[Web] What are we going to do about our forum spammer?

[Sze Howe Koh]

On 4 December 2014 at 22:10, Tomasz Siekierda <sierdzio at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 4 December 2014 at 15:07, Tomasz Siekierda <sierdzio at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I'm sure you know who I'm talking about: the impossible-to-reason-with
> > spammer that keeps polluting our forums with frequent moaning about
> > economists, Digia and profits.
> >
> > He has grown significantly more active recently. We are banning him swiftly,
> > but he keeps coming back. In the last few days there's been a real barrage
> > from that individual, plus he started getting really personal and insulting
> > (not to say he was decent before, no no. He's just worse than usual lately).
> >
> > Apart from - possibly - nominating new moderators (for example: p3c0, Chris
> > Kawa if they are not already), do we have any options? Has anybody checked
> > this guy's IP address? If it is static, we could ban the IP, but most
> > probably he is behind an ISP network with dynamic addressing. Maybe we could
> > ban the email address he is using (I suspect he uses temp mail addresses,
> > but just in case he does not) from registering on the forum? Or will it end
> > when somebody calls the police (probably unlikely)?
> >
> > What are your opinions, proposals?
> >
> > BR,
> > sierdzio
>
> And now he is even trying to impersonate Chris...

Unfortunately, this person is hiding inside the Tor network (so
there's no static IP, and police can't track him easily) and uses
throwaway email addresses with each registration. Tero has considered
banning all traffic from Tor exit routers, but he said it's hard to do
and he isn't convinced it's the right solution. I'm not convinced
either -- this can block legitimate users.

I suggested that each account's first post be withheld from public
view until a moderator gives the OK. This is the best compromise I can
think of: New users face a once-off inconvenience for a new user, but
are given full posting rights after approval. The community is
shielded from the torrent of garbage. What do you think? I'm not sure
if Expression Engine supports this arrangement though.


Regards,
Sze-Howe