4 ms·

I think the only defense for increased spam is accounts will need to be tied to real people through some other identification. Sucks, but is there an alternati

I think the only defense for increased spam is accounts will need to be tied to real people through some other identification. Sucks, but is there an alternative? I’m open to the idea of no new accounts if it got bad enough. I recently switched to more actively using my account that has my name as the username, anticipating the growing problem of spam detection, and trying to make it more clear this account is not spam.

pixl97 3y ago
Which identification is that? Also, identification is not something that is revocable. If someone steals and abuses your identity (though no fault of your own?), are you now banned from the internet?
- chipweinberger 3y ago
  those are solvable problems, but no one is solving them today. there’s no identity system today that I would want HN to use.
  - pixl97 3y ago
    I can promise you, if you think those are solvable problems, you're missing something that doesn't create an insurmountable problem for one group or another (not even talking about bad guys in this case)
    - scubbo 3y ago
      [flagged]
- qingcharles 3y ago
  Also, ID is not available to everyone. I can't get ID right now due to being an illegal immigrant.
em-bee 3y ago
how about submissions only from accounts that are no longer green (if that's not the case already), and possibly also have a positive comment posting history. although with AI it will be possible to make bots that write seemingly coherent and positive comments, so unfortunately this will continue to be an arms race. maybe submissions only after reaching a certain number of points. that would reduce the number of people that can submit though. another alternative would be to clearly identify which submissions come from posters with a high number of points. that would allow anyone to submit but make it easy to give posts by weak accounts a greater scrutiny.
- mech422 3y ago
  that sounds more list lobste.rs ... you have to be 'approved' to post a topic, which you get by commenting on existing topics over time. TBH, I've never even bothered opening an account as I find it relaxing to be in 'read only' mode :-)
  - scubbo 3y ago
    > that sounds more list lobste.rs Huh. I'd heard that mentioned a bunch as a place with great conversational content, but had assumed (based on the crustacean naming and the `.rs` TLD) that it was Rust-focused - and, although I'm fascinated by and trying-to-learn Rust, I'm not yet at the level where I would be able to contribute to (or barely even learn much from) such a place. But, having checked it out, it seems to in fact just be "Reddit, but more focused and with better moderation". Sounds delightful! Unfortunately I don't have enough of a social circle to be able to get an invite, but I'll enjoy reading in read-only mode. Thanks!
    - mech422 3y ago
      np - welcome to lurking!! Enjoy :-)
    - throw10920 3y ago
      Lobsters' invite tree is a very useful feature, but the moderation quality is significantly worse than HN.

pixl97 3y ago

Which identification is that? Also, identification is not something that is revocable. If someone steals and abuses your identity (though no fault of your own?), are you now banned from the internet?

chipweinberger 3y ago
those are solvable problems, but no one is solving them today. there’s no identity system today that I would want HN to use.
- pixl97 3y ago
  I can promise you, if you think those are solvable problems, you're missing something that doesn't create an insurmountable problem for one group or another (not even talking about bad guys in this case)
  - scubbo 3y ago
    [flagged]
qingcharles 3y ago
Also, ID is not available to everyone. I can't get ID right now due to being an illegal immigrant.

em-bee 3y ago

how about submissions only from accounts that are no longer green (if that's not the case already), and possibly also have a positive comment posting history. although with AI it will be possible to make bots that write seemingly coherent and positive comments, so unfortunately this will continue to be an arms race. maybe submissions only after reaching a certain number of points. that would reduce the number of people that can submit though. another alternative would be to clearly identify which submissions come from posters with a high number of points. that would allow anyone to submit but make it easy to give posts by weak accounts a greater scrutiny.

mech422 3y ago
that sounds more list lobste.rs ... you have to be 'approved' to post a topic, which you get by commenting on existing topics over time. TBH, I've never even bothered opening an account as I find it relaxing to be in 'read only' mode :-)
- scubbo 3y ago
  > that sounds more list lobste.rs Huh. I'd heard that mentioned a bunch as a place with great conversational content, but had assumed (based on the crustacean naming and the `.rs` TLD) that it was Rust-focused - and, although I'm fascinated by and trying-to-learn Rust, I'm not yet at the level where I would be able to contribute to (or barely even learn much from) such a place. But, having checked it out, it seems to in fact just be "Reddit, but more focused and with better moderation". Sounds delightful! Unfortunately I don't have enough of a social circle to be able to get an invite, but I'll enjoy reading in read-only mode. Thanks!
  - mech422 3y ago
    np - welcome to lurking!! Enjoy :-)
  - throw10920 3y ago
    Lobsters' invite tree is a very useful feature, but the moderation quality is significantly worse than HN.