Postimage spam/link issues

Blog Discussion in 'BeerAdvocate Talk' started by Todd, Jan 1, 2023.

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  1. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
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    Once again I'm seeing a ton of spam links being injected by Postimage embed code that some of you aren't removing before posting. This isn't good for our overall site health and could damage it over time.

    As a result, I've blocked all links to the service for the foreseeable future. But I still have to scan the forums to clean up spam links, which sucks.

    Sorry the hassle.

    Update (read this before replying): https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/postimage-link-issues.670670/page-2#post-7677549

    Related: https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/postimage-spam-links.661516/
     
  2. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    STAFF Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah

    Existing embeds should now be working, which will also help me find spam links, but new image links are no longer accepted (you'll get a spam error message).
     
  3. DavetotheB

    DavetotheB Grand Pooh-Bah (4,241) Sep 30, 2017 Pennsylvania
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    Thanks for being on top of this. I usually try to delete the spam links when i use postimage. Can't say I'm 100%...I'm usually drinking when I'm posting : ) What other options are there for posting pics...esp from mobile?
     
  4. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
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    Maybe try: imgur or flickr?
     
  5. DIM

    DIM Grand Pooh-Bah (4,788) Sep 28, 2006 Pennsylvania
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    I was going to post a link to IMG bb but that was blocked as spam. Guess I need suggestions too!
     
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  6. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
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    Yep. They were injecting spam links a while back too.
     
  7. LarryV

    LarryV Grand Pooh-Bah (5,408) Jun 13, 2001 Massachusetts
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    When you get a Postimage link - you have to look to see if it contains two URL references. If it does, the 2nd one is the spam link and needs to be removed before posting.

    Here's an example of an embedded spam link. The part highlighted in yellow needs to be removed starting at the beginning of the second URL tag pointed to by the arrow.

    [​IMG]

    After editing, the link should look like this with only one URL reference...
    [​IMG]

    Wouldn't it be possible to parse the link when it's posted and remove the second URL reference if it exists?
     
  8. DIM

    DIM Grand Pooh-Bah (4,788) Sep 28, 2006 Pennsylvania
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    True, I had to delete them every couple of posts. I need to play with imgur or flickr
     
  9. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    STAFF Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah

    All URL BBCode tags should be removed. There's no reason to be linking back to the image host either. Just use the IMG tag.
     
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  10. REVZEB

    REVZEB Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,686) Mar 28, 2013 Illinois
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    Could we get a direct upload for photos soon?
     
  11. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    STAFF Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah

    It's something that I plan on looking into when we finally upgrade our forums.
     
  12. LarryV

    LarryV Grand Pooh-Bah (5,408) Jun 13, 2001 Massachusetts
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    So in my example posted earlier, it should just look like:

    [​IMG]
     
  13. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
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    I've been able to change some link backs to image hosts to BIG STOUTS for now. :wink:
     
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  14. LarryV

    LarryV Grand Pooh-Bah (5,408) Jun 13, 2001 Massachusetts
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    So wouldn't it be possible to allow a post from PIMG as long as it doesn't contain any URL references?
     
    ChicagoJ, Luscious_Malfoy and micada like this.
  15. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    STAFF Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah

    That's what we did back in 2021, but unless we reinforce it on a daily basis people won't know, forget, miss the links, or not report them.
     
  16. Giantspace

    Giantspace Grand Pooh-Bah (3,043) Dec 22, 2011 Pennsylvania
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    Since I’m not drinking this month i won’t post anyhow. Will look for alternates.

    Enjoy
     
  17. LarryV

    LarryV Grand Pooh-Bah (5,408) Jun 13, 2001 Massachusetts
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    Maybe I'm missing something, but can't you enforce that when somebody posts a link? Sort of like if the link includes URL tags - don't allow it.

    If it only contains IMG tags then allow it?
     
  18. REVZEB

    REVZEB Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,686) Mar 28, 2013 Illinois
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    But is that soon? Or do we all have to create an account on another site so we can load pictures to this one?
     
    TrojanRB, Luscious_Malfoy and LarryV like this.
  19. LarryV

    LarryV Grand Pooh-Bah (5,408) Jun 13, 2001 Massachusetts
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    You don't need to create an account to use IMGUR, If you're posting from a PC:

    IMGUR

    1, Goto https://imgur.com

    2. Click New Post in the upper Left corner

    3. Upload your picture on the next page

    4. Hover your mouse over the picture and click on the ellipsis (...)

    5. Click Get Share Links

    6. Copy the link for BBCode (Forums)

    7. Paste it in your BA Reply
     
  20. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
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    Not without creating a custom forum add-on, which isn't an option right now.
     
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