How can you limit spam on forums?

[bochgoch]

...then set up a UK sms service (free)

Do you mind sharing details of the free sms service?

[tb987]

what i did to stop spam was
installed the "no spam" hack on my vbulletin
and then set up a UK sms service (free)

then users text to get a pass code and enter that

i get NO SPAM!

i also make revenue from the texts
and i keep my .co.uk board to UK users only

i havent had one bit of spam yet!

I like the sound of this, could you provide some more details.

Tony

[temi]

Tony, what is the mod called? I need to know what its called to find it at vB support forum.

Thanks

[buffalo]

hehehe.....

At this point, my forum is so small and so new, that I think I would be happy to have some spammers.

[Shadab]

Some steps which can greatly reduce Forum spam :

- Image or any other type of verification at the time of registration

- EMail link activation of accounts

- Prevent users with less than 5 posts to post a live link.

[symbyo sem]

- Image verification and email confirmation will stop the vast majority of automated registrations and bot postings.
- Swear filters are good if the same offenders keep coming back - filter URLs, site names, etc.
- IP blocking is worth a try, but a serious spammer will get around that.
- tighten up your flood control settings to limit the number of messages a bot can post.
- if you haven't done so, be sure you have a "report" link in each message or thread so members can let mods/admins know when they spot spam
- use mass pruning/deletion for quick cleanup.
- check the IPs used to post, and document the spam to the ISP or institution if you see any kind of pattern.
- if your problem is really massive, you could even implement image verification on each new post; this will irritate the membership, though.

[leapfrog]

Thank you temi.

[dezinerite]

What forum software are you using? Make sure you use captcha or any other registration security tool. If you've got a vBulletin software then you might want to enable the Akismet plug in they have. It's really good and that's what I'm currently using for my forum. I've had no problems with spammers so far.

[Acs]

re-captcha in vB 3.7.x has worked wonders for my forums.

[temi]

re-captcha in vB 3.7.x has worked wonders for my forums.

Did it completely eliminate spam in your forum?