Silk Road forums
Discussion => Silk Road discussion => Topic started by: GiveUsSome on October 31, 2012, 02:50 am
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Just wondering if DPR could come on and tell us if he is doign anything about this fucking spamming problem.
There are many easy solutions. I pretty much spam this, but if they just put a disclaimer on the SR login page explaining not to buy BTC from people selling it via credit card or paypal, as paypal offers no protection to digital transmitted goods, then the problem would resolve itself.
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if youd read the new member thread or the forum alert thread there is a warning not to use them
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yeah but who reads that? seriously ;)
also I know not to use them.. im tryign to cut off their source of endless supply of idiots.
ps-i only wrote this thread because DPR responded to a "can we get an offical update on supertrips" thread..
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I totally agree with GiveUsSome.
The point is not getting scammed microRNA Personally these threads annoy the shit out of me!
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i have removed nearly TWO THOUSAND of those threads ONE BY ONE in the past 20 hours alone to prevent people from being scammed and keep the forum functioning but everyone just complains about it
please try to show some appreciation
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Those were not my intentions, of course we appreciate what you guys are doing.
My point is that there are much more easier ways of getting rid of these spammers than just remove threads manually. This is where the problem kicks in. There were many suggestions on stopping these spam threads but no-one seems to consider any of them.
Again, thanks for your hard work and we do appreciate.
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I agree, I appreciate it.
but you shouldnt have to do it.. there are other methods of getting rid of spam rather than deleting 1 at a time.
anyway ill stop being vocal about it. thanks for ur hard work micro
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thank you
i totally agree, i wish something was implemented to prevent the spam.
obviously us humans cant keep up with the bots. there are more productive ways then these threads about how much you hate the spam though imo
but since nothing has been done all i can do is delete them as i am available and i see them posted
i mainly felt with the explanation how its about people not getting scammed like it wasnt realized just how much i am trying to make sure members dont fall for it...
i am grateful for you showing your appreciation, sorry, staying up all night not sleeping just to keep deleting the spam gets frustrating when it seems like everyone is just complaining about it.
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i have removed nearly TWO THOUSAND of those threads ONE BY ONE in the past 20 hours alone to prevent people from being scammed and keep the forum functioning but everyone just complains about it
please try to show some appreciation
MicroRNA - you are doing a stellar job, i am getting pissed of enough just looking at them let alone deleting them, keep it up it is not going un-noticed, well not on my part anyway +1!
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I find the threads in which people make demands of DPR or the Admins distasteful. This amazing thing he/they have created and put so much effort into, at great personal risk, and somehow people still seem to find reasons to complain and make demands. Unbelievable.
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I find the threads in which people make demands of DPR or the Admins distasteful. This amazing thing he/they have created and put so much effort into, and somehow people still seem to find reasons to complain and make demands. Unbelievable.
not demands, suggestions.
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very grateful for your post and appreciation zulu
i thank positive karma with positive karma, but evidently i cant give you another + 1 yet, so hopefully in a day or two if i remember
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pay me? please... probably going to lose my source of income because i am ignoring it and spending all my time on here, so i probably need to be paid
but i dont get anything. i dont even provide my btc address for donations because thats not why i am doing it, i am not motivated by money but by contributing to the community and helping out the members
there was one very considerate member though who asked me if she could donate and i was extremely grateful for her generosity
and the mods definitely do not have the power to grant members spam busting privileges... thats DPR's decision ultimately
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Totally appreciate the "one by one" removal but damn. That is LABOR.
Too bad it sounds like you can't mass delete messages based on regular expressions in the subject header. That way you could just nuke all the messages that are advertising for that website.
Someone with shell access should be able to though.
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Hey microRNA-
I would gladly help bust some SPAM while on the forums if I could, but you already said it was not an option though. God, I would electrocute the fucker through his mouse if it was possible!
I appreciate everything you do because as a noob, there were some things you pointed out that people without vendor accounts were trying to get away with and myself and others surely could have been scammed if not for your intervention.
