# spam threads get deleted? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 10, 2013, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-threads-get-deleted/663124 "2013-07-10T11:36:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-threads-get-deleted/663124/1 "2013-07-10T11:36:41Z")
A few minutes ago, I asked about a thread that I couldn’t find, and was told that it was a spammer thread and was deleted. I had thought such threads were simply closed so that they’d stay visible for people like me who were looking for them. I can certainly understand that the SDMB doesn’t want to provide a venue for the spammers, but here’s my question: Is this a new policy or have you been deleting the spam threads all along without me noticing? ---
**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:** [July 10, 2013, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-threads-get-deleted/663124/2 "2013-07-10T11:37:52Z")
Not deleted, moved to a mod-only forum. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-threads-get-deleted/663124/3 "2013-07-10T11:38:41Z")
We’ve been doing it all along. Occasionally we’ll leave one open if some funny commentary has gotten started before we have a chance to deal with the spammer, but in that case we would edit out the links or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-threads-get-deleted/663124/4 "2013-07-10T11:45:05Z")
ok, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-threads-get-deleted/663124/5 "2013-07-10T15:40:50Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Is this a new policy or have you been deleting the spam threads all along without me noticing? Probably tens of thousands of them. But most of them are up for only a few minutes before we get to them, unless they are posted in the middle of the night when none of us are on line. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-threads-get-deleted/663124/6 "2013-07-10T15:49:34Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Not deleted, moved to a mod-only forum. Both, usually. If we didn’t delete them you’d probably have twice as many posts as you do now. 😉 There was one this morning that was almost worth saving. The spammer was promising “THOUSANDS of FOLLOWERS on INTAGRAM!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-threads-get-deleted/663124/7 "2013-07-10T18:43:39Z")
If there are really that many spams getting posted, how much of the mods’ time is taken dealing with them? More specifically, do you have some automated or semi-automated way to detect and report most of them? Or do you rely entirely on the mods’ just spotting them and on other users reporting them? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-threads-get-deleted/663124/8 "2013-07-10T19:00:17Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > If there are really that many spams getting posted, how much of the mods’ time is taken dealing with them? The process of banning a spammer, deleting a thread, and writing up the ban is pretty quick. In fact you can ban a spammer and delete the thread at the same time. We’ve banned 45 or 50 spammers over the last week, although not all of them managed to post and a few were probably old registrations. > [@](#): > > More specifically, do you have some automated or semi-automated way to detect and report most of them? Yes. We have a program that flags certain posts and sends them to a queue for review by the mods. The posts are only visible to the mods until they’re approved, so if they’re spam, we can ban the posters and delete them before anybody gets inconvenienced. > [@](#): > > Or do you rely entirely on the mods’ just spotting them and on other users reporting them? No. But Dopers are very vigilant about reporting spam. Spam posts are almost always reported. Once in a while one will slip through if it’s dropped into the middle of a busy thread and if it’s incoherent enough that it’s not clearly spam. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-threads-get-deleted/663124/9 "2013-07-10T20:12:36Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > If there are really that many spams getting posted, how much of the mods’ time is taken dealing with them? More specifically, do you have some automated or semi-automated way to detect and report most of them? Or do you rely entirely on the mods’ just spotting them and on other users reporting them? Just speaking personally, about 80-90% of the spammers I ban I become aware of first through a thread or post report, and the rest I notice on my own (although I often get a spam report later). If I see a thread that I haven’t noticed before suddenly pop up with 50 posts, as often as not it’s a zombie bumped by a spammer, so I usually check those out.