in 146 Posts
    My aim however was to help the businesses on the forum, by sllowing them to advertise for free, so obviously the site needs to be mentioned.
    Business forums are there to help businesses and if by offering free services and then getting banned is a policy, the policy should be reviewed.
    I get dozens of offers for "free" services every day ... you know the type.... winning lotto tickets / free investments / free commissions / free business listings ... "Free" makes me lose trust and interest unless I understand the intentions.

    A forum is a vehicle for discussion. It should not be a place where "fantastic offers" are spewed forth from unknown persons. If you allow that to happen, it becomes a noisy place to be. The valuable content posts become too much effort to find amongst the clutter of offers. I for one would lose interest.

    I will gladly follow links in posts from established members or from someone who after even just a few posts shows he has some experience in the topic. I will also gladly follow links in responses to a question I might post. I don't however want to sift through promotional posts.

    I don't agree with this guy on the role of forums. It is here to help businesses, but in a much more subtle way.

    Please continue to be the mean bouncer at the door

  5. #5
    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    4,923
    Thanks
    576
    Thanked 934 Times in 755 Posts
    What was his method?
    _______________________________________________

    _______________________________________________

  6. #6
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Durban, South Africa
    Posts
    22,648
    Thanks
    3,304
    Thanked 2,676 Times in 2,257 Posts
    Blog Entries
    12
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Atkinson View Post
    Not at all. If his aim was to help the businesses on the forum, he would surely have taken the (limited) time necessary to rack up some posts in order to be able to include links.
    I'd agree you need to rack up some posts to build credibility, but you don't need to rack up posts to include links. If they're appropriate and not spam, they'll be approved.
    Quote Originally Posted by AndyD View Post
    What was his method?
    I think I've managed to close the door on this method, so it should be safe to reveal now.

    You make a short post going "Hello" or something innocent that doesn't have any spam flagging triggers. The post flies through the spam filter automatically and gets posted on the board. You then immediately edit that post to include all the spam flag trigger stuff you didn't want screened. The edits are tracked so it's easy to manually spot deliberate attempts to beat moderation, but the edit doesn't run through the spam filter program (there are massive programming and resource issues).

    There are a few variants of the technique, but that's the main gist of it.

    Now that I've slept on it, I'd suggest it isn't an issue of trust - it's an issue of respect. When someone comes in doing the online equivalent of a stranger picking the lock to your front door, walking into your house without wiping his feet on the mat provided, goes straight to the refrigerator and starts eating the meal prepared for the regular diners, I see it as a big "F8ck you".

    Well, my view is "right back at you, mate - cheers".

    I don't care why you thought you are entitled to do that - It's not acceptable behaviour. Period.
    Last edited by Dave A; 05-Jan-11 at 08:23 AM.

  7. #7
    Gold Member Mark Atkinson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Melbourne, Australia
    Posts
    796
    Thanks
    212
    Thanked 150 Times in 117 Posts
    Blog Entries
    12
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave A View Post
    I'd agree you need to rack up some posts to build credibility, but you don't need to rack up posts to include links. If they're appropriate and not spam, they'll be approved.
    Ah, I must have been thinking of including links in signatures. I'm sure then you need 10-20 posts in order for it to be allowed?

    In any event, quite right on the respect issue. His intentions are obviously questionable if his methods are so devious.

  8. #8
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Durban, South Africa
    Posts
    22,648
    Thanks
    3,304
    Thanked 2,676 Times in 2,257 Posts
    Blog Entries
    12
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Atkinson View Post
    Ah, I must have been thinking of including links in signatures. I'm sure then you need 10-20 posts in order for it to be allowed?
    Unfortunately spam filtering on signatures is not a viable option. So yes, that's the situation with signatures.

  9. #9
    Gold Member garthu's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Midrand
    Posts
    595
    Thanks
    39
    Thanked 65 Times in 55 Posts
    All for the ban. The HELL IN with guys on my blog and VERY unsympathetic to stories. He purposely bypassed.... all for it..cheers!
    Garth

    Electric fence Installation : www.midrand-electronics.co.za
    Free Classified Adds : www.bgone.co.za

  10. #10
    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    4,923
    Thanks
    576
    Thanked 934 Times in 755 Posts
    Yep, it's not a new trick but it was premeditated so bye bye. Banning spammers is a necessary approach, you need a balance of people who contribute against people who focused only on benefit to themselves. Sometimes it's a fine line between the two but more often it's not. I think with the MLM content of this particular forum the job is doubly difficult, the MLM'ers are a notoriously bolshie bunch when it comes to getting their product advertised and linked. There is also the odd occasion where a member who has spammer written all over him turns out to be a reasonable contributor in good time.
    _______________________________________________

    _______________________________________________

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. [Question] The right thing for the wrong reasons
    By Dave A in forum Entrepreneurship and Business Management Forum
    Replies: 16
    Last Post: 22-Jan-14, 03:55 PM
  2. [Article] 3 Reasons Content is King for your website
    By G Robin in forum General Business Forum
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 10-Sep-10, 12:29 PM
  3. 10 reasons why GM won't feed the world
    By duncan drennan in forum General Chat Forum
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 06-May-08, 10:51 AM

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •