I hacked together a quick Python script to scan the posts on the Activity page for off-site links. I found several spammy links that I hadn't noticed including one with no link text at all!
You can check it out at https://gb.cs.unc.edu/tflspamwatch.html.
The script is set to run once per hour.
It should include this post until it rolls off the first page.
Gary
Just flag the posts and comments when you see them. We have a variety of tools in use that will prevent a lot but there's always a few that slip through. That said, there are perfectly legitimate reasons to link to a recipe offsite... obviously once someone is only coming here to do that, it's clearly crossing into spamminess and subject to getting purged. But I wouldn't want to see community members have normal conversation get hampered by some walled garden approach to where information can live.
It will take human judgement to decide if they are spam.
I never would have seen the spam link to quickdraw without it.
Gary
the problem is, Gary, most of the off-site links you have id'd with your script come from legit posts by active members. For sure, some spams include offsite links, but the most recent spams, like the ones Moe id'd in an earlier post, masquerade as on site links but take you off-site.
Is there any other way to ID spam?
Rob
Spam is often indistinguishable from legitimate content.
My script simply constructs a table of off-site links. I find that I can quickly scan the list to pick out the spam.
It could certainly be smarter. For example, it could eliminate links posted by long-term members. It could gradually build up a database of legit sites that get linked.
This was a quick hack.
What a body does with THEIR machine is THEIR business. If anyone opens a bad link/site - it's THEIR business. Block or report what YOU want. The moderators will handle it. Enjoy!
Seems activity is up. Likely one entity with multiple log on id's.
There is/was a spam post (from @johnnysuh; I flagged it) in this thread. How ironic!
Really cheeky.
Anywho, flagged