Members joining up and not posting?

[JPM]

Hi folks,

I started a forum just over a week ago and have 33 registered members. However, only around 4 or 5 of them are posting.

Should i be concerned or is there a problem?

Just quite frustrating seeing people sign u then disappear. Should I be concerned about spam or is it purely a question of time.

Take a look and tell me what you think... http://www.productforum.info

 

[D]

yes that there is a classic case of spam-bots

searching - - - for your vbulletin copyrightz part then its raping your forum with signups that will activatez and shootz you.......

install anti-spam addons from vbulletin.org to aviod stains.

 

[JPM]

then its raping your forum with signups that will activatez and shootz you.......

Thanks for your reply. I'm sorry i'm a little lost by your advice?

 

[D]

you have spambots, go to vbulletin.org and get anti-spam addons.

 

[Acorn]

Yeah and in the meantime, ban the ones you've got before they DO start posting. You don't want them to do that...

 

[D]

^^^^^^^^

 

[JPM]

but how can i say for certain they are definetely spam and not geniune users?

 

[about lee]

Just by looking at the usernames. Some have random words. Also by emails. Looking for like really long emails, or none, hotmail, etc.. normally site names like: [email protected] would be a spam bot.

 

[Acorn]

They're like ants. Once you spot one, suddenly you see 10 more. You learn the look of them pretty much. Lee is right about their characteristics. They're harder to spot than they used to be but you can still tell.

 

[Cam]

Yeah, sounds like you have a few spam bots to me. Sometimes it's okay to give them free reign on your forum though, I let a spam bot keep posting website advertisements, just for entertainment to watch. You never really know what to expect; but most likely, it's spam, which I am sure you don't want on your forum.

 

[JPM]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Much appreciated.

 

[AnAccount]

They're like ants. Once you spot one, suddenly you see 10 more. You learn the look of them pretty much. Lee is right about their characteristics. They're harder to spot than they used to be but you can still tell.

Interesting Analogy about the ants, Acorn. I never thought of spam bots that way, but that does kind of make sense. I suppose the same could be true for legit spammers as well.

 

[JayJACKEL!]

but how can i say for certain they are definetely spam and not geniune users?

People who sign up and don't post always have spammy looking usernames.

Spam bots register under one or a few different accounts, so you want to make sure that the username they sign up under isn't taken. That stops all confusion with the script and it flows easier.

I should know, I programmed one a few years back (regrettably) and it did exactly that ^^^^^

 

[David]

I sometimes just sign up to forums if a certain username is available, and then don't post. It's not spamming or whatnot; sometimes people just don't want to at the moment. When I signed up on FP in 2009, I made one post and pretty much left and then came back half a year later or so and posted ever since. You probably shouldn't be worried until they actually make a post or they fix their signature with spammy looking links.

 

[JPM]

Kay and David. Thanks for the advice, useful 🙂