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Will Lemmy spam become like email spam? (self.asklemmy)

submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by explodicle to c/[email protected]

8 comments fedilink hide all child comments

My understanding of federation is that it's like email. If one server is misbehaving, then they get defederated.

So how come email spam still exists - why don't spammer domains get defederated? It seems like we've got the worst of both worlds, where it's hard to get your emails relayed when you run a small email server, and easy to get them relayed if you're a spammer.

Is there anything about Lemmy's architecture that will prevent this problem?

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago

If one server is misbehaving, then they get defederated.

If the instance the spam is originating from is nothing but spam, yeah. Most instances only defederate from another as a last resort and/or if the offending instance is a total lost cause or dedicated to spam/trolling/etc.

Is there anything about Lemmy's architecture that will prevent this problem?

Yes. Applications for new registrations assuming admins can be arsed to turn them on. It won't 100% prevent it, but it will reduce it by probably 90%.

Most spam on Lemmy comes from instances with open registration (ones that do not require an application). Lemdro.id is probably the biggest offender and pain in my side. Email verification and CAPTCHAs are not effective barriers. They may slow down spam signups, but do absolutely nothing to stop them.

Instances that have 24/7 admin coverage do okay with allowing open signups (again, without application approval) and keeping spam to a minimum; some still slip through, but they're usually quickly dealt with due to having an admin available 24/7. Instances with round-the-clock admin availability are rare, though.

Instances without 24/7 admin coverage (roughly 99% of them) should, IMO, NOT have open signups and require applications. Some spam may get through, but the admins can at least have eyes on new registrations.