ThisWiki is under attack by spammers.  On a near daily basis, spammers try to add content to the wiki, for the
sole purpose of marketing a page or service that has nothing to do with CppUnit.  However, we have some defenses now:

== Stopping the spam from appearing in the first place ==
When a user attempts to save a page, the content of the new page is checked against BadContent.  This is a page containing hundreds of regular expressions, identifying keywords used by spammers.  They are mostly in English, so we can catch the names of certain popular medications, as well as known bad websites, but we have a harder time with foriegn language spam (mostly from China).

This blocks about 95% of spam from ever showing up on the wiki.  However, it makes it slower to save a page, and the spammers slow down the site while they try to make the page changes.

== Removing spam once it appears ==
If spam gets through, it is usually still obvious that it is spam.  Watch RecentChanges, and check that any changes are legitimate.  It will help if legitimate users create a usernames (see UserPreferences), so that we get to know who the real people are.

When removing spam, you can either delete the page (if it was added by the spammer and contains nothing but spam), or you can revert to an earlier version (if the page had good content to begin with).  Don't worry about making a mistake - deletions and reversions can be reversed.  

To delete a page, select the Delete Page link from the toolbar or drop-down box.  For the reason for deletion, mention that it was spam.

To revert a page, select the Get Info link from the toolbar.  Find the last good version (either from the dates on the left, or from the username of the editors, or by manually viewing past revisions until you find the right one).  Click the "revert" link to revert to that version.

== Blocking the spammer ==
The permanent solution is to get the spammer on the master BadContent list.  This is maintained at MoinMaster:BadContent.  On other wikis, this page is periodically downloaded, to replace the local BadContent page.  This way, each wiki benefits from the work off all other wiki administrators.  Unfortunately, SourceForge does not allow the external connection to MoinMaster, so the administrators have to manually update this file.

Instead, an administrator adds the spam signature to LocalBadContent, which blocks the same spammer immediately.  We also take steps to get the spam signature on the master list, and update it when it is available.
