Spam Prevention & Detection - Vanilla Success
<main> <article class="userContent"> <p>This article provides an overview of all of the spam prevention and detection tools <strong>Higher Logic Vanilla (Vanilla)</strong> provides to help keep your community running smoothly. </p><h2 data-id="spam-detection">Spam detection</h2><p>Vanilla includes two spam-detection addons: <a href="https://akismet.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">Akismet</a> and <a href="https://stopforumspam.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">StopForumSpam</a>. You can manage these in your <strong>Dashboard > Settings > Addons > Addons</strong> page.</p><ul><li><strong>Akismet </strong>feeds your posts through the Akismet spam-detection algorithm to automatically filter out spam posts.</li><li><strong>StopForumSpam </strong>checks users against a list of reported spammers, and will report posts as spam or reject them outright. The threshold for reporting and rejection can be managed in the addon’s settings.</li></ul><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/06VOBRIPBFAI/access-addons-page.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/06VOBRIPBFAI/access-addons-page.png" alt="access_addons_page.png" height="456" width="1192" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h2 data-id="spam-prevention">Spam prevention</h2><p>Vanilla is equipped with several layers of SPAM prevention. While automated tools do most of the work, we encourage you to be vigilant and to enlist your membership to report any suspected spam.</p><h3 data-id="spam-reaction">Spam Reaction</h3><p>If Reactions are enabled, you can choose to display the <strong>Spam </strong>Reaction, which lets community members report spam posts. </p><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-medium float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/KHZ8D7R4S0F3/spam-reaction.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/KHZ8D7R4S0F3/spam-reaction.png" alt="spam_reaction.png" height="229" width="558" loading="lazy" data-display-size="medium" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <ul><li>By default, a post will be moved to the Spam Queue if <strong>5 members </strong>report it as spam or <strong>1 moderator or admin </strong>marks it as spam.</li><li>If you need to change these thresholds, please contact Vanilla Support.</li><li><a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/22-reacting-to-content#curating-with-reactions" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">Check out this article</a> to learn more.</li></ul><h3 data-id="flood-control">Flood Control</h3><p><strong>Flood Control</strong> prevents a spambot from doing too much damage if it manages to register. </p><p><strong>✔️ TIP</strong>: Spambots can be kept out using reCaptcha on your community registration page (or on your website’s registration if you have implemented SSO), and can also be caught by the spam filters. </p><p>Flood Control lets you limit how many discussions, comments, private messages, and replies to private messages that a user can create within a given time period. </p><p>To manage your Flood Control settings:</p><ol><li>Access your Dashboard.</li><li>Navigate to <strong>Moderation > Content > Flood Control</strong>. </li></ol><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/58H9ZJTEB5ZK/flood-control.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/58H9ZJTEB5ZK/flood-control.png" alt="flood_control.png" height="812" width="1104" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h3 data-id="user-ranks">User Ranks</h3><p>Another tool to combat spam and abuse is <strong>User Ranks</strong>. Many community managers want new members to prove themselves <em>before </em>they're given the ability to fully participate. </p><p>Ranks, which can be awarded <em>manually</em> by moderators or <em>automatically</em> by accumulating reputation points, can be linked to abilities such as including links in posts or editing posts once they have been submitted.</p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"What is a Rank? A rank can be assigned to a user to grant or remove certain privileges on your forum. A rank is not the same as Roles & Permissions, which govern content access, moderation abilities, and administrator access. A user can only have one rank at a time. Typically, the user’s rank is displayed on their…","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6030677\/uploads\/VWGAXAF5OFCO\/microsoftteams-image.png","url":"https:\/\/success.vanillaforums.com\/kb\/articles\/21-ranks","embedType":"link","name":"Ranks - Vanilla Success"}"> <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/21-ranks" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/21-ranks </a> </div><h3 data-id="verifying-users">Verifying Users</h3><p><strong>Verified users</strong> will bypass spam filters.</p><p>You can verify a user from the <strong>Spam Queue</strong>. </p><ol><li>Access the Dashboard.</li><li>Navigate to <strong>Moderation > Content > Spam Queue</strong>.</li><li>Select a post marked as spam.</li><li>Click the <strong>Not Spam</strong> button.</li><li>In the dialog, check the box next to their name and click <strong>Yes, continue</strong>.</li></ol><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/639/QBKN6SH7UHOK.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/639/QBKN6SH7UHOK.png" alt="image.png" height="644" width="1928" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p>A user can also be verified by Admins and Moderators in the <strong>Dashboard</strong>.</p><ol><li>Access the Dashboard.</li><li>Navigate to <strong>Moderation > Site > Users</strong>. </li><li>Click the <strong>pencil icon</strong> next to the user you'd like to verify.</li><li>In the resulting dialog, check the box highlighted below.</li><li>Click <strong>Save</strong>.</li></ol><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/738/ROYHW0UVV9W2.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/738/ROYHW0UVV9W2.png" alt="image.png" height="683" width="1809" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p>The verified status can also be assigned <em>automatically </em>by earning a Rank which grants verification to tenured users.</p><p>For your higher ranks, set the Ability <strong>Verified </strong>to <strong>bypass</strong>. This will prevent your trusted members’ content from being evaluated by the spam filter, which means their content will never be put into the Spam Queue.</p><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-medium float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/894/T37V1M2WDF3W.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/894/T37V1M2WDF3W.png" alt="image.png" height="912" width="1234" loading="lazy" data-display-size="medium" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h2 data-id="spam-queue">Spam Queue</h2><p>Any detected or reported spam will show up in the Spam Queue. To access it:</p><ol><li>Access the Dashboard.</li><li>Navigate to <strong>Moderation > Content > Spam Queue</strong>.</li></ol><p>From here, you can indicate if a registering user is a spammer or not and indicate if a post is spam or not. When you indicate a post as spam, you will have the option to delete it.</p><p><strong>📝 NOTE</strong>: Occasionally, the spam filters will report <em>legitimate </em>content as spam--this is known as a false positive. Be sure to look out for legitimate content in your Spam Queue so you can get it back into the community as soon as possible.</p><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/156/49ME5NG086VT.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/156/49ME5NG086VT.png" alt="User: "image.png"" height="180" width="320" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p>Additionally, you can delete ALL posts by the offending user and ban them by checking the box next to their name.</p><p><strong>✔️ TIP</strong>: You can always unban them from their profile if you make a mistake.</p><h2 data-id="what-will-users-see-if-their-post-is-marked-as-spam-by-one-of-the-addons">What will users see if their post is marked as spam by one of the addons?</h2><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/NCP5O38MJBKU/screen-shot-2020-06-09-at-11-09-57-am.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/NCP5O38MJBKU/screen-shot-2020-06-09-at-11-09-57-am.png" alt="Screen Shot 2020-06-09 at 11.09.57 AM.png" height="90" width="670" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p><br></p> </article> </main>