Having been the recent victim of inappropriate SPAM reports and having been contacted by others that also feel the same has been done to them, it appears that equal or more damage can be perpetrated by SPAM clickers than by the spammers themselves. Fortunately, someone on the inside contacted SB and got my account reactivated. I don't know how members without such advocates will be able to report here.
So, it is my believe that inappropriate use of this feature should be recorded. If enough members or occurrences occur by the same clicker, maybe appropriate action can be taken against the abuser.
It is not my intention to have the SPAM button power removed. It is important to the safety of this forum, but abuse of it undermines this important safety feature.
If you have created threads/posts that have been inappropriately reported as SPAM, please report it here.
If you were appropriately reported as a spammer, reporting here will not benefit you and will actually help document your inappropriate behavior.
Please only use this thread to document such abuses or to contribute constructive feedback (both negative and positive). Engaging in divisive discussion will degrade the purpose of this thread. Please keep in mind that some individuals will not want this thread to survive and will attempt to create an argumentative environment. Please try to ignore such posts and not let this thread fall into that trap.
On August 7, 2014, I attempted to create several shell threads in order to fully develop several product reviews, a giveaway thread, and a mod thread. Some or all of these threads were reported as SPAM which resulted in the deactivation of my account at BLF. Those threads were:
Perhaps it would help if the spam reporting guidelines (what does and doesn't count as spam) were shown on the "Mark as SPAM" confirmation screen. Might cut down on inappropriate use, though it likely wouldn't deter purposeful abuse.
It takes a number of clicks from different users before a thread is removed. As such, I can only think of three ways your oddball threads could have been 'targeted' by nefarious unknown others...
1. Someone has multiple sockpuppet accounts, and used those multiple accounts to register whatever number of 'spam' clicks required to remove a post.
2. There's a gang of folks out to get you, and they have some way of coordinating their activities to rack up the required number of 'spam' clicks against threads they have agreed to attack.
3. Your posts were just flat out weird and unnecessary, and enough individuals decided on their own that something had gone seriously wrong and each individual decided on their own to click the button until enough had done so that the posts were removed.
Being a strong believer in Occam's Razor, that pretty much rules out 1 & 2.
I missed out on the whole kerfuffle, but wouldn't have been one to report them as spam anyway (however, if there were a button for 'report this post as weird' I probably would have clicked that one). Please don't rule out the possibility that making weird posts is what triggered it, instead of a bunch of folks persecuting you for doing nothing wrong.
It takes a number of clicks from different users before a thread is removed. As such, I can only think of three ways your oddball threads could have been 'targeted' by nefarious unknown others...
1. Someone has multiple sockpuppet accounts, and used those multiple accounts to register whatever number of 'spam' clicks required to remove a post.
2. There's a gang of folks out to get you, and they have some way of coordinating their activities to rack up the required number of 'spam' clicks against threads they have agreed to attack.
3. Your posts were just flat out weird and unnecessary, and enough individuals decided on their own that something had gone seriously wrong and each individual decided on their own to click the button until enough had done so that the posts were removed.
Being a strong believer in Occam's Razor, that pretty much rules out 1 & 2.
I missed out on the whole kerfuffle, but wouldn't have been one to report them as spam anyway (however, if there were a button for 'report this post as weird' I probably would have clicked that one). Please don't rule out the possibility that making weird posts is what triggered it, instead of a bunch of folks persecuting you for doing nothing wrong.
I can't not disagree with you. I acknowledge that I am weird. I thought this was a safe place to be weird. Anyway, you have a valid point, but I still feel that weird posts by members in good standing are not spam.
Not sure I follow you HereAgain. The plan was for the threads to slip down out of the lime light by a good ways. Then work on the threads at work, home, parents, etc as time permitted. Eventually, they would have been accurate and complete. Then I would have bumped them up to the front page. If I knew a way to avoid them hitting the front page initially, I would have taken that course.
I some-what dig your logic. But each time you add to the thread, it will jump right to the top of the recent-posts list. There is no way to stop that happening with new posts. Or am I missing something ??
I would only be adding to the OP, so no jumping would occur. Yes, new posts by other members would bump it up. I don't know how to avoid that. I'm told I should fully develop the OP somewhere else and then post it to BLF. I will be trying to figure out how to do that so I don't upset members in the future.
I am not sure why you would be spammed for making those threads, it’s fairly easy to not-click-in-to a thread, if you don’t want to ! Some people….
