Look out for spam in posts by new members, even when the reply seems relevant.
Spam hidden behind the letter i in the middle of a word.
@lastchancename , @groundFungus
Does this look familiar?
This one went unnoticed for 3 days. Just because a link contains the word 'Arduino', or any other legitimate word, does not mean it is not spam.
Start by asking one of those bland, generic, unanswerable questions so often posted by newbies who don't know any batter:
Then wait for a few people to waste their time trying to help, followed by another post with the spam, this time in plain sight, but often hidden as per some of the other examples.
The clues are:
For replies like that with no spam sometimes I lock the reply so it cannot have spam added later and sometimes I use a flag with a timer to check it later.
This spam:
Was hidden in some AI generated nonsense. While AI generated replies are not banned, they are used to hide spam. Fortunately they don't hide it very well as most of what is generated by AI is low quality and easy to spot.
See "Exciting Arduino Project: Building a Smart Weather Station!"
Hello Arduino Community,
I hope this message finds you all well and excited about tinkering with Arduino! I've recently embarked on a fascinating project that I'd like to share with you all – the creation of a Smart Weather Station using Arduino.
Project Overview:
I'm in the early stages of designing a weather station that can collect real-time data on temperature, humidity, wind speed, and more. The goal is to create a compact, DIY weather station that's not only accurate but also offers remote monitoring and data visualization.My Current Progress:
I've selected the Arduino board and sensors that I plan to use.
I'm working on the code to gather data from these sensors and display it on an LCD screen.
I'm exploring options for wireless data transmission and cloud-based data storage.
Challenges I'm Facing:
I'd like to ask for your expertise and guidance on a few aspects of this project:Power Supply: What's the best way to power a weather station that may be placed in a remote location without access to a traditional power source?
Data Transmission: How can I efficiently transmit weather data to a remote server or cloud platform for easy access and visualization?
Weatherproofing: Any tips for protecting the Arduino components from the elements while still allowing sensors to collect accurate data?
Request for Input:
I'm eager to hear your thoughts, suggestions, and advice on this project. Have you worked on similar weather station projects with Arduino? Do you have recommendations for specific sensors, components, or coding practices? Any insights would be greatly appreciated!Let's collaborate and make this Smart Weather Station a reality. I'll keep updating this thread with my progress, and I'm looking forward to learning from the incredible Arduino community here.
Thanks in advance for your support, and happy tinkering!
Note the long, rambling first post asking for lots of help. This is typical of AI generated garbage.
In reply #3 to the topic, which has been deleted, the OP put:
Note the spam behind the word 'Sad'.
Long, rambling introductions are suspicious as AI generated and possible homes for spam later, either in the OP or the subsequent topic.
AI generated nonsense with the spam hidden behind a period in the sentence.
Checking AI generated content is necessary as it seems easier for spammers to hide spam, plus it doesn't necessarily contribute to helping people.
This was posted on the forum a few minutes ago, note the spam shows up against the red background of a deleted topic, but is invisible against the usual white background:
After dealing with that I found another post from the OP, which was made in June 2021, with the spam hidden in the same way:
