apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and com.lang.fortran are now read only at google groups

[Spiros Bousbouras]

On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:32:11 -0500

Apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.fortran are now read
only at google groups to stop the spam floods.

Same as comp.lang.c as has been mentioned elsewhere
(<***@brightview.co.uk> for example). Good. I
wonder how that works. Was some algorithm at googlegroups triggered and
automatically took the measure (or notified a human) or do they have some
employee at Google regularly take a few minutes of their time once per
several weeks to have a short look at googlegroups to see how things are
working ? I will guess the latter because an algorithm would have acted much
sooner.

[Mike Terry]

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:32:11 -0500

Apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.fortran are now read
only at google groups to stop the spam floods.

Same as comp.lang.c as has been mentioned elsewhere
wonder how that works. Was some algorithm at googlegroups triggered and
automatically took the measure (or notified a human) or do they have some
employee at Google regularly take a few minutes of their time once per
several weeks to have a short look at googlegroups to see how things are
working ? I will guess the latter because an algorithm would have acted much
sooner.

What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another group? They wouldn't want to make
ALL their groups read only, and it can't be hard for the spammers to identify new target groups that
haven't been locked down yet?

Mike.

[The Doctor]

Post by Mike Terry

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:32:11 -0500

Apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.fortran are now read
only at google groups to stop the spam floods.

Same as comp.lang.c as has been mentioned elsewhere
wonder how that works. Was some algorithm at googlegroups triggered and
automatically took the measure (or notified a human) or do they have some
employee at Google regularly take a few minutes of their time once per
several weeks to have a short look at googlegroups to see how things are
working ? I will guess the latter because an algorithm would have acted much
sooner.

What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another group?
They wouldn't want to make
ALL their groups read only, and it can't be hard for the spammers to
identify new target groups that
haven't been locked down yet?

Talk about stupidity!

Artificial and otherwise!

Post by Mike Terry
Mike.

[D]

Post by Mike Terry

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:32:11 -0500

Apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.fortran are now read
only at google groups to stop the spam floods.

Same as comp.lang.c as has been mentioned elsewhere
wonder how that works. Was some algorithm at googlegroups triggered and
automatically took the measure (or notified a human) or do they have some
employee at Google regularly take a few minutes of their time once per
several weeks to have a short look at googlegroups to see how things are
working ? I will guess the latter because an algorithm would have acted much
sooner.

What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another group? They wouldn't want to make
ALL their groups read only, and it can't be hard for the spammers to identify new target groups that
haven't been locked down yet?

e.g. https://www.usenetarchives.com is afaik read-only, but as for
how complete or searchable any of these gigantic archives might be
has probably already been determined, namely, not totally complete
and what incomplete content they do have is not readily searchable;
and even if google pulled the plug, it's too late to separate what
little could be classified as "legitimate" posts from the billions
of googlespam articles that have already contaminated the archives
to the point where total deletion of all googlegroups.com articles
is the only way to salvage what may not worth saving, irregardless

[Andrew]

Post by Mike Terry

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:32:11 -0500

Apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.fortran are now read
only at google groups to stop the spam floods.

Same as  comp.lang.c  as has been mentioned elsewhere
Good. I
wonder how that works. Was some algorithm at googlegroups triggered and
automatically took the measure (or notified a human) or do they have some
employee at Google regularly take a few minutes of their time once per
several weeks to have a short look at googlegroups to see how things are
working ? I will guess the latter because an algorithm would have acted much
sooner.

What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another
group?  They wouldn't want to make ALL their groups read only, and it
can't be hard for the spammers to identify new target groups that
haven't been locked down yet?
Mike.

What I'm hoping is that this is just a temporary measure while they work
something else out. Various admins needed several days - including
false starts - to develop working solutions, Google will have QA
measures in place so they won't be able to move that quickly.

[candycanearter07]

Post by Andrew

Post by Mike Terry

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:32:11 -0500

Apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.fortran are now read
only at google groups to stop the spam floods.

