Is WordPress Porn A Good Idea?

A quick look at the most recently submitted WordPress ideas and it appears as though spam has once again been able to creep onto the site. However, the ideas section is not the only one to feel the onslaught of spam. The WordPress Hackers mailing list as well as the Testers mailing list every now and then gets a few spam messages. But more notably, the WordPress.org forum appears to receive spam posts every day. Unlike most other forums or registration forms, the one used on WordPress.org does not contain any CAPTCHA images or any anti-spam measures. This could be the reason behind the spam getting through which is then seen by quite a few people. Although I must say, the administrators/moderators do a great job of tracking that stuff down and keeping it at bay but they can’t catch them all, at least initially.

To top things off, both the Ideas and WordPress.org Support forum don’t provide much in the way of post reporting. At least in the forum, if you come across inappropriate content, you’re supposed to flag that thread by adding the tag ‘modlook‘. This seems to have worked thus far but the technique requires that end users read the Forum Rules Forum Post which outlines this method. But who reads rules now a days? Perhaps a REPORT button which is added to every forum thread or post which automates the task of adding the modlook tag would work out better with regards to community moderation?

With regards to the WordPress Ideas site, there is no RULES page which explains the type of content that can be added to that section of the site although each idea can have tags attached to it. Suffice to say, end users can add the modlook tag to ideas which need moderation but again, this requires prior knowledge on the end users part. Something a simple graphic button that says REPORT might be able to handle better. At least one member has proposed an idea similar to the one I just described which can be read here.

While I don’t venture into the Ideas site or the WordPress.org Forums as much as I’d like, it’s a bit concerning to visit those pages and see anywhere between 1-5 spam posts.

By the way, at least one person thought Pornamzon was a poor idea. See for yourself.

Now I ask that you join in on the conversation by offering your thoughts on the spam problem the various WordPress sites/mailing lists are dealing with. What are some of your ideas on how the team could better handle the situation?