Topic: Ideas for the site.

@Th3solution Sadly it happens from time to time that we will get hit hard with a rash of spammers promoting a the same site or some b.s. like that.

To be honest I am not sure if it's like a group of people or an bunch of like infected PCs that decide to spam the site I am not 100% sure on how it works I just know that every once in awhile they come in like a flood.

Yeah but now I have no idea what to do about my crypto currency.

Haha, hopefully that's the end of it now!

Maybe some rule - like members must have posted 20 messages (not spam) with immediate termination of membership if these 20 don't conform to the site rules, been a member for a month, subscribed to PushSquares youtube and confirmed they like Taylor Swift before they can start a new thread...

Ok so the 'Taylor Swift' one maybe 1 step too far....

@BAMozzy I think we’re giving new users more completed laws than congress and politicians do at that point... It’s supped to be easy join the community lol.

Yeah, it’s a fine line between spammer and troll chaos which none of us want vs. creating a well-run but complex police state of requirements which runs the risk of restricting the community from growth of new users who can enjoy and contribute.
Personally, one of the things that convinced me to join and contribute was how organized things are and how stimulating and respectful (and at times, funny with good natured sarcasm) the discussion is among the users — yet I don’t think I actually studied the community rules prior to posting, I just lurked on the site reading the content long enough to know how the community is expected to behave. But I realize not all new users will be as prone to conscientious observation before posting.
I know many sites do have a period of time or number of comments that need to go by until some arbitrary ranking or categorization will escalate them from something like “new user” to “community member” and of course some have the elite level labels for long time users. I don’t think I would like a multi-tiered ranking system, but I would not be opposed to a simple probationary time frame or required activity level prior to full posting rights. I just don’t know if this would make your jobs easier or harder. It runs the risk of actually creating more work for you in moderating and promoting people to full status, and then also runs the risk of running off some people who would have become good contributors.
I don’t know... just some thoughts. And honestly, the spam is fairly rare but it just seems like it hit more in recent days, so maybe wholesale changes aren’t really needed.

@Th3solution Super users; removes the 140 character limit on posts and gives you access to comic sans and word art headliners for your own posts.

Just give me mod powers and I'll sort stuff out in a jiffy

@kyleforrester87 @Octane Lol. Well, super-users would typically get a little badge or star by their icon, but I like where you’re thinking. I’m afraid Deputy moderating powers to super-users would create imminently more chaos than it would prevent. 😂

@Jaz007 Joining the site would still be easy - but with the system I describe, it would stop people creating accounts just to spam new threads - they couldn't start a new thread until a set of criteria was fulfilled. Its almost a 'trial' period - prove that you are willing to be part of and contribute to the community rather than just spam - either with their own website/content or with Bitcoin. The fact that these would be like 'trial' memberships, their contributions in the forums could potentially be monitored easier - maybe send a 'flag' to moderators as 'newbie' post - rather than have them constantly monitoring every post.

The forums don't need to be checked with every new post/thread for example with the regulars but if a noobie posts, a flag is sent so that if any moderator is on line, they can check and deal with it quickly if it doesn't conform to rules. I am not saying that every noobie would 'spam' or need to be kicked off even, but if a flag was raised with their first posts, if they need to be kicked off (in the worst case scenario) or directed to the rules, I think it would make things better for regular users and easier for mods too. The most likely ones to break the rules or Spam are going to be the newbies so if they are on a 'trial' in the forums, have to prove they are willing to contribute before starting new threads and their posts send a notification so mods can easily check they conform to the rules.

An alternative is that newcomers can't post anything without moderators allowing it. After a set number of posts for example, they can then post directly without it having to wait until a moderator has vetted it.

None of these actually make it more difficult too sign up to the PushSquare community but help eliminate those that are only creating accounts to spam/troll. I think that 'newcomers' posts have to vetted by a moderator before they are 'live' on site helps both moderators and the community. Those that join for legitimate reasons - not to troll/spam - will not have an issue with this either. It also stops things getting out of hand with those trolls and regulars before a moderator gets online and would certainly limit those that only signed up to spam...

@BAMozzy Simple rules like not allowing a user to create threads with the same title could also prevent spam bots. I'm not sure how difficult that would be to implement, but there's already a feature that checks for duplicate posts.

Honest the amount of spammers vs how many new users we get per daily is significantly lower at least in my opinion. I don't think right now we need to change the join up procedure more then likely it will scare new honest members away I feel. Yes I will admit the past few days it seems we have had a huge influx of spammers but honestly that's very rare. It's more then likely some new pyramid scheme h as popped up and all it's members decided to hit us all at once. I am not sure why they decided to target us probably something with a search criteria they have, but as I said large influx of spammers like the past few days is rare. It's been awhile that we had an influx like the past few days.

Of course @get2sammyb might know a bit more.

@Octane It seems the spammers were using different titles - albeit very slightly. Moving a decimal point or spacing so one says 'Bitcoin', the next 'Bit.coin', the next 'Bitco.in' - not just words but these had numbers too so you had 1234, 12.34, 12 34, - maybe because they are aware that some sites pick up duplicate titles.

@Tasuki I don't think having a noobie tier membership would put people off from joining - not if they were genuine. If anything its more reassuring that the site and its community are more genuine and less likely to be intimidated, spammed or trolled. I think the community here is one of, if not the best - especially considering the toxic nature that a lot of gaming forums have. This site is one of the most open and friendly sites - majority are very accepting of the fact that others may have alternative opinions and not just game on Playstations either. It seems a more 'mature' site with 'gamers' (not fanboys) who generally have a Playstation as the 'common' link. I know there are still some though that will take every opportunity to have a dig at the competition but those are not the majority and the majority will keep on topic and/or remain civil.

The reason I said about having a 'noobie' trial were they can post but maybe not start new threads was more to make them feel less restricted or monitored when they join. If their posts are 'blocked' until they are vetted, that may make them feel like they are under observation. Its more subtle observation with the first method and less restricted.

It wasn't 'just' about the spam either - although that has been particularly bad the last day or two - particularly the bitcoin. It was also about trolls too - those that join up just to make comments in the news threads to antagonise. Whilst these are dealt with relatively quickly, its reactive rather than pro-active. It can draw in regulars and upset them into making comments etc that they wouldn't normally do but with 'pro-active' things in place, particularly if comments have to be vetted before going live from newcomers, that would stop this from happening - even dealt with before anyone gets upset. As a Mod for example, you could have a word with the person, direct them to the rules etc without anyone being upset or having to modify posts after its gone live. Any genuine potential member is unlikely to be put off and may even feel better about the community they are joining - knowing that abusive trolls or spammers won't be allowed so they know they are joining a great and respectful community.

Feedback: No screenshot thread?? That's so weird. Bad move IMO @tasuki

If people have "slow phones" they ain't gunna go in the topic. It isn't 1998 either.

And I mean, the console this site supports has a dedicated button on it for sharing screenshots.

Isn't the point of a screenshot thread that people with slow internet can avoid it? I mean, it's right there in the title.

@kyleforrester87 @Octane Agreed. I've reopened the thread with a warning for slow connection in the thread title.

Good stuff!!!

Now if only it was more streamlined to get screenshots uploaded 😂

@kyleforrester87 Haha, that's for @antdickens to solve!

Yeah it sucks that you need Twitter or Facebook account to upload screen shots, as I have neither.

@JohnnyShoulder Why not use something like imgbb or a similar free image hosting site?