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Keeping "sort-of-spam" under control

Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 5:16 pm
by omniuni
Hi All,

I've been away from Devnetwork for a while, and since I've come back, I've seen a significant increase in the amount of threads where the initial post seems to have at least one of the following attributes:

1. Non-Descriptive Title
2. Appears to be typed in a hurry (no or very little punctuation and/or formatting)
3. Requests to simply write code (and not as a job)
4. Very basic questions (not all bad)

I consider these "sort-of-spam" because while they are often legitimate questions, they're hard to understand, or may waste people's time. I think there are a few things that we could try to help this.

First, if we use a tag, as members of the forum to indicate non-descriptive titles, it would make it easy for the admins to find them. For example, simply reply with "NONDESC" in your post subject, to flag it as non-descriptive. Then follow with a better description so that the admin can just copy-and paste.

For example, someone posts "PHP Question".
I could post a response with the title: "NONDESC: Trying to submit form with check boxes"

I also propose a new "Beginner's Questions" topic. Most people have no problem admitting when they're new to this, and they often say as much in their post. Many times, though they don't know what to look up or search for to find their answer. Having a topic like this would cut down on these questions in main topics.

Similarly, a "Code Request" topic would help cut down on the "PLS write this for meeeee..." threads that crop up occasionally. Perhaps it could be run like a challenge of sorts. Each request could have a poll for the number of points, 1-5 that it would be worth, as well as a "Needs to be paid for" option. As you answer, you get the amount of points as voted on. The admin adds it to your score in a sticky on the thread. If it's too much trouble, I still think a "Code Request" topic would be useful if for no other reason than to cut down on the requests in other topics, and would help people determine if the code is complex enough that they need to hire someone.

Now, there are also the not-through-through topics and requests. Honestly, I don't know how to combat that. Any suggestions I'm sure would be appreciated by all.

Well, those are my thoughts. I just want to keep Devnetwork the helpful, professional, and "sort-of-spam" free forum I've always enjoyed.

Re: Keeping "sort-of-spam" under control

Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:39 pm
by Jonah Bron
These all sound like good ideas. At the very least, we should use the "tagging" thing. Then, all the admins have to do is search for "NONDESC".

Re: Keeping "sort-of-spam" under control

Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 8:31 pm
by omniuni
Thanks Jonah! I'm going to start using NONDESC myself, let's see if it catches on.

Re: Keeping "sort-of-spam" under control

Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 12:58 am
by daedalus__
hey i was thinking about this and maybe its time to ban third world countries ip ranges. :P

no uh im wondering if this recent spam is coming from a single source? sometimes you can pin it down to a certain range and then implement extra anti spam for just that range.

i dunno.

Re: Keeping "sort-of-spam" under control

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 9:08 am
by Charles256
I believe they talked extensively a few years back about a beginners section and decided against it. So long as it wasn't lost in the forum upgrade a search on beginners section or something along those lines might help you find out why they decided against that idea. It was generally felt that it'd unnecessarily divide the community and make it less likely that experienced coders would help out the "newbs" if they were segregated. That's if my memory still works properly. :)

Re: Keeping "sort-of-spam" under control

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 11:48 am
by pickle
omniuni wrote:First, if we use a tag, as members of the forum to indicate non-descriptive titles, it would make it easy for the admins to find them. For example, simply reply with "NONDESC" in your post subject, to flag it as non-descriptive. Then follow with a better description so that the admin can just copy-and paste.
If you want to bring a post to a mod's attention, the appropriate thing to do is report it. In the report there is a space to enter text. That said, modifying user posts any more than we already are is not something I personally (I can't speak for the rest of the mods) want to get in the habit of doing. Reason being - if users don't need to bother putting in decent descriptions because they know the community will come up with one for them, that removes motivation for doing it right in the first place. Usually what I personally do, and see others do, is quote the rule regarding useful descriptions, and leave the post alone until the user fixes the problem.
omniuni wrote:I also propose a new "Beginner's Questions" topic. Most people have no problem admitting when they're new to this, and they often say as much in their post. Many times, though they don't know what to look up or search for to find their answer. Having a topic like this would cut down on these questions in main topics.
We already have a PHPDN Forum Tour which I think fits this bill nicely.
Similarly, a "Code Request" topic would help cut down on the "PLS write this for meeeee..." threads that crop up occasionally. Perhaps it could be run like a challenge of sorts. Each request could have a poll for the number of points, 1-5 that it would be worth, as well as a "Needs to be paid for" option. As you answer, you get the amount of points as voted on. The admin adds it to your score in a sticky on the thread.
Ya - that's way too much work.

Re: Keeping "sort-of-spam" under control

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 1:45 pm
by omniuni
Thanks for the feedback, Pickle.

They're just ideas, of course.