I have noticed that the system automatically blocks some new users. These appear to be normal users who don’t have the same IP as anyone else and in most cases haven’t posted a single thing. Why are these users blocked?

This is 100% totally incorrect. Blocked posts by new users always come into the approval queue – how could you not see the approval queue? What generally happens is, mods decline the new user’s post for whatever reason and thus they stay in a blocked state. What is the correct way to handle a new user where you have declined their first post, but somehow decided not to destroy their account as a spammer? It’s indeterminate…

Chances are they are either posting extremely fast, such as clicking reply, pasting something and hitting the reply button within 3 seconds (this is a site setting). Or, they are getting picked up via the Needs Approval queue. Also see [image] User blocked for no apparent reason Support So…the other day (well, 14 days ago, but I forgot…) we noticed that a user on Stonehearth was blocked, and we can’t figure out why! For the Discourse devs, here is the PM where we discussed the randomly blocked user: http://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/did-anyone-block-a-user-lately/20556?u=jomaxro Both moderators (myself and @8bitcrab) and admins (@sdee and @brad) on the site checked the logs, and we confirmed on Slack that no-one initiated the block manually. No posts appeared for approval …

Yes, until the post gets approved or the user manually unblocked.

Regarding the fast typer anti-spam mechanism, are users automatically blocked after they try to reply, or after they trip the mechanism, are they sent to the needs approval queue?

For fast typing, they are simply blocked (I think, I don’t think it goes to the approval queue, but I can’t promise that). I can’t say that I’ve ever come across that scenario in our instance (or at least I don’t think I have)

That’s crazy! We should at least be notified.

[image] codinghorror: Blocked posts by new users always come into the approval queue – how could you not see the approval queue I assumed there is more logic than typing speed to make posts show up in Needs Approval and there isn’t any way for me to know which of the logistical parts are what invoked the post to go to the queue. Maybe speed is the only factor, which would surprise me, considering the data I’ve seen hit the Post Approval queue. I also mis-remembered the logging change that occurred recently that was entirely due to speed of reply and blocking users.

To be clear this is what a blocked user looks like, notice the “crossed out / no” symbol next to their name. [image] [image] Rejecting their post here will NOT unblock that user.. and blocked state is on,y really automated on new users making their first posts, a time when we evaluate the user’s posts closely for spammy characteristics.

Users Automatically Blocked by System

Product Support

Carson1 March 25, 2016, 10:29pm 3

If they get picked up by the needs approval queue does the system block them?

Topic		Replies	Views
User blocked for no apparent reason Product Support	4	3192	March 18, 2016
New user auto-silenced with no option to approve? Product Support	6	1504	January 10, 2018
Display Reason for Automatic Blocks by System Feature	18	4139	May 10, 2016
Determine why 'system' user blocked a human user? Product Support	8	2713	January 25, 2017
Needs Approved Reject doesn't Unblock or associated the rejected post with the user Product Support approval	28	4029	October 20, 2015

Users Automatically Blocked by System

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