Announcing the Spam Watchlist and other anti-spam tools

Later today, we'll be releasing the Spam Watchlist — a new tool to help you fight spam.

This feature surfaces a list of people on your Ning Network that might be spammers, based on an algorithm that analyzes their content:

It's totally up to you to take action (either to suspend for spam or whitelist as not a spammer). All the Spam Watchlist does is let you know who seems fishy. You'll find it on your Members Moderation page, and you'll only see a link when there are any members in the list.

The algorithm will get better as you and other Ning Creators interact with the Spam Watchlist — it learns as you either suspend or whitelist members who appear there (if you choose to whitelist a member, they won't show up in this list again). For that reason, we recommend giving it a few weeks to warm up. If you have any feedback on the feature, please let us know using the feedback link that appears on the Spam Watchlist page!

In addition to the Spam Watchlist, we want to help protect your Ning Network from profile comment spam, which we know is particularly annoying.

Today, along with the Spam Watchlist, we're introducing a new checkbox that allows you to completely turn off profile comment emails. Obviously this is bad for engagement and not recommended, but we want to give you a last resort option in the event you're seeing a lot of spam. You'll find this option on your Email Settings page.

Additionally, in the next couple of weeks we'll start scanning profile comments for spam as they are posted. When we see suspicious posts, we'll be able to not trigger an email notification, or throw a CAPTCHA. We'll have more details on that in the coming days.

Please let us know if you have any questions or thoughts.

Its a general policy that on their own page they can do as they wish, in my mind thats networking if they don't pursue members with adverts or send messages to the masses in their inbox advertising their site or business but other wise a banner on their own page is okay. I've never had issues with those members at all. If they participate this is a way to meet other members and IF the member sees the banner on their page it is up to that member to go over.

Saying this, my member participation has gone down, while they come in and read discussions ALOT they do not participate. I believe the bottom line is FaceBook, it's preferable to our type of networks and people are fickle they are not there for 'your" or "mine" network or interested if just a stop on their way to FB.

As to the spammer tool, it just doesn't come up at all, nothing ever shows up.

Replies

William Douglas March 31, 2012 at 4:08am

Your Spam Watchlist is empty. Sweet!

I see this message daily - as I am deleting spammers!
- Dzemil > William Douglas March 31, 2012 at 6:46am
  
  these spammers seem to be smarter now. they spam their own profile so it's not visible on the main page.
  
  i was sad to learn that almost all the members that signed up on my network over the last 2 months were secret spammers.
  
  and i thought people were signing up because they were interested in the network. :rollseyes
  - Skye > Dzemil March 31, 2012 at 8:57am
    
    Its a general policy that on their own page they can do as they wish, in my mind thats networking if they don't pursue members with adverts or send messages to the masses in their inbox advertising their site or business but other wise a banner on their own page is okay. I've never had issues with those members at all. If they participate this is a way to meet other members and IF the member sees the banner on their page it is up to that member to go over.
    
    Saying this, my member participation has gone down, while they come in and read discussions ALOT they do not participate. I believe the bottom line is FaceBook, it's preferable to our type of networks and people are fickle they are not there for 'your" or "mine" network or interested if just a stop on their way to FB.
    
    As to the spammer tool, it just doesn't come up at all, nothing ever shows up.
Areruu Bobai Baati June 23, 2011 at 2:35am

Hi Nick,

How about those sites who are using their own mother tongue, can you scanning also their comments? Mine is in that situation. Good improvement.

Areruu
Annette Albert June 5, 2011 at 1:17pm

I get spammers who answer the sign up questions with the reply 'any' so if I ask why are you joining the site the reply is 'any'. How did you hear of the site reply 'any' and they get through.
- Speed Racer > Annette Albert June 5, 2011 at 3:00pm
  
  if you turn on approve members before they can join, they wont get through, you'll see those answers and deny them before they are allowed to post.
  - Annette Albert > Speed Racer June 5, 2011 at 10:45pm
    
    I don't want to approve members I think it puts people off joining.
    - Speed Racer > Annette Albert June 5, 2011 at 10:51pm
      
      I felt the same way at first, but the complaints from the spammers were far worse. You can change the language of that approval notification to state you are doing this to protect current members from spam, too. It was hard for me to start doing it, but once I did, everything is fine...i've approved six new members today, while blocked one spammer yesterday....im going to search out the language in the language editor for that notification and change it, I will post it in a tip by tomorrow, so look for it if you want to see how I word it.
      - Annette Albert > Speed Racer June 5, 2011 at 10:55pm
        
        that would be really helpful. thanks
        
        Speed Racer > Annette Albert June 5, 2011 at 11:26pm
        
        ok Anna, i posted the tip, click here to see it. hope you like it!

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