the sign of a dying forum

It's sad but it seems like these days we cannot help but run across spam. Even if you manage to thwart it off in your own personal inbox, you're bound to still see it in forums, on websites and chat groups, and of course in your messaging boxes on the various social networking sites that are out there.

Lately, I've been noticing a flood of spam on several of the online forums that I visit. I don't know if the spammers have suddenly figured out how to get past the built-in anti-spam features of BB software, or if spammers are actually hiring live people to do their work for them instead of robots. But either way, it is a shame, and it is a sign that a forum may be on its way out.

When the moderator of a forum can't filter out the Viagra, Rolex and Anoretix weight-loss messages from the legitimate ones, it turns off subscribers to the forum. For example, if I am reading threads on a music forum, the last thing I need to see between a post about my favorite band being on tour and the latest albums being released are off-topic plugs for affiliate marketing sites, bogus college degrees, and get-rich-quick schemes.

I must admit that I do feel bad for moderators, as they certainly have their hands full. Aside from the incoming spam, they have to deal with the trolls and the vulgar members of our online communities, and apply swift justice to those looking to break the rules of netiquette. It's certainly a job I wouldn't take on without a lot of thought.