In response to the recent spamming of Fluther, would you like a place to discuss and inform each other?

And they’ve been doing it since like 5:30AM EST.

That’s four hours straight of failure.

I believe so, but I didn’t want to say so.

This is going to open the bag of hurt that is the Fluther vs. Wis.dm argument again. Not that I disagree with your assessment.

I’ve said it before.

The way to stop this is to require email authentication of new Fluther accounts.

I agree, which is unfortunate as I’ve come to see the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. People were settling in, realizing the good in Fluther.

I wanted to make it clear I do not think this is any of our new very much welcomed members, but rather as squirbel sad, a disgruntled person with a bone to pick.

It’s saddening really.

Good point rob, that would certainly slow it down.
Maybe not stop them if they were determined, but definitely throw a roadblock down.

Unfortunately, the fastest immediate solution is to prevent registration of new user accounts during the attack itself. :-\

Again, rob dear, I agree.

But the mods are on it as we speak, so I’m hopeful. And all the trash has been removed from the front page so far. :)

let us fluther in peace. this site needs better authentication. CARCAR VANQUISHED, yes, at last, it’s all good again

I’m sure bendrew will figure out a solution. :)

wht happened xactly? whas the terrorism thing? i kno only bt carcar

Okay, anoop, would you mind downloading Firefox, or a browser with spell check built in? Otherwise, you’re gonna run into user after user nitpicking your spelling. Just sayin’.

All the pertinent info is in the details of this question.

terrorism: an act that is perpetrated for an ideological goal (as opposed to a materialistic goal or a lone attack).

The person kept posting stuff talking about true philosophy.

@asmonet, sorry, didnt know it’s not liked here

This reminds me of what I call the Michael Jackson Syndrome. You get wildly popular, and everybody loves you, and then, the attacks start. Okay, so no one here has been accused of molesting a teenage boy, or anything like that, but popularity has its costs. As fluther grows, it will attract its fair share of naysayers, hate-freaks, and detractors. Seems to be the nature of the beast.

@anoop: No, it’s fine, it’s just spelling is a big aspect of the community here, and you’ll get a lot of grief for neglecting it. And if it’s persistent or excessive a quip can be moderated to improve the quality of the site.

I just want to save you the hassle. :)

yup thanks, point noted, i’ll remember

:D

I’ve noticed the spam too. So annoying. I’m not sure, but @asmonet this Fluther question could be counterproductive for two reasons.

1) If carcar is suffering from a troll-like mental disease (which is quite likely in my opinion) he will create a new userid (with or without email verification) and notice this very question. He will feel a sense of achievement because his provocation wasn’t ignored. It might be difficult to refrain from giving an impulsive response. But if you respond, you’re doing the troll a favor. He wins. You stop responding. You win. You ignore him. You win.

2) Speculation about a wis.dm troll is certainly not baseless, but what will it achieve? It can add fuel to the fire. You watch a black person committing a crime. Maybe even a second. Then everything is fine for a while. Suddenly another crime happens, but there are no witnesses. Rumors are going around. Accusations are being thrown around. Yes, it probably was a black person. Really? How would an honest black person feel overhearing your conversation?

Well you cant do much then kick out such people. They can register new IDs anyway. This discussion right here will give the carcar an incentive to have another shot at pissing off people again

I actually don’t think is from a wis.dmer, I think you just got a plain ‘ol internet spammer on your hands.

P.S. Those type of people were trolls on wis.dm and they are trolls here, don’t rope in wis.dm’s good name with them. We don’t want to be associated with them.

A lot of people on the Internet cruise through here, and I think it is baseless to assume it is an ex-wis.dm person. Could be just some luantic with nothing better to do that isn’t even associated with that other now defunct site. I don’t think it is wise to assume anything, and especially with the recent wounds of integrating our wis.dm users.

Carcar was caracarn on wis.dm. I know because I had half a dozen or so run ins with him. He would attack my friends for no apparent reason. I think he has mental issues. Just for the record, not all ex wis.dmers are bad. Most of us are good people and I believe we can contribute something to Fluther. So, please don’t jump to conclusions about wis.dmers. Look at us individuals. Though I was a wis.dmer, I’m a Flutherite now. Hopefully they will keepcarcar away and anyone like him.

