CEAUPDATE 050308


UPDATES FROM $realitysquared : Spamming Accounts

As some deviants may remember late in 2007 we experienced a rash of spamming account which concentrated on flooding many of our members with notes or comments containing blatant advertising, phishing scams and just plain garbage. To combat this disturbing trend we introduced various types of spam controls to our Notes system including the ability to report any particular note as spam.

This year we have concentrated on extending some of those same controls to comments due to a milder trend of those same spammers switching their tactics from targeting your notes to targeting your account pages and deviations.

Judging by recent reports some spammers are desperate enough to continue to create new accounts and work just beneath the controls and automated systems that we have in place and while having to do so will seriously curtail their annoying activity we still find them just as undesirable as ever.

If you should receive a spam note containing advertising, a scam invitation, or anything else which appears to be a mass-sending please use the Report as Spam button and then promptly notify the helpdesk by filing a Policy Violation ticket. By using the tool and filing the report you assist all of us here on staff in identifying and removing these undesirables.

As I have already mentioned some spammers have switched to using comments on your account page or deviations. Most of the time the pattern consists of one piece of meaningless praise followed by several links to other websites, Again I’d like to urge everyone who receives such an obvious advertisement to use the Report Spam link attached to the comment after which you should visit the helpdesk in order to make the staff aware of the spammer.

Spammers may be a fact of life on the internet but between the automated systems that we have in place which limit their activity and the reports that you give to the helpdesk we should be able to keep our community as free of these individuals as possible.

As a closing note I will briefly mention that some of you have filed helpdesk tickets with us because you have accidently marked the note or comment of a friend as spam and you fear that your friend will be banned immediately. I can put you all at ease that a single accidental report such as this is expected to happen from time to time and such accidents will not result in any administrative action occurring. You do not have to report these mistakes to the helpdesk, all you need to do is practice better control of your mouse.



UPDATES FROM $damphyr : Dealing with under age deviants

As FAQ #696: How does deviantART comply with COPPA? explains, deviantART has a minimum age of 13 years in order to become a deviant. We encourage and appreciate deviants who use the Policy Inquiry section of the Help Desk to report under age users to help us comply with the COPPA restrictions, however many deviants behave horribly when dealing with said under age deviants.

If you do come into contact with a deviant under the age of 13, we ask that you please do not attack these deviants. Most under age users do not take the time to read the policies and so are not aware that they are not permitted to be using deviantART. Attacking them lynch-mob style will only serve to upset the deviant and often results in their changing or removing any information which proves their true age.

Additionally, this kind of aggressive behavior, either on their user page, their submissions or in dAmn is very hurtful to those who likely have no idea they have violated any policy and cannot understand why they would be “ punished ” simply for their age, not to mention that it makes you, personally, look like a heartless jerk.

Please simply report these users to the Help Desk and provide any proof of their age, and simply leave the deviant alone and let the staff deal with the situation.