Same as  comp.lang.c  as has been mentioned elsewhere
Good. I
wonder how that works. Was some algorithm at googlegroups triggered and
automatically took the measure (or notified a human) or do they have some
employee at Google regularly take a few minutes of their time once per
several weeks to have a short look at googlegroups to see how things are
working ? I will guess the latter because an algorithm would have acted much
sooner.

What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another
group?  They wouldn't want to make ALL their groups read only, and it
can't be hard for the spammers to identify new target groups that
haven't been locked down yet?
Mike.

What I'm hoping is that this is just a temporary measure while they work
something else out.  Various admins needed several days - including
false starts - to develop working solutions, Google will have QA
measures in place so they won't be able to move that quickly.

A man can dream. I'm betting this is a permanent "solution".

[Retro Guy]

Post by candycanearter07

Post by Andrew

Post by Mike Terry

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:32:11 -0500

Apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.fortran are now read
only at google groups to stop the spam floods.

Same as  comp.lang.c  as has been mentioned elsewhere
Good. I
wonder how that works. Was some algorithm at googlegroups triggered and
automatically took the measure (or notified a human) or do they have some
employee at Google regularly take a few minutes of their time once per
several weeks to have a short look at googlegroups to see how things are
working ? I will guess the latter because an algorithm would have acted much
sooner.

What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another
group?  They wouldn't want to make ALL their groups read only, and it
can't be hard for the spammers to identify new target groups that
haven't been locked down yet?
Mike.

What I'm hoping is that this is just a temporary measure while they work
something else out.  Various admins needed several days - including
false starts - to develop working solutions, Google will have QA
measures in place so they won't be able to move that quickly.

A man can dream. I'm betting this is a permanent "solution".

I don't know if it is permanent, but it is lazy. If Ray, Adam, I and others
can filter spam, I would think Google could do it.

[The Doctor]

Post by Retro Guy

Post by candycanearter07

Post by Andrew

Post by Mike Terry

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:32:11 -0500

Apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.fortran are now read
only at google groups to stop the spam floods.

Same as  comp.lang.c  as has been mentioned elsewhere
Good. I
wonder how that works. Was some algorithm at googlegroups triggered and
automatically took the measure (or notified a human) or do they have some
employee at Google regularly take a few minutes of their time once per
several weeks to have a short look at googlegroups to see how things are
working ? I will guess the latter because an algorithm would have acted much
sooner.

What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another
group?  They wouldn't want to make ALL their groups read only, and it
can't be hard for the spammers to identify new target groups that
haven't been locked down yet?
Mike.

What I'm hoping is that this is just a temporary measure while they work
something else out.  Various admins needed several days - including
false starts - to develop working solutions, Google will have QA
measures in place so they won't be able to move that quickly.

A man can dream. I'm betting this is a permanent "solution".

I don't know if it is permanent, but it is lazy. If Ray, Adam, I and others
can filter spam, I would think Google could do it.

If they are bright enough.

Post by Retro Guy
--
Retro Guy

[The Doctor]

Post by Andrew

Post by Mike Terry

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:32:11 -0500

Apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.fortran are now read
only at google groups to stop the spam floods.

Same as  comp.lang.c  as has been mentioned elsewhere
Good. I
wonder how that works. Was some algorithm at googlegroups triggered and
automatically took the measure (or notified a human) or do they have some
employee at Google regularly take a few minutes of their time once per
several weeks to have a short look at googlegroups to see how things are
working ? I will guess the latter because an algorithm would have acted much
sooner.

What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another
group?  They wouldn't want to make ALL their groups read only, and it
can't be hard for the spammers to identify new target groups that
haven't been locked down yet?
Mike.

What I'm hoping is that this is just a temporary measure while they work
something else out. Various admins needed several days - including
false starts - to develop working solutions, Google will have QA
measures in place so they won't be able to move that quickly.

Google should be tossing abusers off!

