I have been using the Flag blogger content option to try and draw attention to weblogs that have been setup for spamming. I think I am about two weeks into flagging accounts and have been tracking those that I have flagged and guess what.
Nothing has been done to them. Obviously it takes about 5 seconds to look at some of these sites and realize that spammers are using them. So the question I ask why are the not being killed off.
I am not about to keep flagging accounts if the end result is no action. Some of these sites are infringing on copyright so I suppose that will have to start sending e-mails to that effect as it seems they cannot control their services.
Solution:
1. When a person signs up for a blogger account get a credit card
2. Put in the terms and services that if you use the account for being weblog spam that a one time fee of $500.00 will be charged to the credit card.
3. This will allow us re-course legally if the infringing site does not take the material down.
I would give them credit except their are still spammer blogs and the ones I am refering to that I am dealing with still exist.
Blogger indicates they addressed spammer blogs filled with link spam on September 2nd. I’ve tried the navbar and I haven’t seen any more of these spam blogs.
So, Blogger is apparently working on it, and their solution required no additional interaction on the valid user’s part. I’d give them the credit; they’ve earned it.
Right, because no spammer would ever steal a credit card number and use that to set up spam blogs. Then some poor schmuck who got her number stolen by a waiter with a card swiper gets her Visa maxed when spammers use her card to set up blogs.
I’m no fan of spam blogs, but requiring identifiable info is asking for more trouble than the spam blogs. Blogger/Google should be paying attention to the system in place, not requiring legitimate people to surrender their information or, worse, inching our way to the Digital Imprimatur (http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/digital-imprimatur/).
If they don’t have the manpower to patrol all the flagged sites, how about recruiting some trusted names around the Internet and setting up a review committee of some kind, sort of like Slashdot’s moderator points system? Rack up enough points from the designated, trusted reviwers and spam blog go bye.