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    Welcome to the external links noticeboard
    This page is for reporting possible breaches of the external links guideline.
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    Indicators
    Defer discussion:
     Defer to WPSPAM
     Defer to XLinkBot
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     Defer to Abuse filter

    Bot? Sock? Farm?

    [edit]

    As I've said over at SPI...

    I'm wondering if this is a single spammer, a spambot or a spamfarm – if it is, then it might be possible to nip this in the bud via blocks or an edit filter; however, it might just be somewhere offering advice on how to slip a link into the 'pedia without it being noticed and/or making it difficult to justify just hitting 'undo'.

    The edits – [1] [2] – are interesting and identical: making non-destructive, useless, or cosmetic changes (capitalisation, spacing, image placement), sticking in a barely necessary {{cn}}, moving a category from one place to another, and then overwriting a previous spam link with a new one barely related to the subject.

    It feels like a bot, but a clever one, which then points to it not being a bot at all. Tricky! I'd be interested in what others might think. 81.187.192.168 (talk) 10:39, 7 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

    Thanks for this note, and especially for de-spamming those two articles. (It can't be too clever, because it put a spammy link for a service provider in Florida on an article about a place in Spain.)
    I'd be curious what the anti-spam folks think of this. @Beetstra, MER-C, LaundryPizza03, any thoughts on how to detect this? WhatamIdoing (talk) 18:08, 7 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

    Found one more account.

    The normal spam feeds should pick this up. Whether someone reverts it is a different matter.

    See also Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Chosmawali. MER-C 18:33, 7 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

    Thanks for the extra work on this, folks. I brought this up because the modus operandi looked familiar. I've just spent half an hour looking back at my edits from the past couple of days and saw this by Drutohishab (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) which is clearly the same bot or sockmaster or whatever. And I'm sure there have been others I've seen in the last few weeks, but finding them would likely be something of a timesink for very little benefit. Is there anywhere to report them if I spot such edits again? Or, since they appear to just make the one spam edit and never do anything again, is it pointless? 81.187.192.168 (talk) 19:13, 8 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

    They'll spam the sites enough, then they are ripe for blacklisting. That is probably the best way to deal with this. MER-C 14:26, 10 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

    Except nobody has updated the blacklist since May, and requests get sent into archives after 1 week (I just changed it to 90 days). That particular system is not working for lack of maintenance. -- GreenC 16:46, 10 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    I have little experience with spam links, but I think the increased delay in archival will increase the likelihood that an admin will respond. I think a spam-blacklist open request task should also be listed in WP:AN's header. –LaundryPizza03 (dc̄) 20:14, 10 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    @GreenC, @LaundryPizza03, @MER-C, it's been about six weeks with the newer 90-day archive rate. Are spam reports getting handled, or do we need to find some new volunteers? WhatamIdoing (talk) 06:23, 27 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    You can see MediaWiki_talk:Spam-blacklist activity is happening mostly OnNoitsJamie. -- GreenC 13:58, 27 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    What do you mean "nobody has updated the blacklist since May?" There are some months with only a few edits, but we've been actively updating it in recent months. BTW, thank you, GreenC, for changing the archival interval; 1 week was definitely too short. Note that in the "Instructions for Admins" section of we've been encouraged to use this list instead, which I'm happy to do for simple additions of one or two sites. For requests with a lot of sites (e.g., spam rings), I'll likely continue using Beetra's automation tools that allow for adding a batch of links in 3 clicks. Hopefully we'll eventually have some tooling for the new lists which makes it easier to add batches of sites. OhNoitsJamie Talk 01:16, 30 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

    Template:IETF RFC exempt from WP:NOELBODY?

    [edit]

    Your opinion is sought at Template talk:IETF RFC#Use in article body, please. fgnievinski (talk) 03:15, 14 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

    [edit]

    Since this location was pointed out to me, I wanted to note that I started an external links-related discussion at WP:Village pump (policy)#Formatting of election pages - external links and pseudoheads. I'm happy to move or have it moved here if it is the more appropriate venue. Thanks, Ost (talk) 22:26, 4 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

    [edit]

    Months ago I warned User:Themashup to stop canvassing external links to BookBrowse. As far as I can tell, they've added the links in good faith. After objecting to my warning they've resumed canvassing adding the links [3],[4],[5],[6]. I've nominated BookBrowse for deletion as I don't see how it meets any notability criteria. I'm seeking additional opinions as to whether this sort of canvassing is appropriate, and I've notified them of this discussion. OhNoitsJamie Talk 15:54, 10 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

    I'm not quite sure what you mean by canvassing. WP:REFSPAM, maybe?
    All of the diffs you link show an online magazine being used to support article content. Wikipedia:External links repeatedly things like "these external-link guidelines do not apply to citations to reliable sources within the body of the article" (emphasis in the original). I think that you will need to take your concern to Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard and explain why you think https://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/1285/brick-lane#media_reviews from a review aggregator website is actually WP:UNRELIABLE for statements, e.g., about how many stars Kirkus Reviews did or didn't give that book. I think you'll find that story difficult to sell there, so I suggest thinking about how you could present your concern clearly. WhatamIdoing (talk) 17:45, 10 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    Yes, "canvas" isn't the right word here, ref spamming is what I intended to convey. Thanks for your input. OhNoitsJamie Talk 18:01, 10 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    I am so confused right now. I told you I felt you diddn't know what BookBrowse was as you acted like it was just nonsense when it adds media reception (take for instance: https://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/2286/in-the-kitchen#media_reviews, they also, from what I checked, for more info on the media scores they have a section on it: https://www.bookbrowse.com/more_info/index.cfm/fuseaction/faq_20/full/1) and when I asked and told you I diddn't see what you're point was it feels like you ignored answering my question with no point it seemed. Aggregates are sometimes used on Wiki for purposes and that seemed lost when trying to communicate with you. You brought no good reason, from what I checked over and over again, only that it was nonsenical or spam rather than anything useful and brought no real point with it and when I asked for a point I was ignored and it felt like you lacked any reasoning. Themashup (talk) 19:21, 10 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    I start to feel this is better handled at Wikipedia talk:WPSPAM and/or Wikipedia:COI/N. I see some rather dedicated accounts aroun. (I must agree, not a discussion for here) Dirk Beetstra T C 19:36, 10 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
    This is only part of a larger discussion first began at Talk:The Years (Ernaux_book) and expanded at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Novels#Unencyclopedic review aggregation. Themashup decided to become a single-issue account to spam this trashy review aggregation at the top of every reception section. Their exhaustive edits are unusually unproductive and uninformative, as I have expressed in detail on the aforementioned talk pages. A self-confessed lazy editor on a bizarre crusade to spam this trash. Οἶδα (talk) 22:42, 23 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

    Curlie template deletion

    [edit]

    Some of you may remember many years ago that part of WP:EL efforts to reduce excessive links was to encourage the placement of a DMOZ, and then later once DMOZ was defunct a Curlie link. Curlie is also pretty much defunct now - the site is nearly always down - and was mostly taken over by spammers when it was working. So I have nominated the template {{Curlie}} for deletion and am letting you know here as a courtesy so that a full discussion can take place. See Wikipedia:Templates for discussion/Log/2024 September 20#Template:Curlie. Thank you and keep on keeping spam off Wikipedia! --10mmsocket (talk) 11:22, 21 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

    Thanks for the note. WhatamIdoing (talk) 17:15, 21 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
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