Why is newsbot allowed to spam the forum?

Is this an automated program or does someone actually make all these posts?

Yes, the topics are usually 2nd grade science level...that or news we already "new".

Newsbot doesn't 'spam' the forum...otherwise it would appear all over the place. It's only in the News Feeds section.

FC

Waiting for Troj to chime in....op:

G.D. (who knows exactly where this will end up....)

When I come here I go to "new posts" He has at least 4 posts re: shatner.
That is spamming. I will just block him so it is no big deal. I was just curious.

It's awful!

My understanding is that the newsbot is automatic and scans websites such as space.com for news stories. If you don't want to read them, skip over them. It is not someone spamming the forum.

By latest count, Newsbot acounts for 35% of all threads on the forum. I think that is the answer to a trivia question.

Source: Forum thread counts (16,646 Newsbot threads/ 47,616 total threads)

I forgot about blocking. Done.

Blocking doesn't block! I just saw a new one on the New Posts lists!

shrox said:

Blocking doesn't block! I just saw a new one on the New Posts lists!

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THAT is the big problem I have with NEWSBOT.
DIE NEWSBOT!

MarkH said:

I don't think Newsbot scans anything, otherwise we'd see a little more variety. Can't remember seeing articles other than from Spacecom. Seems like Space.com is directly linked to the Newsbot (probably via RSS feed) in order to cross post the articles here in hopes of generating traffic at Space.com. Generally Space.com seems to me to be poorly put together, and difficult to get things to play or articles to show - very clunky. Have Chinese hackers take down Space.com and newsbot will stop.

Click to expand...

Er, Newsbot is a built in part of vBulletin. It posts items from RSS feeds the admins have configured in the control panel. If it only posts space.com, that's because they haven't added any other RSS feeds.

Neither space.com, or anyone else, is spamming the forum.

Nerull said:

Er, Newsbot is a built in part of vBulletin. It posts items from RSS feeds the admins have configured in the control panel. If it only posts space.com, that's because they haven't added any other RSS feeds.

Neither space.com, or anyone else, is spamming the forum.

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We are annoyed...Bot must die.

Unfortunately my laptop is in the shop, I currently don't have access to my pictures. Humor me and just imagine I've uploaded that picture of a dead horse.

Here you go.

blackbrandt said:

View attachment 117120

Here you go.

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I am guessing the horse went to a rave, took some Ecstasy and a ruffie, then woke up in the field only to be beaten into unconsciousness by iconic office workers.

This is why I don't have goats.

FastCargo said:

Newsbot doesn't 'spam' the forum...otherwise it would appear all over the place. It's only in the News Feeds section.

FC

Click to expand...

Thankfully--- which is spams all over repeatedly with the same second-grade level stories over and over again, as Shrox pointed out...

What gets me is that their writing is about as accurate as you could expect out of a second grader, too-- it's pathetic how many mistakes and just plain stupid turns of phrase they use that make their stories completely inaccurate... what a bunch of morons!

I notice too now that every story I tried to look at in the past couple days has linked directly to one of their STUPID videos-- which of course come on with a stupid advertisement that you cannot either skip, fwd past, or even MUTE (they disable those buttons on the pop-up window, so unless you actually turn your speakers off you're stuck listening to drivel for 30 seconds). Then their "videos" are utter crap. I guess they're trying to get more advertising money by basically linking ALL their "stories" to videos first, upping their "viewership" numbers... I would occassionally read some of their stories (if only to laugh at the EGREGIOUS ERRORS) but I absolutely REFUSE to watch their drivel videos...

The ONLY redeeming thing to come out of the space.com website is their Hubble and Paranal pics of various celestial phenomena... I save them for my desktop on the computer...

Everything else there is pure sh!t...

Later! OL JR

burnout said:

When I come here I go to "new posts" He has at least 4 posts re: shatner.
That is spamming. I will just block him so it is no big deal. I was just curious.

Click to expand...

You can't... that's the catch...

Can't even "ignore" the Newsfeeds section, which is the "litterbox" it constantly dumps in...

I know EXACTLY what you're talking about... it used to link at least twice to virtually every story-- a link to a write-up about the topic in question, and usually another link to a crappy video version of it (for those who are too lazy to read and can't pay attention to anything longer or more intellectually stimulating than a car insurance commercial...) NOW, (and for a while now) the thing has been literally BOMBING the newsfeed forum with MULTIPLE REPEATS OF THE SAME D@MN STUPID STORY! Of course, coming on here and hitting 'new posts' means you get a few pages of results, with all this POO mixed in and amongst the thing, usually to the tune of at least a page or two of the results (depending on how often you get to check the page and how soon to the latest DUMP the newsbot has made). Gee, if I didn't want to read about Uranus the first time, I don't want to read about any of the other 12 stupid links to the same stupid story the newsbot crapped all over the forum either... ya think?? At least it provided some humor around here... LOL (Search "uranus" and I'm sure you'll see what I mean).

At any rate, it is what it is, and we're stuck with it... cest la vie...

Later! OL JR

guywad said:

My understanding is that the newsbot is automatic and scans websites such as space.com for news stories. If you don't want to read them, skip over them. It is not someone spamming the forum.

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ONLY space.com... which is the equivalent of the "national enquirer" or "weekly world news" of space issues reporting... (only they're not as interesting-- no "Bat Boy!" LOL

Later! OL JR

shrox said:

Blocking doesn't block! I just saw a new one on the New Posts lists!

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Yep... told ya!

Gotta be some kickback involved... only reason I can think of to even have that turd in the punchbowl around here...

Later! OL JR

shrox said:

We are annoyed...Bot must die.

Click to expand...

Blofeld: "KILL BOT, NOW!"

Mr. Osato: "Yes, Number One-- Yes, yes!!!"

Hehehehe... Later! OL JR

Just double click on the highlighted icon in front of the "newsfeeds" in the forum view.

When the icon changes to unlighted, all posts in that sub-forum have been marked as "read".

blackbrandt said:

View attachment 117120

Here you go.

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That's perfect, thanks. I'll get my bat.

burnout said:

When I come here I go to "new posts" He has at least 4 posts re: shatner.
That is spamming. I will just block him so it is no big deal. I was just curious.

Click to expand...

Aw c'mon, what's wrong with Canada's Captain Kirk?:wink:
https://www.rocketryforum.com/showt...liam-Shatner-Calls-Astronaut-in-Space-(Video)