ForumsSupport ForumTemporary Support and Suggestions Thread

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Gantic
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Gantic
11,891 posts
King

See title.

  • 66 Replies
Ernie15
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Ernie15
13,344 posts
Bard

I'm leaving and going to Kong because this is absolutely stupid.


So let me get this straight. You're going to Kongregate to try and avoid something absolutely stupid?

That's like jumping into the ocean to avoid water.

It's also possible that they made some people mods, but without the blue text and stuff, and trusted them to keep quiet.


What would be the point of doing that?

Even if they had appointed plainclothes mods, it isn't like it's having any effect. All the adbot threads from the past day or so are still there.
Maverick4
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Maverick4
6,800 posts
Peasant

Heres the text of the email I sent to Justin, if anyone cares to read it:

Re: Concerning the Recent Inundation of AdBots in the Community

Justin,

Hello. I'm Maverick4 (though most call me Mav), and I've been a member of the site for a few years now. Though out that time, I've actively participated in the community, commonly frequenting the Tavern, AMW, Popular Media, and Forum Games. I've enjoyed the site immensely, both the Community and flash games, and want to say thanks to you and the rest of the Administration for all the blood, sweat, and tears that you've put into it.

But on to more serious matters. As I'm sure you're aware, the community has in the past few months been under 'attack' from AdBots posting links to free movie downloads, live sports streaming, and cheap designer clothes sites. And in the past week or so, these AdBots have stepped up their assault upon the Community, and in some sub-forums the amount of spam threads have grown logarithmically as time has progressed. In some sub-forums, namely the Forum Games and Support and Suggestions, the amount of spam threads are at such an astronomical number that Gantic (the moderator rabbit) has been forced to make a sticky so that users can actually give suggestions and receive support.

On Saturday (March 31) I believe, ReCAPTCHA was implemented in an attempt to halt the AdBots, and decrease the amount of spam threads. Simply put, its failed miserably. The amount of AdBots and spam threads has stayed the same, if not grown, along with the number of irate users who have their entire posts deleted when they incorrectly guess what the blob in the box is supposed to be.

As a result of this, numerous threads have popped up here and there, many of them discussing possible solutions ranging from appointing more moderators to blowing up the entire Internet. But one idea has been put forth multiple times, and is starting to gain support amid us users (Tron reference, no?). The idea, in a nut shell, is to prevent new accounts from being created until an effective and permanent solution can be attained. This would allow the AdBots to be banned, the spam threads to be deleted, and would give everyone a chance to breathe, collect themselves, and 'lick their wounds'.

While I'm trying not to sound like a star-struck 'n00b' with dreams of becoming a moderator (I think we all had them at some point), I do think serious consideration should be given to appointing a few more moderators. The recent flood of AdBots and spam threads has proven that the moderation team as it currently is is stretched too thin to effectively deal with the threat. The number of moderators who can be considered 'active' can be counted on one hand, and is in no way helped by the recent retirement of Cenere. As most of the moderators (surprisingly) have lives outside of Armor Games, many of them simply aren't on enough to effective all the time. So the site really needs some more moderators. Now, I both understand and support the reasons for only mod-ifying users above the age of eighteen, but I think something can be said for the maturity and mental stability of several users who are under this age, namely sixteen and seventeen year olds. My experiences in the Community has shown me that many users who are active in the Community and site are in this age group, and while I won't name names (I think its against 'the rules', I can personally vouch that many of them are wonderful people and would be extremely beneficial to have on the team if choosen. If handled properly, making moderators of select individuals in this age group would be beneficial to the site as a whole, both now and in the future.

So I hope you and the rest of the Administrative team will give these, and other, suggestions some serious consideration. And while solving the AdBot problem is neither simple in design or action, I truly believe that implementation of one or both of the above mentioned ideas can really help solve the problem, or at least throw a wrench in the mechanizations of whomever is behind all this.

Best regards,

Mav


Anybody mind giving their thoughts?

jets99
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jets99
599 posts
Nomad

I think that on every profile there should be a little symbolsaying if they are on or off and when the last time they were on was to give their friends an idea of how frequently they come on. like me i have not been on AG for a while but now im obsessed with it again

GhostOfMatrix
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GhostOfMatrix
15,595 posts
Herald

I think that on every profile there should be a little symbolsaying if they are on or off and when the last time they were on was to give their friends an idea of how frequently they come on.

This is planned for AG3, though the last time it was on the beta it wasn't an on/off type thing. If you clicked on a game it would say "GhostOfMatrix was last seen playing Shell Shock Live five minutes ago/whatever amount of time ago", and if you clicked in the forums it'd be the same thing. I think that method was kind of vague, but they could change it.
Xzeno
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Xzeno
2,301 posts
Nomad

Anybody mind giving their thoughts?
I think you need to look at the date.
MasterMor
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MasterMor
40 posts
Shepherd

i think there should be more categories...like platformer and tower defence. that way its easier to find a specific game type that you like

MasterMor
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MasterMor
40 posts
Shepherd

also how about a thumbs up feature on comments so u know which ideas people really like

MasterMor
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MasterMor
40 posts
Shepherd

one more thing...there should be a live chat with friends

AircraftCarrier
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AircraftCarrier
145 posts
Shepherd

Admins should have shut down the forum. Shutting down the forum will not affect users, because they can't post or read threads with the spams anyway. Also, it may help speeding up the cleaning/banning process.

nichodemus
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nichodemus
14,990 posts
Grand Duke

one more thing...there should be a live chat with friends

i think there should be more categories...like platformer and tower defence. that way its easier to find a specific game type that you like


Read the AG3 forums before posting, these have been suggested before, and will in one form or another be eventually implemented.

Shutting down the forum will not affect users, because they can't post or read threads with the spams anyway.


We still are, YOU still are. Shutting them down just to wipe out spam and then reopening it won't solve the fundamental issue.
Loptice
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Loptice
242 posts
Peasant

Is it possible to change AG forums so they won't accept any post with links to other websites? I know it would be limiting but we would get rid of adbots (if it's possible of course)

EmperorPalpatine
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EmperorPalpatine
9,438 posts
Jester

Is it possible to change AG forums so they won't accept any post with links to other websites? I know it would be limiting but we would get rid of adbots (if it's possible of course)

The adbots/spam would still show up, but wouldn't be direct links, just http://www.blahblahblah.com. It wouldn't stop them.
Maverick4
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Maverick4
6,800 posts
Peasant

I think you need to look at the date.


Sorry? But if you mean that the AdBots are an April Fools joke, I'd have to staunchly disaggree with you.
Pazx
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Pazx
5,845 posts
Peasant

Mav.

*slow clap*

Quick protip: for recaptcha, you only ever need to do one of the two words.

Schmiddy1234
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Schmiddy1234
1,075 posts
Nomad

Quick protip: for recaptcha, you only ever need to do one of the two words.


Ohh... thats why i still get it right when i accenatally miss a letter or something :O
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