We’ve Been Invaded: Emergency Action Plan
Over the past 12 hours, we have been invaded by dozens of spammers. On one level, this is a good thing because this means that the website is attracting attention….but it is the wrong kind of attention. So far, we are only getting comments, which are exclusively commercial promotions but, as we all know, it will get worse.
I have been holding off these spammers through the simple expedient of not allowing non-members to post comments. This is not the best solution because it seems – and is – exclusionary and unfriendly.
My emergency plan for dealing with this phenomenon is to TEMPORARILY SHUT OFF the function that allows new members to join Bindlesnitch.
This is an interim measure while I work on installing an alternative enrollment process. During this interregnum, the only way that new members can join BindleSnitch will be through the recommendations of approved members.
During thi9s period, I will be installing a three-step process that will include a manual approval oversight. More work for me.
Your mission, should you wish to accept the responsibility, will be to police your own recent posts and delete the bogus comments from the spammers. There is an edit function button on each comment. If you click that button, there is a delete option in the next window (or at least there is supposed to be one there. Let me know if it isn’t there or isn’t working for you.)
We are all very experienced people here, so I really shouldn’t have to tell you that no one drills down past the home page, or the first page of the category results, so that’s as far as you need to go to police your page. (All of your posts are listed on your member’s page, which might be an easier way to find them.
I know this just started within the past 12 hours because I received emails to my personal account every time a comment is added to one of my posts. You should also be getting these for your posts.
I will be turning off the signup page as soon as I post this advisory and figure out how to do that.
Bear with me, now. This will take a little time.
12/23/2020 @ 11:24 am
Went back through 6 posts, 2 weeks…
No sign of interlopers….
12/23/2020 @ 11:33 am
Thank you. I have now determined that, for some reason, all of the spammer comments are being attached to my previous BindleSnitch updates. I don’t know why. I am deleting these spammer members as fast as I can. There were several hundred of them. Right now, with the Join button turned off, it should be impossible for anyone to join up. If they do manage to do that, I will have to change the name on that page so that they can’t find it again.