User:Ah2190/SpottingSpammers

NOTE: This is not a definite guide to spotting all spammers with 100% efficiency. Also, this guide is to be considered unofficial and unsanctioned by this Wiki until further notice.

NOTE 2: Due to Guinea's new rule on the wiki, all of point 1 will be considered by the Sysops when desiding to approve new MFGG Wiki editors. As such, this guide may or may not be outdated by the criteria that the Sysops will use from now on, and also because that will reduce the number of spambots slipping through the net.

Spammers. These pesky little users - who are more often than not just a bot created by someone that is sent to wikis like this one - either create pages that have no connection to the wiki or edit pages with the intent of annoying the users of the wiki. However, while some spammers can be quickly spotted, others may lurk for days on end, waiting for the time to strike and spam the wiki. However, while some countermeasures that can be installed onto the wiki (like Captcha) can reduce the chances of certain spammers being able to spam the wiki, they are not fail-proof. Which is why I'm writing this guide - so that other users will be able to notice potential spammers, and that they know what to do with regards to them.

1. Check the Usernames. (Please do not badger the Sysops if the username falls under one of these sections. While this can help identify potential spammers, it doesn't mean that they are)
   1. Most potential spammers can be discovered just by looking at their username. If said username is unacceptable ("Asdasdasd22", "LollarPride107" and "Free Video Chat 1" are REAL examples of usernames that are unacceptable) then it's likely to be a spammer.
   2. Another way to check the username is against the list of MFGG members, both the mainsite and the forums. If the username doesn't show on either of them, it could mean one of three things:
      1. The user is only interested in 'helping' the wiki, and/or is not that interested in joining the forums or the mainsite;
      2. The user is either a double account of an existing user, most likely a banned one, or someone else acting on a banned user's behalf. This is especially clear if the first edits are of banned user's pages.
      3. The user uses more than one username. If this is the case, the user should state this in his userpage as to which username he uses on the wiki somewhere, or redirect the userpage to his MFGG article. (Thanks to Alex for letting me know this. I knew there was a third one, but I couldn't remember what it was.)
   3. Even if the username matches a current one, you need to take in account the status of that account: How many posts had that user made? And are they currently banned, especially perma-banned? This is important, as one of the previous Sysops, TheJoey, had this policy: "Perma's on the forums, perma'd IN REAL LIFE". True, nowadays the max ban on the forums is normally a year, but the same principle applies: If you are banned on the forums, especially for a long time, then you are banned in real life from the rest of MFGG.
2. Often, a user's first few edits will clearly show what type of user he (or she) is going to be.
   1. If the user creates a userpage that isn't a redirect to their MFGG information, then either they don't have a mainsite or forum account, or, especially when they create a page where their MFGG information would be if they were a member of MFGG which contains (almost) exactly the same as the userpage content, they are a spammer. If it's the later, flag the pages up by adding {{Delete}} to the top of the page. A Sysop will get round to checking the page, and will take action if needed. (3 spambot have been blocked directly through this rule)
      1. In extension to this, recently some spam users have been avoiding using the userspace, instead only posting in the mainspace. But they don't follow the style of the official MFGG userpages, instead having a wall of text with a link hidden within, which may or may not have any connection to the topic they are talking about in their userpage. Userpages are not places to talk at length about topics - and anyone who does use them as such is most likely a spammer. The same thing applies when dealing with these pages: flag the pages up by adding {{Delete}} to the top of the page, and then a Sysop will get round to checking the page, and will take action if needed. (5 spambots have been blocked directly through this rule)
         1. Even now, spambots are trying to suprise us by using non-username pagenames, but the stuff on the pages are still spam. I don't think there's much to elaborate on this point right now, though.
      2. Also, as an aside, this is an ENGLISH wiki. So pages in other languages are not acceptable on this wiki. Either learn some English, or face the music - and it ain't preaty. (3 spambot have been blocked directly through this rule)
   2. If the user edits the information of a banned member, especial if said member has been perma-banned, then that user is most likely a duplicate account of said banned member or one of his 'friends'. If this happens, you don't need to flag it up: the Sysops pay close attention to these pages, and will take action as needed.
   3. If one of the user's first edits is to edit a page so that most, if not all, of the information is removed, it is most likely a spammer who clears information from wikis for the fun of it. If this is the case, UNDO is your friend: it will revert the changes the spammer made. Also, make sure to flag a Sysop up about it, using either their talk page or the edit summary of the undo, or both.
      1. In extension, sometimes spambots will edit part of a page to include some spam. Again, UNDO is your friend: it will revert the changes the spammer made. Also, make sure to flag a Sysop up about it, using either their talk page or the edit summary of the undo, or both.

Anyway, that's all I can think of right now. If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to leave them on the Talk page.

- MFGG Member Ah2190 (Talk) 10:34, 26 February 2012 (EST)