I agree. I had no idea the reaction that 2 (maybe more) members would have. I think comfychair is close to the truth. I guess I am weird and/or not liked and it was an opportunity to safely lash out at me. I just think its unfair and damaging and that a compensating mechanism is needed for other innocent victims.
If I remember correctly, there was a thread titled “reserved”, then 3 posts below also with the words ‘reserved’ too.
Personally, when I saw that, I was surprised about it as there was no other content nor any form of explanation about what it was intended for.
Although there was eventually an explanation why, there were already several succeeding ‘reserved’ posts, making that thread more like, well, something weird, funny, crazy….So for me, if some of guys considered it as ‘spam’ and pressed the spam button, I am not at all surprised.
In hindsight, if the OP only wrote even just a little note what the ‘reserved’ thread and posts were for, I guess we should not even be discussing about this spam thing at all now.
It only became clear to me, and I guess to the majority of the readers of that thread, as to the good intent of that ‘reserved’ thread when it was eventually explained as to the reasons why.
Perhaps it would help if the spam reporting guidelines (what does and doesn’t count as spam) were shown on the “Mark as SPAM” confirmation screen. Might cut down on inappropriate use, though it likely wouldn’t deter purposeful abuse.
This would be very good, presuming the forum software allows custom confirmation messages.
Hopefully it was just a few newish members who didn’t think enough before hitting spam.
Editing the OP doesn’t bump the thread.
+1, very good thinking locusto03. Nice preventative control.
I think it was more that you made all four threads in a row. They were all on the first page at the same time. A few people didn’t think or care that “spam” requires an attempt to sell something. Nothing wrong with weird.
First, I like to write and save long posts I am working on in Word and then use the import from word feature in the advanced editor when it’s time to post.
Second, some good deal threads like the $7 Myled headlamp are gone along with valuable info, and someone thought maybe competitors can abuse spam clicks to wipe out posts. That might be something to watch out for. Only members with greater than some number of posts or time of membership can use the button perhaps, and no commercial sellers can use it. Just some ideas.
If I remember correctly, there was a thread titled “reserved”, then 3 posts below also with the words ‘reserved’ too.
Personally, when I saw that, I was surprised about it as there was no other content nor any form of explanation about what it was intended for.
Although there was eventually an explanation why, there were already several succeeding ‘reserved’ posts, making that thread more like, well, something weird, funny, crazy….So for me, if some of guys considered it as ‘spam’ and pressed the spam button, I am not at all surprised.
In hindsight, if the OP only wrote even just a little note what the ‘reserved’ thread and posts were for, I guess we should not even be discussing about this spam thing at all now.
It only became clear to me, and I guess to the majority of the readers of that thread, as to the good intent of that ‘reserved’ thread when it was eventually explained as to the reasons why.
Incorrect, I documented in the threads exactly what I was doing and could not a have been any clearer. The only person to confront me was Member wight. He admitted that he jumped the gun after reading the OP's. To my knowledge, he did not click the SPAM button.
First, I like to write and save long posts I am working on in Word and then use the import from word feature in the advanced editor when it’s time to post.
Second, some good deal threads like the $7 Myled headlamp are gone along with valuable info, and someone thought maybe competitors can abuse spam clicks to wipe out posts. That might be something to watch out for. Only members with greater than some number of posts or time of membership can use the button perhaps, and no commercial sellers can use it. Just some ideas.
I will try to learn how to do that advance editor thing. I would prefer to not haul around a file around with me, but I guess I have to as there appears to be a very high level of intolerance to anything not cookie cutter. I thought we were a flexible and accepting forum, but I am getting proved otherwise more and more.
Your ideas in the second paragraph seem like good ones to me.
How many of your threads where unlisted from being marked spam?
I believe 2, but I was not really paying that close attention. I was pretty freaked that I lost my account. My first thought was that there are lights on the way to me to review. Also questions and comments from member to respond to. I first wanted to be responsible and stop shipment of lights I could not review. So my mind was not on counting spammed threads.
You can put anything you want in an empty 'create new topic' form, click preview, see how it looks, then if you're not ready to publish, 'select all' and paste it into a text or word file, and then cancel the 'new topic' page. Any time you want to do more work on it, open another 'create new topic' form, copy/paste from your text file, and make your edits, then select all/paste it all back into the text file. Only when it looks finished, hit the 'submit' button.
I think that not doing it that way and instead using the very odd 'reserved' stuff is what many people saw as weird.