Eliminating those ad posts for once... and for all.

[ChickenSpeed12]

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only on who has suffered from this. Trying to ask a question here... and the site gets flooded with ad posts. It's a lot of work for the moderators, and some posts don't event get seen! It's why "Bump" is a thing. First of: why? Why are there people who think this is a place to post ads? The rules say no fabric, for crying out loud, let alone spamming ads. But I noticed something. Some of the most annoying ad spammers seem to be related. I've seen one person repeatedly. It makes you ask yourself "Where on earth did they get THAT many accounts." Questions aside, I've found a solution. My code isn't the best, and I just put it into a java to javascript, so it might be buggy. But it's a solution, a very humble one at that. Feel free to upgrade it as you like. And HERE IT IS!!!

const readline = require('readline');

const rl = readline.createInterface({
  input: process.stdin,
  output: process.stdout
});

const invalidStrings = [
  "383751997438",
  "Our Annoying Name!",
  "83572930"
];

rl.question('Enter your forum post: ', (forumPost) => {
  let isValid = true;
  for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
    if (forumPost.includes(invalidStrings[i])) {
      console.log("Your forum post was invalid.");
      isValid = false;
      break;
    }
  }
  if (isValid) {
    console.log(forumPost);
  }
  rl.close();
});

Here's the java version:

import java.util.Scanner;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in);

        String[] invalidStrings = new String[3];

        invalidStrings[0] = "383751997438";
        invalidStrings[1] = "Our Annoying Name!";
        invalidStrings[2] = "83572930";

        String forumPost = scanner.nextLine();

        boolean isValid = true;

        for(int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
            if (forumPost.contains(invalidStrings[i])) {
                System.out.println("Your forum post was invalid.");
                isValid = false;
            }
        }

        if(isValid)
        {
            System.out.println(forumPost);
        }

    }
}

I'll explain the java version 'cause I wrote it. 

At the top we have a scanner, which scans😎.

Next, we have an array, which contains the data that these ad spammers often show, such as a phone number or website. Using an array means that this system will NOT replace moderators. It just makes their life easier. If a group of ad spammers strikes, add a string to the array.

The forumPost is basically the forum post being submitted. Please note that you will have to change this quite a lot.

isValid, is true by default. If it is false by default, NOBODY will be able to upload posts.

Now, the for statement. If the forum post contains any invalid strings, isValid will become false. If ad spammers get sneaky and put phone numbers in the title, you can duplicate the for statement, and use the duplicate for the title.

Finally, the if(isValid). This will probably rap around the stuff that publishes the post, meaning if the post is invalid, it won't be published.

Hope I helped! Tell me if anything needs to be changed!!!

[ChickenSpeed12]

Silly me! I forgot about comments! Ad comments would probably arise after this, so you'd probably want to do this for comments, just to be safe!

Oh! And users! The biggest ad spammer usually have mehta or something like it for their last name!

[ChickenSpeed12]

This will be VERY useful, as when Christmas holidays come round, so will the ad posts.

[Paint_Ninja]

Thanks for trying to help out, however we already employ keyword blocking on the forums, as well as many other techniques. The vast majority of spam is already caught and hidden from users by the system, with only the stuff you see bypassing that.

Please report spam when you see it and one of our moderators will sort it out.

[ChickenSpeed12]

I will!