==peace
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thank you for your offer anyway though T
today RxKing was made a mod as well it appears, so hopefully he will contribute to the effort and help keep the forums clear
i agree it is extremely tedious and time consuming to have to delete each message individually. have not been able to figure out any other way
if i could even just delete all of a members posts then it would be so much easier.
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i have removed nearly TWO THOUSAND of those threads ONE BY ONE in the past 20 hours alone to prevent people from being scammed and keep the forum functioning but everyone just complains about it
please try to show some appreciation
Really want your ass chapped? Ask DPR (or who the hell ever) to show you how easy it is to activate the capcha for users "under X number" of posts, or hell even for EVERY user on EVERY POST.
Its a feature built right in to simplemachines Forum software. not even and add on.
While I certainly thank you for your effort, its a bit like paddling UP the rapids, when coasting down them will get you to the same place.
....maybe it is me. I do not like to do extra work for no good reason. Tell admins you want .01 BTC for every thread you "spam bust" then watch how quickly then click those two check boxes and hit "submit"
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Go on strike and let the admins see what you're worth, hopefully they put some effort in to fix it themselves rather than relying on slave labor.
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microRNA, I just wanted to say thank you for your efforts on keeping the forums clean. I know it's a job that I wouldn't want.
I do wish to see some some improvement to this process for you. Doing this manually is inane.
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Just make a script that checks once every 5 minutes and load the last 6 minutes of new messages from the database.
If it detects the same message many time then just delete it.
I can do it for you, just give me root access...
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thank you
i totally agree, i wish something was implemented to prevent the spam.
obviously us humans cant keep up with the bots. there are more productive ways then these threads about how much you hate the spam though imo
but since nothing has been done all i can do is delete them as i am available and i see them posted
i mainly felt with the explanation how its about people not getting scammed like it wasnt realized just how much i am trying to make sure members dont fall for it...
i am grateful for you showing your appreciation, sorry, staying up all night not sleeping just to keep deleting the spam gets frustrating when it seems like everyone is just complaining about it.
I would be happy to help you. Is there some way I can apply to be a spambuster?
ETA: oh I see, you have to be a moderator. I hadn't read through the entire thread. How do you become a moderator?
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i have removed nearly TWO THOUSAND of those threads ONE BY ONE in the past 20 hours alone to prevent people from being scammed and keep the forum functioning but everyone just complains about it
please try to show some appreciation
It's very much appreciated, but such an easy fix should have been solved by now. Especially after countless suggestions. It's not like this has just started happening it's been going on for quite some time....After SR servers are back up hopefully they do something about the forum
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i have removed nearly TWO THOUSAND of those threads ONE BY ONE in the past 20 hours alone to prevent people from being scammed and keep the forum functioning but everyone just complains about it
please try to show some appreciation
Get more mods, dont whine about doing lots of work while it's not enough.
Things could be free, no SR needs big bucks. I expect some premium service here and will whine for eternity if I feel like it,until SR converts their money into solutions that work. Or at least explain to me why they need so much money and where it's going to.
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thank you to everyone who has shown appreciation.
recently a new mod was selected to help with the spam removal and moksha has returned so its not mainly just me anymore and should go more smoothly again from now on thankfully.
whoever suggested we just stop removing the spam to prove a point to the admins - all that will do is hurt the members trying to use the forum. i dont mod and remove spam for the admins... i put forth the effort to help out the community and its members
JoeyG, I have removed far beyond 10,000 spam threads total, if you so strongly believe i deserve donations - why arent you asking for my btc addy :P
-------- virmo --------
i dont know why you are quoting me and bitching about my post, i was not talking to you and would appreciate it if you left me out of whatever complaints you have against SR for making you pay for a sellers account. which is to prevent the number of scamming vendors, so NO things should NOT be free. you are in a very small minority who feels that way and keeps complaining about it honestly.
