Why just this group?

T

Tony Mountifield

I subscribe to a number of Web/DB kind of newsgroups (mysql, php, perl,
javascript, etc.), and out of all of them, it's only comp.lang.javascript
that appears to have this perennial problem with spam. Just wondering
why this group gets picked on, while the others are generally clean.

Cheers
Tony
 
E

Evertjan.

Tony Mountifield wrote on 12 dec 2011 in comp.lang.javascript:
I subscribe to a number of Web/DB kind of newsgroups (mysql, php, perl,
javascript, etc.), and out of all of them, it's only comp.lang.javascript
that appears to have this perennial problem with spam. Just wondering
why this group gets picked on, while the others are generally clean.

This is usenet, I don't know what NGs you mean by 'Web/DB kind'.
You cannot subscribe to a usenet group, only order your reader to read it.

I never see spam on this NG, but then I block google group mail here and
heve some aditional filtering done.
 
T

Tim Streater

I subscribe to a number of Web/DB kind of newsgroups (mysql, php, perl,
javascript, etc.), and out of all of them, it's only comp.lang.javascript
that appears to have this perennial problem with spam.

What spam?
 
H

Hans-Georg Michna

My conspiracy theory is that its one of the more popular js library
fanbois work ;-)

That would be a huge compliment. It would indicate that we are
in the right place.

By the way, this is not really much spam. Even if you don't
filter, it takes only seconds to delete by hand.

Hans-Georg
 
T

Tim Streater

Andrew Poulos said:
This group gets tonnes of spam posting per day, every day. Just because
you're filtering it doesn't mean its not happening.

I'm filtering next to nothing. Hmm, OK, disabled my filters altogether.
Let's see if I get anything at all spamwise.
 
L

Lewis Perin

I subscribe to a number of Web/DB kind of newsgroups (mysql, php, perl,
javascript, etc.), and out of all of them, it's only comp.lang.javascript
that appears to have this perennial problem with spam. Just wondering
why this group gets picked on, while the others are generally clean.

Maybe it’s because in the USA “script†is short for “prescriptionâ€. The
spammers here are mostly hawking drugs, after all...

/Lew
 
T

Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn

Tony said:
I subscribe to a number of Web/DB kind of newsgroups (mysql, php, perl,
javascript, etc.), and out of all of them, it's only comp.lang.javascript
that appears to have this perennial problem with spam. Just wondering
why this group gets picked on, while the others are generally clean.

This is a FAQ (more like a FFQ). There are several reasons for the spam,
*none* of which is on-topic here (so you should *not* have asked *here*).

One has been named. Another is that even without the spam this is or at
least has been a high-traffic group. Third, JavaScript, and ECMAScript
implementations in general, have become a "household topic" among software
developers. Spammers post where they suspect the most attention.


F'up2 poster

PointedEars
 
T

Tony Mountifield

That would be a huge compliment. It would indicate that we are
in the right place.

By the way, this is not really much spam. Even if you don't
filter, it takes only seconds to delete by hand.

Indeed, that's what I do, but I was just curious why this was the only
group in which I needed to do so.

Cheers
Tony
 
T

Tony Mountifield

Maybe it's because in the USA 'script' is short for 'prescription'. The
spammers here are mostly hawking drugs, after all...

That sounds a plausible reason, although I wish someone would give them
a better regular expression!

Cheers
Tony
 
T

Tony Mountifield

This is a FAQ (more like a FFQ). There are several reasons for the spam,
*none* of which is on-topic here (so you should *not* have asked *here*).

Danke für den ernsten Rat!
One has been named. Another is that even without the spam this is or at
least has been a high-traffic group. Third, JavaScript, and ECMAScript
implementations in general, have become a "household topic" among software
developers. Spammers post where they suspect the most attention.

If that were the case, I would expect to see at least some in other high-
traffic groups. I'm glad I don't.

Cheers
Tony
 
T

Tim Streater

Indeed, that's what I do, but I was just curious why this was the only
group in which I needed to do so.

Has there been any spam in the last 12 hours since I disabled my
filters? I haven't seen any.
 
