SPAMBOT hunting: report spambot promoted threads

alani123

legendary

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Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform

This bounty urges people to respond to the thread with just their username, which has resulted to quite some spam bumping and is against the rules: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/--4613036

Note following two responses by the same user for the same campaign, using different usernames each time. This hints fakeness.
The campaign manager is likely utilizing some automation to bump the thread with those low quality responses.

https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/--4613036 - archive https://archive.is/bFlbv
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/--4613036

archive of all https://archive.fo/nSyft

alani123

legendary

Activity: 2422

Merit: 1451

Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform

I agree that threads with gross spam all over them should be locked, or even better outright deleted. In the event that the majority of pages consist of spam, it's highly likely that the project advertised in the OP has paid for spam-bumping.

MagicSmoker

full member

Activity: 420

Merit: 184

Quote from: Welsh on June 20, 2018, 05:58:10 PM

...
Well, my shift of reporting starts soon, and I've just taken a quick look, and have already found several threads with the same bullshit as always. I think a general observation I've made is that threads which have "free" or "airdrop" in the title generate a lot more of these sort of replies.
...

I don't want to confuse cause and correlation here, but over 50% of my unhandled reports were processed overnight after I started noting that the history of a user/bot is full of the same type of messages.

I'm definitely seeing less of the word salad spam already this morning, but more of the usual, "nice project," shitposts. At least the word salad posts elicited the occasional chuckle; this shit just makes my eyes glaze over.

For example, the last 12 pages of the RoomDao ANN thread is comprised of nothing but newbies and jr. members spamming each other, and that represents a mere 4 hours of posts!?! https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3130310.1980

In cases like this, I feel like the ANN thread itself should be nuked, just as has been done to Privcy [sic] several times.

alani123

legendary

Activity: 2422

Merit: 1451

Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform

Quote from: suchmoon on June 20, 2018, 07:22:41 PM

Quote from: alani123 on June 20, 2018, 07:12:45 PM

Another very popular phrase by spammers:
What will u do with unsold tokens?

It originates here probably:

https://medium.com/@petehumiston/50-questions-to-ask-when-evaluating-an-initial-coin-offering-ico-82d130501ee0

As well as many other canned questions.

Sad but true. Sad

Good detective work.

I picked one of the questions in the linked article randomly and it was all over bitcointalk. Also, short tutorial for wannabe Spam-busters above.

funsponge

hero member

Activity: 776

Merit: 557

Can we not just ban certain phrases to avoid this problem? Maybe not the "What will u do with unsold tokens?" but other phrases such as the "great project" or maybe setup a bot which automatically deletes these sort of messages.

suchmoon

legendary

Activity: 3654

Merit: 8909

https://bpip.org

Quote from: alani123 on June 20, 2018, 07:12:45 PM

Another very popular phrase by spammers:
What will u do with unsold tokens?

It originates here probably:

https://medium.com/@petehumiston/50-questions-to-ask-when-evaluating-an-initial-coin-offering-ico-82d130501ee0

As well as many other canned questions.

alani123

legendary

Activity: 2422

Merit: 1451

Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform

alani123

legendary

Activity: 2422

Merit: 1451

Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform

Look at those posts! They're switching words to avoid plagiarism checks by the first look but it's not hard to find them. More advanced algorithms can be of course developed for this but my google-fu skills can only help point out perpetrators to this level of obviousness. I'm actually suspicious that some bots are swapping certain placeholder words (as I reported here) with the project's name to make their replies have a more natural feel among all the spam. This looks automated either way, and happens faster than individual posts can be reported.

I'm reporting all those posts, hopefully mods will nuke the accounts also. I'll be providing a list of their profile links below.

https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/anncgocanceled-clash-go-ar-strategy-game-3375991
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/archived-3098153
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/annico-winstars-we-are-changing-the-face-of-gambling-3591488
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/ann-qravity-ico-continuous-creation-3913750
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/anntokensale-vhcoin-and-vspark-cheaper-solution-for-global-remittance-3375899
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/annico-soundeon-first-vertically-integrated-blockchain-music-platform-3377820

https://bitcointalksearch.org/user/comliwante-2179632
https://bitcointalksearch.org/user/williams-te-2178887
https://bitcointalksearch.org/user/collins-golfclip-2207492
https://bitcointalksearch.org/user/heatherdoles-2182698
https://bitcointalksearch.org/user/chrisone-2182490
https://bitcointalksearch.org/user/kamens-1248793

