Topic: The new rule (1 Merit for Jr. Member) is already reducing spam - page 3. (Read 3909 times)

Perfect!
It's always better to 'play' with daily datasets, because it will disclose effects of forum rules/ changes on daily merit distribution. Weekly or monthly datasets might blur effects in some cases.
I will make data entry and make some analysis on full daily merit dataset.
Thanks for your help.

Sure! I've used the same "time convention" as I used for my full merit transaction history: "Days" start the second the first Merit was transfered, and count exactly 3600*24 seconds after that. It has nothing to do with calendar days in any time zone. "Weeks" use the same, but count 7*3600*24 seconds after the first Merit transaction.

Per day:
Day 1: 13018 Merit
Day 2: 6761 Merit
Day 3: 4493 Merit
Day 4: 3489 Merit
Day 5: 3188 Merit
Day 6: 3799 Merit
Day 7: 4192 Merit
Day 8: 2820 Merit
Day 9: 2545 Merit
Day 10: 2568 Merit
Day 11: 1867 Merit
Day 12: 2167 Merit
Day 13: 2077 Merit
Day 14: 2308 Merit
Day 15: 2141 Merit
Day 16: 2141 Merit
Day 17: 1448 Merit
Day 18: 1747 Merit
Day 19: 1442 Merit
Day 20: 1331 Merit
Day 21: 1579 Merit
Day 22: 2513 Merit
Day 23: 1991 Merit
Day 24: 1411 Merit
Day 25: 1608 Merit
Day 26: 1289 Merit
Day 27: 1403 Merit
Day 28: 1169 Merit
Day 29: 1266 Merit
Day 30: 1279 Merit
Day 31: 1046 Merit
Day 32: 1409 Merit
Day 33: 1186 Merit
Day 34: 1382 Merit
Day 35: 1326 Merit
Day 36: 991 Merit
Day 37: 1333 Merit
Day 38: 1696 Merit
Day 39: 1089 Merit
Day 40: 989 Merit
Day 41: 1245 Merit
Day 42: 1074 Merit
Day 43: 1109 Merit
Day 44: 922 Merit
Day 45: 789 Merit
Day 46: 1023 Merit
Day 47: 1091 Merit
Day 48: 1354 Merit
Day 49: 994 Merit
Day 50: 1159 Merit
Day 51: 1130 Merit
Day 52: 840 Merit
Day 53: 797 Merit
Day 54: 1035 Merit
Day 55: 992 Merit
Day 56: 1322 Merit
Day 57: 1227 Merit
Day 58: 764 Merit
Day 59: 733 Merit
Day 60: 1045 Merit
Day 61: 858 Merit
Day 62: 808 Merit
Day 63: 879 Merit
Day 64: 848 Merit
Day 65: 1043 Merit
Day 66: 928 Merit
Day 67: 968 Merit
Day 68: 1233 Merit
Day 69: 1146 Merit
Day 70: 1080 Merit
Day 71: 1061 Merit
Day 72: 838 Merit
Day 73: 620 Merit
Day 74: 614 Merit
Day 75: 1056 Merit
Day 76: 884 Merit
Day 77: 768 Merit
Day 78: 963 Merit
Day 79: 917 Merit
Day 80: 682 Merit
Day 81: 681 Merit
Day 82: 592 Merit
Day 83: 609 Merit
Day 84: 628 Merit
Day 85: 681 Merit
Day 86: 848 Merit
Day 87: 563 Merit
Day 88: 522 Merit
Day 89: 880 Merit
Day 90: 709 Merit
Day 91: 626 Merit
Day 92: 687 Merit
Day 93: 675 Merit
Day 94: 583 Merit
Day 95: 623 Merit
Day 96: 682 Merit
Day 97: 822 Merit
Day 98: 741 Merit
Day 99: 759 Merit
Day 100: 747 Merit
Day 101: 597 Merit
Day 102: 688 Merit
Day 103: 599 Merit
Day 104: 898 Merit
Day 105: 618 Merit
Day 106: 761 Merit
Day 107: 475 Merit
Day 108: 867 Merit
Day 109: 415 Merit
Day 110: 719 Merit
Day 111: 674 Merit
Day 112: 700 Merit
Day 113: 652 Merit
Day 114: 574 Merit
Day 115: 542 Merit
Day 116: 587 Merit
Day 117: 617 Merit
Day 118: 626 Merit
Day 119: 639 Merit
Day 120: 531 Merit
Day 121: 554 Merit
Day 122: 370 Merit
Day 123: 575 Merit
Day 124: 559 Merit
Day 125: 589 Merit
Day 126: 638 Merit
Day 127: 599 Merit
