Spoof members.

[Thingy]

Is it just me or have we suddenly had a rash of spoof members. We seem to have had a lot not bothering to introduce themselves and ask one question only to take no part in the thread and never to be seen again.

I could understand if they came on spouting filth and trolling us but why ask a semi sensible question and then disappear.

Its like paying for a meal and then sneaking out without eating it.

 

[Parksy]

We occasionally have newbies who access this forum via their smartphone to ask a single question never to be seen again and we sometimes have spam merchants trying out the system with a view to posting unauthorised advertising at some future date when they think that we aren't looking. :lol:
What the spammers forget is that our loyal and valued forumites are very good at using the Report button to alert either Damian or myself when such items appear if we haven't spotted them.
The advertising and phishing crooks are immediately banned from the entire website and everything that they have posted is removed along with their profile :evil:

 

[Thingy]

Big brother is watching then.

 

[geordiegirl]

I'm a new member and I promise you I'm a real person as you'll soon see from my many questions. I must add that this is a smashing site and I've spent many hours reading your back threads and have picked up lots of info from them.

 

[saint-spoon]

don't mention nose weights... I mention them once but I think I got away with it.

 

[Thingy]

Howay man.
You have already made 11 posts, typical woman

 

[Thingy]

Saint-spoon, you didnt get away with it. Its being debated by the EU today. Brexit is all about us not being forced to comply with the EU direction on noseweight.

It was actually a Dutch initiative as they are able to counterbalance using numerous pairs of wooden clogs and therefore do not suffer the same issues that we do.

 

[geordiegirl]

Howay man.
You have already made 11 posts, typical woman

:woohoo:

 

[colin-yorkshire]

Is it just me or have we suddenly had a rash of spoof members. We seem to have had a lot not bothering to introduce themselves and ask one question only to take no part in the thread and never to be seen again.

I could understand if they came on spouting filth and trolling us but why ask a semi sensible question and then disappear.

Its like paying for a meal and then sneaking out without eating it.

it's the same on any forum. as Parksy pointed out, a forum is open media so information is internet linked. a member of the general public can read some content of it during a google search, so having a particular problem or perceived problem can access the pages. however making a contribution to the forum, requires registration, so they join ask what they want to know, wait a few days for replies. and then if the question was answered, take no further part in the discussions. I'm on a motorbike forum, which has over 1000 members but if you look at the members list, over 50% have either never contributed or made less than 2 posts.
it can be annoying sometimes if one has gone to the trouble of answering a question in great detail and then never receive even a thank you. I don't have the patience I used to have so now usually only respond to members with at least 10 posts, it may not be encouraging for new members, but there you go.

 

[tenpole]

As Colin stated it is the same with every forum. In a 206cc forum you get a flood of new posters when the weather gets warmer and all those roofs fail to operate.

 

[Parksy]

I'm a new member and I promise you I'm a real person as you'll soon see from my many questions. I must add that this is a smashing site and I've spent many hours reading your back threads and have picked up lots of info from them.

I know for certain that you've read the 'saga that dare not speak it's name' Geordie Girl, and we're considering using that topic as a kind of initiation test of endurance to test the patience and sticking power of potential newbies before admitting them to the fold :lol:
To have ploughed through it voluntarily before you even joined shows a special sort of endurance so well done, you passed with flying colours :evil:

 

[Thingy]

Tend to go with Colin on this one and usually respond to those with a few posts rather than just one.

Theres a first - a Lancashire Lad agreeing with a Yorkie.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Trouble is though if everybody waited there would be no replies at all. Britain, thank goodness, has always had those pioneering souls.

 

[tenpole]

After experience you can tell a one poster by the content in the post.

 

[Parksy]

If a genuine one post wonder asks an interesting question (not involving noseweight measurement ) there could be several casual hidden lurkers who benefit from the collective forum wisdom offered in the replies, so they are still more than welcome to ask away.
There are several easy to spot clues which reveal a spammer who is trying to probe the forum defences by submitting a fairly innocuous first post.
We usually keep an eye on them and pounce if or when they try to sneak an advert or phishing scam on the forum, although the vast majority are now automatically blocked by our software.
Before the software was introduced moderators were sometimes removing over 50 spam posts per day each, so we're quite grateful to have a very rare opportunity to hit the delete button these days.
There once existed a sister caravan forum to PCv run by Haymarket which was overwhelmed and destroyed by spammers. I can't remember what it was called but I used to look in on it in sorrow now and again and it made us over here on PCv even more determined never to let the bad guys win, even before technology made our task th very simple one that it is now. :evil:

 

[JTQ]

I can't follow the logic of not helping anyone till they reach a certain posting level. If they have a problem I can help them resolve then I am happy doing so.
It gives me that bit more purpose in retirement as solving others problems was a major part of my life and source of my income. Hopefully it helps me fend off dementia.

