SPAM Filters and Things to Look For

At this point I believe everyone is familiar with Email SPAM. You know, Get Rid of Debt, Natural Viagra, Male Enhancement, Refinance Your Home and all that other unwanted crap that fills your email INBOX.

Well, web sites with Discussion Forums like our are prime targets for these same people. The worst offenders have sophisticated programs that go out and register for accounts automatically then start posting SPAM ads in every forum. The "squiggly letters" that you have to type when you register, and the email that is sent with the link that you must click get rid of almost all of the "automatic systems". That does not stop real human beings from registering and then unleashing their SPAM posting programs.




On this web site we use our own sophisticated software that reads every new thread, reply, comment, article, BLOG posting, etc. and checks things like the user who wrote it, the Internet address that user came from, what the posting actually says, etc. to determine if it is SPAM or not.

No software is perfect however. You may, from time to time, post legitimate things that do not show up. If something you submit is thought to be SPAM you will get a message that an Administrator or Moderator must approve your posting and that it is currently in Awaiting Moderation status. Don't worry - this isn't me picking on you! This is simply the SPAM system flagging your message as having several elements in common with real SPAM. Your posting is safe, it just requires that I click "Not SPAM" on my side. The SPAM Filter is also self-learning. After I click Not SPAM a few times on your messages the system knows that you are OK to post and will stop blocking your messages.

So the obvious question, Why did I get flagged as SPAM? There are far too many reasons to list here. Maybe someone used your email address to send SPAM (when you send an email, you can type in ANY return address and it is very simple to make a system think that YOU are the person that sent it). Maybe your Internet Address was used - something common if you use a public computer or a service like AOL.

If the site tells you that your posting must be moderated, don't worry - it will be. If it does not show up after a couple days then shoot me an email to remind me.

Thanks!
BurmKiller