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Please also log the IP address used to create the account so that an admin can review for clues to see if the user is posting where they say they're posting from.
For example, I got a one-line question on my hosted site asking about health insurance in NJ. This is borderline but probably off-topic for an expat forum. I posted a comment asking him to clarify, but I never got a response, so I closed and eventually deleted the question.
His account fits one pattern that makes me suspect it was a spam bot:
- Username is in "Firstname Lastname" format, which is VERY unusual for my target audience; most expats I've encountered are extremely protective of their personal information.
However, I can't be sure.
If I knew the IP address that created the account, I could be more confident in deciding whether this is a legit account.
This would also be useful for detecting sockpuppet behaviors.
Please also log the IP address used to create the account so that an admin can review for clues to see if the user is posting where they say they're posting from.
For example, I got a one-line question on my hosted site asking about health insurance in NJ. This is borderline but probably off-topic for an expat forum. I posted a comment asking him to clarify, but I never got a response, so I closed and eventually deleted the question.
His account fits one pattern that makes me suspect it was a spam bot:
- Username is in "Firstname Lastname" format, which is VERY unusual for my target audience; most expats I've encountered are extremely protective of their personal information.
However, I can't be sure.
If I knew the IP address that created the account, I could be more confident in deciding whether this is a legit account.
This would also be useful for detecting sockpuppet behaviors.