Day 128: 687 Merit
Day 129: 698 Merit
Day 130: 461 Merit
Day 131: 511 Merit
Day 132: 773 Merit
Day 133: 731 Merit
Day 134: 504 Merit
Day 135: 506 Merit
Day 136: 766 Merit
Day 137: 672 Merit
Day 138: 575 Merit
Day 139: 519 Merit
Day 140: 422 Merit
Day 141: 786 Merit
Day 142: 528 Merit
Day 143: 445 Merit
Day 144: 654 Merit
Day 145: 464 Merit
Day 146: 601 Merit
Day 147: 662 Merit
Day 148: 707 Merit
Day 149: 705 Merit
Day 150: 774 Merit
Day 151: 643 Merit
Day 152: 829 Merit
Day 153: 1138 Merit
Day 154: 435 Merit
Day 155: 516 Merit
Day 156: 470 Merit
Day 157: 479 Merit
Day 158: 778 Merit
Day 159: 641 Merit
Day 160: 711 Merit
Day 161: 902 Merit
Day 162: 557 Merit
Day 163: 577 Merit
Day 164: 475 Merit
Day 165: 506 Merit
Day 166: 525 Merit
Day 167: 455 Merit
Day 168: 620 Merit
Day 169: 555 Merit
Day 170: 644 Merit
Day 171: 542 Merit
Day 172: 627 Merit
Day 173: 796 Merit
Day 174: 636 Merit
Day 175: 641 Merit
Day 176: 608 Merit
Day 177: 554 Merit
Day 178: 606 Merit
Day 179: 567 Merit
Day 180: 547 Merit
Day 181: 684 Merit
Day 182: 444 Merit
Day 183: 492 Merit
Day 184: 673 Merit
Day 185: 521 Merit
Day 186: 418 Merit
Day 187: 420 Merit
Day 188: 471 Merit
Day 189: 632 Merit
Day 190: 435 Merit
Day 191: 376 Merit
Day 192: 421 Merit
Day 193: 695 Merit
Day 194: 768 Merit
Day 195: 595 Merit
Day 196: 610 Merit
Day 197: 647 Merit
Day 198: 471 Merit
Day 199: 567 Merit
Day 200: 517 Merit
Day 201: 587 Merit
Day 202: 513 Merit
Day 203: 565 Merit
Day 204: 626 Merit
Day 205: 470 Merit
Day 206: 451 Merit
Day 207: 561 Merit
Day 208: 432 Merit
Day 209: 658 Merit
Day 210: 600 Merit
Day 211: 612 Merit
Day 212: 530 Merit
Day 213: 528 Merit
Day 214: 385 Merit
Day 215: 476 Merit
Day 216: 457 Merit
Day 217: 383 Merit
Day 218: 488 Merit
Day 219: 514 Merit
Day 220: 379 Merit
Day 221: 432 Merit
Day 222: 412 Merit
Day 223: 536 Merit
Day 224: 567 Merit
Day 225: 654 Merit
Day 226: 509 Merit
Day 227: 458 Merit
Day 228: 395 Merit
Day 229: 455 Merit
Day 230: 472 Merit
Day 231: 580 Merit
Day 232: 595 Merit
Day 233: 540 Merit
Day 234: 517 Merit
Day 235: 463 Merit
Day 236: 2463 Merit
Day 237: 1862 Merit
Day 238: 1294 Merit
Day 239: 1268 Merit
Day 240: 846 Merit
Day 241: 807 Merit
Day 242: 944 Merit
Day 243: 804 Merit
Day 244: 749 Merit
Day 245: 596 Merit
Day 246: 562 Merit
Day 247: 675 Merit
Day 248: 518 Merit
Day 249: 669 Merit
Day 250: 619 Merit
Day 251: 509 Merit
Day 252: 760 Merit
Day 253: 705 Merit
Day 254: 521 Merit
Day 255: 513 Merit
Day 256: 660 Merit
Day 257: 603 Merit
Day 258: 678 Merit
Day 259: 578 Merit
Day 260: 639 Merit
Day 261: 616 Merit
Day 262: 399 Merit
Day 263: 460 Merit
Day 264: 430 Merit
Day 265: 655 Merit
Day 266: 626 Merit
Day 267: 732 Merit
Day 268: 774 Merit
Day 269: 643 Merit
Day 270: 538 Merit
Day 271: 853 Merit
Day 272: 694 Merit
Day 273: 674 Merit
Day 274: 759 Merit
Day 275: 553 Merit
Day 276: 424 Merit
Day 277: 426 Merit
Day 278: 415 Merit
Day 279: 534 Merit
Day 280: 529 Merit
Day 281: 495 Merit
Day 282: 433 Merit
Day 283: 454 Merit
Day 284: 430 Merit
Day 285: 464 Merit
Day 286: 562 Merit
Day 287: 405 Merit
Day 288: 691 Merit
Day 289: 104 Merit (incomplete day)

