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Post Info TOPIC: Comment spammer


Legend

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RE: Comment spammer
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Nice to know I wasn't just being paranoid!
Avogadro's constant? I haven't had need to use that since chemistry class in high school - about 15 years now, long enough to forget the exact number. An awful lot of zeros anyway.

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Legend

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Well, it keeps changing, no wonder you wouldn't want to remember the specifics.  The current accepted value (/gram mole) is

NA = (6.0221415 ± 0.0000010)*1023 (the number of molecules in a gram molecule of a pure gas - which will occupy 22.41 litres of volume at STP).

But an interesting proposal (2007) for an exact number which would tie down the definition of the gram is for it to be (amongst other candidates)

NA* = 602,214,141,070,409,084,099,072 which is to say 84,446,8883 - there, much easier to remember, innit?

(see http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/an-exact-value-for-avogadros-number)

I don't think the margin of difference would sustain vitality within the (near) fractal geometry of a typical spammer's respiratory system for very long in any event - one trusts they cease and desist when they stop breathing but I suppose one can't rely on that these days.



-- Edited by Rectalgia on Sunday 11th of March 2012 09:47:38 AM

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Legend

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Haven't mentioned the very many pointless "fragments of another coversation" type posts deleted since last mention but still they continue - last was a rash of them 2-3 May.  Could be many more from earlier times, as yet undetected, even from this last time.  All follow the same pattern, an unregistered/partly-registered member name, a code/letter-jumble subject, usually tacked on to an existing topic (rarely, a new topic) - and of course pointless content in terms of this place.  All blocked from casual view (or search) pending moderator release.

New theory, we have some sort of Asperger syndrom/autism spectrum disorder "savant", probably living in the UK, threshing all sorts of blog comment and bulletin board venues around the world, inserting transcriptions (not copies) of what were probably originally valid posts from a similarly large and eclectic range of sources, using a large and changing roster of proxies from all over the world. His latest schtick is to pick up posts in obscure dialects (a virtuoso achievement considering the transcribed-not-copied aspect, if that remains the case).

Far-fetched?  You bet, but there are certain "fingerprints" all over his (male? almost certainly) little enterprise, including the characteristic "blind spots" in his quest for mysteriousness and elusiveness.  Could even have a valid membership (or two) here but probably not.  Well, I don't have control panel access in this forum but others do - so, as they say, the noose tightens.



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Facimus et Frangimus


Legend

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Our "friend" wangtianyi has surfaced again: just searched for mk v in response to a new thread, and saw his name and the familiar date of sep 15 2010 as the last post for the thread 'French Pics of Mk V*'.



-- Edited by TinCanTadpole on Saturday 12th of May 2012 09:42:19 PM

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Legend

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Thanks TCT. I see the name and posting date but I can't find a post (Kieffer's post of Aug 3, 2010 is the last one there - for my viewing of the topic anyway). wangtianyi's Status is showing as "Deleted" in his profile. Hopefully he's just a ghost, a white shadow.

Steve

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Facimus et Frangimus


Legend

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Entertaining time just now clearing out new comment spam of a particular variety from the Guestbook area (the only place I've checked in detail). Only PDA and myself can see this stuff (and Mark Hansen, when he's around). And even for us, we only stumble across it since it doesn't appear as new posts in the searches and the posters, while not anonymous as such, do not appear in the member lists. Maybe Mark can see more.

Anyway, with a lot more of a sample to look at, I am definitely coming to the view that this is some kind of more than usually pointless spambot. Maybe. Here's the latest theory.

It's the spambot that (seemingly) picks up forum or blog responses, munges them slightly, then broadcasts them far and wide with no "payload" (no moody warez advertised). Search for "We exchanged pictures and tricks about the building of the boat, as, he is the only one yet having completed the construction.Ste9phane" and you will get the idea.

This forum allows posting (subject to moderator review) of anonymous posters (also incomplete registration it seems) but this moderator has no access to summaries of pending posts (nor of pending registrations) and typically these posts are appended to ancient topics but are not date-sortable until/if approved. And I can't see member profiles until registration is complete.

Anyway "they" have:

  • an unending succession of different first-name usernames (all nationalities),
  • no particular pattern of IP addresses (some but not all are used by "known" forum spammers),
  • random-alphabet and variable-length post titles,
  • a random degree of light munging at the start of the message,
  • possibly they are context-sensitive (hard to tell but there is a tendency which slowly becomes evident),
  • they have no "payload" and
  • can only be seen by two people - when and if those happen to stumble across them.
That's an awful lot of craft for no apparent result, apart from bumping a few electrons around. And wasting space on the host server.



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