i was not whining like you, i was simply stating a fact about how much effort i had exerted that day, and then said i wish people realized i was working to prevent members from being scammed so i felt they should be grateful rather than complain because they had to deal with the boards having spam for part of the day. i dont have the power to make anyone a mod nor am i responsible for the fees you protest or the rules i told you that you must abide by... i have even politely tried to be helpful after you gave an attitude by answering your questions in other threads and yet you still hassle me
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pay me? please... probably going to lose my source of income because i am ignoring it and spending all my time on here, so i probably need to be paid
but i dont get anything. i dont even provide my btc address for donations because thats not why i am doing it, i am not motivated by money but by contributing to the community and helping out the members
there was one very considerate member though who asked me if she could donate and i was extremely grateful for her generosity
and the mods definitely do not have the power to grant members spam busting privileges... thats DPR's decision ultimately
Just saw this thread and needed to say thanks. You definitely deserve to get paid, but the fact that you aren't motivated by $$$ speaks volumes.
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It seems microRNA has done more than enough to keep the forums clear. It's a major annoyance and something needs to be done about it. If the admins won't do anything about it, we simply need to inform the proper people that support their network and provide the necessary service connectioness. I've already gone out and done some investigating and sent off various emails and phone calls to shut them down.
First, you probably don't want to indicate that they are causing problems on our forumx. They are also causing issues on bitcointalk.org, and there is a thread about them here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=113658.0. Pretend this is the site your using where they're causing troubles.
If you go to the btkoin.com website you can get some contact info, though I don't the will respond or do much about it. It may be worth a shot.
Contact Information
Tel: +1-800-BTKOIN
E-mail: Service@btkoin.com
Of all the payment providers, Paypal probably has the heaviest weight. Clicking trhough from btkoin to paypall shows that the associated email account PayPal has on file for btkoin is payoutinstantly@hotmail.com and they are a registered business with PayPal file with the operating name BTKOIN Inc
From here, you could go to the PayPal Contact Us page (https://www.paypal.com/ca/cgi-bin/helpscr?cmd=_help&t=escalateTab) and report BTKoin for potential fraud, under the Disputes & Claims button and then down to the fraud and security section. You could also cal PayPal directly @ 1-877-569-1116 or email them directly from the PayPal site using the link above. Seeing as the email address btkoin put on file with paypal is a hotmail account, multiple complaints to Windows Hotmail Support could kill it off.
Of course, neither company may choose to do anything about the issue, but it what they are doing is most likely against the service terms with their provider. A simple whois query from http://whois.domaintools.com/btkoin.com returns the following:
Domain Name.......... btkoin.com
Creation Date........ 2012-08-18
Registration Date.... 2012-08-18
Expiry Date.......... 2013-08-18
Tracking Number...... 1739484791_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Organisation Name.... Gy Ddf
Organisation Address. xing ling gang jie 98 hao
Organisation Address.
Organisation Address.
Organisation Address. feng xing shi
Organisation Address. 562548
Organisation Address. AL
Organisation Address. UNITED STATES
Admin Name........... Gy Ddf
Admin Address........ xing ling gang jie 98 hao
Admin Address........
Admin Address........
Admin Address. feng xing shi
Admin Address........ 562548
Admin Address........ AL
Admin Address........ UNITED STATES
Admin Email..........
Admin Phone.......... +1.052685478569
Admin Fax............
Tech Name............ YahooDomains TechContact
Tech Address......... 701 First Ave.
Tech Address.........
Tech Address.........
Tech Address......... Sunnyvale
Tech Address......... 94089
Tech Address......... CA
Tech Address......... UNITED STATES
Tech Email...........
Tech Phone........... +1.4089162124
Tech Fax.............
Name Server.......... f1g1ns1.dnspod.net
Name Server.......... f1g1ns2.dnspod.net
This doesn't give much. It seems that most of it has been registered anonymously, but we may be able to find out more from the DNS provider (dnspod.net, do a similar whois query as above), The site profile link, still using the whois query results from above, registration link and for sale pages don't give much more info, but the server status page is decent. From there we can get the ip of the server and do a reverse look up to learn a bit more. The results aren't as extensive as we'd like to have, but we can see that multiple domain names are linked to the same server. They could possibly all be active spamming systems or possible future domains that will be used to target us. To find out for sure, use the same resources used above to learn more about these new one's.
