Inappropriate Posts

[soh.maryl]

Just curious:  If/when a message is taken down by mods, does the OP get a message explaining the reason? Just reported one of those where a seller is trying to direct eBayers to his items by using the Board and I would swear that I reported this once before.  Or perhaps he changed his ID and posted again.  

[evry1nositswindy]

I just read the same post and wondered the same thing!  Why isn't this recognized?  It contains a link to another site, so that should be easy to spot.  It should be stopped before even being posted.

[alcoforever]

OP's of taken down posts do get a PM from the mods.

[ckimodog]

@soh.maryl 

I agree with that statement.  They know it's against forum policy and they just keep doing it. Seeing it a lot these days. 

[pburn]

@soh.maryl 

If you're referring to the spam posted almost every day--quite often on the Share Community Platform Feedback boards lately-- those posts are not made by real eBay members. They're placed there automatically by spam-bot accounts.

I've noticed members quite often reply to the posts. The poster never comes back to read any replies, so it's a waste of time and energy to respond. Don't bother. Just report the thread as "spam," and the mods will remove the thread when they come on duty. The morning shift begins at 8 a.m. Pacific Time.

[pburn]

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@evry1nositswindy wrote:

I just read the same post and wondered the same thing!  Why isn't this recognized?  It contains a link to another site, so that should be easy to spot.  It should be stopped before even being posted.

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Links to other sites are posted every single day on almost every thread, whether it be news media sites or the IRS site or a million other examples. It is not a violation to post links to sites outside of eBay.

[soh.maryl]

Thanks for that information.  As I believe I mentioned, it appears that the poster just gets a new ID and posts again.  

[pburn]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

Thanks for that information.  As I believe I mentioned, it appears that the poster just gets a new ID and posts again.  

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@soh.maryl 

Yes, I know you mentioned that, but it's not a person creating new IDs and posting again. It's a spam bot.

What is a spam bot? | How spam comments and spam messages spread 

What is a spam bot?

Speaking generally, bots are computer programs that execute repetitive tasks, and they usually operate over the Internet. A spam bot is a specific type of bot that sends (or helps with sending) spam messages. A spam bot may also post spam in various places where users interact online, such as social media platforms or forums.

How do spam bots operate?

Spam bots can create fake accounts on forums, social media platforms, messaging apps, or email hosting providers. Sometimes they'll try to disguise their activities as coming from a real user. Since creating a user account often only involves filling out a few fields (name, email address, etc.), attackers will program spam bots to fill out these forms automatically – a relatively simple task for a skilled programmer. Some platforms offer CAPTCHAs or similar challenges to prevent bots from creating accounts, but these defenses are not foolproof.

[bbravo65]

...we have spams on eBay too...??? 🤔

[janet9988]

I never knew how easy it was  for scammers to make accounts on ebay to scam buyers and sellers. What a shame.

[pburn]

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@janet9988 wrote:

I never knew how easy it was  for scammers to make accounts on ebay to scam buyers and sellers. What a shame.

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Well, these spam posts on the Community discussion boards are different from scam buyers and sellers. The spam bots posting threads are not actually selling anything on eBay, nor are they attempting to make purchases.

[sheila@ebay]

The best thing to do is report these posts as spam and if you see the same link over and over, bring that to the Moderator's attention and they'll place that link in our spam filter. 

[ibuyoldstuf]

Yes

also with the response to a post i made, i was sent a copy of my post and what they felt was inappropriate / disrespectful along with the sentence i would serve.. lol it was deserved