Watch TV On My Computer Services
Question by 42: What can be done about all the “where can I watch this game online” spammers?
They overrun all of the sports sections. Every single day, it’s some variation on the same basic question: “Where can I watch [Game/Event X] online live streaming?” It gets answered by a bunch of sock puppets who point to online links for illegal broadcasts, and then the spammer picks one of his sock puppets for best answer.
I report these all the time, because (1) they’re violating Y!A rules, (2) they’re promoting copyright infringement by encouraging people to watch unauthorized pirated broadcasts, and (3) they junk up the site with all their clutter. But they just keep coming back, day after day.
The people who post the questions and answers are almost always Level 1, probably because their accounts keep getting shut down. So isn’t there something Y!A could do, like require Level 1 users to enter a CAPTCHA string or something? I assume a lot of these “watch live online” things are from bots. Or is it just up to users to police the site forever, and teach people that they need to report these spammers? (One of the most frustrating things is when inexperienced users post replies to the spammers, thinking they’re being helpful.)
On a lighter note, I love the broken English they all use. “I found an online software here.” “Hello man, go here.” “Your answer is more useful for me.” If nothing else, that’s always worth a laugh.
Best answer: