Moderators Functions - Akismet - spam detection

Akismet is an spam detection engine that is mostly used by blogs to check the comments for spam. But it can also be used for forum posts. It is not a definite protection against spam.

This plugin for vBulletin 3.6 will check every thread and reply if it is considered as spam. If it is spam it will put the offending thread or reply in the moderator queue.

In order to use Akismet you need to get a API key. You can get one by signing up on WordPress. The Akismet service is free for personal use. Check the Akismet website for more information.

This vBulletin plugin is available under the terms of the GNU Lesser Public License.

Installation instructions are available in the ZIP archive.

Features

• Scan for spam in new threads and post
• Scan content edits
• Automatically put identified spam in the moderation queue
• Report posts as spam or ham (individual post or through inline moderation)
• Limit spam detection to post count and user groups
• Extendable through hooks

Changelog
v1.3

• Added an akismet activity log in the admincp

v1.2

• Fixed an invalid URL issue when using cURL

v1.1

• Option to send parsed post data
• Option to send additional webserver request data for the initial spam check
• Removed product version query
• Added extra information when reporting a post
• Only check API key when entered in the vBulletin options, not for every Akismet request

v1.0

• Various bug fixes: report post submitted wrong data; few missing phrases
• More code documentation
• This plugin now exposes some hooks that others can use to extend the feature set. Like give users infractions when posts are considered spam.

v0.3

• Added options to exclude posts from checking based on user's postcount and usergroups
• Added mass reporting of ham/spam through the inline moderation system.
• Improvements of the internal code

v0.2

• Check spam status on edits
• Add report as ham/spam functionality (requires template edit)

[El_Muerte]

Really? I don't get that error for my key. Are you sure that key is correct? Nothing changed to the key validation since 1.0 (except that I removed revalidation during spam checking).

If you have the vBulletin debug functionality enabled you can see the response from akismet in the "debug message" dropdown list

ps, reverting to 1.0 should be possible

[BadgerDog]

Originally Posted by El_Muerte

Really? I don't get that error for my key. Are you sure that key is correct? Nothing changed to the key validation since 1.0 (except that I removed revalidation during spam checking).

Perhaps it doesn't like that change?

I applied for the key when you first released the program. Entered it into the field and haven't touched it since, all through your various upgrades. This error came up as soon as I installed v1.1

I went to the Wordpress web site and validated my key and it's entered correctly. I even cleared the field and started entering it one character at a time as their FAQ said that sometimes cut-n-paste causes problems. About 1/2 way through the error message came up.

Should I uninstall v1.1 and try to re-install, or simple re-install v1.0 over v1.0?

BTW, where do I find the DEBUG drop down list?

Regards,
Badger

[BadgerDog]

Originally Posted by El_Muerte

If you have the vBulletin debug functionality enabled you can see the response from akismet in the "debug message" dropdown list

Ok, I found how to activate DEBUG mode and at the bottom it says:

DEBUG MESSAGES (1) [akismet] Key = $RCSfile$ - $Revision: 17009 $
SQL Queries (10)

Is that what you're looking for?

Regards,
Badger

[BadgerDog]

Originally Posted by El_Muerte

ps, reverting to 1.0 should be possible

Ok, reverted back to v1.0 (importing over v1.1) and the error is still there...

After that, I completely UN-INSTALLED the mod and re-installed v1.1 and the error is still there.

Regards,
Badger

[El_Muerte]

be sure to also overwrite the functions_akismet.php when you upgrade/revert

anyway, there appears to be connections issues, the debug line should be either:
"Key = valid" or "Key = invalid"
if it doesn't contain any text then there was an error in connecting to the akismet server to validate the key.

the key isn't validated while you are typing, it will be validated when the text field loses focus, and when the options pages is loaded.

Besides, you can simply enter an invalid key and save the the options. The rest of the plugin will still try to check for spam and submit content despite a possible invalid key.

[BadgerDog]

Originally Posted by El_Muerte

be sure to also overwrite the functions_akismet.php when you upgrade/revert

Did that ...

Originally Posted by El_Muerte

anyway, there appears to be connections issues, the debug line should be either:
"Key = valid" or "Key = invalid"
if it doesn't contain any text then there was an error in connecting to the akismet server to validate the key.

the key isn't validated while you are typing, it will be validated when the text field loses focus, and when the options pages is loaded.

Besides, you can simply enter an invalid key and save the the options. The rest of the plugin will still try to check for spam and submit content despite a possible invalid key.

The message actually pops up during typing...

Perhaps if I sent you a PM and gave you access, you could debug the problem better?

Thanks

Regards,
Badger

[AlexanderT]

Originally Posted by El_Muerte

Corrected above points in version 1.1

Cool! :up:

[El_Muerte]

Version 1.1 has a bug when using cURL for communication (cURL will automatically be used when it's available). For some reason it worked perfectly on my system, but on an other system cURL didn't accept the broken url.
So if you have cURL installed on the system you should upgrade to 1.2, if unsure also upgrade.

Thank you BadgerDog for letting me use your board to figure out this problem.

[BadgerDog]

Originally Posted by El_Muerte

Thank you BadgerDog for letting me use your board to figure out this problem.

You're welcome ....

Installed v1.2....

All fixed and running smooth.... :up:

Regards,
Badger

[BadgerDog]

Ok, had my first spammer visit since installing this mod.

He posted two threads selling cameras and neither was "moderated" by the mod or "Akismet", so I submitted them to Akismet marking them as spam. This particular ad is quite common and they've visited and posted it before, so I guess the real test now is when they show up the next time, does the Akismet check recognize their next similar post as SPAM

Will advise ...

Regards,
Badger