@mattbrowne: I did consider those points matt, and they’re valid. I mostly wanted to form a page where we could explain what was happening so there weren’t so many off topic questions regarding the spammer on everyone else’s threads, since that fit more with the guidelines than updating people randomly here and there, I went with it. Hopefully, it doesn’t blow up in my face. :)

@evelyns_pet_zebra: It is in no way baseless to assume it may be a disgruntled wis.dm member who was unhappy with their experience here. We’ve seen a lot of turmoil and dissatisfaction from a select ew, and some of those have shown spamming tendencies in their short time here. It is a logical guess. And like I said, I do not take this to be indicative of the other new members as a whole.

@J0E: I specifically said, many times, I do not associate one person’s meltdown with an entire group. Please don’t think I am, it wasn’t my intention to do so.

@Russell_D_SpacePoet thanks for the clarification. I welcome anyone to fluther that has something to offer. I have added several wis.dm people to my fluther. I judge people on an individual basis, not by association.

@asmonet, I stand (er, I mean sit) corrected.

@asmonet; Okay, I’ll give you that. But in my defense you did include “wis.dm” in the question title, which probably wasn’t a good idea.

If anyone else is under the impression I am blaming wis.dm members as a whole for these attacks, please see the first line in the details section of this question. It was not my intention to lump everyone in together, and I’m sorry I could not clarify within the editing limits.

I know, I did regret it but by the time the page loaded for me to edit, it was too late. The spam was slowing the site down for me, it was just my first thought, poorly chosen clearly.

Small consolation, it seems I was right, according to @Russell_D_SpacePoet.

Anyway, let’s not let the conversation devolve into the wis/Fluther BS we’ve all come to dread, can we all agree as a group to be better than that for once? :)

Well said, I agree.

To answer the question:

I’d bet a dollar (either way).

@robmandu Canadian or US dollar?

I call dibs on American!

@evelyns_pet_zebra, a Texas dollar.

1 Canadian dollar = 0.831186 U.S. dollars

current exchange, so USD

You crafty bastard! :)

@asmonet – Well, the benefits of one last question like this might actually outweight the risks after all. I think @Russell_D_SpacePoet hint was very valuable. Also a discussion about captchas and other technical measures.

Plus we reach an agreement that from now on we all commit ourselves and implement the best strategy there is to fight this:

DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS

So we just silently flag any questions or comments and they get silently ignored. They lose. We win.

I’d say we wager a Rhoad-Mapp dollar, found only on the planet Wrand Nack Malley in the Atlas Six star cluster. They double as a road map as well. The only problem is that one mile equals one mile, so it takes everybody you know to help fold the darn thing up.

yea – we had a few bad apples at wisdm ;( – but the good apples were (are) lip smacking good ;-)

With the help of a kind and understanding moderator I was able to edit the question again, hopefully this time I’ve managed to pull off a more neutral approach.

Captchas suck it so hard.

Ugh… but I could see where a new Fluther account must live through a validation/probationary period. Just spitballing here:
– email verification upon account creation
– one captcha per day for one week. Then no more captchas!

That kind of thing.

@asmonet
is all good asmo… i ain’t offended
can you believe how wisdm was attacked by this flutherite???? it’s on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@asmonet, crap… now the entire betting meme makes no sense at all.

@robmandu werd!

Ahaha, sorry guys, but I’d rather accommodate all of us than just some of us. :)

@asmonet – Thank you. That’s really great! I hope people will see your comment above realizing you edited the question after I posted my initial comment (mentioning wis.dm)

Hopefully, they will.

I’m glad I posted this question, even if there was some momentary confusion, my fault of course. :)

Spamwich, anyone?

“Yes, please, hold the mayo.”

They should charge 50 cents to join. It is a lot harder to come up with credit card numbers than it is e-mail addresses.

I’m going to hide in the corner since Andrew will want to dick punch me now.

for JP.

lol4rl, rob. lol4rl.

Let’s test our resolve and ignore all new attempts.

Crikey.

that spam question looks like a question from RealEyesRealizeRealLies

eh? I don’t see realeyes’ name anywhere in that image.

@squirbel sorry, something went funky with the first link, i removed it. no, what i meant is that it is in the same style as the questions he’s wont to post.

I think we should quit while we’re ahead, before people start getting blamed (i.e. realeyes) and this gets ugly.

It’s libelous at best to point fingers. I mean, when I read it I automatically assumed it was a wis.dmer who was irate with fluther mods, posting the definition of philosophy. Wis.dm was a site that was focused on philosophy of sorts, from what I gathered.

But it’s not fair for me to say it was a wis.dmer, just as it isn’t fair to say that the content is like realeyes’ posts.

