Spam on AboutUs
What is spam?
Many types of spam exist today, and unfortunately wikis are susceptible to spam attacks. Although we operate on good faith (the idea that a user is trying to make a constructive and valuable edit to the wiki) we still have to take action on particular types of edits that appear to be spam. This includes instances such as:
- Multiple unrelated external links
- Links are added with html tags still around them
- Content is removed and replaced with unrelated content
- Fake reviews
- Internal or unintended spam such as overlinking to related domains or categories- please see the Internal Linking Guide
- Domains that are exact duplicates will be redirected to primary domain.
- Please learn what is Spam and how destructive it is to the Internet. WikiPedia:Wiki spam
What do we do about spam?
Whether added on purpose or by accident, spam is unproductive and creates a less viable resource for the AboutUs community. If you see a page that seems to have been spammed but you are unsure, please check the user's history before deleting their information. It is possible that it is a constructive edit, although it may not seem to be at first glance. It is always better to engage in conversation before deleting somebody else's work. If it is clear that the material is spam, please delete it from the page. If you are unsure on what constitutes spam, contact us.
How do I delete spam?
There are two possibilities with removing spam. If it has simply been added to a section of the page, all you need to do is go into edit mode, remove the information, and save the page. If the spam replaced other information on the page, you can follow these steps to revert to the previous version:
- Click on the history tab
- Click on the date with the version of the article prior to spam being added
- Click on the edit tab
- Write a summary in the summary box (such as "remove spam" or "revert spam") and select save
What do we do with vandals who abuse AboutUs?
We add their IP address to our Spam List for the whole world to see! Yes our doors are open and we are here to help everyone but do not try to take advantage of our hospitality.
