DN: Too much spam on top stories
over 7 years ago from Robert Anitei, UI/UX Designer @ robertanitei.com
over 7 years ago from Robert Anitei, UI/UX Designer @ robertanitei.com
I liked DN when only fewer people could register…
Yes, me too. The quality of DN has been dropped rapidly since the open registration.
I don't think exclusivity is necessarily the best option to pursue. I actually like the fact that it's not invite only because it gives everyone a chance to join in, of course I guess these types of articles have to be regulated with some sort of cap on how many upvotes a post gets to feature on the front page, or how recent the account is.
Could DN implemented an algorithm that would prevent new accounts from posting until they've received a certain amount of up votes ( greater than 50 ) on comments ?
While, I'm not big on preventing open registration, I like the idea of this.
This is a really good idea. maybe on some karma rate on upvoting posts and comments. make this more like producthunt. It should be like: top designers post high quality content not everybody is posting everthing. Would also improve the duplicate content issue.
The DN community isn't as karma driven as others so it could take a while to gather 50 up votes for comments, good idea but needs to be tuned to this community. Also maybe an idea to highlighting new users and give a lesser weighting to their submitted content?
it could take a while to gather 50 up votes for comments
This is exactly the point. After 50 up votes on comments, you've contributed enough commentary to the community where you can start contributing actual links. The issue with these spammers is that they are creating brand new accounts, posting 10 links and then getting 10 spam accounts to up vote the links. The goal is to create a barrier that is high enough to deter this type of spam while still enabling people to participate in the community.
Also maybe an idea to highlighting new users and give a lesser weighting to their submitted content?
There is already a weighting system built into DN with up votes; I'm not sure how adding a second system to highlight new users helps stop spam accounts?
I don't understand is that really hard to block this website and users who share it?
It looks like that the user Creative Minds posted 8 stories today, all with click-bait titles with shortened links that leads to webdesignshare.
For shortlinks DN can make a filtering system before posting the story. It's a really simple technique.
Hi Guys, these are all great comments and ideas. I've sent a link to the admins. As a mod, we do try and catch the spam as early as possible and have been trying to think between us the best way of combatting it, some of which you have also mentioned in your comments.
Please just give it a bit more time, there are updates in the works...
I thought this site is so well visited. How come, that it only takes two upvotes for something to show up on the frontpage?
Just a thought, Maybe Invite-only like Dribbble would be nice to solve the spam issue?
That's how it used to be. Unfortunately it was considered elitist or obstructive to the site's profitability... or something.
Reinforcements incoming!
In support of what James said, there needs to also be a somewhat realistic expectation of how soon Mods can catch and deal with spam. In the example given, less than 30 minutes had elapsed and they were all clearly done at the same time. There is not a Mod on here 24/7/365, so until the new backend blocking and such is implemented, let's please be realistic with how quick many of us can deal with the issues manually.
I would understand people being upset if stuff was lingering for more than a couple hours, but giving us 26 minutes is a bit of a stretch.
There are new posting procedures being planned and new backend blocking also in the works. Similar to us, please do not forget that DN is not Google or Microsoft... with endless cash and a team of dedicated salaried employees.
Everyone is truly working hard at dealing with the issues. We thank everyone for your patience and understanding as we all work towards creating a better experience for all. As they say... "Rome wasn't built in a day..."
Thanks.
EDIT: Also, please do not forget to flag any posts you find that you feel might have been missed by the team!
I browse DN via RSS. The first thing I do is remove "+ Best"
from unread. It's so annoying, I hope they're blocked soon.
Fret not! A fix for this specific issue is coming: banning specific URLs (it's ready, just needs to be pushed live with a number of other updates). In the meantime, Mods will take care of the posts, and users involved with webdesignshare in any form will be instantly deleted.
So sorry for this inconvenience, but thank you for understanding while we work this out.
It's really sad! I joined DN not long ago in the hope that the content would be more curated but it seems that content strategists got this one also. I don't really know if there are alternatives left.
Agree completely!
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