# First time Poster **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 21, 2011, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659 "2011-05-21T05:53:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/1 "2011-05-21T05:53:11Z")
hi to all here. I have finally got the nerve to post. I am 61 and have just been forced to retire from my career. I was interested in the web way back and since I now have much free time I have started fooling with it again. I was surfing the web to get some ideas on how to do my blog better and I came upon this web site. I was impressed by the material here so I just wanted to give the admins and members a compliment. I hope that I may eventually do as good! Anyway I just wanted to say thanks for the hard work you have performed. My site is about [link deleted] if anyone wants to take a look. Again,thanks for the great work! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/2 "2011-05-21T10:53:00Z")
Nonsense is easy to get in this world–the SDMB is after better stuff. Hang around, & don’t be afraid to ask questiopns, or kid people. I’ve been here since 99, & it ain’t got old yet! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/3 "2011-05-21T11:12:09Z")
Profile of a spammer. Reported. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/4 "2011-05-21T11:28:48Z")
Runner Pat, I wasn’t certain about this one. However, he/ she has exactly the same ICQ friends as Hitituplitely (or whatever) at this [post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=609332). I have time for my investigative skills seeing I haven’t been raptured. For any passing Mod. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/5 "2011-05-21T11:35:43Z")
Over the last few months, I’ve seen this format in the profiles, dead giveaway. > [@](#): > > About ThomasMP > > Biography > Man > Location > Mozambique > Interests > ThomasMP > Occupation > Mozambique ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/6 "2011-05-21T13:24:11Z")
Yupper, that profile is a dead giveaway. Thanks for the heads up, all. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/7 "2011-05-21T13:25:53Z")
I reported this when it came up but chose not to post that I did because I wasn’t sure. ETA: **twix** beat me in. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/8 "2011-05-21T17:07:57Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Over the last few months, I’ve seen this format in the profiles, dead giveaway. Yeah, if a new poster has that format, I ban, even if s/he hasn’t spammed yet. Usually these people simply drop one turd and go, but sometimes they’ll post more than one spam thread. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/9 "2011-05-21T17:25:15Z")
Are you leaving this open so we can mock him? He didn’t give us much to go on. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/10 "2011-05-21T17:49:08Z")
Shouldn’t you delete the link in the user’s profile (under homepage)? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/11 "2011-05-21T17:52:52Z")
I don’t know about anyone else, but I figure that the more info that regular posters have about spammers, the better. If posters know about this profile format, and they look at a new member and see that format, they know that this is a spammer. The thing is, we (the staff) NEED reports. Sometimes we don’t have the time to inspect every single post in a forum, or we might not want to open a thread we’re not interested in. Now, some people are under the impression that disagreeing with them is some sort of violation. It isn’t. And a few posters have managed to make a name for themselves as being extremely unreliable when it comes to figuring out just what is a violation and what isn’t. But for the most part, reports are quite valuable. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/12 "2011-05-21T17:56:50Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Shouldn’t you delete the link in the user’s profile (under homepage)? Usually we don’t. There’s no real need to, because we usually don’t leave their threads or posts in public view, so very few people are going to check them out. But I did it in this cas. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/13 "2011-05-21T18:02:52Z")
OK. BTW, I wish you would also more consistently delete the “Reported” post when you delete a spam post. Because when you don’t, some poster just sees the “Reported” post below some innocent post from a longtime poster and wonders why the report. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/14 "2011-05-21T18:10:11Z")
A new poster who’s also a spammer? Bring out the squid! And tell it to be rough this time! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/15 "2011-05-21T18:21:09Z")
“This time”?!? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/16 "2011-05-21T18:32:51Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Are you leaving this open so we can mock him? He didn’t give us much to go on. \*Profile of a Spammer, commercially; link-infected PC when it wakes up! Porn? Car insurance? Angry Russian Brides? Line-dancing cowboys? He sent me there… But jealous bytes and all her secret codes! Jam AV Disk to innoculate! My screen goes blank, but my PC’s running. Fan does scream & cry; plastic tower’s snarking, Alt-F4; pound F8! Cursing start-up Safe Mode But processing takes longer (takes longer…takes longer…takes longer…)\* Funny, I never used to have this problem with Winwood 6.0… ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-time-poster/582659/17 "2011-05-21T23:14:35Z")
Yes, I left the thread because I thought the discussion about how to recognize a spammer was helpful. I didn’t think to remove the link in the profile because I don’t usually leave the profile out where people can see it. As **Lynn** said, we rely on you guys reporting spam. When I’m at work, for instance, I don’t usually have a tab open to the Boards, but I do to my mod email, so I will see those reports way before seeing the spam. **Dewey** – I usually remove “reported” posts or add an explanatory note – go ahead and report if you see that happen, it’s usually just a spaceout on the part of the mod who’s doing the banning and the documentation of the banning. (You should see spam-a-lot thread – 6,670 posts and counting.)