How to spot a spammer

[temi]

Kashem,
That would help very much, I look forward to the list

[gkd_uk]

GKD,
You guessed right, they us bot to find bots and its actually the bot that generate the names etc for them

So these Bots can register on a forum, by pass the visual spam code and then activate the activation email :eek2:

[temi]

yes bots can.

[gkd_uk]

I guess the only way to stop this is to set up admin approval but this would put new members off

[betias]

How to spot a spammer?
i have worked in chat rooms were spamming can really be a problem. But just as well forums. Most spammers who aim to profit from spamming normally use sex related usernames: sex66, widemouth****, etc. thes are easier to spot.

The ones who are more difficult are the genuine spammers. They spam for no other reason than spamming. They normally go directly to the pM's or post rudely and try to upset well placed topics.

here are a few tips I saw on DP
- set post requirements before signature usage is available
-set post limits before link and image uploading is activated
- ask well known users to help you moderate your most important forums
-set time limits between pms and postings

These wont stop spammers, just slow them down - but it helps you to spot them faster and reduce the damage they may do.