Hi Paul, I can understand your frustration. I've just removed several spam pages and blocked spam user accounts in both the Python and Jython wikis.
I also removed some of the too easy to guess textcha questions. For the Jython wiki, I think we should consider turning off editing for new users. There simply aren't enough edits from real users (perhaps 1 or 2 a month). For the Python wiki, the textchas still appear to work reasonably well. On 03.09.2013 01:50, Paul Boddie wrote: > Hello, > > I'm not sure whether anyone noticed, but for most of August I wasn't doing > any > Python Wiki maintenance, so I'd like to thank those people who stepped in and > tried to keep the wiki free of spam. As those unfortunate people realised, > removing spam can take up considerable amounts of time that could be spent on > other things. > > Spam prevention can be a difficult trick to pull off: the MoinMoin Wiki > manages to do just fine, as does the Debian Wiki, it would seem. Meanwhile, > other Moin wikis struggle to deal with the deluge of Internet spam, and this > presumably frustrates both users and admins alike. Consequently, I have made > an attempt at elementary advice on the matter: > > http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_id=31345030 > > (I have also given advice for specific wikis in the past [*], but I have no > idea whether this advice has been followed, especially given the current > difficulties of such sites.) > > I do not feel that the right balance is being maintained between the freedom > to edit the Python Wiki and the need to demand that contributors be > sufficiently trustworthy and knowledgeable in order to make edits. Since the > threshold to make edits once one has registered an account remains too low, > spammers are able to take advantage of our generosity of spirit. > > It is unfortunate, then, that wiki maintainers do not enjoy the same level of > accommodation enjoyed by spammers along with hypothetical wiki editors who > would supposedly go to the trouble of creating a wiki account and making > edits > without being able to answer even the most elementary question about the > nature of Python or its community. Although textcha support is enabled, we > seem to be asking such casual contributors the wrong questions, and the cost > of this is being borne by the wiki maintainers. > > I would much rather be doing other things than clean up spam that probably > could have been prevented through more effective use of the available > mechanisms. My time and the time of others is being wasted so that other > random people can merely avoid inconvenience. I do not regard this situation > as a sustainable one, nor do I regard it as an acceptable way of treating > those who have taken on such responsibility voluntarily. > > Please can we review our anti-spam measures and implement a policy that does > not take advantage of those volunteers who feel responsible for maintaining > this resource? I appreciate the work done to revive and run this resource, > but > I feel that the patience of those maintaining it will eventually expire if > something is not done about this. > > Thanks, > > Paul > > [*] http://www.selenic.com/pipermail/mercurial/2010-May/032464.html > _______________________________________________ > pydotorg-www mailing list > pydotorg-www@python.org > http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/pydotorg-www > -- Marc-Andre Lemburg Director Python Software Foundation http://www.python.org/psf/ _______________________________________________ pydotorg-www mailing list pydotorg-www@python.org https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/pydotorg-www