Let.s try a different site instead, http://domaintz.com/, and do a reverse lookup using the same server ip address we got from http://www.domaintools.com/research/reverse-ip/?hostname=btkoin.com. In this case we get a result of 199.231.214.208. In other words, the domain www.btkoin.com is hosted from ip 199.231.214.208.
Now we want to find out who the the service provider of that IP address is, so we will use http://whois.arin.net. Once this page has loaded, copy the reverse ip address we resolved from the name btkoin.com (199.231.214.208) into the top left of the whois.arin.net page, the search whoisrws box, and click the search button.
The results that appear show us who the currently responsible service provider is for www.btking.com/199.231.214.208 and some basic contact details. If you click the ENZUI link in the Organization column it will take you to the full record details that Arin has on ENZUI. This new page will provide you with address informatio, email addresses to report abuse to, web page links and other Point of Contact records for Abuse, Technical Support , Network Operations and administration.
So there you have it, everything you need to contact those responsible for allowing btkoin to continue operating and spamming our forums. If it's not them and it's some script kiddie instead, they will have to prove that. If they can't and they do get shut down, what's the point of promoting it anymore.
If the spammers are pissing you off, the admins won't do anything to stop, and our mods are overloaded dealing with it, here's who we can reach out to. Remeber to say your a bitcointalk.org forum user cause they're spamming over there too.
Phone/Email BTKoin @ +1-800-BTKOIN or Service@btkoin.com. It's a toll free number, shouldn't cost them anything, though they will most likeley get a call for each call they receive. Call, Hangup. Do it again. And again. Until their telephone system is flooded. And if you get tired of calling & hanging up, call, leave the hook off the line and leave it. Later, come back and see if there's some still there. If not, call back and when they answer, leave it off the hook again.
You can also email them. You don't have to put a message in the email. That takes to much time. Just send a blank message. Even with no message body, there's still a lot of header information in each little email message, and each one will take up a little bit of storage space on their server. So send them and another and another. Do it all weekend. If everyone that's pissed about the spamming hammers their mail server all weekend with pointless messages, not only will they know how we feel, we could fill up the mail hard drive entirely and shut down the system because it can't store any more messages.
Because they exchange using PayPal, get in touch with them too at https://www.paypal.com/ca/cgi-bin/helpscr?cmd=_help&t=escalateTab. You probably won't be able to file as a disputed claim for fraud unless you actually made a purchase, which you should NOT DO. Additionally you can only send an email report to PayPal for disputing claims and fraud, but again if you haven't made a purchase this could be problematic. You could call PayPal @ 1-877-569-1116 and claim your getting harrasing messages and emails from this seller. If they ask for proof, send them one of the postings they make on the forum boards, their content only, nothing posted by other forum members.
Their registered address is with Hotmail. Get in touch with them and complain. Don't do it from your hotmail account, they'll just tell you to flag the message jung. Use any other email provider out there and send a message to microsoft that your beeing spammed by this account. Again, send the forum message posted by btkoin only an no other information from the forum boards. If they get enough complaints in a short perioud of time, the account will be suspended.
You can see details for contacting MSN Hotmail/Live support here: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windowslive/forum/hotmail-email/how-do-i-report-abuse-or-spam-in-hotmail/703b31d1-0381-4240-90ef-ff3c4ba66fad
If your really chocked, you could get in touch with the DNS registrar anx complain about the volume of spam originating from the btkoin.com domain. Again if enough people do it, DNSPOD won't provide their DNS service anymore, which is quite crucial to locating resources on the internet. Until they have a new DNS provider it doesn't matter how great their systems & servers are. If no one can resolve the name to an IP, no one will get connected to the site. You will have to do a whois lookup on dnspod.net to get their contact info (http://ipduh.com/dns/whois/?dnspod.net). Note, they are based in China overseas, so this might not be too efective.
