Spamming?

[Conforumist]

I was wondering what is considered "spamming" on this forum? I'm asking because there are a lots posts which have only 1 smiley or 2 in them. It's considered spamming on some of the other boards I visit. Just curious.

[Dotsie]

Buy Ugg boots here! Go to this site to get DVD boxsets! I was wondering what is considered "spamming" on this forum?

[ChristianBecker]

In my book, spamming is when you advertise and open one or several threads in order to do so. Especially when you just join a forum in order to advertise, this can be considered spamming.
Moreover, spam is often dubious like "Get your Cialis and Viagra here at a 75% discount" - or, as is often the case, an equivalent in really bad English.

Of course posting 1 smiley posts can also be considered spamming, if it's everything you ever contribute to a topic or do it repeatedly, like posting 2 or more one smiley posts in a row.

[Quatermass]

Having been a moderator on another forum, I have two definitions of spamming. The first is what you guys have defined as spamming. I call it 'commercial spamming'.

The other is a deliberate attempt to flood the BBS with insulting, offensive, or just plain annoying messages. I call this 'trolling spamming', as it is the work of trolls.

Believe me, we used to have a lot of trouble from certain idiotic trolls who used to post nasty or pornographic images repeatedly, ruining the forum for everyone else. I treated them with the contempt they deserved.

Of course, it wasn't just shock images they posted. They also either spammed text (like "YOU LOSE I WIN YOU LOSE I WIN YOU LOSE I WIN", etc, showing the depths of intellectual capability of a persistent troll) or smileys, particularly animated smileys.

[Tonyblack]

As far as I'm concerned spamming is when someone joins a site merely to promote goods for sale or another website. If, for example, someone starts posting what appear to be 'harmless' posts but they have a link to a sales website either in their signature or as their homepage, I would consider that spamming.

Note - this is not the same as a well established member posting a link to a site that they own that sells things - for example Mad Collector and chillicamper.

We also tolerate people posting to advertise Discworld related things such as plays etc.

I do not consider posting a smiley as spam. Sometimes a smiley says exactly what you want to say. For example; you don't need to write "that's very funny and I'm laughing out loud when you can just post this -->

As Q says there is commercial spam which we don't tolerate and then there are trolls - thankfully we've had very few of those here.

[Bouncy Castle]

And Bouncy's always on the case!

[Tonyblack]

Just to add - coming down on people for silly little things like posting a smiley instead of writing a sentence makes for an uncomfortable place to be. We want people to feel comfortable here in as friendly an atmosphere as possible.

I've known site where people get very annoyed if someone posts a new thread on a topic that's already been covered. My feeling is that not everyone is prepared or able to go digging through five years worth of posts on the off chance that something has been discussed before. Sometimes discussing something afresh can lead to new insights. So unless a new thread has been started on a topic that was just created a short while ago, I'm quite prepared to allow it.

[Bouncy Castle]

Does seem a little draconian.

If you were deleted here because you only posted a smiley, we'd all be gone and the site inactive.

[ChristianBecker]

And Tony would have to ban himself .

I think this forum is one of the best-moderated I've ever visited.

[Tonyblack]

And Bouncy's always on the case!

Yes indeed!

In fact I'd like to take this opportunity to thank, on behalf of all the moderating team, those of you who mark suspicious posts. It makes our jobs a lot easier and, although we may not thank you then and there, it really is appreciated.

[Catch-up]

Never heard of a smiley being considered spam! I would agree with the above, I've always thought it was posting solely for the purpose of advertising something.

[raisindot]

Personally, I think anyone who ever posts "Google is your friend" to a question someone posts on a forum is, by definition, a spammer, a troll, and and a humbug.

[ChristianBecker]

Hm, I think I've done that. :/

[Penfold]

One board I belong to (a football one) not only deletes posts that include only smilies, they also limit you to one smiley per post, including any in a quoted text (I would love to see the look on Batty's face on reading this ). They also lock a new topic if it has been covered elsewhere or even if it is similar in nature to posts on a different topic and think nothing of arbitrarily moving a topic if they feel like it. They also come down hard on going even slightly off topic. (They are not particularly welcoming to newbies either and I think my post count amounts to 33 since joining in May 2010.) Having said that, in their favour, they are quick to stamp on racist and offensive posters and their regulars are quite knowledgeable about football in general so its a good place to visit and lurk if I want to know what is going on.

[pip]

Sounds too polite to be a Westham site Penners