# ella1985 - bot or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 28, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141 "2011-06-28T14:54:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/41 "2011-06-29T03:35:18Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > _Assuming it’s correct???_. I love you too. ☹ Proper scientific method. Never assume your source is correct, until you check for yourself, but I love you anyway, **samclem**. As I said, “thanks”. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/42 "2011-06-29T03:36:54Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > We want names! 😃 **runner pat**? FAILED! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/43 "2011-06-29T04:12:28Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Yes. Once I saw this thread and confirmed she was a bot, I banned her and deleted her posts. I just want to say that you’re an inspiration to me. Even after determining she’s a bot you continue to call her “her” instead of “it”. I mean, I know you have to enforce the board’s discriminatory rules against non-biological posters but it would have been so easy to slip that jab in. Kudos. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/44 "2011-06-29T05:29:30Z")
I’m actually a sentient spamming program. I accidentally ended up sent back into the past somehow, I’m just killing time until I catch up to my “present” time. You think the blue pills are awesome now? Just you wait. > [@Telemark](#): > > [xkcd: Constructive](http://www.xkcd.com/810/) beaten by hours ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/45 "2011-06-29T14:58:12Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > [This one](http://www.acromann.com/images/KC28712%20Lambo%20Diablo%20SV%20yellow%20V1R2.jpg), right? No, silly. [This one!](http://www.mygtv.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/sheepfuck.jpg) (Not Safe for Eyeballs) ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/46 "2011-06-29T15:05:19Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > No, silly. [This one!](http://www.mygtv.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/sheepfuck.jpg) > > (Not Safe for Eyeballs) Mousing over that link tells me it might not be worksafe, either. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/47 "2011-06-29T19:33:46Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > I accidentally ended up sent back into the past somehow, beaten by hours ☹ Your programmer should be ashamed. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/48 "2011-06-29T19:41:38Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > If a bot actually made interesting posts, it would pass the Turing Test and would probably go undetected. I got a B- ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/49 "2011-06-30T14:29:31Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > If a bot made interesting posts, didn’t try to spam, and the programmer didn’t have an account here (making it some kind of sock-bot), would you still ban it, or would you let it post? It wouldn’t just be visiting us, then, it would be Turing. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/50 "2011-06-30T20:40:38Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It doesn’t have to look like a trenchant insight. We get those here? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/51 "2011-06-30T21:12:43Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > I got a B- I got a rock. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/52 "2011-07-01T04:23:27Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > It wouldn’t just be visiting us, then, it would be Turing. The pun police are on their way. I’m not joking. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/53 "2011-07-03T02:36:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > You know what a turtle is? Same thing. Let me tell you about my mother … (Yes, we’re quoting here.) ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/54 "2011-07-03T03:09:40Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > As an aside, 90% of all the spammers we get are located in India, the Russian Federation, and the Philippines. So, we get lots of these guys signing on in the early morning hours EDT US. I pity the night crew. But, they do a good job. Marley, of course, doesn’t sleep and gets these vermin while the rest of us dream of how we’ll spend our outlandish compensation for moderating these boards. I currently have a Lambo on order. 😛 I got so fed up with the Axis of Spam (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, China, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Philippines, and Vietnam) that I just wholesale blocked those countries from registering on my site. After the block, manual spam virtually disappeared overnight. There were almost no active users from those countries, anyhow, so by blocking them, I felt that I wasn’t depriving the board of any contributions they would make. Why not just consider how many active users the SDMB gets from the Axis of Spam countries versus manual spammers and “link builders”, and impose country blocks? It seems like the spam is far more trouble than the benefits the SDMB would get from the few legitimate members that might register from those countries. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/55 "2011-07-03T03:14:23Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I got so fed up with the Axis of Spam (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, China, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Philippines, and Vietnam) that I just wholesale blocked those countries from registering on my site. After the block, manual spam virtually disappeared overnight. There were almost no active users from those countries, anyhow, so by blocking them, I felt that I wasn’t depriving the board of any contributions they would make. > > Why not just consider how many active users the SDMB gets from the Axis of Spam countries versus manual spammers and “link builders”, and impose country blocks? It seems like the spam is far more trouble than the benefits the SDMB would get from the few legitimate members that might register from those countries. We do some pretty total blocks on many or those countries. We can’t do total blocks on India or Philippines as we have legit users there. But, we do institute some blocks that help. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/56 "2011-07-03T04:20:47Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I got so fed up with the Axis of Spam (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, China, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Philippines, and Vietnam) that I just wholesale blocked those countries from registering on my site. After the block, manual spam virtually disappeared overnight. There were almost no active users from those countries, anyhow, so by blocking them, I felt that I wasn’t depriving the board of any contributions they would make. > > Why not just consider how many active users the SDMB gets from the Axis of Spam countries versus manual spammers and “link builders”, and impose country blocks? It seems like the spam is far more trouble than the benefits the SDMB would get from the few legitimate members that might register from those countries. We have posters and lots and lots of lurkers from these places – I spend a considerable amount of time redoing IP blocks so that we keep out spammers but allow our faithful Teeming Millions in. There’s one unfortunate user, um, let’s just call him “Mr. M.” I’ve blocked him from the board at least 5 times over the last little while. I’m not mad at him or anything, really, he just lives and works in the Philippines. I envision him living in an apartment building and he’s the only guy in the entire joint that’s not a spammer. In a similar development I did hear Una once banned an entire continent from her message board. I bet that’s not true now, though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/57 "2011-07-03T12:17:59Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > In a similar development I did hear Una once banned an entire continent from her message board. I bet that’s not true now, though. 🙂 Take that, Antarctica! ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/58 "2011-07-03T20:07:28Z")
Hi guys looking for hot penguin-on-penguin action? [www.penguinlust.aq](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penguin#Breeding) Barely legal 3-year-old Emporer Pinguins!! ![www.threeyearoldemperorpenguins.aq](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Penguin#Courtship_and_breeding) ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/59 "2011-07-03T21:22:05Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > Barely legal 3-year-old Emporer Pinguins!! ![www.threeyearoldemperorpenguins.aq](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Penguin#Courtship_and_breeding) fapfapfapfapfap ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141/60 "2011-07-03T22:32:34Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > We have posters and lots and lots of lurkers from these places – I spend a considerable amount of time redoing IP blocks so that we keep out spammers but allow our faithful Teeming Millions in. The plugin I use (DNSBL/Open Proxy Monitoring; it’s compatible with the version of vBulletin the SDMB uses) applies to new registrations only, so those from the Axis of Spam can still read the board, and established users there can still log in and post. When someone registers, it cross-references the IP with the DNSBL real-time blacklists of your choice. Among others, I use: bd.countries.nerd.dk by.countries.nerd.dk cn.countries.nerd.dk in.countries.nerd.dk lk.countries.nerd.dk md.countries.nerd.dk ng.countries.nerd.dk ph.countries.nerd.dk pk.countries.nerd.dk ru.countries.nerd.dk ua.countries.nerd.dk vn.countries.nerd.dk If there’s a match, they can’t register. However, those who registered from before the era of manual link-building spam can still log in. You can also exclude IP blocks if you know they’re safe, such as universities. Like I said, it’s not worth the trouble of waiting it out for a legitimate user from India, Pakistan, Nigeria or wherever if the boards staff has to deal with hundreds of “link builders” in the meantime. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ella1985-bot-or-not/587141.md?page=2)