[Andrew]

Post by The Doctor

Post by Andrew

Post by Mike Terry

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:32:11 -0500

Apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.fortran are now read
only at google groups to stop the spam floods.

Same as  comp.lang.c  as has been mentioned elsewhere
Good. I
wonder how that works. Was some algorithm at googlegroups triggered and
automatically took the measure (or notified a human) or do they have some
employee at Google regularly take a few minutes of their time once per
several weeks to have a short look at googlegroups to see how things are
working ? I will guess the latter because an algorithm would have acted much
sooner.

What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another
group?  They wouldn't want to make ALL their groups read only, and it
can't be hard for the spammers to identify new target groups that
haven't been locked down yet?
Mike.

What I'm hoping is that this is just a temporary measure while they work
something else out. Various admins needed several days - including
false starts - to develop working solutions, Google will have QA
measures in place so they won't be able to move that quickly.

Google should be tossing abusers off!

If the tossers toss the abusers off, the abusive spammer tossers just
return with new email addresses (and they don't even need to be gmail)
and start tossing their spam around again.
I can't remember, does gmail get checked for spam on their servers? If
it does then they are 80% of the way there.

[candycanearter07]

Post by Andrew

Post by The Doctor

Post by Andrew

Post by Mike Terry

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:32:11 -0500

Apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.fortran are now read
only at google groups to stop the spam floods.

Same as  comp.lang.c  as has been mentioned elsewhere
Good. I
wonder how that works. Was some algorithm at googlegroups triggered and
automatically took the measure (or notified a human) or do they have some
employee at Google regularly take a few minutes of their time once per
several weeks to have a short look at googlegroups to see how things are
working ? I will guess the latter because an algorithm would have acted much
sooner.

What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another
group?  They wouldn't want to make ALL their groups read only, and it
can't be hard for the spammers to identify new target groups that
haven't been locked down yet?
Mike.

What I'm hoping is that this is just a temporary measure while they work
something else out.  Various admins needed several days - including
false starts - to develop working solutions, Google will have QA
measures in place so they won't be able to move that quickly.

Google should be tossing abusers off!

If the tossers toss the abusers off, the abusive spammer tossers just
return with new email addresses (and they don't even need to be gmail)
and start tossing their spam around again.
I can't remember, does gmail get checked for spam on their servers?  If
it does then they are 80% of the way there.

There is a spam folder. It's effectiveness is something I'm not sure of.

[Eric M]

Post by candycanearter07

Post by Andrew
If the tossers toss the abusers off, the abusive spammer tossers just
return with new email addresses (and they don't even need to be gmail)
and start tossing their spam around again.
I can't remember, does gmail get checked for spam on their servers?  If
it does then they are 80% of the way there.

There is a spam folder. It's effectiveness is something I'm not sure of.

Gmail filters a lot of spam, sometimes there is a false positive but it's
rare. Apparently they don't want to use that on Google Groups.

[Spiros Bousbouras]

On Wed, 01 Nov 23 15:57:11 +0000

Post by Eric M

Post by candycanearter07
There is a spam folder. It's effectiveness is something I'm not sure of.

Gmail filters a lot of spam, sometimes there is a false positive but it's
rare.

This has been my experience too and I have been using a gmail address for
at least 15 years. It is very good at filtering incoming spam. Its filter
also gets trained very quickly.

Post by Eric M
Apparently they don't want to use that on Google Groups.

Yes and this indicates that they don't give a damn about googlegroups , they
just spend as little time on it as possible. I am guessing that the reason
they haven't shut it down yet is because they don't want to devote the time
to have a meeting of management who are high enough in the hierarchy to make
the decision !

[Sn!pe]

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Wed, 01 Nov 23 15:57:11 +0000

Post by Eric M

Post by candycanearter07
There is a spam folder. It's effectiveness is something I'm not sure of.

Gmail filters a lot of spam, sometimes there is a false positive but it's
rare.

This has been my experience too and I have been using a gmail address for
at least 15 years. It is very good at filtering incoming spam. Its filter
also gets trained very quickly.