D

Denis McMahon

Tony Mountifield wrote on 12 dec 2011 in comp.lang.javascript:

I think it's because the group name contains the string "script" which is
used as a shorthand for "prescription" in some parts of the world.
This is usenet, I don't know what NGs you mean by 'Web/DB kind'. You
cannot subscribe to a usenet group, only order your reader to read it.

Nevertheless, the commands many usenet newsreaders such as pan,
thunderbird, agent etc use to start / stop monitoring the content of a
group are "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" and the trm is IMO in common use
in that context.
I never see spam on this NG, but then I block google group mail here and
heve some aditional filtering done.

I alas still see the odd one or two, but then I don't automatically
exclude google groups posters, although I have a long and growing list of
medicine names that I do filter on.

Rgds

Denis McMahon
 
R

Richard Cornford

Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn wrote:

If that were the case, I would expect to see at least some in other
high-traffic groups. I'm glad I don't.

The group's traffic levels are unlikely to be a significant factor as
we are not the intended audience for this spam. Apart from having
"script" in the name of the group the other factor that is likely to
be important is the degree to which content from this group is made
available on various (mostly web development related) web sites. These
spams are a trap for people using search engines to find cheap or
dubious drug suppliers and posting to Usenet, as such, would not help
with that.

Richard.
 
E

Evertjan.

Denis McMahon wrote on 13 dec 2011 in comp.lang.javascript:
I think it's because the group name contains the string "script" which
is used as a shorthand for "prescription" in some parts of the world.

Could very well be true, any idea of testing for this?

Renaming this group seems not very practical.
Nevertheless, the commands many usenet newsreaders such as pan,
thunderbird, agent etc use to start / stop monitoring the content of a
group are "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" and the trm is IMO in common
use in that context.

Ain't it silly?
I alas still see the odd one or two, but then I don't automatically
exclude google groups posters, although I have a long and growing list
of medicine names that I do filter on.

I feel vey happy not knowing what I am missing, silly me.
 
A

Arno Welzel

Andrew Poulos, 2011-12-12 22:57:
This group gets tonnes of spam posting per day, every day. Just because
you're filtering it doesn't mean its not happening.

I don't see "tons of spam" here (but i did a few weeks/months ago).
Maybe the sever i use, does filtering on its own.
 
S

Swifty

I have a long and growing list of medicine names that I do filter on.

As do I. Perhaps we should share?

I wrote a tiny program, called "spam" and when I issue the command
"spam viagra" it tells me how often I have entered the name "viagra"
and over what period of days.

When anything reaches a count of 3, it goes in my filter.

It always struck me as amusing that the spammers are obliged to use
the exact name for the drugs (who would dose themselves with something
and then find themselves dying from a misprint?) and the names can
never match typical words. So, they are simple to filter, apart from
the fact that you have to watch out for new names appearing.

Hence my little program. I can't remember how many times I've seen
"ultracet" (twice so far - teetering on the brink).

Talking of brinks, I was just on the brink of doing something silly. I
was going to append my list here. Then I realised that this would
sound the spam alarms of everyone who has such a filter, and almost
certainly you!
 
S

Swifty

Has there been any spam in the last 12 hours since I disabled my
filters? I haven't seen any.

I haven't seen any, but my filter (medicine names) is active.

It comes in waves. I suspect something like "daily, but not weekends".
we could probably work out roughly where in the world the spammer is,
as they seem to observe public holidays as well.
 
D

Denis McMahon

Talking of brinks, I was just on the brink of doing something silly. I
was going to append my list here. Then I realised that this would sound
the spam alarms of everyone who has such a filter, and almost certainly
you!

Not mine, as I filter on headers, not content.

Rgds

Denis McMahon
 
D

Dr J R Stockton

Mon said:
I subscribe to a number of Web/DB kind of newsgroups (mysql, php, perl,
javascript, etc.), and out of all of them, it's only comp.lang.javascript
that appears to have this perennial problem with spam. Just wondering
why this group gets picked on, while the others are generally clean.

You're apparently using albasini.net, by intent or otherwise. Use
eternal-September instead. If your ISP prevents that, migrate.
 

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