status-resolved Influx of New Members and Spam

[Canopie]

I've noticed that there have been a lot of new members joining NP which is great, but along with that comes a lot of spammers. This is more of a rant than a suggestion or comment.

Two main issues I've been seeing:

1. Accounts created to post fake bids in auctions.
2. New members posting BS comments to increase their post counts.

What is your opinion on this issue?

 

[Paul]

1. We've found that a lot of the accounts that appear to have been created to post fake bids aren't actually for that purpose: they're just new, inexperienced members whose activity looks suspicious--often suspicious enough for us to limit their accounts.
2. When users are "necroing" old threads with vague comments, it's a pretty good bet that they're just trying to circumvent the limits that we place on new members. Otherwise, it's difficult to tell if their intent is actually malicious, especially when their primary language isn't English.

We've been implementing lots of limits based on merit and reputation to prevent spam, and it's inevitable that users will try to circumvent these limits by making bogus posts and such. Fortunately, they'll find that it's often a bit harder than just spamming posts: what people think of their posts matters. If you suspect that a member is trying to undermine this system, please report them; we do investigate all such reports. And, of course, you can always report fraudulent bidding.