It is nice when they come back and thank us even if I have gone off down a wrong route and the cause/solution is totally different. That is all part of an ever learning process and brilliant for the grey cells.

You need not shy away from asking because of your posting score, the less that is then probably the more we can help.

 

[Thingy]

I think maybe JTC you are misunderstanding my point. Im talking about people who are probably not even caravanners registering and asking a daft question for the hell of it.

I certainly wasnt aiming at genuine caravanners with one post or a thousand. Im thinking many of these are the same person, perhaps somebody banned in the past who are registering under multiple email addresses.

I know people can be barred by IP address but its not as easy when you are dealing with dynamic IPs.

Maybe im wring and they are all genuinr but past experience says not.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

One recent spoofer, from Googling her profile name (after she asked a weird question), was a facebook user and a student in Pakistan!! Wouldn't have thought she had a UK caravan.

 

[Dustydog]

One recent spoofer, from Googling her profile name (after she asked a weird question), was a facebook user and a student in Pakistan!! Wouldn't have thought she had a UK caravan.

Maybe she was interested in the Silk Trail :kiss:

 

[Hutch]

I used to work in Pakistan for about 3 and a half years in Gilgit and Chitral , near the silk Route, and was surprised at some of the people passing through going overland to the far east. I have seen Caravans in Islamabad, who originally took them there, who knows. And seen several in India as well.

 

[Damian]

The whole purpose of the site is to help other users, even if the question has been asked a hundred or more times in the past.

Someone new to caravans will not have seen previous replies and their question is important to them

Many people just do not want to trawl through endless previous postings, or actually know how to on this site when they first post.

Depending on the response to their first question often dictates whether or not they post further.
In most cases all a person wants is a simple answer to question but quite often they get a reply equal to War and Peace in length and complexity, most of which goes straight over their heads, but puts them off asking anything else.

An example is the noseweight topic.........NO,DO NOT GO THERE !!!!!!!

As far as spoof posters are concerned they are usually quickly dealt with and as Parksy has said, it is much easier with the tools we now have.

However, please remember that we, the Moderators, are not on the site 24/7 so sometimes posts which need to be removed may take longer than usual to go.

 

[Devonboy]

I might not post very often but looking through old posts usually gives me the answers I need so thank you to all who contribute to the forum.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

The whole purpose of the site is to help other users, even if the question has been asked a hundred or more times in the past.

Someone new to caravans will not have seen previous replies and their question is important to them

Many people just do not want to trawl through endless previous postings, or actually know how to on this site when they first post.

An example is the noseweight topic.........NO,DO NOT GO THERE !!!!!!!

Come on Damian you know we will give it a couple of weeks until the thread drops off the notice board, and someone who cannot be bothered to look at old posts will ask, just bought a van ""how do I know when the noseweight is ok"" and it will start up all again with the same answers and argue'ments as before.
as for not wanting to reply to "one shot" members well what can I say it's personal choice, when one gets to the latter stages of ones life, [the golden years] time is valuable as one does not know how long one has left, and I prefer not to spend it sat at a keyboard, answering a question that has no further input from the poster who asks it.

I will give an example. a couple of years ago [when I had the previous tow car] a new member [who didn't even make an introduction], asked about the suitability of the Megane 1.9dti, as tow vehicle and what caravan it would tow.
I went to great lengths to explain everything about the cars ability weights, tyre pressures, even which tow bar to fit. never got a reply or even a thank you that was helpful. after a week or so when the thread dropped off the board, I thought that was a waste of my time, and after that one post the member disappeared forever.
I do not have the patience for them any more so don't bother, to reply, when a new member has a few posts under their belt and are going to be an active member of the forum, well then there is a lifetimes experience of the hobby to open. if this dismays some so be it.

 

[Gabsgrandad]

I'm similar Colin, but I tend to talk from experience rather than offering advice. Often I find that advice tends (on here) to be personal rather than subjective and much of the advice given regularly doesn't fit in with my experiences of 'reality.'

 

[colin-yorkshire]

yes Sir Gab, I tend to agree, experience often does not fit in with the general advice given on a subject, but after one has done something over and over, and it works, one assumes it will work for everybody I know this is not always the case though as sometimes the next one to offer advice either shoots you down in flames or has other options that work for them.