Post by Eric M
Apparently they don't want to use that on Google Groups.

Yes and this indicates that they don't give a damn about googlegroups , they
just spend as little time on it as possible. I am guessing that the reason
they haven't shut it down yet is because they don't want to devote the time
to have a meeting of management who are high enough in the hierarchy to make
the decision !

I think Gmail uses a different mechanism: every time a Gmail user marks
a junkmail as spam Google is aware of it and moves the spam to the
user's junk mailbox. That mechanism is not available to them for News
because News users do not feed back real-time spam reports to them.

That is not intended to be an apologia for Google's neglectful pollution
of Usenet, only stating a view.

[candycanearter07]

Post by Sn!pe

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Wed, 01 Nov 23 15:57:11 +0000

Post by Eric M

Post by candycanearter07
There is a spam folder. It's effectiveness is something I'm not sure of.

Gmail filters a lot of spam, sometimes there is a false positive but it's
rare.

This has been my experience too and I have been using a gmail address for
at least 15 years. It is very good at filtering incoming spam. Its filter
also gets trained very quickly.

Post by Eric M
Apparently they don't want to use that on Google Groups.

Yes and this indicates that they don't give a damn about googlegroups , they
just spend as little time on it as possible. I am guessing that the reason
they haven't shut it down yet is because they don't want to devote the time
to have a meeting of management who are high enough in the hierarchy to make
the decision !

I think Gmail uses a different mechanism: every time a Gmail user marks
a junkmail as spam Google is aware of it and moves the spam to the
user's junk mailbox. That mechanism is not available to them for News
because News users do not feed back real-time spam reports to them.
That is not intended to be an apologia for Google's neglectful pollution
of Usenet, only stating a view.

You could still have a "mark as spam" button and have them update the
filters and such. Maybe even have a local newsgroup for dealing with
spam (google-groups.spam or something).

[Frank Slootweg]

[...]

Post by candycanearter07

Post by Sn!pe
I think Gmail uses a different mechanism: every time a Gmail user marks
a junkmail as spam Google is aware of it and moves the spam to the
user's junk mailbox. That mechanism is not available to them for News
because News users do not feed back real-time spam reports to them.
That is not intended to be an apologia for Google's neglectful pollution
of Usenet, only stating a view.

You could still have a "mark as spam" button and have them update the
filters and such. Maybe even have a local newsgroup for dealing with
spam (google-groups.spam or something).

I think Sn!pe was mainly talking about regular/non-GG users, who can
not - at least not without much effort - report GG spam to Google.

The GG users do have a reporting mechanism - (right-click on the three
vertical dots icon) 'Report message as abuse' -, but it's unlikely that
(m)any GG users can be bothered to use that mechanism, seeing the
immense amount of (GG-generated) spam.

[Sn!pe]

candycanearter07 <***@thanks.net> wrote:
[...]

Post by candycanearter07

Post by Sn!pe

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
Yes and this indicates that they don't give a damn about googlegroups ,
they just spend as little time on it as possible. I am guessing that
the reason they haven't shut it down yet is because they don't want to
devote the time to have a meeting of management who are high enough in
the hierarchy to make the decision !

I think Gmail uses a different mechanism: every time a Gmail user marks
a junkmail as spam Google is aware of it and moves the spam to the
user's junk mailbox. That mechanism is not available to them for News
because News users do not feed back real-time spam reports to them.
That is not intended to be an apologia for Google's negligent pollution
of Usenet, only stating a view.

You could still have a "mark as spam" button and have them update the
filters and such. Maybe even have a local newsgroup for dealing with
spam (google-groups.spam or something).

But, but, the author of my Newsreader has retired; who will program a
"mark as spam" button for it? I don't read News using a Google program
so there ~is no~ 'feedback to Google' mechanism.

It isn't as though Google have anything to do with Usenet anyway;
they've simply usurped the Usenet group namespace for their ersatz
"Google Groups" mailing list setup.

[candycanearter07]

Post by Sn!pe
[...]

