Profanity filter needs option to retro activate.

[SJ77]

seems that using profanity filter only affects future posts. However, there needs to be a way to clean up older posts. "process all posts with current filters"

Thank you

[Rheddy]

Sounds like a good idea but the way to stomp that out is to develop a zero tolerance policy at the very beginning that you open your community. My community has always had a zero tolerance policy for swearing, ever since I created my site so swearing has never been a problem. When someone behaves in that fashion, I stomp it out, or my forum staff stomps it out, long before it becomes a habitual problem.

[SJ77]

11 minutes ago, Morisato said:

Sounds like a good idea but the way to stomp that out is to develop a zero tolerance policy at the very beginning that you open your community. My community has always had a zero tolerance policy for swearing, ever since I created my site so swearing has never been a problem. When someone behaves in that fashion, I stomp it out, or my forum staff stomps it out, long before it becomes a habitual problem.

I use it as a measure against spam. So sometimes, I catch it after there's already stuff I don't want discussed all over my site. Anyway, I converted from other platforms like smf and phpbb.

[Rheddy]

@superj707, ah. Well, it does sound like a good idea. For spammers, I have a number of moderators who keep an eye on that sort of thing and they are very good at removing content and flagging members for spam if they suspect that. But, I doubt that IPS would consider such an idea because it would be very low on their priority at this point.

[SJ77]

I can't imagine why. I was actually shocked to see that it doesn't remove words from past posts. If I change the rules and decide "crap" is a word I don't want on my site, I should be able to remove it when I am ready to do so.

[Rheddy]

I suspect that it's because the profanity filter is in passive mode. The only time the profanity filter is called into action is when someone posts a new message, then its flagged by the profanity filter, which then modifies the word or phrase being posted. I suspect that's the way that IPS had always intended for the profanity filter to work. It would create a problem for those websites who are shared hosting who have a large community because it would increase their server load. Like I said, it's a good idea in theory, but IPS probably considers such a feature impractical. I'm not sure if this has ever been brought up before. But, it's a likely bet that it was a likely feature that IPS had once considered before.

[chilihead]

As a setting maybe, but the only way I would use it is if you removed the filter and the word returned, which does not happen. The way IPS does it is it physically changes the word in the db, where other software of its kind apply a filter that can be removed and the word returns. I would not want to change my whole db like that. Also note, if it were retroactive you would effectively be editing members' posts that had already been posted. You say for spam and certain terms but what if those terms were used appropriately? Don't you think it is better that it is not retroactive so you can monitor that and if it is causing an issue, remove it, and the whole db is not affected? Best way to deal with a spammer is using the spam tools, imo. Profanity filter is best used for profanity. Maybe you should suggest a new setting for spam control as IPS is not likely to add an unintended use function.

[chilihead]

An example of a spam control function would be certain words in posts notify mods/admin in the report center. Could be tied to the flag as spammer threshold. Much better than trying to repurpose the profanity filter. Let's say you block viagra as profanity, but some members want to mention it legitimately.

That would be a good feature. Word Alert.

[SJ77]

people pretend to be members but are actually site admins from OTHER sites. They start posting and after awhile I realize, this isn't just a member sharing good stuff, it's an admin spamming his site. So I use profanity filter to make www.spamsite.com become www.*****.com

[chilihead]

What happens when members legitimately mention the competing site and it is blocked? They will call you out for censorship and for being afraid of competition. I would say ban the spammer not block the site, especially if it is a known competitor. Hypothetical: What if a forum software company blocked a forum software company in posts? How you feel about them? Just trying to put it into perspective. A ban would be in order for the spammer, and that should take care of it imo.

[Lindy]

Posts are parsed as they're posted and then submitted to the database for performance reasons. On topic view they're simply pulled and displayed. You would need to rebuild all posts to accomplish this.

[SJ77]

15 minutes ago, Lindy said:

Posts are parsed as they're posted and then submitted to the database for performance reasons. On topic view they're simply pulled and displayed. You would need to rebuild all posts to accomplish this.

so can I do that? Is there an option?

[chilihead]

I hope you can get that done, my post was not to take away from what you need for your site, just posting experience.  

[Square Wheels]

2 hours ago, superj707 said:

so can I do that? Is there an option?

If you only have a few words you are worried about you could run queries to update the table.  If you have dozens of words and a lot of posts it would take some time.

[Rheddy]

@chilihead, the only users who would accuse you of censorship are new members who just registered for an account and who want to disrupt your forums by spamming your site with their website address. This is why I have developed a forum policy that strictly prohibits any member from disrupting my community in any form. There is also an important point that I have posted in my forum rules that inform all users that the administrator and the forum staff have the right to modify any content posted on the forums where it's deemed appropriate. registering for an account just to post their website address is what I consider spam and I ban their forum account right away. For the simple reason that a user needs to be active on my community before they are allowed to start posting links as word-of-mouth advertising for another website.

The thing I've found is that most new users throw around 'censorship' like it was a loaded weapon when they aren't aware of what censorship really is. I don't censor my community. But, I can spot a spammer or someone trying to disrupt my community from a mile away. While they occur very rarely, the last time it happened on my site, I ended up having to ban two members for it. Not only did I discover these members as they were posting it, but other members of my community reported their posted content, warning me of it. My community knows that I don't censor what they post and they're very loyal about keeping such spammers off my forums, even when they try to spam-advertise their own websites.

[Janyour]

Interesting !

is it possible that guest or any member report another member ? as reporting content !

[Rheddy]

Guests can't report anything. I believe you need to be a registered member in order to do that. The only permissions I give to guests on my site is just the ability to browse and read content, nothing more, nothing less.

[Janyour]

Of course they can, for posts its already possible to report, i believe non registred members can help moderators and admins !

For profiles i'd seen thats enabled for members only, i didnt find an option for guests !