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submitted 2 years ago by Timely_Jellyfish_2077@programming.dev to c/memes@lemmy.ml

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[-] MorrisonMotel6@lemm.ee 137 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I was a bot hunter on reddit and was asked to mod /r/kittengifs because of my ability to find them. There were like 5 legitimate posts in 6 months

[-] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 39 points 2 years ago

So, tangentially related to this, you know r/kitty? The subreddit where every post was a picture of a cat, and the only word permitted in the title and any comments was "Kitty"?

I'm convinced that was being used for covert communications. Run those pictures through Outguess or something.

[-] trafficnab@lemmy.ca 33 points 2 years ago

Ah yes, the famous Russian ~~Number~~ Kitty Stations

[-] MorrisonMotel6@lemm.ee 23 points 2 years ago

There was r/catsstandingup(?) as well that just responded "cat." Never considered the conspiratorial angle there...

If I cared about reddit anymore, I'd dig into that

[-] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 10 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I mean I can think of worse ways to send messages to my sleeper cells across the surface web. I used to watch The Modern Rogue.

[-] Fedethot@lemmy.world 20 points 2 years ago

Do you mind share tips to know how to spot them?

[-] BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz 29 points 2 years ago

It:

[-] meowMix2525@lemm.ee 4 points 2 years ago

The stock photo sites are watermarking AI-generated images now?

[-] Reddfugee42@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

That's their txt2img thank you very much

[-] INHALE_VEGETABLES@aussie.zone 19 points 2 years ago

This right here is a bot comment. Everyone take notes.

[+] Starbuncle@lemmy.ca 12 points 2 years ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

[deleted]

[-] MorrisonMotel6@lemm.ee 72 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Lol. There is no way to do it efficiently. I did it in the way you described every time, and I reported literal thousands to reddit's admins (and never got a single response) and was banned by multiple subreddits because I was "annoying" when I reported bots to sub mods. I also called bots out in comments and provided evidence when I did. Nobody cared.

When reddit killed 3rd party apps, I rolled out. I didn't realize how bad reddit had become and how much I hated the site. I'm much happier here with less content and without a bot infestation. Additionally, I'm sure users, mods, and admins WOULD care if I reported that sort of thing on Lemmy

[-] kboy101222@sh.itjust.works 21 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Oh man, I used to see you around constantly. I believe you posted about your methods at one point and I started following them. Hunted down quite a few bots as well!

For the subs I modded, my main strategy was to just ban any NameName or NameName## accounts that could post, and remove any comments from them that were super short or contained a link. That cut down on a ton of those assholes.

I actually got to talk in person with one of the admins at Reddit in charge of spam prevention. I basically gave the bastard a lecture in all the ways the spammers were spamming and scamming. Got told they'd follow up with me soon for more. Never got that follow up and I gave up caring once the API changes went through. I actually deleted all my anti bot code from the subs, but they're still all private anyways

[-] Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com -5 points 2 years ago

Tbh I always ignored users like you because they added nothing to the conversation and were annoying.
My usual response was "Neat. Now report it and stop posting and bragging" or people callung the sleuth bot for reposts.
Considering how often Lemmy has posts reposted (I can see the same meme twice or thrice per week in the same community instance. My default sorting is 'rising').

[-] Belgdore@lemm.ee 15 points 2 years ago

I generally agreed with this sentiment, but the fact that admins and mods didn’t care makes me understand why they felt the need to point it out in the comments.

As long as the mods and admins care about removing bots instead of just wanting an inflated user base I think the comments about bots should stay confined to posts like this one where they are on topic.

[-] MorrisonMotel6@lemm.ee 5 points 2 years ago

the fact that admins and mods didn’t care makes me understand why they felt the need to point it out in the comments

That is EXACTLY why I did it. I thought that if I could get more users to report those accounts, and if they did, the mods and admins would do something about it.

Not coincidentally, /r/wholesomememes was the worst of all the subs. The overwhelming majority of obvious organized bot rings were operating there. The mods told me they knew and didn't care because it was an opportunity for users to see content they hadn't seen before (completely missing the point)