Post by candycanearter07

Post by Sn!pe

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
Yes and this indicates that they don't give a damn about googlegroups ,
they just spend as little time on it as possible. I am guessing that
the reason they haven't shut it down yet is because they don't want to
devote the time to have a meeting of management who are high enough in
the hierarchy to make the decision !

I think Gmail uses a different mechanism: every time a Gmail user marks
a junkmail as spam Google is aware of it and moves the spam to the
user's junk mailbox. That mechanism is not available to them for News
because News users do not feed back real-time spam reports to them.
That is not intended to be an apologia for Google's negligent pollution
of Usenet, only stating a view.

You could still have a "mark as spam" button and have them update the
filters and such. Maybe even have a local newsgroup for dealing with
spam (google-groups.spam or something).

But, but, the author of my Newsreader has retired; who will program a
"mark as spam" button for it? I don't read News using a Google program
so there ~is no~ 'feedback to Google' mechanism.
It isn't as though Google have anything to do with Usenet anyway;
they've simply usurped the Usenet group namespace for their ersatz
"Google Groups" mailing list setup.

Maybe back in the day they did care about Usenet more?

also side note i love the word ersatz and wish ppl used it more last
time ive heard it was like in ASOUE.

[The Doctor]

Post by candycanearter07

Post by Sn!pe
[...]

Post by candycanearter07

Post by Sn!pe

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
Yes and this indicates that they don't give a damn about googlegroups ,
they just spend as little time on it as possible. I am guessing that
the reason they haven't shut it down yet is because they don't want to
devote the time to have a meeting of management who are high enough in
the hierarchy to make the decision !

I think Gmail uses a different mechanism: every time a Gmail user marks
a junkmail as spam Google is aware of it and moves the spam to the
user's junk mailbox. That mechanism is not available to them for News
because News users do not feed back real-time spam reports to them.
That is not intended to be an apologia for Google's negligent pollution
of Usenet, only stating a view.

You could still have a "mark as spam" button and have them update the
filters and such. Maybe even have a local newsgroup for dealing with
spam (google-groups.spam or something).

But, but, the author of my Newsreader has retired; who will program a
"mark as spam" button for it? I don't read News using a Google program
so there ~is no~ 'feedback to Google' mechanism.
It isn't as though Google have anything to do with Usenet anyway;
they've simply usurped the Usenet group namespace for their ersatz
"Google Groups" mailing list setup.

Maybe back in the day they did care about Usenet more?
also side note i love the word ersatz and wish ppl used it more last
time ive heard it was like in ASOUE.

Take back Usenet!

Post by candycanearter07
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

[Eric M]

Post by Sn!pe
I think Gmail uses a different mechanism: every time a Gmail user marks
a junkmail as spam Google is aware of it and moves the spam to the
user's junk mailbox. That mechanism is not available to them for News
because News users do not feed back real-time spam reports to them.

They did it for the recent flood and it seemed to have worked, maybe not
perfectly but it stopped the spam.

[David Ritz]

On Wednesday, 01 November 2023 16:39 -0000,

Post by Sn!pe
I think Gmail uses a different mechanism: every time a Gmail user
marks a junkmail as spam Google is aware of it and moves the spam to
the user's junk mailbox. That mechanism is not available to them
for News because News users do not feed back real-time spam reports
to them.

This is not because the reporting mechanism does not exist, rather
those who are the noisiest regarding spam from, no by, Google Groups
are too lazy to go through Google's reporting process. After all,
taking this action behind the scenes does nothing to boost their quite
meaningless post count.

In the past, sufficient jumping^W reporting through Google Groups
hoops has resulted in the removal of all access to the target groups.

I have not observed a single post in news.admin.net-abuse.email, via
Google Groups, since December, 2018, as this group is inaccessible
from GG.

BTW - Blocking posts based on the appearance of gmail.com or
googlemail.com in the Message-ID is a fools errand, as these do not
occur. M-IDs and References containg "googlegoups.com" should fit the
bill.

