Update: Spam Prevention

[TalkWithStranger]

We all are sick of spammers and people who have nothing better to do with their life. Who get the kick out of making things miserable for others. @Global-Moderators have been asking for a security check where new accounts shouldn't be allowed to post on Public Chatroom before verifying their email address. Well now we have implemented it! All accounts need to verify their email before creating a topic or posting on Public Chatroom now.

We hope this will make chat more enjoyable for you all. Also, thank you all @Global-Moderators for the painstaking bans you had to do earlier to stop those idiots.

@Music-Lovers @Animal-Club @Gamers @Movie-Buffs

[pe7erpark3r]

@IM-NOT-H0RNY said in Update: Spam Prevention:

@TalkWithStranger
thanks, and a great initiative too,
but
will'nt the multiple security checks, just discourage the new users from entering....
Many people, have an attention span of a goldfish, and to make them go through various verification and other hassles, will just discourage them from interacting.
i understand, that there is no way around, to accommodate both the ease of users, as well as the security, but the new people, have no incentive whatsoever to go through all that hassle.
They haven't interacted with the users already on the platform enough, neither have they got the high from posting topics and posts.
So easier option for them would be to just leave, before even trying.

Hmm, I don't really think so. Today you have email verification everywhere. It's standard procedure for every crappy forum, shop or even blog comments out there. People are used to at least this step. And remember: not seeing spam, is inviting people to stay ;-).

And the big ones (google, facebook, twitter, microsoft, apple, and so on) even have phone number verification added on top. It's not going to keep new users away...

[A Former User]

A reasonable change at last.
Thank you.

[pe7erpark3r]

@IM-NOT-H0RNY said in Update: Spam Prevention:

@pe7erpark3r said in Update: Spam Prevention:

Hmm, I don't really think so. Today you have email verification everywhere. It's standard procedure for every crappy forum, shop or even blog comments out there.

I understand, but dont we hate it.
Also, to say, 'every' would be too far-fetched, cause most of them dont.

I haven't logged on to a single site where email verification wasn't required apart from TWS. So for me this was a first... So maybe you are talking local things (india)?

Also, forums are topic specific, so the people who are willing to go to a forum, have the incentive with them before hand to do all that!
whereas comparing shopping with this site, would be comparing apples with oranges.

People are used to at least this step. And remember: not seeing spam, is inviting people to stay ;-).

Like i said, im not against this step, just giving a drawback which could happen.
Also, people are used to many things, but its not necessary, that those things are good, dont you agree?

Yeah, wether people are used to something does not say anything about wether it's good or bad. But it says something about how strongly they'll feel it's an obstacle.

as for spamming, yes, it is a major issue. But, there are many more ways to limit them, like the anti-spam bot on discord, isp bans instead of ip bans for persistent users.

Discord also has email verification, but I'm not against having an AI recognize spammers on TWS either (not easy to code one though...). ISP bans are bad, because it means, that all the other users who use the same ISP are also blocked (numbering in the tens, hundreds or thousands). And there is nothing more unfair than being blocked for something someone else does. IP bans might have the same effect, but the impact is much smaller, so those are ok, but better implemented temporally.

So IMHO, email verification is definitely the spam protection with the best cost/benefit ratio.

And the big ones (google, facebook, twitter, microsoft, apple, and so on) even have phone number verification added on top. It's not going to keep new users away...

Like you said, they are the BIG ONES. Their name, is enough to give new users incentive to join.

So my argument, is not about the security check/email verification being right or wrong.
It is, whether, the new users will go that extra mile, just for a quick chat.

Just wanted to show what people are used to, which means it's less of an issue for them on TWS either. But you are right, it is an issue for "one time users" of TWS.

The dang "Not a bot check" that always pops up when we just open the TWS page is much more annoying and definitely keeps users away, because it actually takes more time, than email verification (at least for me)... With email verification in place, TWS might move that barrier to other points (account creation or after posting too many things or something like that)

[TalkWithStranger]

@IM-NOT-H0RNY You need to think from mods perspective. How hard it makes their job to stop these idiots, just because someone got bored and thinks spamming vulgar pictures is the best use of their time.

We did the analysis, majority of users who contribute to the community have already verified their emails. If someone is just here for account less chat. We do have http://chatting.talkwithstranger.com

[Deleted Acc]

@TalkWithStranger Oh good rule...but I don't get why I was included in the chat :joy:

[TalkWithStranger]

@DarkIce69 Apologies, it was a screenshot of public chatroom at the time of release of that feature.

[Deleted Acc]

@TalkWithStranger It's totally ok admin :blush: I was just tryna keep the topic alive :joy:

[rupi]

THANKS!!!!

[bye69]

@Rupin just dieeeeee

[rupi]

@Moby_DICK no
also i didn't even post that comment