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from the Valve-Implementing-New-Steam-Comment-Moderation-Bot dept.
The folks over at at TechRaptor bring us word (recently updated) that Valve Implementing New Steam Comment Moderation Bot:
Steam's forums are an enjoyable place to be when you are discussing the latest happening in the gaming world. It is common to run into internet trolls and the likes, but there is nothing like keeping up with the spam comments giving people unsafe links to click through. Some of those links directed to Counter Strike: Global Offensive skin trading and gambling sites, and other non-safe places where they ask you for sensitive and personal information.
Recently, Steam users went to Reddit to report a new message that appeared to them for a few seconds whenever they comment in forum threads. Not only that, it apparently shows for users as well who are posting reviews of their recently played games.
Reportedly, the following message normally only shows for a few seconds before your comment gets approved, which means the comment moderation bot is only looking for links or any harmful content.
"This comment is awaiting analysis by our automated content check system. It will be temporarily hidden until we verify that it does not contain harmful content (e.g. links to websites that attempt to steal information)."
Valve later got back to TechRaptor with the following message:
Yes, we are scanning the forums and hiding posts that contain links to malicious sites attempting to steal user’s Steam information. We are always looking for ways to improve with new updates, fixes, and features.
Apolitical? Check. Narrowly-scoped? Check. No ideological argument or stretching of the definition of "harm" necessary? Check. Botting like a boss, guys.
[Belated Note: SoylentNews does not use automated moderation. We stick you poor folks with the work instead. --TMB]
(Score: 4, Informative) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday June 18 2020, @02:44AM (7 children)
That's a preemptive "take that nonsense elsewhere". We only have seven "lameness filter" regexes to cover either the subject or the comment. If you tripped any of them except the last, you were either being a jackass rather than contributing anything to the discussion or forgot something important. If you tripped the last, good on you for having so much to contribute but they're called comments rather than novels for a reason.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 18 2020, @03:38AM (4 children)
I get the point and there is no argument from me that those rules are in anyway bad or undesirable. But it is still automated moderation of the comments, albeit before posting.
But aren't you missing at least one? I swear I've had one or two comments rejected for "too compressible" or similar when I tried pasting in some CFG or other documentation into my comments.
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Thursday June 18 2020, @10:36AM (2 children)
A long while ago on the Other Site, I hit the lameness filter by trying to just post a reply saying:
It only went through when I added some more words. Maybe the rules are different here?
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 18 2020, @09:58PM (1 child)
KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNN!!!!!!!!!!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 26 2020, @06:14PM
ACADEMMMMYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday June 18 2020, @11:51AM
Possible but if it still exists it's buried somewhere in some inappropriate hardcoding rather than in the easily-tweakable ones stored in the db and editable through the admin web interface.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday June 18 2020, @05:51PM (1 child)
Translation: automated content filtering is fine when I do it but the root of all evil when someone else does it.
I seem to recall a regex battle with some nick diggers a while back....
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday June 23 2020, @02:24PM
Spam's spam's spam. Take part in a conversation in whatever retarded way you like but spam is always noise, never signal. That's why it's the only thing we don't allow round these parts.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.