- --
David Ritz <***@mindspring.com>
"There will be more spam." -- Paul Vixie

[Sn!pe]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On Wednesday, 01 November 2023 16:39 -0000,

Post by Sn!pe
I think Gmail uses a different mechanism: every time a Gmail user
marks a junkmail as spam Google is aware of it and moves the spam to
the user's junk mailbox. That mechanism is not available to them
for News because News users do not feed back real-time spam reports
to them.

This is not because the reporting mechanism does not exist, rather
those who are the noisiest regarding spam from, no by, Google Groups
are too lazy to go through Google's reporting process. After all,
taking this action behind the scenes does nothing to boost their quite
meaningless post count.

I did mean real ~Usenet Newsreader~ programs, not Google's ersatz
Google Groups mailing lists. I don't consider their User-Agent: G2/1.0
to be a real ~Usenet~ Newsreader; actually, I killfile on that header.


[what follows is left for context]

In the past, sufficient jumping^W reporting through Google Groups
hoops has resulted in the removal of all access to the target groups.
I have not observed a single post in news.admin.net-abuse.email, via
Google Groups, since December, 2018, as this group is inaccessible
from GG.
BTW - Blocking posts based on the appearance of gmail.com or
googlemail.com in the Message-ID is a fools errand, as these do not
occur. M-IDs and References containg "googlegoups.com" should fit the
bill.
- --
"There will be more spam." -- Paul Vixie

[The Doctor]

Post by Eric M

Post by candycanearter07

Post by Andrew
If the tossers toss the abusers off, the abusive spammer tossers just
return with new email addresses (and they don't even need to be gmail)
and start tossing their spam around again.
I can't remember, does gmail get checked for spam on their servers?  If
it does then they are 80% of the way there.

There is a spam folder. It's effectiveness is something I'm not sure of.

Gmail filters a lot of spam, sometimes there is a false positive but it's
rare. Apparently they don't want to use that on Google Groups.

So much for AI a la Google!

[The Doctor]

Post by Andrew

Post by The Doctor

Post by Andrew

Post by Mike Terry

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:32:11 -0500

Apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.fortran are now read
only at google groups to stop the spam floods.

Same as  comp.lang.c  as has been mentioned elsewhere
Good. I
wonder how that works. Was some algorithm at googlegroups triggered and
automatically took the measure (or notified a human) or do they have some
employee at Google regularly take a few minutes of their time once per
several weeks to have a short look at googlegroups to see how things are
working ? I will guess the latter because an algorithm would have acted much
sooner.

What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another
group?  They wouldn't want to make ALL their groups read only, and it
can't be hard for the spammers to identify new target groups that
haven't been locked down yet?
Mike.

What I'm hoping is that this is just a temporary measure while they work
something else out. Various admins needed several days - including
false starts - to develop working solutions, Google will have QA
measures in place so they won't be able to move that quickly.

Google should be tossing abusers off!

If the tossers toss the abusers off, the abusive spammer tossers just
return with new email addresses (and they don't even need to be gmail)
and start tossing their spam around again.
I can't remember, does gmail get checked for spam on their servers? If
it does then they are 80% of the way there.

Now if they can get 100% there!

[Scott Dorsey]

Post by Mike Terry
What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another group? They wouldn't want to make
ALL their groups read only, and it can't be hard for the spammers to identify new target groups that
haven't been locked down yet?

That's basically the question.

And comp.os.vms is totally inundated now.
--scott

[D]

Post by Scott Dorsey

Post by Mike Terry
What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another group? They wouldn't want to make
ALL their groups read only, and it can't be hard for the spammers to identify new target groups that
haven't been locked down yet?

That's basically the question.
And comp.os.vms is totally inundated now.
--scott

message-id / reference headers including "googlegroups.com" . . .

comp.os.vms =~ 5370 since 1 May 2023 (average, even below normal)

p.s. seems the goo is doing a lot of newsgroup-shifting lately, reports
of previously mass-googlespammed newsgroups seeing sudden steep declines,
while other previously quiet newsgroups reporting sudden steep increases;
could almighty google be spamming so much that it's running low on power?