Per week:
Week 1: 38953 Merit
Week 2: 16373 Merit
Week 3: 11836 Merit
Week 4: 11406 Merit
Week 5: 8910 Merit
Week 6: 8434 Merit
Week 7: 7288 Merit
Week 8: 7283 Merit
Week 9: 6324 Merit
Week 10: 7276 Merit
Week 11: 5848 Merit
Week 12: 5082 Merit
Week 13: 4855 Merit
Week 14: 4821 Merit
Week 15: 4919 Merit
Week 16: 4619 Merit
Week 17: 4243 Merit
Week 18: 3825 Merit
Week 19: 4466 Merit
Week 20: 3978 Merit
Week 21: 4156 Merit
Week 22: 5237 Merit
Week 23: 4511 Merit
Week 24: 3733 Merit
Week 25: 4447 Merit
Week 26: 4018 Merit
Week 27: 3682 Merit
Week 28: 3918 Merit
Week 29: 3883 Merit
Week 30: 3811 Merit
Week 31: 3377 Merit
Week 32: 3336 Merit
Week 33: 3536 Merit
Week 34: 7743 Merit
Week 35: 6023 Merit
Week 36: 4318 Merit
Week 37: 4305 Merit
Week 38: 3831 Merit
Week 39: 4916 Merit
Week 40: 3646 Merit
Week 41: 3249 Merit
Week 42: 798 Merit (incomplete week)

You mean just https://bitcointalk.org/ ? I could, but I don't really want more scraping tasks This should be quite easy to do manually: save the page today, and do it again next week.

So I was wrong again, this feels like bitcoin trading I always fail at this  

@Loycev or the AI residing in that hat, whoever reads this first, would it be possible for you to scrape the first page of the forum each week so we can have a picture where the posts are actually made?
Having this data might show us what sections are getting hit by the merit requirement and what boards were filled with newbies till it.

I did this for the https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=stats for the last week but I 've just realized that it contains only the top 10 boards not all of them. Besides I get two errors out of seven so....the programs I'm using are not too reliable.

Anyhow my incomplete data put the altcoins section well above half of the total posts with bounties getting the largest share of the pie.
We're still closer to altcointalk than bitcointalk

By the way, would you mind spending your precious time to give me statistics (weekly figures) of distributed merits for weeks before the 5th of March.
The data given by @coinlocket$ only started from the 5th of March.
Highly appreciate your time if you can help me to have full data observations since the start day of merit system and new rank requirements in 24th of January this year.

By saying drop dramatically, I meant the fall since the all time high of weekly distributed merit, above 9.6k, LOL.
In the attached image, the percentage drop of the last week compared to median (of weekly distributed merit since 5th of March) is nearly 24% [3320 compared to 4405].
As I posted previously, the normal range of merit distribution is from 2.5k to 6.2k.
In my opinion, the median, which fluctuated around 4.4k, should be use as a gold figure to measure changes of weekly distributed merits. Medians are recognised as nearly true means, more closely to true means, and should be used to have more exact overview.

The only spamming is now being happened by the ANN thread bumper which can only be controlled by people who says many are still spamming. There is nothing more to do without reporting those in a constructive way.

Although we can't say it fell drastically, it was quite big amount. Anyway, it may be because of inactivity of merit sources in last week (not sure though) or may be because of merit deserving posts or removing one of the large merit source as you mentioned below.

OP updated:

If I look at patrol, I'll be the "glass half full" guy who says many are still spamming

Merit distribution is back to the long term "bottom", after a sharp peak 8 weeks ago (largely because of abuse) when the new Jr. Member restrictions were implemented.
There was however a large Merit source removed in the past weeks.

It is possibly that the new rank requirements, which specifically target at Junior Members [abundant in the forum before the implementation] has shown its strongly long-lasting effects.
Despite of merit abusements from demoted Juniors who ranked up again, but it is obviously that there are so many guys who can not abuse the system and have still got stucked at Newbie.
Most of them stopped showing their shits around the forum.

