A new way to combat spam

[Shawn Gossman]

Can you afford to pay each member $1?

Most of us can afford it. A $1 bill isn't a lot these days. It's like the penny of modern times.

So, what does $1 have to do with fighting spam?

It's an idea...

Here's how it works:

1. Charge $1 for membership on your forum
2. Most spammers will not be able to join because bots aren't spending money on membership
3. After the member is a member for a full month and has proven to be a real person, give them $2
4. They get their $1 back and an additional $1 profit
5. You could do it with crypto currency if you're into that as well

I feel like this method could help prevent a lot of spam

What do you think?

 

[joelr]

This incorporates charging and billing and invoicing, which can get messy.

 

[ClicketyKat]

Can you afford to pay each member $1?

Most of us can afford it. A $1 bill isn't a lot these days. It's like the penny of modern times.

So, what does $1 have to do with fighting spam?

It's an idea...

Here's how it works:

1. Charge $1 for membership on your forum
2. Most spammers will not be able to join because bots aren't spending money on membership
3. After the member is a member for a full month and has proven to be a real person, give them $2
4. They get their $1 back and an additional $1 profit
5. You could do it with crypto currency if you're into that as well

I feel like this method could help prevent a lot of spam

What do you think?

How does that work with taxes if you get a good amount of signups and now have an income?

 

[Uncrowned]

I would be worried about tax problems as the membership would count as an income and if you get too much per year, most places push that as a business income. Granted, I do believe the actual hurdle would be the billing information and the "scam" outlook that it might give members. I played RuneScape in my life and "I'll double your money" is definitely engraved into my mind as a scam lol.

Speaking of scams, I would also worry about getting scammed as I could easily take a VPN and a service like Privacy.com and create 10 accounts a week with different IPs and CCs on them and make an easy $20.

A milder solution might be to require 2FA for all accounts, bots and real-world spammers generally don't deal with 2FA apps well.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Taxing could be an issue but it depends on the regulations in your country/region.

If you make it under a certain amount, for example, taxing isn't going to be an issue.

But it is a good idea to keep taxes in mind. I have multiple streams of income. I have to pay taxes on everything. I save for that. That's something anyone making money should do.