Welsh

staff

Activity: 3304

Merit: 4115

Quote from: MagicSmoker on June 20, 2018, 03:18:49 PM

Yep, that's what I worry about, too, when I report several posts in a row; don't want to overwhelm the poor mods with the likes of, "outstanding idea, irreproachable logo, advisable plan!" Roll Eyes

But, it isn't as bad as I thought. I randomly clicked on the last page of about 30 more ANN threads and only found one more example of word salad like the above. Either that or the mods already got to them...

Well, my shift of reporting starts soon, and I've just taken a quick look, and have already found several threads with the same bullshit as always. I think a general observation I've made is that threads which have "free" or "airdrop" in the title generate a lot more of these sort of replies.

Update: 7 of 7 threads I'm now actively reporting in have had at least 5 shitposts.

MagicSmoker

full member

Activity: 420

Merit: 184

Quote from: tmfp on June 20, 2018, 03:55:52 PM

This shit is everywhere, to the point where I blank it out when catching up, otherwise I end up reporting, not reading.
Back when I was a more trigger happy reporter, I think I single-handedly reduced a thread by about twelve pages of "word salad".

Same here, except not seeing my unhandled report count go down is what mostly stays my hand at reporting more.

Quote from: tmfp on June 20, 2018, 03:55:52 PM

It would help if the Moderators nuked more of these accounts with post histories of complete nonsense (quite a number of them registered early June), especially when the report points out their overall lack of quality.

Totally agree, and the part I bolded I have since incorporated into my reports (ie - pointing out that all/most of the user's other posts are the same as the reported post). Hopefully that will result in nuking rather than single post deletions.

That said, what human - even one that has to rely on Google Translate to make an "Engrish" post - would write something like:

Quote from: Lumpdeadrollcatt on June 17, 2018, 12:19:38 PM

I wish this project grows well and ideally.
Apperceptive idea, impeccably idea, interesting website!

(pulled from the post history of the user/bot you reported).

alani123

legendary

Activity: 2422

Merit: 1451

Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform

Quote from: tmfp on June 20, 2018, 03:55:52 PM

This shit is everywhere, to the point where I blank it out when catching up, otherwise I end up reporting, not reading.
Back when I was a more trigger happy reporter, I think I single-handedly reduced a thread by about twelve pages of "word salad".

It would help if the Moderators nuked more of these accounts with post histories of complete nonsense (quite a number of them registered early June), especially when the report points out their overall lack of quality.
But they don't seem to, mostly only deleting the one post reported and leaving them to spam again, e.g. from the infamous Arbitao thread, I reported this user for two nonsense posts, with a request for nuking. The two posts are gone, but the shit poster's still live.

My thoughts exactly. Very well said, I actually agree with everything!

I have expressed in multiple threads that I think limitations should be put in place to prevent this abuse. ICOs and altcoins are trying to compete with each other to see who gets on the front all the time and it's getting really annoying. There's now a market for that offered as a service.

IMO a simple solution would be to:
a. Disallow accounts under Member rank from bumping. They will be able to respond but it shouldn't shoot threads at the top. This will stop new accounts without merit to push threads to the top. There could be exceptions for boards like beginners and help and other tech support sections.
b. For accounts below Member rank, introduce reCaptcha for each post. This would simply curb automation.

It would also be useful if mods were a little more trigger happy with nuking rather than painstakingly deleting posts one by one...

tmfp

legendary

Activity: 1932

Merit: 1737

"Common rogue from Russia with a bare ass."

This shit is everywhere, to the point where I blank it out when catching up, otherwise I end up reporting, not reading.
Back when I was a more trigger happy reporter, I think I single-handedly reduced a thread by about twelve pages of "word salad".

It would help if the Moderators nuked more of these accounts with post histories of complete nonsense (quite a number of them registered early June), especially when the report points out their overall lack of quality.
But they don't seem to, mostly only deleting the one post reported and leaving them to spam again, e.g. from the infamous Arbitao thread, I reported this user for two nonsense posts, with a request for nuking. The two posts are gone, but the shit poster's still live.

