Fighting Forum Spam

Since Games Discussion tends to get hit the hardest I thought I would mirror today's announcement here:

GameSpot Said:

New users are now unable to create more than one forum topic per 24 hour window until they've created five forum topics.

FAQ

Is there any way I can bypass this rule?

Currently there is no way to circumvent this new rule, however if there needs to be an adjustment made, we will look into alternatives.

Does this apply to new users only or current members as well?

The rule applies to anyone without a minimum of 5 original posts.

Why are new users suffering because of Spambots?

We're sorry you feel that way about it. But in an effort to help maintain the forums we are implementing this solution. You can still join conversations already happening, but until we can verify that you're not here to simply spam the board, this is the best solution.

Why are the Mods not clearing the spam up to allow us to make topics like normal?

Believe it or not, the Mods have been working tirelessly to help make the forums a spam-free environment for GameSpot members. They are a lean team who are volunteers, that being said, if you're interested in joining the Moderator Team in the interest of bettering the community feel free to reach out to us via PM.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to ask.

Sounds good.

I welcome this new rule. I don't want to see the entire first page of this board filled with spam ever again!

WELL ITS ABOUT GODDAMN TIME! i say put a thread limit on every user!

Thank goodness. You guys really seem to have a problem with spam, especially on this forum.

Nice! That sounds like a great solution.

That's just sweeping it under the rug. Now they make one thread, then start replying in a dozen different regular threads. Same amount of spam, and somehow actually more annoying. Getting rid of the spam still won't bring back the braintrust regardless. You're performing CPR on a rotting corpse at this point.

The Machines are taking over ! :(

good to see the problem being addressed. i don't understand why this wasn't a problem with the old forum but a huge problem with this new one?

@Macutchi

I don't understand why we needed a new forum at all....

I read the memo before the change but honestly, it just seems like they tried to fix something that wasn't broke.

Hope this will be a good idea to stop spam.... great news.

I hope this stop mdk12345 from creating threads

i don't think anyone understands how it ended up like this. and now another symptom of the new forum is these never ending spam bots. it's like the gift that keeps on giving

Good change. I know many (including myself) have suggested imposing some sort of limit on thread creation for new users in the suggestions forum. Nice to see that feedback is heard.

-Byshop

@DigitalDame: I am going to be bluntly honest here. I hate this ruling. A posting limit was brought up back when I was a mod around 2005 and I hated it then. So your forum has a spam problem. That's what mods are for! Too much work for them? Get more mods! Honestly, it's not like spam is porn or anything and HAS to be deleted immediately. If someone's advertising stuff, big f'ing deal. People will let it fall off the forums until a mod gets to the report. I've been to other forums that had posting restrictions like this before, and very few of them I went back to, because I wanted to make new topics but couldn't. This is an unfair trade off for new users that come across your forums and want to discuss things the day they do. It stifles growth simply because "teh mods have too much work to do". Sorry, but that's how I feel.