[D]

Post by Scott Dorsey

Post by Mike Terry
What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another group? They wouldn't want to make
ALL their groups read only, and it can't be hard for the spammers to identify new target groups that
haven't been locked down yet?

That's basically the question.
And comp.os.vms is totally inundated now.
--scott

p.s. has googlegroups ever been known to reinstate/reactivate posting
from a problematic group after they've locked down that group or
is it permanent? e.g., heavily googlespammed "alt.comp.freeware"
has gone over thirty (30) hours without a peep from headquarters;
perhaps they're simply reloading for the next barrage of possibly
heavier attacks than ever before (August logged 8218 googlespams),
or might it be that alt.comp.freeware has been put into lockdown?

[Spiros Bousbouras]

On Thu, 2 Nov 2023 02:14:29 +0100 (CET)

Post by D

Post by Scott Dorsey

Post by Mike Terry
What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another group? They wouldn't want to make
ALL their groups read only, and it can't be hard for the spammers to identify new target groups that
haven't been locked down yet?

That's basically the question.
And comp.os.vms is totally inundated now.
--scott

p.s. has googlegroups ever been known to reinstate/reactivate posting
from a problematic group after they've locked down that group or
is it permanent?

Years ago they made unavailable comp.lang.c
[

From: RS Wood <***@therandymon.com>
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: comp.lang.c banned from Google interface - hooray
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 2021 22:59:14 -0000 (UTC)
Message-ID: <s0ca02$5p9$***@solani.org>

[...]

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26126455
]

and some other groups but they reinstated them later. On the other hand ,
I have been told (<***@perry.uk>) that uk.railway has
been removed completely.

[D]

Post by Spiros Bousbouras

Post by D

Post by Scott Dorsey

Post by Mike Terry
What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another group? They wouldn't want to make
ALL their groups read only, and it can't be hard for the spammers to identify new target groups that
haven't been locked down yet?

That's basically the question.
And comp.os.vms is totally inundated now.
--scott

p.s. has googlegroups ever been known to reinstate/reactivate posting
from a problematic group after they've locked down that group or
is it permanent?

Years ago they made unavailable comp.lang.c
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: comp.lang.c banned from Google interface - hooray
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 2021 22:59:14 -0000 (UTC)
[...]
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26126455
and some other groups but they reinstated them later. On the other hand ,
been removed completely.

(using Tor Browser 13.0.1)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26126455

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
Comp.lang.c Google Group has been banned (groups.google.com)
347 points by veltas on Feb 13, 2021 | hide | past | favorite | 189 comments
...
zafiro17 on Feb 13, 2021 | prev | next [–]
On behalf of Usenet users everywhere, this is excellent news, and I wouldn't
be surprised if Usenetters begin stuffing other useful newsgroups with crap
in order to removed from Google as well.
Google's assimilation of Usenet content had promise at first but quickly
turned into a dystopia and the general consensus on Usenet is that Google
has been a disaster for Usenet.
_kst_ on Feb 13, 2021 | parent | next [–]
Google had the most complete archive of comp.lang.c (and the rest of Usenet).
That archive is now inaccessible.
Users posting to comp.lang.c through Google Groups were a problem --
especially with the recent bug that caused GG posts to comp.lang.c++ to have
the "++" quietly dropped.
If Google made its archive of all Usenet newsgroups available, I'd be fine
with them dropping the posting interface. (And some users actually managed
to post to comp.lang.c through Google Groups without breaking things.)

[end quoted excerpt . . . lots of interesting reading on that longer page]

so the sudden halt of googlespams in any newsgroup could be only temporary
or lasting, depending on whether the google groups interface to that group
is made read-only or removed...like a virus that is quarantined or deleted

[The Doctor]

Post by Mike Terry

Post by Scott Dorsey

Post by Mike Terry
What will Google do assuming the spammers just move on to another

group? They wouldn't want to make

Post by Scott Dorsey

Post by Mike Terry
ALL their groups read only, and it can't be hard for the spammers to

identify new target groups that

Post by Scott Dorsey

Post by Mike Terry
haven't been locked down yet?

