Yep, the spambots are back. Because of how many of the blasted things are coming in, we've been making efforts to get rid of them before they post. Why do new users need to know this? Because there's a risk that you'll be mistaken for a spambot as long as your post count is zero. To my knowledge, no humans have ever been mistaken for spambots here, but it's still in everyone's best interest (especially yours) for you to distinguish yourself from a spambot as quickly as possible.

What is a spambot?

A spambot is a computer program that creates an account for the express purpose of posting spam. The ones that show up here are usually designed to post ads for products or sites or simply boost their search engine ranking by creating as many links as possible. Clicking these links is strongly discouraged, as it is very likely that the sites they link to contain spyware, viruses, or other stuff you really don't want on your computer.

What do we do to spambots?

Crush them, of course! Our standard procedure for dealing with spambots is to ban them, delete their posts, and then delete their accounts. The username is banned for life, any IP addresses the spambot used are also banned for life (meaning any new accounts or posts created through that IP address will be rejected), and the spambot's email address is banned for life (meaning any new account created through that email address will be rejected). After that, we delete the account and its posts--essentially, the spambot disappears from the forum like a dissenter from a dictatorship.

How do I prove I'm human?

Regrettably, the automatic systems already in place are insufficient to keep spambots from registering and posting. Below are some things you can do to help ensure you won't be "disappeared" by mistake.

• Personalize your profile. Some spambots will make a signature or choose a generic avatar, list their interests, etc., but there are often telltale signs of their inhumanity in the way they do it--such as by having the name of a product or site in their custom user title. That being the case, personalizing your profile in a way that doesn't resemble spambot behavior--such as by putting an explicit reference to the Ace Attorney games in it--helps you stand out as human.
• Don't advertise any sites in your profile. The one exception to the "personalize your profile" bit of advice is websites. Not all spambots bother with advertising sites in their profiles, but if there's a link to an obscure or dubious site in your profile, it's going to make you look suspicious.
• Post. As I pointed out in the beginning of this post, there is a risk that you'll be mistaken for a spambot as long as your post count is zero. Now, this doesn't mean you'll get banned for lurking; we respect your right to not post. That said, the content of a user's posts is pretty much decisive and incontrovertible proof of their humanity (or lack thereof), so posting is the best way to get out of the "possible spambot" category.

What if I'm banned by mistake?

To my knowledge, this has never happened, so I doubt you have anything to worry about, but as with any ban, we have a system in place to address this problem. Most of us staff members have our respective email addresses and/or one or more of our respective IM addresses visible on our respective profiles, so just contact one of us through one of those media and explain your situation. Once your IP address has been removed from the banlist, you'll be able to register a new account here (sorry, but since we delete spambot accounts, restoring an old one is impossible). You can also contact the forum staff as a whole by sending an email to courtrecord@gmail.com.

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Tis a good idea this pre-emptive banning.
Lately I've noticed many of the 'newest members' from the link at the main board page are just bots, even if they don't really post they have links and adverts in their profile and location. Will be a good way to curb these things.

On the plus side it might encourage lurkers to become more active in the community as well after they've made a first post

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What's a spambot?

Erm...it's like a program that is controlled by a computer and just spreads spam. In this case, it's a CR user that may or may not post. If it does, it only posts links to other sites. If not, the links are in it's profile. But they're never controlled by a real person. I guess Wikipedia can probably explain it better.

I feel like I've been a spambot my entire life

Basically spambots are programed to flood forums with links to random sites, which generally get revenue per view.

Something like that, lol

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Seems like our newest member is yet another spambot...

memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=15154

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Why is it always the Russians?

Another one.

Here.

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I love reading their nonsense profiles (the ones in English anyway).

EDIT: lmao I just saw this. I thought it was a genuine account because of the name :B

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Another phpBB forum i'm on is set up to where the first 2 or 3 posts made by a new member have to be approved by a mod. IDK if it'd work here though.

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I think that would make things very slow for genuine members especially if there's no mods currently on. However it would probably stop the spam.

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thx

i joined on aug. 11 2011 so i got scared for a sec




also i don't have an avater or a signature so thx again for the tip




and i only have 2 posts (3 now) so this is a big help

So many spambots.

I am making good use of my report button.

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Found a new one- and it's posting too
memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=15256
Looking at it's post I'm pretty sure it's a spambot.

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If we could put up a feature where after a user have received X amount of reports they are blocked from posting more until an Admin or Mod has dealt with the reported posts it may help.

A bot today posted like 8 topics and stuff which I battled against and would be good to shut it up for a wee while.
Then again most bots I've seen just post like one topic but it couldn't hurt.
Also then again it could open the forum up to horrendous griefing if trolls decide to create an account and report posts to freeze an account....but we ain't got anyone like that I think.

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For now, just report troublesome posts and the staff will respond as quickly as possible. Also, MiaFeyFan, there's no need to post spambots here. Just report spam with the Report function and someone will be on it once they see the report.

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^ Oh ok. Sorry about that. I'll remember to do that from now on

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Last bumped by General Luigi on Thu Jul 25, 2019 10:36 pm.