One more thing, the total merits distributed within the week from 28th of October to the 4th of November fell dramatically.
Therefore, it is interesting to wait for next weeks to see that whether we will see the first week that has total merits distributed below 2.5k.
2.5k is a figure which imply potential outliers 25th quartile.
More details analysed and presented there:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.47817456

Slowly going towards the 50% drop. Soon we have to celebrate.The homographs are gone (almost 100% based on the forum search engine). Some sections look way better than before, including the Off-topic.

I forgot to update this thread last Monday, here it is:

No, the number of posts dropped further!

I think most of the deranked Jr. Members are still Newbies. To my best knowledge, many tens of thousands of Jr. Members were deranked, and at most a couple of thousands received at least 1 Merit or bought Copper Membership.

Possibly

So, have we hit bottom?   
To be honest I would have expected the numbers to be back in the green from a week ago as more and more newbies get promoted the right way or by buying their rank and the initial shock is long gone.

Probably the only thing that will cut spam and bring the number even lower will be a decrease in ICOs and that might prove even more devastating for account farmers than this 1 merit requirement

This means that the number of farm accounts post has stabilized and reduced to nearly -32.15%. This is really a good news to the forum and bad news for the user account farmer. I bet spam post will be minimize and users will be encourage to post constructively.

I am more than happy for this because it is so difficult to jump up a discussion with pointless idea posted in a certain thread. I'm afraid that hundreds of post per thread are all pointless and spam which is not good for a discussion process.

OP updated:
Note how close the fifth and sixth week's number of posts are.

You are absolutely right, you will easily notice it if you are a regular reader or commenter on the altcoin section of the forum, the amount of comments and new topic has reduced since the implementation of the 1 merit to Jr.Member, this has got to show that many Jr member in the forum are farm account. The next place admins should focus attention is on the bounty section. 

I disagree with your opinion, sometimes the rank of Jrs also needs their aspirations to be asked in this forum.
I don't think all Jrs accounts make junk posts, but need to be reminded if their posts aren't quality.

Questions about 1 merit/newbie have created some sort of new spam. You can see similar topics every day in Beginners & Help section. Don't you think these topics are spam?
If they are not lack of reading ability, the topic that is repeatedly posted by these lazy people should be considered as spam.
Maybe a rule should be added to the forum rules. “Post questions about Merit/rank are not allowed.”

Hmm... the phrase I underlined is an interesting point which I hadn't thought of despite that I already agreed with your 10 merits to enable sigs suggestion. I definitely would be freer with handing out merits if it took 10 to enable sigs and though I would still check posting history because that's just the way I am, I rather suspect I wouldn't be nearly so thorough about it - just skim the first page, rather than actually read each post on the first 2-3 pages. But this is mainly because of the new form of insidious bump-bot I've been hunting, which engages in "low value discussion" (that is, a two-way conversation that is devoid of real content, as opposed to low value posting, which is basically unidirectional).

This is why I think we should make the merit requirement ten. Nobody has time to go through a users post history to check it and this is something we shouldn't even have to do. I'm fine with one merit for becoming a Junior, but not to get a signature. Lets remove Juniors sigs completely and make the merit requirement ten to get one. That way we can be way more liberal with merits and at least a shitposter will have to redeem themselves by making multiple quality posts so their previous history shouldn't be something we have to worry about as they've probably redeemed themselves if they've managed to get the ten merit. Ten merit is also obviously ten times harder/more costly to abuse and one is far too easy to get or abuse right now. I think this benefits everyone and will probably make it easy for users to get the merit, or at least make them put more effort in over several posts rather than just hoping they get the merit for one decent post (which users are obviously reluctant to merit if it's an anomaly).

Of course this is going to happen. This is no mystery. You removed the signature of so many users by demoting them to newbie. All the users and multi-account owners that were shitposting non-stop to get to 15 posts a week for the signature campaigns.

You want to make it even better? How about this:

I'm mostly in DdmrDdmr's camp, too, but I also get the point hilariousandco is making. If newbies haven't made at least a couple of decent posts in the month since the new requirements for jr. member took effect then it's probably safe to say they will never get better. Conversely, if a former shitposter/bounty hunter has managed a few good posts in that time then I am less opposed to meriting them. I, personally, won't merit anyone whose post history mostly consists of bounty reports, but that's just a personal preference and, like I said, I see the point hilariousandco is making w/r/t encouraging those users who (might) have realized the error of their shitposting ways.