(15-01-2010 10:57 PM)Cipher Wrote: [ -> ] (15-01-2010 10:53 PM)Decapitated Banana Wrote: [ -> ]GoogleBot, Yahoo! Slurp, and MSNBot are all I've seen.... if those are what you mean.
No, they're spiders. They check every single thread and post on the forum so they can be placed into search engines. userbots sign up with actual accounts and are actual members but are placed in by advertising companies to try and trick us into buying their crap (nearly said something a lot worse then :P).
I knew they were spiders.. I was under the impression that 'spider' and 'userbot' were synonymous. :P
(15-01-2010 10:57 PM)Cipher Wrote: [ -> ]userbots sign up with actual accounts and are actual members but are placed in by advertising companies to try and trick us into buying their crap (nearly said something a lot worse then :P).
So I take it Userbots
are living members, just corporate drones advertising there latest box of packing peanuts ? or just good AI's planted by a one such drone to get said advertising done ?
Now they'll just move to Yahoo. Or one of the billion other free webmail clients.
Or set up a POP account on free hosting.
Only way to do this effectively is with an approval system for users.
(16-01-2010 08:49 AM)ṦĦï₦ïǤḀṀï Wrote: [ -> ]So I take it Userbots are living members, just corporate drones advertising there latest box of packing peanuts ? or just good AI's planted by a one such drone to get said advertising done ?
Userbots aren't actual people, just very clever drones. Most of the ones we get are put out by a certain flash card company who aims their products at DS and DSi owners...
(16-01-2010 10:21 AM)Afti Wrote: [ -> ]Now they'll just move to Yahoo. Or one of the billion other free webmail clients.
Or set up a POP account on free hosting.
Only way to do this effectively is with an approval system for users.
None of our bots have ever used Yahoo or any other sort of free host. They've always been from Gmail or one business in particular who we've already blocked. If that changes, then yes, we will take the necessary action to resolve that, but this is all we need for now.
Quote:Why not just ask a simple pokemon related question upon registering? I don't think userbots are that smart are they?
I seem to remember banning a userbot who, as Cipher phrased it, brought up a valid political point.
I'm glad neither David nor I use Gmail. Eating the userbots is fun, but we can't get them all unless we do something like this.
(16-01-2010 01:36 PM)Cipher Wrote: [ -> ] (16-01-2010 10:21 AM)Afti Wrote: [ -> ]Now they'll just move to Yahoo. Or one of the billion other free webmail clients.
Or set up a POP account on free hosting.
Only way to do this effectively is with an approval system for users.
None of our bots have ever used Yahoo or any other sort of free host. They've always been from Gmail or one business in particular who we've already blocked. If that changes, then yes, we will take the necessary action to resolve that, but this is all we need for now.
No need, previously. Now there is, so they will do so.
I've noticed, Every time I come on it says Googlebot on the Online users :|
(17-01-2010 05:27 PM)∞Cєlєвι∞ Wrote: [ -> ]I've noticed, Every time I come on it says Googlebot on the Online users :|
Googlebot isn't a userbot. As I've already said, Googlebot is a spider and is only updating its search engine's details on Acanthite.
Gmail has now been blocked. As far as I know at the moment, users with a Gmail address look to be okay, but please please PLEASE contact me if anything goes wrong.
I'm okay, I use Yahoo, but it's still a shame people feel it is necessary to send out bots to cause trouble - I mean no-one's going to buy their stuff. Also, sometimes I see them on forums like this trying to sell viagra and pr0n, on a Pokémon forum. Target-audience mix-up much?
THANK YOU GOD I WASN'T AFFECTED. (By god I mean Cipher.)
Now you know why I wanted to be mod way back when, I sorta saw all this coming, as it happens to any forum, regardless of CAPTCHA or banning.