Why is there a cooldown timer for reporting posts?

We have had a handful of new "users" created recently, who all post the same spam. Same subject, then gibberish in the post, with a SUPER suspicious link. This morning we had two, and I went to report them, and the second one told me I had to wait a minute to report another post.

Why?

Spam is spam, is this a feature on the site being abused by someone? Is there a user just mass reporting posts that don't need to be? I would assume mods see the report, the post reported, as well as the reporter, and would be able to ban anyone abusing it. And when we have a situation where more than one reportable post comes in, why delay a user from marking it as such?

Good question, I am sure Eric had his reasons. Maybe this needs to be looked at again given the recent spam accounts. You would also assume correctly, mods do see the reports and are notified when a report has been sent. We also have had multiple users report on the same spam post, so that could be part of the reason for the 1 minute cooldown.

I wonder if it has to do with the fact that when a member reports a post, their post count goes up by one which led to this being put in place to deter spamming the report system to boost post count. I'm not sure when, but I recall requesting a small change to the post/thread reporting system because it would also increase the number of new threads a member was credited with creating.

I wonder if it has to do with the fact that when a member reports a post, their post count goes up by one which led to this being put in place to deter spamming the report system to boost post count. I'm not sure when, but I recall requesting a small change to the post/thread reporting system because it would also increase the number of new threads a member was credited with creating.

Originally Posted by Dvader83

Does it go up? Reporting a post doesn't actually post in the thread, and you can post into multiple threads without the same cooldown.

Does it go up? Reporting a post doesn't actually post in the thread, and you can post into multiple threads without the same cooldown.

Originally Posted by futiles

Interesting, I reported that post (yes, I reported my own post) and it does indeed increment you up an additional post count. That is... bizarre. I wonder what the rationale for that is, or if it is just a legacy portion of the system.

I mean, we could always just remove the post count leaderboard and hide post counts... They are a meaningless statistic...

Perhaps it creates a hidden report thread that users themselves cannot view? I guess that bots could also spam reports on normal posts to make it harder to see legit reports. And yes i also noticed one of those "users" a few days ago.

Perhaps it creates a hidden report thread that users themselves cannot view? I guess that bots could also spam reports on normal posts to make it harder to see legit reports. And yes i also noticed one of those "users" a few days ago.

Originally Posted by Thijminecraft02

Yes, that is correct. There is a post created for staff to review and comment internally if needed.

So, this all makes me feel like:

1) There should be no cooldown on reporting, but, it is more likely tied to a separate anti-spam tactic, where you have to wait before posting in the same thread, and the backend doesn't recognize that thread as unique or an exception.

2) Post counts are a truly meaningless statistic that no one should care about, and the leaderboard and badges shouldn't exist

3) Post count shouldn't be displayed.

test message for spam

Yes, the forum won't let an average user post again right away, so, I believe that is the backend reason for the cool down...