[BioPython] Abuse of the new Wiki Homepage

[Chris Dagdigian]

I deal with a number of wiki sites, all of which are subjected to a  
constant stream of automated spam posters.

The single best defense is volunteers who monitor the "Recent  
Changes" feed and take instant action to rollback the spam changes:

http://biopython.org/wiki/Special:Recentchanges

People can monitor that page (in web or RSS form) and rollback spam  
shortly after it happens. It really is the best way.  Anyone can roll  
back changes. If you find yourself doing it often, ask to become a  
wiki administrator and then you'll be able to blocklist people and IP  
addresses as well.

Behind the scenes we do other things to block spam, including regular  
expression tests on content, blacklists etc. but it is a constant  
arms race with the wiki spammers and we are always a bit behind.

My $.02

-Chris






On Jun 15, 2006, at 12:13 PM, Mauricio Herrera Cuadra wrote:

> Hi Peter,
>
> We started to have the same problem in the BioPerl wiki some months  
> ago. The way we usually solve this is by blocking the user account  
> and rolling back to the previous version of the affected document.
>
> We have a list of wiki administrators who are constantly (and  
> independently) monitoring the recent changes in the site. This way  
> we can keep track of the changes and revert damages to the content:
>
> http://bioperl.org/wiki/BioPerl:Administrators
> http://bioperl.org/wiki/Special:Recentchanges
>
> You can also keep track of the changes by using the RSS or Atom  
> feeds provided by the Recentchanges page:
>
> http://bioperl.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Recentchanges&feed=rss
> http://bioperl.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Recentchanges&feed=atom
>
> The wiki system has memory of the blocked users and IP's, you can  
> have a look here:
>
> http://bioperl.org/wiki/Special:Ipblocklist
>
> There also exists a Blacklist, which is a complement to the main  
> Wikimedia's one and helps detect spam content before it goes into a  
> document:
>
> http://bioperl.org/wiki/Help:Blacklist
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Spam_blacklist
>
> I don't know who's in charge of BioPython's wiki but I hope this  
> info can be helpful to you.
>
> Regards,
> Mauricio.
>
> Peter wrote:
>> I've noticed someone has created an account "Ceas" on the wiki and  
>> has been inserting junk/spam links.  For example, look at the  
>> history of the main page:
>> http://biopython.org/wiki/Biopython
>> Who is in charge of the Wiki?  Can we
>> (a) block this account (short term action)
>> (b) tighten up rules for creating new accounts?
>> Peter
>> _______________________________________________
>> BioPython mailing list  -  BioPython at lists.open-bio.org
>> http://lists.open-bio.org/mailman/listinfo/biopython
>
> -- 
> MAURICIO HERRERA CUADRA
> arareko at campus.iztacala.unam.mx
> Laboratorio de Genética
> Unidad de Morfofisiología y Función
> Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, UNAM