MagicSmoker

full member

Activity: 420

Merit: 184

Quote from: Welsh on June 20, 2018, 02:11:53 PM

...
I constantly ask myself the question whether I'm helping the moderators or if I'm just annoying them with the reports.

Yep, that's what I worry about, too, when I report several posts in a row; don't want to overwhelm the poor mods with the likes of, "outstanding idea, irreproachable logo, advisable plan!" Roll Eyes

But, it isn't as bad as I thought. I randomly clicked on the last page of about 30 more ANN threads and only found one more example of word salad like the above. Either that or the mods already got to them...

Welsh

staff

Activity: 3304

Merit: 4115

Quote from: MagicSmoker on June 20, 2018, 10:43:44 AM

I'm seeing this style of post all over the altcoin ANN threads now. I just found (and reported) three on the last page of the Bismuth thread and I just picked that one at random, implying there are literally thousands of these spambot posts to deal with.

Kinda depressing, actually.

Theoretically you could report thousands of these posts a day if you had enough time, and willpower. It's already started to effect my browsing of the forum, and a few others things I would like to be doing, but it just needs to be done. I'm hoping that the community can pull together, and start reporting more collectively.

I don't know how many times I've reported pages worth of posts, and then within an hour they've already added another 5 pages of spam onto the thread. I constantly ask myself the question whether I'm helping the moderators or if I'm just annoying them with the reports.

MagicSmoker

full member

Activity: 420

Merit: 184

I'm seeing this style of post all over the altcoin ANN threads now. I just found (and reported) three on the last page of the Bismuth thread and I just picked that one at random, implying there are literally thousands of these spambot posts to deal with.

Kinda depressing, actually.

alani123

legendary

Activity: 2422

Merit: 1451

Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform

Same responses posted over and over in the same thread:

https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/annatftokensale-the-global-eco-blockchain-system-2817270
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.39890573

https://bitcointalksearch.org/user/purge-2015948
https://bitcointalksearch.org/user/petor-1999960

I agree with responses above, I also have tons of unhanded reports.
I'm posting in Meta in hopes that mods will start nuking spammy accounts and potentially locking threads that utilize them. I'm hopeful that there'll be some acknowledgment by staff.

MagicSmoker

full member

Activity: 420

Merit: 184

Joining the party here... I've been coming across lots of "word salad"* posts lately but when I have reported similar posts in the past they either remain unhandled or marked bad.

Here's are some examples of the type of nonsense I keep seeing (all pulled from the infamous Arbitao [ANN] thread):

Quote from: ?? on ??

This is a very nice idea with ability. Classy results, rational business, a rather interesting design!

Quote from: ?? on ??

I believe it's a good project!
Blameless project, advisable plan. Good luck all!

Quote from: Thoghellrevi on June 17, 2018, 08:53:13 PM

It's really great idea!
Irreproachable logo, judicious idea! Good luck all.

Quote from: ?? on ??

Their idea is quite attractive in my view! A very promising project, flawless vision! Good luck.

I can't help but note a certain similarity in style, which makes me think this is a not-too-bright conversational bot that just remixes some choice phrases to avoid getting nailed for plagiarism.

* - "word salad" is a term from psychiatry that indicates someone is well down the road to schizophrenia.

suchmoon

legendary

Activity: 3654

Merit: 8909

https://bpip.org

These:

https://bitcointalksearch.org/user/jumplanme-2178366
https://bitcointalksearch.org/user/nkoriki-2180070
https://bitcointalksearch.org/user/thoghellrevi-2181438

Are posting absolute garbage, random meaningless phrases. Probably the same user/bot, e.g. these posts have the same phrase:

https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/ann-yocoin-welcome-to-the-begining-of-a-new-era-3755422
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/--4444089
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/ann-pre-ico-aion-network-enabling-federated-blockchain-networks-2215642

Quote

trust in the future should run according to the planned.

Reported to mods.

alani123

legendary

Activity: 2422

Merit: 1451

Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform

alani123

legendary

Activity: 2422

Merit: 1451

Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform

Topic: SPAMBOT hunting: report spambot promoted threads (Read 442 times)