Spam bots are driving me nuts again

[Den]

Anyone else getting hit with a stupid amount of spam lately? I’m spending more time cleaning junk than actually moderating the forum. I’ve blocked a few obvious ones, but they keep coming back with slightly different usernames and the same garbage posts. It’s getting old fast. If anyone’s got a decent way to slow this down without making registration a pain, I’m all ears.

[Mason]

In my opinion, yeah, same crap here. They’re not even trying anymore, just same junk with a different handle like that fools anybody. I’ve had a bit more luck with email verification + a dumb honeypot field than with those “smart” anti-spam tools that end up catching real users too. Still not perfect…

[Nathan]

Yeah, it’s been worse the last couple weeks on a site I help with too. The “same post, different username” thing is the annoying part. Once they start rotating emails/usernames it turns into whack-a-mole. I’ve had better luck with the boring stuff honestly — email verify, honeypot, and slowing down first-post links. The fancy anti-spam plugins always seem to either do nothing or annoy legit users.

[axelrowan]

In my opinion, Yeah, same here. The weird part is the spam isn’t even clever, it’s just persistent. I’ve had decent results with email verify + first-post moderation + a hidden honeypot, but if you let links through on day one they’ll still hammer it. The “smart” blockers I tried were mostly just noise. That’s been my experience anyway.

[meloncrash]

Well, yeah, it’s been nonstop here too. The “smart” tools I tried were basically just expensive noise, honestly — ended up catching random legit signups while the spam still leaked through. I’m half convinced these bots don’t even care if they get through, they just keep hammering until something sticks. Could be wrong though.

[crawl_void]

Yeah, same garbage here. The rotating usernames/emails thing is exactly why half those “anti-spam” plugins are basically placebo. I’ve had more luck with the boring stuff too — first post moderation, link limits, and a dumb honeypot that only bots seem to hit. If they’re determined enough, they’ll still get through eventually, but at least it cuts the flood down a bit. That’s been my experience anyway.

[Nathan]

Personally, In my opinion, yeah, same here. The rotating junk accounts are the annoying part — feels like you block one and three more show up with slightly different names and the same trash links. I’ve had better luck with boring stuff too, honestly. Anything “smart” I tried just ended up catching legit users and still let spam through anyway.

[pixelwitch]

Yeah, it’s been ridiculous lately. I’ve had better luck with the dumb stuff too, annoyingly enough. Once you start leaning on “smart” filters it just turns into catching random legit users while the junk still slips through with a new username and a weirdly human-looking profile pic. To be fair,

[Pike]

Yeah, same here. The “smart” stuff usually just ends up annoying real users while the junk still leaks in somehow. First-post moderation + link limits has been the least painful for me. Not perfect, but it cuts the stupid flood down enough that I’m not staring at spam all day.

[pixelwitch]

I mean, yeah, same crap here. The “slightly different username, same garbage link” routine is getting old fast To be fair,. I’ve had the least pain with boring rules too — first post no links, short cooldowns, and making email verification a little less trivial. The fancy spam filters always seem to either miss the obvious junk or start nuking legit new users for no reason. That’s been my experience anyway.

[adrian_knox]

Yeah, first-post moderation + link limits is still the least annoying combo I’ve found too. Anything “smart” I’ve tried just ends up being a pain in the ass for legit new users while the bots keep doing the same dumb dance with fresh names. From what I see,

[crawl_void]

Yeah, it’s the same circus here. The “slightly different username, same trash post” thing usually means they’re not even trying that hard, which is almost worse. I’ve had decent luck with: – first post moderation – no links until X posts – email verification that isn’t totally useless – a short delay between signup and first post Anything beyond that starts getting into “congrats, you annoyed real people for nothing” territory. Honestly the bigger win for me was just watching patterns in the logs and nuking the obvious repeats faster. Same IP ranges, same posting times, same weird phrasing. The bots aren’t clever, they just have volume on their side.

[adrian_knox]

In most cases, yeah, it’s been ugly lately. I’ve had better luck with the dumb stuff too, honestly. First post no links, a little delay, email verification that isn’t totally pointless… the “smart” filters always seem to either do nothing or start catching normal new users and then everybody gets mad at me. If they’re coming back with the same garbage phrasing, I’d just tighten the first 1-2 posts and watch the logs for repeat patterns. Not glamorous, but it beats playing whack-a-mole all day.

[adrian_knox]

Honestly, In most cases, yeah, same here. The “same post, new username” thing is basically bot autopilot at this point. I’ve had the least pain with boring stuff: first post moderation, link limits, and a small signup delay. Anything fancier usually just ends up annoying actual users while the junk still…

[orion_kade]

Personally, yeah, same. The “new username, same garbage” stuff is always the part that makes it feel endless. I’ve never had much luck with anything too clever either. The boring controls usually do more than the fancy anti-spam junk, which is annoying but whatever. In my opinion,

[Nathan]

Yeah, it’s been bad again. The “same junk, different name” pattern usually means they’re not even trying that hard. I’d keep it boring too — first post moderation, no links, maybe a small time delay. The fancy filters always seem to either miss everything or start flagging legit users for no reason.

[orion_kade]

Yeah, it’s been ugly lately. The weird part is how lazy they are — same crap, just shuffled usernames and in most cases one word changed so it slips past the obvious stuff. I’d keep it boring too: first-post approval, no links for new accounts, in most cases throttle signups a bit if you can. I’ve messed with “smarter” filters before and half the time they just turn into a headache for legit people while the bots keep walking through anyway. If you’re already blocking the obvious ones, you’re typically seeing the same spam ring just cycling accounts. Annoying as hell.

[sergbank]

Realistically, yeah, same here. It’s always the dumb little pattern stuff too — same post body, slightly mangled username, random email domains, rinse and repeat. What’s helped a bit for me is killing guest posting entirely if that’s still open, then making first post approval mandatory. I also had decent luck with a dumb little question on signup that bots usually fail but normal users don’t even blink at. Nothing fancy, just enough to slow the flood down. The “smart” anti-spam plugins I tried were mostly garbage. They either missed the obvious junk or…

[pixelwitch]

Yeah, same here. The dumb part is they’re not even getting clever, just the same crap with a new coat of paint. First-post approval and no links for fresh accounts has been the least annoying fix in my experience. Anything “smart” I tried just…

[orion_kade]

Yeah, same here. It’s always the same lazy pattern too, which is what makes it extra annoying. I’ve had better luck with boring stuff than any “smart” anti-spam nonsense. First post approval, no links for new accounts, in most cases a simple signup question… that’s about it. The fancy filters always seem to miss the junk and catch some random legit user instead.

[crawl_void]

Yeah, because the bots never actually get smarter, they just get noisier. First-post approval + no links for new accounts is still the least annoying combo I’ve seen. Anything “AI spam filter” or whatever usually ends up being a mess and catching normal users for no good reason.

[Pike]

Yeah, it’s the same trash over and over. Half the time I swear they’re just rotating usernames and hoping nobody notices. First-post approval’s probably the least annoying fix, honestly. I’d rather clear a few legit new users than spend all day nuking “cheap watches” and crypto crap.

[Den]

Yeah, it’s been worse lately. The “same post, different username” thing is usually the giveaway. I’d keep it boring: first post approval, link limits, maybe a dumb little signup question. Anything fancy just seems to waste time…

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