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Hi,
? As both an owner and a moderator of several groups.io groups I'm
hoping that the following has been covered/looking for ways to
cover it ...

? I just a few moments ago approved a new member to a group.
The only info on the request to join was the email address.? That
address - simply due to the email addy itself - made me wonder
about the legitimacy of the requestor.? As in - "did I just approve
a spammer?".??
? Yes, the group is set to "all new members are moderated
(for 2 posts) so if the requestor is a spammer it will be?
caught.

? 1) Can some text (introduction) be Required for all proposed
? ? ? new members?? I'm talking about where groups.io does
? ? ? not even let them submit the request to join unless they
? ? ? have included that text.

? 2) Are there things that we - as Owners/Moderators - can do in
? ? ? the group settings ... other than setting all new members to
? ? ? moderated status?? Is it recommended that we set new
? ? ? members to permanent moderated status?

? 3) I am concerned about this particular new member's request.
? ? ? It -seems- to indicate that the spammers have 'discovered'
? ? ? groups.io and are attempting to gain access.? Are others
? ? ? seeing any such activity?

? 4) Is it possible for a spammer/any one to request membership
? ? ? -without- having to process that request while being online?
? ? ? Can this be done with some kind of bot?? Can someone
? ? ? request membership in a group using only email?

? All comments/recommendations appreciated.? ? ? ? ? ? ?- Jim B.

On Mon, Apr 2, 2018 at 12:56 pm, Jim Betz wrote:

? 1) Can some text (introduction) be Required for all proposed
? ? ? new members?? I'm talking about where groups.io does
? ? ? not even let them submit the request to join unless they
? ? ? have included that text.

Short answer:? No...not even a CAPTCHA.

Longer answer:? Search this group for "questionnaire" and you'll get lots of discussion on this. There is currently no new user questionnaire capability in the system, although it has been an oft-requested feature. Most people who feel they need that are kludging something into the Pending Subscription message...but you seem to be suggesting something even earlier in the subscription process.

? 2) Are there things that we - as Owners/Moderators - can do in
? ? ? the group settings ... other than setting all new members to
? ? ? moderated status?? Is it recommended that we set new
? ? ? members to permanent moderated status?

Each group must either be "restricted membership", "for moderator announcements only", "entirely moderated", or "new-user moderated." There is no provision to have someone join your group on their own volition and immediately start posting messages. If you have already set up a group of some kind, see Admin->Settings->Spam Control.?

? 3) I am concerned about this particular new member's request.
? ? ? It -seems- to indicate that the spammers have 'discovered'
? ? ? groups.io and are attempting to gain access.? Are others
? ? ? seeing any such activity?

Other than what I mentioned immediately above, it's pretty much your job as a group owner to keep spammers out of your group(s). From the discussions we've had here in GMF recently, the bigger problem most people are experiencing seems to be the exact opposite -- normal group discussions being flagged by overzealous spam filters. This could change as groups.io gets bigger and becomes more of a target.

? 4) Is it possible for a spammer/any one to request membership
? ? ? -without- having to process that request while being online?
? ? ? Can this be done with some kind of bot?? Can someone
? ? ? request membership in a group using only email?

It's entirely possible for a bot to request access to your group via a spoofed email address, but under normal circumstances they will not be allowed to post until their address is confirmed (they are sent a link in an email and someone has to click on it). Those with Premium groups can "direct-add" email addresses, which I believe bypasses these confirmation safeguards.

As in most things in life, one cannot have the power without also accepting the responsibility. If you're as concerned about spam control as you appear to be, I suggest your best choice would be to simply set up a moderated group.

Hope this helps,
Bruce

On Mon, Apr 2, 2018 at 12:56 pm, Jim Betz wrote:

It -seems- to indicate that the spammers have 'discovered'
? ? ? groups.io and are attempting to gain access.

Yes, they have. That is the whole reason for and origin of the "spam controls" in the group settings. When none of those controls were required (moderation, moderate new members, or restricted group), Mark was being spammed big-time. The controls were designed to cut down on that and I think have succeeded for the most part.
?
--
J

Hi,
? Thanks for your answers.? It appears that all of the spam protection is
already being done for this particular group.? It is not possible to have
a group - which literally has thousands of members - to be fully
moderated.
? Hopefully we will catch any potential spammers during the 'first 2
messages are moderated' phase.? I was really hoping that there
was some kind of Required introduction capability that occurs
during the request for membership process - in order to weed out
the spammers as early as possible.? In this particular case that
would be easy ... because it would be difficult for any spammer
to fake his interest in the topic this group is about.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? - thanks again ... Jim B.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?- Jim B.

On Mon, Apr 2, 2018 at 08:15 pm, Jim Betz wrote:

I was really hoping that there
was some kind of Required introduction capability that occurs
during the request for membership process - in order to weed out
the spammers as early as possible.? In this particular case that
would be easy ... because it would be difficult for any spammer
to fake his interest in the topic this group is about.

Surely the use of "Pending Subscription" messages deals with this. A Group I moderate has this set up and it seems to work. (FWIW we used to do this "manually" which was a real chore - Pending Subscription has dispensed with the work.)

Quite a few applications arrive with no follow - up to the Pending Subscription request. We either wait until they time out and vanish of their own accord or delete them ourselves. Curiously, when we get applications that are followed up by a response, that response usually turns up within 24 or 48 hours; any longer and the likelihood of a response turning up drops to almost zero. Sometimes we repeat the Pending Subscription message but still get no response. Were they spammers? I have no idea.

Our group (just over 2900) has most members fully moderated; only a trusted few beome free to post without moderation delays. Any attempt at spamming would be spotted pretty quickly, followed equally quickly by the ruthless application of the ban hammer.

Chris