3 ms·

It's legitimately to stop spam. Captchas can be gamed or purchased. IPv6 makes banning IPs futile. Getting a SIM card is the only thing that bots cannot do. Th

by zelly 7y ago

It's legitimately to stop spam. Captchas can be gamed or purchased. IPv6 makes banning IPs futile. Getting a SIM card is the only thing that bots cannot do. The only other alternative to stop spam is micropayments (at a similar cost to a SIM card). I would actually like to see that as an option instead of providing my mobile number--preferably using Bitcoin because my credit card number is even more confidential than my phone number.

r_singh 7y ago
If you really want to orchestrate some sort of spam attack with bots. You can just purchase a hundred numbers on twilio or bandwidth and just automate the who OTP process with Puppeteer. If it’s important enough. You’re right about it being a lot more annoying though.
- skinnymuch 7y ago
  The service has to just not allow VoIP numbers like Twilio. A handful are already like that. Like Craigslist as last example I came across.
- zelly 7y ago
  Twillio and Google Voice numbers do not work for phone verification on Twitter/Facebook/Google properties. VoIP phone numbers are sold in blocks and well-known to companies who subscribe to those lists (basically all social media). Twilio numbers do work for the scrappier sites though.
Dylan16807 7y ago
> IPv6 makes banning IPs futile. For wired connections, isn't banning the customer-sized subnet about the same in terms of effectiveness ?
freeflight 7y ago
It's legitimately to stop spam. That might be what it originally started out as, but by now many platforms seem to think of it as just more personal data they can monetize [0] [1]. [0] https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/08/twitter-admits-it-used-two-factor-phone-numbers-and-emails-for-targeted-advertising/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/08/twitter-admits-it-used-two... [1] https://www.engadget.com/2018/09/28/facebook-two-factor-phone-numbers-ads/ https://www.engadget.com/2018/09/28/facebook-two-factor-phon...

by zelly 7y ago

r_singh 7y ago

If you really want to orchestrate some sort of spam attack with bots. You can just purchase a hundred numbers on twilio or bandwidth and just automate the who OTP process with Puppeteer. If it’s important enough. You’re right about it being a lot more annoying though.

skinnymuch 7y ago
The service has to just not allow VoIP numbers like Twilio. A handful are already like that. Like Craigslist as last example I came across.
zelly 7y ago
Twillio and Google Voice numbers do not work for phone verification on Twitter/Facebook/Google properties. VoIP phone numbers are sold in blocks and well-known to companies who subscribe to those lists (basically all social media). Twilio numbers do work for the scrappier sites though.

Dylan16807 7y ago

> IPv6 makes banning IPs futile. For wired connections, isn't banning the customer-sized subnet about the same in terms of effectiveness ?

freeflight 7y ago

It's legitimately to stop spam. That might be what it originally started out as, but by now many platforms seem to think of it as just more personal data they can monetize [0] [1]. [0] https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/08/twitter-admits-it-used-two-factor-phone-numbers-and-emails-for-targeted-advertising/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/08/twitter-admits-it-used-two... [1] https://www.engadget.com/2018/09/28/facebook-two-factor-phone-numbers-ads/ https://www.engadget.com/2018/09/28/facebook-two-factor-phon...