# Reporting spam and User categories - 2 questions in one post **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 26, 2022, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260 "2022-09-26T15:14:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/1 "2022-09-26T15:14:40Z")
I recently ran across a spam post by a new user. I was unable to report it directly because the three dot symbol that contains the flag icon was not displayed. The post only showed the link icon and the bookmark icon. I had to report the thread and specify which post I was flagging. Is that normal for new user posts? User categories are to the right of user names and are usually guest, Member, Charter Member and occasionally Registered User. That’s not counting the various Mod, SDSAB or custom titles that people paid for way back when. I recently ran across a couple of posters that had nothing at all in that spot. How does that happen? ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/2 "2022-09-26T15:36:52Z")
If menu items or buttons seem to be missing, try reducing your text zoom level, that often will bring back those missing options for me. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/3 "2022-09-26T15:38:07Z")
No, they were there for other posts, just not the spam post. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/4 "2022-09-26T15:54:45Z")
Might it have already been reported and in the process of being corn-fielded? ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/5 "2022-09-26T16:07:44Z")
That could be. I think this is the first time I’ve ran across a spammer since we switched to Discourse. It seems spammers are usually caught by the weirdos that read the board by the latest posts method. Which is clearly the wrong way to read, but what can you do? 🙂 Seems to me that I recall @running_coach reports quite a few, maybe he can weigh in. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/6 "2022-09-26T16:20:07Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Might it have already been reported and in the process of being corn-fielded? That’s my experience: the software seems to be smart enough to know that when something attracts a bunch of flags quickly, it represents a legitimate issue, and more flags will just be noise for the mods, so it locks stuff up. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2022, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/7 "2022-09-26T16:31:44Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > That could be. I think this is the first time I’ve ran across a spammer since we switched to Discourse. It seems spammers are usually caught by the weirdos that read the board by the latest posts method. Which is clearly the wrong way to read, but what can you do? 🙂 > > Seems to me that I recall @running_coach reports quite a few, maybe he can weigh in. Discourse seems to have better filtering so less spam gets through and the spam that comes through doesn’t always look “spammy”. Plus the way I used to find spammers was to look at vBull’s “newest member” link and increment the used ID number backwards. Since our user number isn’t visible, that doesn’t work. Also, I could recognize new usernames and check those out. not as easy with the generic avatars here. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/8 "2022-09-26T16:36:17Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > the software seems to be smart enough to know that when something attracts a bunch of flags quickly, it represents a legitimate issue, and more flags will just be noise for the mods, so it locks stuff up. That sounds familiar, but I thought that x number of flags would hide the post until a mod could look it over. > [@running\_coach](#): > > Discourse seems to have better filtering so less spam gets through and the spam that comes through doesn’t always look “spammy”. Plus the way I used to find spammers was to look at vBull’s “newest member” link and increment the used ID number backwards. Since our user number isn’t visible, that doesn’t work. Also, I could recognize new usernames and check those out. not as easy with the generic avatars here. This one was outright spam, a one liner first post with a link. I didn’t know about the new poster thing, I always thought people that found the most spammers were those that did the “new posts” options. Thanks for chiming in. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2022, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/9 "2022-09-26T16:37:34Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > I didn’t know about the new poster thing, I always thought people that found the most spammers were **those that did the “new posts” options.** Thanks for chiming in. - That, too. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/10 "2022-09-26T18:55:49Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > I recently ran across a couple of posters that had nothing at all in that spot. How does that happen? I noticed that on a new user recently … ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/11 "2022-09-26T19:33:54Z")
