As for the @spam account, I’m not sure if it’s still working or not. I wrote this blog post in July when it was.

I don’t seem to have nearly as much trouble as you do with spam. I get maybe 5-10 new spam followers a day. I’ve had my Twitter account for over 2 years and have tweeted over 16,000 times. I should be a target, but apparently I’m not. Perhaps it’s because I don’t autofollow anyone?

If the spammers are driving you nuts, here’s some advice: turn off new follower notifications. Then you won’t get those e-mails. Instead, pay close attention to the @replies and @mentions you get. Follow up on those to find real people you can interact with — along with the occasional spammer who is using automated tools to @reply based on the content of one of your tweets.

As for the spam blocking tools, I’m not willing to pay for a tool (TwitChuck) to work with a free service (Twitter), so I haven’t tried any of them. Perhaps someone else reading this can fill you in.

Do you think sending DMs to the spam acct does anything? I block/report about 12-15 accounts a day MINIMUM. (I use the DM). I’m pulling my hair out. I don’t know what to do since it seems to keep getting worse and worse!

Most of the accounts I block are those scantily clad avatar ones. I have no idea why I get so many of these “followers” but I used an application last week to check my account and I had blocked 646 accounts.

I have blocked many more since. Other accounts I block include money-making schemes, teeth-whitening accounts, people claiming to have the secret to 10,000 followers, etc.

I also block anyone who uses hate speech or excessive profanity. This last category was never an issue until fairly recently.

You get the idea. This is getting totally out of hand. I have tried installing applications to block spam. For example, if you were to follow me now, you’d have to do a word verification. I was hoping this would cut out enough robots to make a difference. This same program has helped a friend of mine quite a bit. It seemed slightly helpful at first and now I’m back to getting more spam than ever.

I love twitter because it’s great for creating awareness of illnesses or for rallying support for causes… and for connecting with fellow chronically ill patients.

The amount of spam I have been getting, though, if really tarnishing my twitter experience. Because I am chronically ill, I have limited energy. To spend so much time/energy blocking and reporting (as I faithfully do) would be worth it IF it started to make a dent in the problem.

Instead, the problem seems to be escalating over time. I’ve been on twitter since 2007 and I remember the days of no spam at all. I know those days are gone but I sure wish twitter would get a handle on this problem.

They may hate the spam as much as we do but their efforts to solve the problem don’t appear to be very effective.

Do you have any comparisons between different blocking apps? For example, Ian above mentioned TwitChuck (which I had never heard of). One that I have used is TwitBlock. Any particular application better than another?

Does anyone have any suggestions? This is getting really out of control…

Thanks!

Jeanne

My advice is to use an auto-blocking service like TwitChuck which will auto-block spammer as defined by the number of people who block them, like those reading blogs. Note most people do not know about blogs, RSS, or social media outside of their use of Facebook.

I don’t think @spam has been following back for at least several months, which disallows DM’ing them (you can only DM your followers). Although I haven’t done it, if it’s a chronic problem (i.e. the Britney f***’ed pornbot), and you didn’t want to call them out publicly, you might be able to log the issue thru twitter support the same way you would report another twitter bug. I’ve been blocking the spammers as soon as they follow or @me with a repetitive spammy message.

Blocking always helps, though. If that’s all you can do, do it! Every little bit helps.

“It’s better to send a direct message over an @reply. Direct messaging keeps @replies reporting spam out of your followers’ time lines. Sending direct messages also keeps the spam account’s user name out of all search results. Because the message is private, you prevent them from benefitting from publicity.”

Cheers!

its an @ … you dont have to click it, rt it, or even look at it let alone follow them … quit your cryin and let people do what they want