Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Spam Filter

Skylark

By Skylark
in Board/Forum Technical Help

Recommended Posts

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

I spent like a half hour finding a soy-free fish oil for someone. (I wanted to see if I could do it. :lol: )

I gleefully posted the link, only to have the spam filter clobber it.

I had to "work around" the spam filter by searching for the same product other places. I strongly prefer to post a link since not everyone is comfortable with search engines. Not only did the spam filter kill my first attempt to show the product, but I couldn't link to it at Amazon either. I understand needing spam filters, but this is interfering with my ability to communicate effectively.

Is there some way to allow regular, non-spamming posters freedom to provide information on products at major websites like Amazon?

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


RiceGuy Collaborator
RiceGuy
Posted

I'm with you on the idea that those of us whom are trustworthy should have such a privilege. But if I were to guess, I'd say the board software doesn't have that capability.

Jestgar Rising Star
Jestgar
Posted

It's not that you spam, it's the companies. When their name appears in a forum, someone appears to begin spamming that forum with all kinds of adds to the company. I don't know if they are actually employed by the spamming company, or just what the deal is, but that's the reason we don't allow links from them.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

Perhaps simply give the folks the name of the product and tell them to use a search engine to find out where it is sold. Most are savvy enough to know how to do a search in google, yahoo etc.

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted
  • Author

It's not that you spam, it's the companies. When their name appears in a forum, someone appears to begin spamming that forum with all kinds of adds to the company. I don't know if they are actually employed by the spamming company, or just what the deal is, but that's the reason we don't allow links from them.

Really? I can see that from unscrupulous, smaller companies but I'm really surprised that Amazon would do that.

If it's bots spamming, there are plenty of things that can be done to stop them.

Open Original Shared Link

If it is a human, obviously you would disable the account that spammed and the moderation queue would catch posts on resubscription. The only thing that would be tough to catch is a person who signs up, posts legitimately for a while, and then spams but I've run two large and active discussion boards and I've never seen that happen. Spammers are pretty much always hit-and-run.

I assume you're keeping phpBB updated to keep security holes patched. Otherwise there will be ongoing issues with spam and various other attacks. I had scary stuff happen with a Mambo installation once where I missed an update.

Jestgar Rising Star
Jestgar
Posted

There is spam, and we do catch it, and there are people who post innocuous things until they are no longer moderated and then start spamming. The gluten-free community is small enough that it's worth the extra effort to try to entice people to buy from your website. Amazon may be a legit company, but their advertisers may occasionally sub out to people who aren't so legit. And Amazon hosts a number of other companies who use the big A to do business. It's worth their effort to promote their products, and it looks exactly the same as if it had come through Amazon.

We've had people spamming for their books, that are being sold there, trying to buy good reviews to boost their sales, etc.

It's really sad, because I like Amazon and I do a lot of shopping there. It would be nice if they had a way to police their subcompanies, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

Anyway, to get around the filter, add spaces:

amazon . com

and tell people to remove the spaces after they cut and paste.

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted
  • Author

Wow. Just wow. I guess the boards I've run have not been as attractive to spammers as this one because I've never had to deal with anything other than hit-and-runs. I see why you've resorted to munging links.

Thank you very much for the tip about spaces.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Jestgar Rising Star
Jestgar
Posted

I'd say about a quarter of the invisible posts I check are spam. I may see more than some other mods because I'm on really early in the morning, but there are phases where almost all new posts are spam.

Scott Adams Grand Master
Scott Adams
Posted

This only happens to companies that have directly spammed this forum, and yes, Amazon is one of them, and I caught them myself doing it multiple times directly from their headquarters (according to the IP addresses). So yes, they too are banned here. If they can't obey the rules they agreed to when they joined, they are banned. Let this serve as a warning to other companies. We provide a legitimate way for them to advertise here to our members, but unfortunately many go with the cheaper, "free" way of marketing and ignore rules. Many outsource to SEO firms in China, India, etc., and the people they pay to go into forums like this get them banned.

Take care,

Scott

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      128,472
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    NoahL
    Newest Member
    NoahL
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.1k
    • Total Posts
      70.9k
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • cristiana
      Can celiac cause widespread pain??

