Spam update
Scott_J
In the past three days I've deleted about 80,000 spam accounts and automatically blocked the creation of nearly 1000 more already.
Only a dozen or two have slipped through, which I'm learning from and tweaking the algorithm.
I am blocking a few countries entirely which I've always been reluctant to do. But in analyzing activity to see if there has ever been any legit participation from there, there's basically zero over the past 15 years that this site has been around.
I know that there was a lot of visible spam in the form of journals and comments, but that was actually a tiny fraction. Mostly they are just creating accounts to link their profiles to their websites or their clients' websites as these are mostly professional link-building companies.
I hope you see a major decrease in that activity.
by Scott_J
Profile | 
Research |
Contact | Subscribe | Block this user on 2019-07-18 17:52:19
Scott Jangro is the owner of FamilyTreeCircles.com and has documented roots back to Mayflower passengers Stephen Hopkins and William Brewster. If you're wondering what he's doing when he's mysteriously absent, here's some links to other stuff he's responsible for: about.me/jangro.
Comments
ngairedith on 2019-07-18 22:01:33Good one Scott, thanks for the maintenance enabling this great site to remain online.
Speaking of countries .. how about an update on the last (2016) pie graph.
In all things (let's talk rugby - don't mention cricket) 🤣, Kiwis & Ozzies have a friendly rivalry with each other across-the-ditch (aka the Tasman Sea). If you read the comments in that link janilye and myself had a bit of a challenge to grab a bigger slice of said pie ..
thanks
tonkin on 2019-07-18 23:00:16Thanks from me also Scott.
It's a dirty job but someone has to keep the rats out of the pantry by setting a few traps.
Cheers.
Scott_J on 2019-07-19 00:25:48I’ve been contemplating doing another usage graph but was dismayed at how much it was skewed by the spammers. When I’m done cleaning it up I’ll make one.
As far as I can tell, none of them are from either Australia or New Zealand, making you the friendliest nations. But we already knew that.
Thanks guys!
ngairedith on 2019-07-19 01:13:44thank you Scott
Tonkin? Bledisloe Cup in 3 weeks - keep your money in your wallet 😂
Scott_J on 2019-07-26 13:21:00In the past week and a half, this is the number of new accounts that have been blocked automatically. I've manually deleted dozens more, but I'm calling this a win so far:
2019-07-26 : 41 (partial day)
2019-07-25 : 251
2019-07-24 : 165
2019-07-23 : 206
2019-07-22 : 237
2019-07-21 : 262
2019-07-20 : 185
2019-07-19 : 297
2019-07-18 : 417
2019-07-17 : 103
2019-07-15 : 226
2019-07-14 : 110
2019-07-13 : 74
2019-07-12 : 33
ngairedith on 2019-07-26 18:42:22good grief 😒
tonkin on 2019-07-26 23:10:59I'm flabbergasted with the number of accounts blocked for this month to date. The site appears to be under attack by vermin and I give Scott credit for the time expended trying to stop these parasites from spreading their mumbo jumbo where it is not welcome.
janilye on 2019-07-27 09:39:09Did someone mention pie?
Thanks a lot Scott, your bloods worth bottling!