* ________________________________ * From: paul youlten paul.youlten@gmail.com * To: Al Johnson alj62888@yahoo.com; MediaWiki announcements and site admin list mediawiki-l@lists.wikimedia.org * Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2013 1:51 PM * Subject: Re: [MediaWiki-l] Wiki spam. Stronger fightback. * On Sun, May 26, 2013 at 9:33 PM, Al Johnson alj62888@yahoo.com wrote: * > I disagree with your comment below in principle. Requiring regular users to modify their behavior because of the actions of a few bad actors just ruins and complicates the experience you are trying to create. Dealing with spammers comes with the territory and is my responsibility, not my visitors. * > * ...but the sad truth is that for many small wikis the actions of a few * bad actors ruin and complicate the experience you are trying to create * for users (readers as much as editors) The spammers spoil the user * experience much more than asking a few interested users to jump * through a hoop or two to become editors.
Asking the visitor to do any more than notifying admin of a problem is probably too much (unless they want to correct the spam themselves). I'm afraid you'll get too much resistance if you start demanding phone numbers. Many small wikis are also less secure and the chance of phone numbers getting stolen is too big. It's a whole 'nother can-o-worms.