Spam & moderation
I have a community where members can messages one another. There's invariably users that want to maximize their exposure and mass-message many users or comments on other's post with "check this out" type of comments.
Which system worked out best for you?
Blocking the users is exhausting.
I'm thinking about throttling the number of new thread a user can start, but I'd love to hear how you address this.
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Try to find a pattern in the spam messages. If it's the wording, check for that. If it's a specific link or type of links, check for that. Also try to find a pattern in the spammy users (e.g. how many of their posts/messages contain a link or what's the average length of their messages?).
Those are all just ideas and examples of course, it's up to you to find a pattern which you will be able to automate.
Once you've built a spam recognition system, throw a "shadow ban" on those users (or on their messages). The goal is to not make them suspicious, because then they will work around your restrictions or systems. Just waste their time as much as possible.
Thanks!
Good idea on the shadow ban. Some users are definitely testing the system in every way they can.