      By cristiana · Posted

      Hello @Paula Andrews I started to get a whole host of new pains around the time of my diagnosis and afterwards, quite apart from the expected gastric pain.  Pelvic pain was caused by bloating from dairy products; pain in my chest due to bloating caused by iron supplements; costochondritis in my ribs, which was a dull diffuse pain not emanating from the sternum which is what all the forums tell you, but it can be along the ribs too and that's where I had it; pain in my sacroiliac joints (worth googling, something coeliacs are prone to) which referred especially to my left buttock and thigh, felt like my skin was on fire, and last of all pudendal pain, which made sitting and driving uncomfortable. Now, it took me almost a forum record of 8 years to get my antibodies to normal levels, despite being one of the most careful adherents to the diet (although there was no doubt cross-contamination), but as my blood went back to normal, things definitely improved.  I am still occasionally get pain in the aforementioned places but that can be due to glutening, bloating or kicking pain off with heavy lifting, depending on which part of the body is affected.  I sometimes think pain sites have a memory (that's not meant to be a scientific comment!) and it doesn't take much to set them off again. But now the pain is nowhere near as bad.   I would say do listen to your body - for example, if walking hurts your sacroiliac joints, don't over do it.  Also, if you think an element of what you have is muscular, you might find a nice 20 minute warm soak (not hot) with a handful of Epsom salts helpful.   It helped me relax and sort of kick the pain cycle.  But be careful when you get out of the bath, it can make you woozy. It might be worth keeping a food diary to see if any foods are causing bloating which can be a cause of pain.  At my gastroenterologist's suggestion, I gave up dairy for a few weeks and that really helped (coeliacs can be temporarily dairy intolerant while they heal) and also my GP gave me some gentler iron supplements which reduced bloating too. Cristiana  
    • trents
      How many people here are aware that there are 9 types of gluten that Celiacs should be aware of?

      By trents · Posted

      From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten "Gluten is a structural protein naturally found in certain cereal grains. The term gluten usually refers to the elastic network of a wheat grain's proteins, gliadin and glutenin primarily, that forms readily with the addition of water and often kneading in the case of bread dough. The types of grains that contain gluten include all species of wheat (common wheat, durum, spelt, khorasan, emmer and einkorn), and barley, rye, and some cultivars of oat; moreover, cross hybrids of any of these cereal grains also contain gluten, e.g. triticale. Gluten makes up 75–85% of the total protein in bread wheat. Wheat gluten is composed of mainly two types of proteins: the glutenins and the gliadins, which in turn can be divided into high molecular and low molecular glutenins and α/β, γ and Ω gliadins. Its homologous seed storage proteins, in barley, are referred to as hordeins, in rye, secalins, and in oats, avenins. These protein classes are collectively referred to as "gluten". The storage proteins in other grains, such as maize (zeins) and rice (rice protein), are sometimes called gluten, but they do not cause harmful effects in people with celiac disease." (Ephasis mine) The storage protein in corn is a gluten-like protein but is not gluten. Informally, it is sometimes referred to as corn gluten. From time to time we get celiac contributors to this forum who discover some food that, in addition to gluten, triggers their celiac disease or dermatitis herpetiformis. When they eliminate that food they experience profound improvement in their health and are convinced it must be the magic bullet for all celiacs. And this gets reinforced when they read or listen to material that correlates with their experience but has dubious scientific credibility. 
    • knitty kitty
      How many people here are aware that there are 9 types of gluten that Celiacs should be aware of?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      At minute 28 and again at minute 45, the man explains that the carbohydrate storage protein In CORN is ZEIN.   Zein has segments of the 33-mer polypeptide, alpha gliadin, found in wheat, barley, and rye, which if presented to DQ HLA genes triggers an autoimmune reaction in those with Celiac Disease.  Casein in dairy for the same reason can similarly can trigger an autoimmune reaction in those with Celiac Disease, but casein in dairy is not gluten. Some people who have difficulty with corn do not have Celiac Disease and are not mounting an autoimmune response to Zein presented to DQ HLA genes activated by Celiac.  To label corn as having gluten is simply going to confuse people with and without Celiac Disease.  
    • Beverage
      Can celiac cause widespread pain??

      By Beverage · Posted

      I didn't have the typical intestinal symptoms before I was diagnosed, but had severe allergies, asthma, and failing kidneys. I often felt that horrible body achey felling like when coming down with a super bad flu. Now if I get glutened, I feel like I've been hit by a truck. 
    • Beverage
      Oats gluten free?

      By Beverage · Posted

      I went through issues with oats when first diagnosed. I thought I couldn't eat any oats at all, even certified gluten-free. Then I learned about purity protocol oats. The list here has gotten smaller through the years, so I check it every time I order. I had been ordering one brand on the list that was later found to contain lower levels of gluten. I found that out after having just received a new order that did give me some light symptoms. Apparently I can tolerate oats themselves, but not a low amount of gluten. But I STRONGLY recommend first eliminating all oats for a few months before trying any of these https://www.glutenfreewatchdog.org/news/oats-produced-under-a-gluten-free-purity-protocol-listing-of-suppliers-and-manufacturers/    
×
×
  • Create New...