▲
1
0
▼

Close Old Threads, Limit Old Theads Or CAPTCHA?


 invite response                
2017 Nov 3, 11:55pm   6,549 views  18 comments

by WookieMan   ➕follow (1)   💰tip   ignore  

So we've been hit with the usual weekly bot bull shit. Thread limits helped, thanks Patrick. But now I'm seeing tons of old threads getting revived with dumb ass comments like, "tyranny is darkness" or some similar gibberish that has nothing to do with the topic. I actually enjoy when a 2, 3 or 6 year old topics are revived. The Tesla one recently was cool and another on Fannie Mae and Patrick talking about shorting it (I don't know if you did, but that was a good gut feel on that one).

All that said, there are a bunch of other revived threads that clog up the homepage recently (at least actives tab). As I previously mentioned I do like some of the old threads being revived, so I don't think closing old threads is a good idea even though it's in my headline. I hate CAPTCHA but this seems like the easiest and best solution. The only other thing I could think of, and it wouldn't be in writing on the thread (basically not notifying users of the rule), is you have to provide a link to update the thread with a new comment. It can't just be a comment, has to have a link included.

So say after 6 months of a thread not getting comments, a user would have to have a link attached to the new comment in some way for that thread to be revived. I don't know if this is possible, but it would likely prevent having to use CAPTCHA for the regular human users for every comment, which would suck. I'd actually say if a thread has been dormant for 30 days this rule could apply.

Feelings won't be hurt if this is a dumb idea. The bot postings/comments have been getting obscene at times lately.

#botsarecunts

Comments 1 - 18 of 18        Search these comments

1   WookieMan   2017 Nov 4, 12:00am  

Just reread what I posted. @Patrick - Might be cool to add another tab or 3 with this date in history type postings. Maybe one tab for a week from 1 year ago, then 7 days from 3 years ago and maybe 7 days from 5 years ago if that makes sense. Got damn near close to a million comments here, so there might be some old content worth reviving now that I'm stumbling on this. Or it could be stupid and revive old troll battles from the depths of hell.
2   justme   2017 Nov 4, 12:41am  

I don't mind reviving old threads as long as they are good ones. If they are not good, they will soon go away.
3   anonymous   2017 Nov 4, 3:09am  

I'd be happy with an original posting date warning after the title. It's nice just to have a heads up if it is an old thread brought back to life, so you don't scan the headlines and wonder if it is a new or old story.
4   MrMagic   2017 Nov 4, 7:37am  

WookieMan says
So we've been hit with the usual weekly bot bull shit.


Every thread is taken over by anon bots now. One signed up last night and has 65 comments already bringing up these old threads with crap posts.

Just go take a look here at how many new Anon bots have signed up just in the last 24 hours:

https://patrick.net/users?ob=user_registered&d=desc
5   anonymous   2017 Nov 4, 7:38am  

Sniper says
Every thread is taken over by anon bots now. One signed up last night and has 65 comments already bringing up these old threads with crap posts.


Well in the grand scheme of things, you should be permanently banned from ever accessing the internet again and your computer smashed with a sledgehammer. The bot should be #2.
6   anonymous   2017 Nov 4, 7:44am  

Sniper says
Says the guy with a four day posting history of bullshit.


You're one of those rare people who makes everything worse. A genuine psychopath.
7   Patrick   2017 Nov 4, 9:17am  

anon_61c8a says
I'd be happy with an original posting date warning after the title. It's nice just to have a heads up if it is an old thread brought back to life, so you don't scan the headlines and wonder if it is a new or old story.


Yes, good idea.

OK, now there is an original posting date on all post lists.
8   HEY YOU   2017 Nov 4, 9:27am  

I always reread all old threads & comments respond to,Patnet requirement.
I'm not allowed to glance at repeats & move on.
9   Hircus   2017 Nov 5, 1:20pm  

WookieMan says

is you have to provide a link to update the thread with a new comment. It can't just be a comment, has to have a link included.


If I understand you correctly, it would be a community-known secret that unless the potential new comment on an old thread contains a hyperlink to some external website, that that comment will be blocked? I must misunderstand you, because I don't see this being effective - most bots like to post links. It would also be extremely frustrating for most users who wouldn't be aware of the rule.
10   Hircus   2017 Nov 5, 1:35pm  

I think making anonymous posters solve a captcha once per session would help without impairing usability much.

For registered users, I think maybe some heuristic or budget-based approach which throttles post rate of new accounts. Community policing is pretty effective in discussion forums such as patnet, so letting users vote / flag a user as a bot would probably work well.

Things that increase their budget, allowing a higher # of posts per hour:
- Age since initial account registration - old accounts gain budget, up to a point.
- Upvotes on threads or comments
- Receiving more than 1 reply to a thread they start

Things that decrease their budget, reducing allowed posts per hour:
- Being a very new account. Should make this factor have a very high weight for brand new accounts.
- Receiving downvotes or ignores
- Receiving "looks like a bot" votes (would need to add a new link next to the like / dislike links).

Again, the emphasis is on new accounts. I think there should come a point where an account kinda earns permanent not-a-bot status, so that users can't grief each other by voting each other a bot.
11   Patrick   2017 Nov 5, 1:44pm  

Sniper says
Patrick, I noticed there isn't a "next page" link when viewing the Users list, so you can't advance to the next page of people. You can only view the first page and can't search.


Thanks for telling me! Will fix.
12   Patrick   2017 Nov 5, 1:45pm  

Sniper says
When you look at the volume of "New" anons each day, it's pretty large:


Well, that's a success in a way. Turns out there are a lot of lurkers willing to like/dislike or to comment but not willing to register.
13   WookieMan   2017 Nov 5, 6:38pm  

Even though I was bitching about the old threads getting brought back up, I'll admit some of them were good. I know I said this already in the OP but wanted to restate it. I do think it would be cool to have a "this day in history tab" that just grabs threads from from that week/day from 1, 3 or 5 years ago.
14   Patrick   2017 Nov 5, 7:36pm  

OK, your wish is granted.

Not exactly a tab, but you can click "old posts by year" in the footer to see posts from n years ago, for example:

https://patrick.net/old?years_ago=2
15   Patrick   2017 Nov 5, 7:36pm  

@wookieman ^^^
16   WookieMan   2017 Nov 5, 7:47pm  

Footer works for me. Definitely a fringe request on my part, but at least a quick easy way to check old shit out. Thanks!

Patrick says
That's true, but I have to use at least one alias to remain employed.


Mission number one brah! I'm a geriatric millennial, deal with my bro-isms.
17   Patrick   2017 Nov 5, 8:06pm  

I do have my company: patrick.net

I need to work on marketing and revenue though. I have none of either.
18   MisdemeanorRebel   2018 Feb 28, 3:04pm  

Patrick says
I can see the need for alt accounts ever since this: /post/1309245?offset=0#comment-1436332


Wow, How did I miss that who affair?

Sorry, Patrick.

Please register to comment:

api   best comments   contact   latest images   memes   one year ago   random   suggestions