That's basically the question.
And comp.os.vms is totally inundated now.
--scott

p.s. has googlegroups ever been known to reinstate/reactivate posting
from a problematic group after they've locked down that group or
is it permanent? e.g., heavily googlespammed "alt.comp.freeware"
has gone over thirty (30) hours without a peep from headquarters;
perhaps they're simply reloading for the next barrage of possibly
heavier attacks than ever before (August logged 8218 googlespams),
or might it be that alt.comp.freeware has been put into lockdown?

GG is spamtroller haven!

[Spiros Bousbouras]

On 1 Nov 2023 21:51:38 -0000

Post by Scott Dorsey
And comp.os.vms is totally inundated now.

Same for sci.lang.japan .

[Spiros Bousbouras]

On Thu, 2 Nov 2023 09:20:26 -0000 (UTC)

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On 1 Nov 2023 21:51:38 -0000

Post by Scott Dorsey
And comp.os.vms is totally inundated now.

Same for sci.lang.japan .

Even worse for comp.theory .

[The Doctor]

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On 1 Nov 2023 21:51:38 -0000

Post by Scott Dorsey
And comp.os.vms is totally inundated now.

Same for sci.lang.japan .

Scumbaggers!

[The Doctor]

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:32:11 -0500

Apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.fortran are now read
only at google groups to stop the spam floods.

Same as comp.lang.c as has been mentioned elsewhere
wonder how that works. Was some algorithm at googlegroups triggered and
automatically took the measure (or notified a human) or do they have some
employee at Google regularly take a few minutes of their time once per
several weeks to have a short look at googlegroups to see how things are
working ? I will guess the latter because an algorithm would have acted much
sooner.

The depeering of Google Groups will be the ultimate act of mercy!

[candycanearter07]

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:32:11 -0500

Apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.fortran are now read
only at google groups to stop the spam floods.

Same as comp.lang.c as has been mentioned elsewhere
wonder how that works. Was some algorithm at googlegroups triggered and
automatically took the measure (or notified a human) or do they have some
employee at Google regularly take a few minutes of their time once per
several weeks to have a short look at googlegroups to see how things are
working ? I will guess the latter because an algorithm would have acted much
sooner.

Bad actors ruining legitimate experience because of a half-assed
solution, a tale as old as time.

[The Doctor]

Post by candycanearter07

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:32:11 -0500

Apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.fortran are now read
only at google groups to stop the spam floods.

Same as comp.lang.c as has been mentioned elsewhere
wonder how that works. Was some algorithm at googlegroups triggered and
automatically took the measure (or notified a human) or do they have some
employee at Google regularly take a few minutes of their time once per
several weeks to have a short look at googlegroups to see how things are
working ? I will guess the latter because an algorithm would have acted much
sooner.

Bad actors ruining legitimate experience because of a half-assed
solution, a tale as old as time.

Annd Google is the biggest bad actor out there!

Post by candycanearter07
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

[Jakob Bohm]

Post by Spiros Bousbouras
On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:32:11 -0500

Apparently comp.arch, comp.lang.c++, and comp.lang.fortran are now read
only at google groups to stop the spam floods.

Same as comp.lang.c as has been mentioned elsewhere
wonder how that works. Was some algorithm at googlegroups triggered and
automatically took the measure (or notified a human) or do they have some
employee at Google regularly take a few minutes of their time once per
several weeks to have a short look at googlegroups to see how things are
working ? I will guess the latter because an algorithm would have acted much
sooner.

Looking at some of the GSpam, I just noticed that GG helpfully adds a
header indicating the spammer's IP, perhaps someone with copies of the
GSpam from recent weeks can see if there is a pattern that can be used
for filtering more specific than just blocking GG.

Enjoy

Jakob