Links in Signature

[wraith808]

Do we have a limit in place on the number of posts people have to have before posting links in their signature?  I've seen a user with links in their signature, that have posted not spam but not useful comments on older threads that have links in their signature.  I was wondering if the reason for the non-useful posts was to get past the threshold to post links in their sig?

[anandcoral]

I was wondering if the reason for the non-useful posts was to get past the threshold to post links in their sig?

-wraith808 (August 15, 2016, 11:05 AM)

I was wondering that too when I noted that one (N) has posted reply to even a year 2006 message !!

Regards,

Anand

[Ath]

I've reported it as spam using the report as spam link. It sure looks odd enough to me to do so.

[wraith808]

I've reported it as spam using the report as spam link. It sure looks odd enough to me to do so.

-Ath (August 15, 2016, 12:58 PM)

I did also, I just figured it was strange enough for me to bring up as it might be something that we wanted to generally cover.

[mouser]

There are rules in place that won't show someone's signature at all until they have made 5 or so posts, although it will let them put on in.

While this does mean that you'll sometimes briefly see a signature with links for a new user who has only been here a day who is posting a lot, this is an almost sure sign they are a spammer, so it's useful for finding them.

What I could do though, is add a one week delay so you won't see signature spam by brand new users.

[mouser]

I have updated the forum code so signature (and similar linkable fields) will not be displayed until a member has been registered for 3 or more days.
The only downside is that it may make it harder to spot spammers.

[wraith808]

I have updated the forum code so signature (and similar linkable fields) will not be displayed until a member has been registered for 3 or more days.
The only downside is that it may make it harder to spot spammers.

-mouser (August 15, 2016, 02:26 PM)

Oh, it wasn't a problem either way.  I was just wondering when I saw the spam if that was the reason.

[mouser]

I was wondering if the reason for the non-useful posts was to get past the threshold to post links in their sig?

i doubt they are thinking that cleverly, they are probably just posting to old threads in hopes of sticking their links/signature where people won't notice.  But we have a good community hear and such posts never survive a day without being reported

[Stoic Joker]

I have updated the forum code so signature (and similar linkable fields) will not be displayed until a member has been registered for 3 or more days.
The only downside is that it may make it harder to spot spammers.

-mouser (August 15, 2016, 02:26 PM)

Can you log the qualifying events somewhere (Email?) to draw attention to them?

[mouser]

Yep, do that already
Even when signatures and other items are not shown, moderators get emails when people change their profile or edit an old post and try to sneak in a link (which could otherwise be pretty effective way of inserting spam).  The emails include a score indicating how suspicious the edit/signature/profilechange is