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Stop Twitter Spammers!
Twitter is having all kinds of down time. I'm sure a lot of it is due to the system's use by spammers. We could ALL benefit by steps taken to reduce spamming on Twitter.
How about making it a bit tougher to set up a Twitter account? To make it a little more difficult for spammers to set up multiple accounts to spread their spam via follow?
For example:
- Require a verifiable e-mail address.
- Allow only one Twitter account per address.
- Prevent a new Twitter account from being set up from a cancelled e-mail address.
And then prevent anyone from following more than a certain number of people based on who is following them. For example, prevent a user from following more than 10 people for each person who follows them. Or only allow a certain number of new follows per hour/day/week/whatever.
Or maybe prevent users from having more than a certain percentage of tweets that include links. For example, no more than 75% of tweets can be links.
And automatically prevent duplicate tweets. Or the same link being shared over and over by a single twitter user.
And encouraging people to simply BLOCK spammers. Then look at which accounts are being blocked and delete the obvious spam accounts.
Come on, guys. Do SOMETHING! Between down time and spamming, Twitter is quickly losing its charm.
How about making it a bit tougher to set up a Twitter account? To make it a little more difficult for spammers to set up multiple accounts to spread their spam via follow?
For example:
- Require a verifiable e-mail address.
- Allow only one Twitter account per address.
- Prevent a new Twitter account from being set up from a cancelled e-mail address.
And then prevent anyone from following more than a certain number of people based on who is following them. For example, prevent a user from following more than 10 people for each person who follows them. Or only allow a certain number of new follows per hour/day/week/whatever.
Or maybe prevent users from having more than a certain percentage of tweets that include links. For example, no more than 75% of tweets can be links.
And automatically prevent duplicate tweets. Or the same link being shared over and over by a single twitter user.
And encouraging people to simply BLOCK spammers. Then look at which accounts are being blocked and delete the obvious spam accounts.
Come on, guys. Do SOMETHING! Between down time and spamming, Twitter is quickly losing its charm.
I’m frustrated.
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I like this idea!
Tell me when this idea gets some attention.
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The more people who like this idea, the more it gets noticed.
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Inappropriate?Looked at another way, the more users Twitter attracts, the more venture capital that comes in. If Twitter blocks spammers, then they would significantly lower their user numbers. Remember, Twitter already has the policy of blocking the notice of new followers you requested if a spammer follows you so you are unable to know to block them. -
Inappropriate?Hi @mlanger. Followed your tweet to this thread. 8-)
Fwiw:
1. Twitter really only allows one account per email address and only one account per mobile phone number.
2. Twitter has started to ban email addresses of spam accounts that they shut down, so they can't be reused (I know this via a support ticket reply that I received)
3. Twitter has started to actively remove spambot accounts
4. Twitter has introduced limits, including Follow limits.
I like some of your other suggestions. I hope they'll be considered.
1 person thinks
this is one of the best points
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Inappropriate?David, sorry, but that argument won't fly with me or most others. What venture capitalist cares how many accounts are on twitter if a high percentage of them are spammers? And if I block notice of new followers, how can I promptly check them out to see if they're the kind of people I might want to follow in return? Yeah, I want my cake and I want to eat it, too. I just want Twitter to be the best service it can be. Part of that is coming up with automated methods to stop -- or at least reduce -- spam.
I’m looking for a solution, not an excuse.
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Inappropriate?mdy, thanks for this update. I didn't realize Twitter already had some of these controls in place. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be enough to stem the tide of spammers. I hope they will consider some of my other ideas and the ideas that others must be coming up with.
I’m hopeful.
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Inappropriate?Says mlanger: "And if I block notice of new followers, how can I promptly check them out to see if they're the kind of people I might want to follow in return?"
That's my point. If you elect to receive notices of new followers, Twitter will still refuse to send you notice if the follower is a suspected spammer. Twitter doesn't allow you to decide if you want to follow or block if the new follower is suspect. If Twitter suspects the person is a spammer, they hide it from you so you CAN'T easily find and block them. If the new follower doesn't appear to be a spammer, Twitter will send you the notice so you can check them out.
Spammer = Twitter blocks the notice to make it easy for the spammer to hide.
Legit = Twitter sends the notice to make is easy to check them out.
Hmmmm. -