Finally, use the reverse ip ssearch results from the http://www.domaintools.com/research/reverse-ip/?hostname=btkoin.com query (199.231.214.208) as the search term in the search whoisrws box on http://whois.arin.net No that you have the ISP info for btkoin.com (ENZUI), click the oranization row in the record set and either email their abuse & complaint email account (abuse@scalabledns.com), contact their varous admins who are responsible for different parts of their network(details on the Related organization's POC records.link - http://whois.arin.net/rest/org/ENZUI/pocs). If you don't know who does what, get in touch with all of them. With enough complaints, they'll get shut down faster.
Abuse
Phone +1-702-965-1615 (Office)
Email abuse@scalabledns.com
Admin
Phone +1-702-965-1615 (Office)
+1-317-442-5605 (Mobile)
Email admin@scalabledns.com
Tech
Phone +1-702-965-1615 (Office)
Email admin@scalabledns.com
Network Ops
Phone +1-702-965-1615 (Office)
Email admin@scalabledns.com
Finally, you can hit up their website (https://www.enzu.com/) and get their phone details to call them
Via Telephone:
Toll Free: 1.877.378.3769
International: +1.702.965.1615
Or you can send a message to Enzu direct from their site, on the main page (https://www.enzu.com/) and clicking on the leave a message box in the lower right. Again, be sure to include the forum message posted by btkoin and no other information. If your asked where the postings are showing up, your either getting spammed with them in you inbox or your a registered user of bitcointalk.com and they're posting it all over the forums.
If the admins won't shut them down, we can. Tell everyone.
MJMuse
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First I thought I had already posted this but can't find it so if it is a duplicate sorry.
Would it be possible to automatically have an account suspended if ..say...more than 3 users used the report to mod button in say a 60 minute time frame. This would allow the community to help reduce the workload required. the amount of reports and time frame would have to be determined so accounts don't accidentally get suspended but I don't really think that would happen to many times. It would require educating the community about the simple way to combat spammers in a timely manner. maybe this is not possible with the current software but think it could or would be a simple solution to assist, maybe the software has the ability to allow simple changes
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hi, i run smf elsewhere so i had a remark.
captchas are obsolete. even more difficult ones like recaptcha now have cheap, human-backed services to defeat them. the way to go now is to disable captcha and instead use simple verification questions--things a silk road user would know, but would be difficult to automate using a search engine. this feature is built into smf so nothing needs to be installed or added to the code. all it takes is to get an admin to click admin -> features and options -> configuration (drop-down menu) -> security and moderation -> anti-spam, disable the captcha, require a verification question, input some questions, and click save. for example, questions like "what do the letters SR stand for?" or "what three-letter word is allowing you to access this page right now?" would be good. 4 or 5 questions is sufficient.
hope this helps
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First I thought I had already posted this but can't find it so if it is a duplicate sorry.
Would it be possible to automatically have an account suspended if ..say...more than 3 users used the report to mod button in say a 60 minute time frame. This would allow the community to help reduce the workload required. the amount of reports and time frame would have to be determined so accounts don't accidentally get suspended but I don't really think that would happen to many times. It would require educating the community about the simple way to combat spammers in a timely manner. maybe this is not possible with the current software but think it could or would be a simple solution to assist, maybe the software has the ability to allow simple changes
this is a brilliant idea my friend, but to add and just to go that extra inch, all we need is some hacker/com savy folks to create an anti spam bot program, say if the same post is posted 4+ times, the account is suspended untill SR admins can vouch for the acc...
i think all the spam busters are doing an excellent job, but if the technologys there guys why not use it....
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i just wanted to mention that moksha and Rxking also deserve to be mentioned and some appreciation for their efforts. moksha has been removing spam longer than me, there just happened to be a period of time he was having connection issues which have now been resolved. also, the past couple days RxKing has been a mod and is helping out removing the spam a lot - i feel working together we have handled the issue fairly well
also, thank you for some of your recommendations especially riven - maybe the admins will get some ideas and implement them if the problem continues
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Credit to everyone, trust me we thank you all. This place would be terrible with ya'll. Honestly.
But I personally just feel like your work load could be SERVERLY reduced, very easily.
...so its hard to give too much credit to a job that shouldn't exist (for your sake)