Akismet anti-spam plugin

[Steve Pavlina]

I'm testing a new anti-spam plugin for the forums called Akismet. It automatically scans messages before posting and puts likely spam posts in the moderation queue. Ideally this should prevent most common spam from getting posted at all, but it's possible the plugin may trigger some false positives with legitimate posts.

If you get a PM saying that one of your posts was placed in the moderation queue, that was caused by Akismet. A moderator will approve your post if it's legit. There are some things I can do to prevent this from happening for members who've been around for a while (virtually all spammers are new members), but first I'd like to see if false positives will be much of a problem, so I'll let it run normally for a few days and then assess how it's doing.

I've used Akismet on the blog for a while, and it nukes about 150 spam trackbacks per day. The forums don't get nearly as much spam, and the moderators are great at nuking spam quickly, but if this plugin works well, it will help keep the forums even cleaner.

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Hey Steve. I got a little scared last night since I tried to post a response in one thread and it said my post would appear after it was approved by a moderator. I thought maybe I was on the chopping block!

Even so I think this is a great idea since it will cut down on how much spam the moderators will have to deal with.

Just warn me next time you are going to do something like that .

[jamestl2]

Yeah, I thought something was going screwy earlier too:
What in the World is Going on?

I think you should sticky this to make sure more people know about it .

[jamestl2]

OK, this plugin is getting kind of annoying, I posted a few links for people that were looking for information / plugins, and now they're going straight to the moderation queue?

Do we have to write a sentence or two *every time* we have a solution?

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by jamestl2

OK, this plugin is getting kind of annoying, I posted a few links for people that were looking for information / plugins, and now they're going straight to the moderation queue?

Do we have to write a sentence or two *every time* we have a solution?

As far as I remember, I've always written a sentance or two (or more) whenever I post a link. I feel it's just good posting practice.
You shouldn't have to feel you need to dodge the anti-spam plugin, though. We (the moderators and admin) will be sure to approve any posts that are genuine, non-spam posts, and according to Steve, we can actually tweak the plugin so it has better spam detection.

Personally, I love the plugin. Looking over a list and approving a few posts is much easier then perusing the forum looking for spam posts. You may think such perusing is unnecessary, but not all spam is obvious.

Think of Askimet as another moderator, except one that works all the time and has his "spam detection" gauge set to "haha, think you can get a link past me, you spammer!". Good news is that he has fewer privileges then the real moderators, so his false positives aren't a problem.

Do keep the feedback coming though, guys. We'll use it to evaluate and tweak the anti-spam plugin.

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

I am doing a test...

Stop Making Movies About My Books | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

A funny story from the Onion.

EDIT: After the plugin was added, the first post I tried to make with a link was sent to moderation. This one posted immediately. Does it 'learn' or did a mod have to tell it "hey don't bother this person anymore?"

[Lola]

I ran into this just a while ago when trying to link a new thread to an existing thread. After two shots at posting the link, I finally just typed it out. (HA! foiled you anti-spam!)

[jamestl2]

Testing.....

[jamestl2]

OK, it seems like really brief phrases can get through, it's just posts with links that are stopped by them.

Originally Posted by Bruce Achterberg

Personally, I love the plugin. Looking over a list and approving a few posts is much easier then perusing the forum looking for spam posts. You may think such perusing is unnecessary, but not all spam is obvious.

Yeah, I understand this.

But when members have contributed over 500 or 1000 posts, you'd think it'd know we're not trying to spam the forums.

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by {aspiring_to_clarity}

After the plugin was added, the first post I tried to make with a link was sent to moderation. This one posted immediately. Does it 'learn' or did a mod have to tell it "hey don't bother this person anymore?"

I'm not entirely certain, but I do believe it learns, I think by looking at what we approve from caught it has filtered and placed in the moderation queue.

At the very least, Steve is able to tweak it manually. I know that for certain, but I'm unsure to what extent he can tweak it.

Originally Posted by jamestl2

OK, it seems like really brief phrases can get through, it's just posts with links that are stopped by them.

Phrases and text should be fine. I believe it's links that the filter catches.

Originally Posted by jamestl2

But when members have contributed over 500 or 1000 posts, you'd think it'd know we're not trying to spam the forums.

Honestly, I wouldn't make that assumption if I designed the Askimet system. Obviously I didn't design it, but I'm glad they didn't make the assumption either.

While it's unlikely members with a high post count will post spam, there are situations where it's possible. If possible, I think it's best to tweak other factors before assuming "high post count = not spam". I'm unaware of what the other factors are, though—that's up to Steve.

I can understand that having your post held in the moderation queue may seem like an inconvenience, but (A) we've just started using the plugin, so expect some false-positives until we are able to tweak it, and (B) the moderators, Steve, and Erin won't let your posts be sent away to the void. If they aren't spam, unless something strange happens, it's very likely they'll be approved. So if it is an inconvenience, it's minor.

Look at it this way: by posting you're probably hoping to help someone out, so when the filter catches your message, that doesn't seem ideal. But in actuality, you're helping two parties out: both the person who you were posting for in the first place (assuming the message you posted was not spam), as well as the moderation and admin team, as well as the community as a whole, by helping us test and improve the plugin. Win/win!