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General discussionGrabbing my ban hammer... Link me the spam!(251 posts)(251 posts)
(251 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted February 05, 2015
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GOG.com: We have added another preventative measure to battle the many spambots that have been attacking our forums - it is no longer possible to create a forum thread if you only have the set of free games you get upon registration in your game library (adding posts to existing topics is not affected). This should rid us entirely of unwanted spam threads, as spambots will be unable and/or unwilling to purchase games.

If this will prove to be a big inconvenience for users, we will remove it - but it should rid us entirely of spam. We will continue working on solutions less restrictive to other users once the flood of spambots is under control.
It's like using a nuke to kill some flyes... but hey, it's your place.
Posted February 05, 2015
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GOG.com: We have added another preventative measure to battle the many spambots that have been attacking our forums - it is no longer possible to create a forum thread if you only have the set of free games you get upon registration in your game library (adding posts to existing topics is not affected). This should rid us entirely of unwanted spam threads, as spambots will be unable and/or unwilling to purchase games.

If this will prove to be a big inconvenience for users, we will remove it - but it should rid us entirely of spam. We will continue working on solutions less restrictive to other users once the flood of spambots is under control.
That's a little heavy handed... but at least it will work for now. I hope you can come up with something a little more flexible in time.
Posted February 05, 2015
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GOG.com: We have added another preventative measure to battle the many spambots that have been attacking our forums - it is no longer possible to create a forum thread if you only have the set of free games you get upon registration in your game library (adding posts to existing topics is not affected). This should rid us entirely of unwanted spam threads, as spambots will be unable and/or unwilling to purchase games.

If this will prove to be a big inconvenience for users, we will remove it - but it should rid us entirely of spam. We will continue working on solutions less restrictive to other users once the flood of spambots is under control.
Hmmm... as a solution for just now it should be ok, but i hope you'll find a better solution in the near future since this will prevent legit people from asking some questions about this place / games before deciding to buy them :-)
But I am really glad you are working on the spam problem. Thanks!
Posted February 05, 2015
It`s sad that some spamming assholes force gog to use such radical solutions, but on the other hand we got at least rid of the spam, so if you want some more spam I recommend you to watch some Monthy Python Sketches!
Posted February 05, 2015
Wishbone isn't going to be happy with these news...

I also can't say that I'm particularly happy with this measure and I only support it as a temporary solution.
Post edited February 05, 2015 by Grargar
Posted February 05, 2015
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moonshineshadow: [..]t i hope you'll find a better solution in the near future since this will prevent legit people from asking some questions about this place / games before deciding to buy them[..]
It seems a good solution for me, overall.
Maybe they should just create a sticky thread for new users, so they can freely post questions there.
Posted February 05, 2015
Add another vote to the 'temporary measure only, please' list.

I remember when the rep. requirement to post links was added; I think some of my first posts in this forum are complaining about that, after I tried to answer someone's question but couldn't link to the necessary patch. Further limiting functionality for newcomers will give them a bad impression.
Posted February 05, 2015
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GOG.com: We have added another preventative measure to battle the many spambots that have been attacking our forums - it is no longer possible to create a forum thread if you only have the set of free games you get upon registration in your game library (adding posts to existing topics is not affected). This should rid us entirely of unwanted spam threads, as spambots will be unable and/or unwilling to purchase games.

If this will prove to be a big inconvenience for users, we will remove it - but it should rid us entirely of spam. We will continue working on solutions less restrictive to other users once the flood of spambots is under control.
Does that mean users who 'buy' the free games that aren't put into your account like Akalabeth can post messages? If yes and the spambots can't do it, then it's a wonderful decison how to fix this! (and I hope there aren't script that they could use to circumvent this).
Posted February 05, 2015
The general new user can slog through all sorts of restrictions if they know why they have to.

At different places, I've been required to
verify my e-mail,
verify I'm human,
wait until I reached a certain age of account,
verify I purchased something, (not to mention purchasing something to begin with)
wait to be able to talk until my character reached a certain level. (MMOs especially like this one)
reached a certain level of replies to existing threads,
been helpful to a certain level
dowloaded certain management software

It's not unreasonable.
Post edited February 05, 2015 by Treasa
Posted February 05, 2015
I agree that new users might be less offended if there is a sticky thread explaining the reason for the restriction. This does not bother me at all since i bought games before i ever knew there were free ones to be had, but I think that might not be the case for everyone.
The idea that there be a game to put into the library only if you read and personally take it might be a good enough "human check". I cannot imagine anyone being offended by that.


I am so glad to retire that broom this morning. What a lovely feeling to wake up, check the sub-forums and see normal questions that i cannot answer but someone else can.

Thanks GOG team.
Posted February 05, 2015
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cooper.857: I am so glad to retire that broom this morning.
Thanks GOG team.
Don`t put the broom too far away. I`m sure that those spammers will find a way, not today but surely somewhen. What software can block, another software can circumvent!
Posted February 05, 2015
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Maxvorstadt: What software can block, another software can circumvent!
Maybe. More likely they'll get annoyed and just DDOS attack the site to try and get at them, which will prove useful during big sales like Christmas sales and whatnot, but otherwise will be fairly untouched by the 10 computers (or VM's or whatever) they were using.

Or perhaps an unrelated piece of software will have some weakness unrelated to the rest of the site they will attack... But if checks and balances are done correctly, then only rare bugs will give them openings.
Posted February 05, 2015
Don't think that's a good solution in the long run. There are lots of situations where people might want to ask some questions before they decide to buy a game (about perfomance on their system, payment methods or DRM-free policy for example). Making them buy a game before they can ask this questions is a major inconvenience and might lead to a loss of income or new customers for GOG.
Posted February 05, 2015
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GOG.com: We have added another preventative measure to battle the many spambots that have been attacking our forums - it is no longer possible to create a forum thread if you only have the set of free games you get upon registration in your game library (adding posts to existing topics is not affected). This should rid us entirely of unwanted spam threads, as spambots will be unable and/or unwilling to purchase games.

If this will prove to be a big inconvenience for users, we will remove it - but it should rid us entirely of spam. We will continue working on solutions less restrictive to other users once the flood of spambots is under control.
i like it!
Posted February 05, 2015
avatar
GOG.com: We have added another preventative measure to battle the many spambots that have been attacking our forums - it is no longer possible to create a forum thread if you only have the set of free games you get upon registration in your game library (adding posts to existing topics is not affected). This should rid us entirely of unwanted spam threads, as spambots will be unable and/or unwilling to purchase games.

If this will prove to be a big inconvenience for users, we will remove it - but it should rid us entirely of spam. We will continue working on solutions less restrictive to other users once the flood of spambots is under control.
My mitigation suggestion would be to add a line of text somewhere in the account sign-up process indicating that until the new user has bought a new game (or acquired a new game, if freebies that they "buy" count too), they can't create any threads. Of course, some people don't read, so a sticky thread in each sub-forum would be useful too. And maybe a sticky thread for potential buyers to ask questions if they can't create a thread.

Yeah, this solution has problems, but it can work as a stop-gap.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionGrabbing my ban hammer... Link me the spam!(251 posts)(251 posts)
(251 posts)