When is spam not spam?

[Jan]

All forums are run differently and they all have different tolerance levels.

I think all forums have "drive by" spammers. The type that have no interest in your forum or the subject, they just join up at one forum after the other to spam their get rich schemes or affiliate links.

Then you get those who sign up and place ads in every the category that the forum has.

What do you do if someone posts just one ad *somewhere* on the forum. Bearing in mind it may have been misplaced or deliberate?

Then you get the occasional quiet poster, who might come in and post a link within a thread every few weeks or so, or asks for a site review which is clearly made for SEO purposes, for example :
The best forum for admins and moderators (http://www.forumuniversity.com) or The largest webhosting forum (http://www.webhostingtalk.com).

These are just a few different examples, there are many more scenarios as you probably all know.

How do you and your members define spam?

[TheDPQ]

I have no issues defining someone saying 'good luck' in posts as spam, especially when said user ONLY post that and ONLY in the marketplace and they just HAPPEN to be an admin of a forum with the web design/master marketplace in mind. :D

I really take it case by case. I have a forum called Ads & Notices that doesn't allow replies to post, so i let people get it out of their system without spamming the rest of the forum. Any post i feel is more of the spamy or advertisement sort i just put it in there.

Mostly you hate spam because it gets in the way and annoys the regular users and pushes the other posts down. This gets it out of the way completely and only those who really want to review the forum will see it. No reply so no bumping either.

[Jan]

have a forum called Ads & Notices that doesn't allow replies to post, so i let people get it out of their system without spamming the rest of the forum. Any post i feel is more of the spamy or advertisement sort i just put it in there.
What about unsavoury links and scammy posts? Do they all go there too? Or do run an "anything goes" type forum?

[TheDPQ]

What about unsavoury links and scammy posts? Do they all go there too? Or do run an "anything goes" type forum?
I have rules on what's acceptable and not acceptable on the forum in general. I won't allow 'win free ipod' or posts of that ilk. Anything illegal, or anything that might otherwise cause a problem. Every now and then i get something really useless and from a person with just 1 post, i just delete it.

[A_Jelly_Doughnut]

I think it is always spam, whether they post it once every three months or three times a minute. Ta ta spam. :)

[SoftWareRevue]

How do you and your members define spam?Here I thought spam was unsolicted email. :)

Posting spam ain't email, but can be just as annoying. Or maybe more annoying; as it isn't just an X in your email client you need to click, but you have to assess the poster's intention, ban when it becomes necessary, censor when it becomes necessary, and read all the Reported Post messages if you have a proactive member base. :)

Forum spam covers a lot more ground than the email spam we're all used to.

There are the self-serving/self-promotional types as outlined in the opening post here. But then there are the short responses alluded to as well. These can be a bit trickier. Because, not everyone posting a short response is posting it to increase their post count or get their signature shown.

It can take some work to research the member and try to grasp their true intentions. I said it was more work than email spam! :P

I think different moderators will draw different conclusions when they see what may be post spam. But I think any well informed moderator will draw the same conclusion as another well informed moderator if they take the time to thoroughly assess the members' posts.

I know I've made my share of "LOL" posts. And at first glance it may have looked like I posted just to make a post. But I often just wanted to say :D (or something nearly as short)

How do I define post spam? "A post made with the sole intention of gaining attention."

Whether that attention is geared towards increasing post count, displaying a signature, or showing off your tan. Sometimes the post just needs to be deleted. Sometimes the member does. We just have to look at the big picture and sort it out. :peace:

[Sybaris]

Well I always worry about posting the url to my site in forums incase it is seen as blatent spam, It normaly isnt but people see it that way, That said i think if you have a place for this on your site then you cant really complain if people post in it advertising their own site.

I prefer if people stick to advertising in their sigs, That way for them to get the advert out they have to post so its a double edged sword.

As for other kinds of spam, Hmmmm its down to individuals isnt it, whats spam for you could be a valuable post on my site, I suppose a lot depends on the size of the site, On mine i would welcome even the most bizzare posting (within reason) but on other more poular/busy sites this would be seen as an attempt to either get a higher posting rate or just spam and deleted.

So i think its up to individual site owners to decide what is spam for them and keep the definition fluid so at a later date you can be more proactive in keeping it to a minimum...

[sandrodz]

I don't allow spam and I have universal policy... I mean, no exceptions, every intend to do spam is forbidden, except cases when members ask for those services himself... like, if someone asks for a good webhosting forum members can post their websites and direct member to a correct website, but they aren't allowed to open posts saying "best webhosting forum" - u get the idea :)