I’ve read [but not answered] realeyes’ posts – they actually have content in them. He’s the type to try and open people’s eyes, but his stuff is controversial at best most times.

Thou cannot pluck the splinter from your friend’s eye, when thou hast a plank in thy own.

@J0E i’m not saying it was him – i’m saying the style is similar. there’s no reason for anyone to get banned at this point without investigation or admission.

@squirbel volume does not equal quality, i think we’d agree.

anyways – i hope that this whole carcar thing was an isolated incident.

perhaps if there was a timer that limited how quickly in a row people could post comments, that might be of benefit? for example, once every 10min or 30min., on top of the question ceiling per day. it would certainly make the mods life easier. thoughts?

@asmonet, made sense changing the title of question, job well done, and we do need a place

Thanks. :)

@eponymoushipster: NO! DON’T SAY THAT! DON’T YOU EVEN THINK IT.

You realize, I regularly have 20+ Fluther tabs open and I carry on on simultaneous conversations in them all, and when they die down I replace them with more? This is my Fluther style.

Baby, why you hurt me so bad?

@asmonet no, baby, not POSTING quips, but ASKING questions. no way on answering, that’d kill the fluther.

i hurt ya cuz i lurve ya.

“a timer that limited how quickly in a row people could post comments,”

BACKPEDAL.

;)

@asmonet i misspoke. i meant questions all along – coffee still’s sinking in. no, timing comments would suck.

66 responses in 2 hours? wow this discussion is most happenin right now, as far as i can see

I think the email authentication is a good idea.

thas what i said in the first place, email authentication is the least

This is a timely question.

I agree to ignore for now is the best approach and wanted to add that to feed the trolls merely reduces us to “Jerry Springer” status quickly.

Fluther is better than that.
We – regardless of where we once were and how we found Fluther- are the captains of an incredible information machine.

I love this site and the knowledge it brings and wisdom it offers.

Lately it seems like there has been a lot of random trolling and posts designed to create chaos. Feeding it and not recognizing it for what it is- troll bait- will only bring on more of the same. So I applaud this thread and am happy we want to unite in ignoring the trolls.

This way some of the good people who are stepping aside till the dust settles will return and join in on the conversations once again.

I know it is hard to resist a snappy comeback or joking around but we need to get a hand on all this and simply IGNORE!
Trolls: Just say FLAG

This thread lies in the fond memory of CARCAR who is no more between us. He/She? was a noble sole who came into this world to unite us all

The idea that our discourse of late has been so skewed by our need to stick up for the site we love so much seems to be a fleeting thing. It took a few trolls for us to truly appreciate what we had before. We’ve all to some extent been involved in threads where flame wars have ensued and have all made our own little quips that may or may not have been feeding the trolls.

I think it’s great however that we’ve finally got it out in the open that the thing to do is just ignore them… let them stew and finally give up.

Jellies… I salute you… and e-mail verification.

@Dr_C Lurve! Some of the threads got really funny and you are so right that at first we needed to defend Fluther or at least establish that Fluther was not broken and did not need fixing while welcoming new great minds.

Some of the early negative posters understood and came around but the ones that are coming in now are simply trolls who have no intent to be valued members.

It is a shame really that some think intelligent conversation is such a threat that they seek to disrupt it.

Kudos to Asmonet for the “Ignore the Trolls” campaign!
Trolls: Just FLAG

Not to be cheesy. But, right now all of us sound like Thomas Jefferson and Declaration of Independence. I joined Fluther yesterday and I just love it.

One of the reasons why i guess people are sticking for it is because Fluther don’t advertise and all. It’s like a democracy here. For the people, by the people sort of thing. But I feel this app has a lot of potential. I even mailed the creators of Fluther today, telling them that let me know, if i can help you in any way. I am a computer engineer. That’s how much I am into this.

Keep Fluthering.
Anoop Singh remembers CARCAR

Sweet, I am really glad that this didn’t devolve into heavy bickering, name calling or blaming. I’m so proud of all mah jellies. :)

@asmonet you’re a poophead.

@asmonet i bet you have cooties

You’re both gonna get cut.

:D

I hope that’s a metaphor.

For me shanking you.

@asmonet-—Does this mean you found the broadsword?—

@asmonet what if i shank you first?

I move like a cheetah. I’d like to see you try.

Challenge accepted.

Wow I just came across this Q by accident. If you’re still around @eponymoushipster, I assure you this spamming was not brought on by me. I guess we disagree as to what my “style” is. No problem. I know you have your reasons. No problem.