Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 04-04-2020, 09:19 AM   #1
Platinum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Arizona, Tempe
Posts: 1,654
Default What are bots?

And how do they work.

Since this forum seems to have three running I would like to understand more about them.
hbn7hj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2020, 02:36 PM   #2
Platinum Member
 
Jon in AZ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Arizona
Posts: 609
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by hbn7hj View Post
And how do they work.

Since this forum seems to have three running I would like to understand more about them.
I’m wondering why they’re not getting shut down. I flagged the most recent one. It’s been more than 24 hours without action.

I got suckered on one of the recent crop. The others had such weird titles I hadn't even bothered to look at them. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Just report ‘em. More reports typically means faster action from the site team.
Jon in AZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2020, 03:07 PM   #3
Site Team
 
avanti's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 5,321
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon in AZ View Post
I’m wondering why they’re not getting shut down. I flagged the most recent one. It’s been more than 24 hours without action.
Please be specific. I am unaware of any remaining ones, but I seem to be the only one paying attention right now and sometimes I miss stuff. It is also possible that all the offending members have been banned but some of the messages or threads have been overlooked.

Please use the "Report" button on the lower left of the message.
__________________
Now: 2022 Fully-custom buildout (Ford Transit EcoBoost AWD)
Formerly: 2005 Airstream Interstate (Sprinter 2500 T1N)
2014 Great West Vans Legend SE (Sprinter 3500 NCV3 I4)
avanti is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2020, 03:15 PM   #4
Site Team
 
avanti's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 5,321
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by hbn7hj View Post
And how do they work.

Since this forum seems to have three running I would like to understand more about them.
They are artificial intelligence agents that are always scouring the Web looking for ways to insert spam links in order to increase traffic to commercial websites.

To do their job they have to first figure out how to create an account at a site, and then use that account to post links. Step 1 is the reason you often have to perform a "Captcha" task or answer some obscure question while signing up. The trick to the second is to post something that looks legitimate so that moderators don't immediately ban them . They have traditionally not been very good at this, but they are getting much more subtle, using techniques like analyzing and transforming snippets of legitimate posts. They can be recognized because (a) their messages never have any real content and are often off-topic, and (b) they usually contain links. Not always, though, since they often attempt to accumulate a bit of reputation on the list before they spring their traps.

This is an arms race between the bots and the mods. You can help by reporting any suspicious posts.
__________________
Now: 2022 Fully-custom buildout (Ford Transit EcoBoost AWD)
Formerly: 2005 Airstream Interstate (Sprinter 2500 T1N)
2014 Great West Vans Legend SE (Sprinter 3500 NCV3 I4)
avanti is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2020, 03:29 PM   #5
Platinum Member
 
Jon in AZ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Arizona
Posts: 609
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by avanti View Post
Please be specific. I am unaware of any remaining ones, but I seem to be the only one paying attention right now and sometimes I miss stuff. It is also possible that all the offending members have been banned but some of the messages or threads have been overlooked.

Please use the "Report" button on the lower left of the message.
I flagged one thread by user “migueljackson” but another is still up. Guess I assumed all would be removed. I’ll flag the other, “Do W123’s have door drains?”

EDIT- Having a problem. There’s no mechanism to flag from the mobile skin. Today it won’t let me exit the mobile skin using the “view full website” button. Worked fine yesterday. Odd...

EDIT- Updated from iOS 13.3 to 13.4. “View full website“ link now works again. Coincidence, maybe?
Jon in AZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2020, 03:52 PM   #6
Site Team
 
avanti's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 5,321
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon in AZ View Post
I flagged one thread by user “migueljackson” but another is still up. Guess I assumed all would be removed. I’ll flag the other, “Do W123’s have door drains?”
[/I]
Thread deleted. Thanks.
__________________
Now: 2022 Fully-custom buildout (Ford Transit EcoBoost AWD)
Formerly: 2005 Airstream Interstate (Sprinter 2500 T1N)
2014 Great West Vans Legend SE (Sprinter 3500 NCV3 I4)
avanti is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2020, 04:07 PM   #7
Platinum Member
 
Jon in AZ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Arizona
Posts: 609
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by avanti View Post
Thread deleted. Thanks.
The thanks belong to you and the other moderators who deal with the dark side of social media. Truly, thank you!

Late thought... another Social Knowledge site I frequent does not allow active links by new members until they have a fixed number of posts. Do we have something like that here?
Jon in AZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2020, 04:19 PM   #8
Site Team
 
avanti's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 5,321
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon in AZ View Post
The thanks belong to you and the other moderators who deal with the dark side of social media. Truly, thank you!

Late thought... another Social Knowledge site I frequent does not allow active links by new members until they have a fixed number of posts. Do we have something like that here?
Dunno. Probably. Glad to help out around here, but my interest is bounded.

In any event, the current generation of bots tend to lay low for a period of time before starting to add links, for exactly the reason you suggest.
__________________
Now: 2022 Fully-custom buildout (Ford Transit EcoBoost AWD)
Formerly: 2005 Airstream Interstate (Sprinter 2500 T1N)
2014 Great West Vans Legend SE (Sprinter 3500 NCV3 I4)
avanti is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2020, 04:21 PM   #9
Platinum Member
 
rowiebowie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Texas
Posts: 2,632
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by avanti View Post
Please use the "Report" button on the lower left of the message.
Thanks. I now know it's there.
rowiebowie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2020, 04:57 PM   #10
Platinum Member
 
GeorgeRa's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 3,141
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by avanti View Post
They are artificial intelligence agents that are always scouring the Web looking for ways to insert spam links in order to increase traffic to commercial websites.
To do their job they have to first figure out how to create an account at a site, and then use that account to post links. Step 1 is the reason you often have to perform a "Captcha" task or answer some obscure question while signing up. The trick to the second is to post something that looks legitimate so that moderators don't immediately ban them . They have traditionally not been very good at this, but they are getting much more subtle, using techniques like analyzing and transforming snippets of legitimate posts. They can be recognized because (a) their messages never have any real content and are often off-topic, and (b) they usually contain links. Not always, though, since they often attempt to accumulate a bit of reputation on the list before they spring their traps.
This is an arms race between the bots and the mods. You can help by reporting any suspicious posts.
I didn’t think getting through “Captcha” test was easy, amazing. I am certain there are many brains working on some kind of identity verifying schemes to limit abuses. Good to know about this reporting flag in the lower left corner.
GeorgeRa is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2020, 04:59 PM   #11
Platinum Member
 
markopolo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: New Brunswick, Canada
Posts: 8,828
Default

hbn7hj was most likely asking about nuisance bots but though I'd add that there are also good bots also like Googlebot that crawls websites and forum content to add to Google's search index.
markopolo is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT. The time now is 09:53 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.