I’ve reported spammers a few times since switching to Discourse but I see far fewer than before, that’s for sure. I think the only times I’ve caught them was when I happened to be up pretty late at night and on the boards. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/12 "2022-09-26T19:55:21Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > I noticed that on a new user recently … I mostly have seen it on an occasional long gone poster, but @Thing.Fish, from 2020, is blank. @Thing_Fish, who may be the same poster from 2001, shows as a Guest. Maybe some mess up during the switch to Discourse. > [@Atamasama](#): > > I think the only times I’ve caught them was when I happened to be up pretty late at night and on the boards. That’s when I see them also. Since I read by Forum, I don’t really expect to see any during the day, as there are so many other posters online they are reported before I get there. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/13 "2022-09-26T20:01:06Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > I mostly have seen it on an occasional long gone poster, but @Thing.Fish, from 2020, is blank. @Thing_Fish, who may be the same poster from 2001, shows as a Guest. Maybe some mess up during the switch to Discourse. My best guess is that they’re in some special category due to the transfer. Maybe they didn’t verify their email or something. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/14 "2022-09-26T20:12:32Z")
Discourse flags a lot of posts as “probably spam” and if i log on early in the morning, sometimes I’ll get as many as half a dozen notifications of “likely spam” posts. Those are sometimes hidden, maybe depending on how likely they are to be spam. So most users don’t see those posts. The system is pretty good, and most of what it flags IS spam. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/15 "2022-09-26T20:51:20Z")
New users Celtic\_Kitsune and Sylvanz are blank. Lucky bastards ! I want to be blank too ! ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/16 "2022-09-26T21:39:36Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > My best guess is that they’re in some special category due to the transfer. Maybe they didn’t verify their email or something. You’re my go to guy on Discourse stuff! If you don’t know, it may be unknowable. 🙁 > [@puzzlegal](#): > > The system is pretty good, and most of what it flags IS spam. Yes, I’ve read Discourse is a lot better at screening for spam. I just thought that the spam posts were all disappeared until a mod looked at them. Maybe I did just catch it in the middle of automatic removal. If a mod removes a spam post, is there a closed/opened thread marker when you do it? This one just disappeared after I reported it. > [@pjd](#): > > New users Celtic\_Kitsune and Sylvanz are blank. Looks like you are right. I know that’s not how it has always worked since we switched to Discourse. Maybe an update changed something in the status field. (that sounds kind of science fictiony, like reversing polarity of deflector shields) ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/17 "2022-09-26T22:24:21Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > > [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > > > My best guess is that they’re in some special category due to the transfer. Maybe they didn’t verify their email or something. > > You’re my go to guy on Discourse stuff! If you don’t know, it may be unknowable. 😊 The SD is an outlier because we’re using custom titles. Most D-boards have a different setup, one where you can choose your title from a list of badges that you’ve gotten. I wouldn’t say that it’s unknowable, but you’ll probably need an admin (maybe even a dev) to tell you the hows and whys. Or it’s some simple thing that I didn’t think of… ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/18 "2022-09-27T01:56:47Z")
I have no idea. Before the change I was just Thing Fish, but Discourse won’t do spaces in usernames. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/19 "2022-09-27T15:28:51Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > Or it’s some simple thing that I didn’t think of… There’s always that option. > [@mordecaiB](#): > > > [@pjd](#): > > > > New users Celtic\_Kitsune and Sylvanz are blank. > > > > Lucky bastards ! I want to be blank too ! Looks like new user **Pythonette** is blank also. Maybe it is everyone that joined after the switch to Discourse. I checked @DavidNRockies, who I remembered as fairly new (Sept. 2020) and he has no status either. Can’t believe I didn’t notice this for 2 years. I don’t see a way to get a list of posters by join date to confirm that. > [@Thing.Fish](#): > > I have no idea. Before the change I was just Thing Fish, but Discourse won’t do spaces in usernames. Did you have to contact @engineer_comp_geek to be able to post after the switch? I _think_ Discourse automatically replaced spaces with underscores, but I’m not certain. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260/20 "2022-09-27T16:48:39Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > I checked @DavidNRockies, who I remembered as fairly new (Sept. 2020) and he has no status either. [**I am no one to be trifled with. That is all you ever need know.**](https://memegenerator.net/instance/63819922/princess-bride-wesley-i-am-no-one-to-be-trifled-with-that-is-all-you-ever-need-know) 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-spam-and-user-categories-2-questions-in-one-post/972260.md?page=2)