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lemmelurk @lemmy.ml

How can I block posts from all bot accounts of specific instance?

I do not want to block all bots. I only want to block bots from specific instance. More specifically, the @alien.top instance is using most, if not all, bot accounts with random usernames. It uses that instance to post in communities of other instances. I thought about blocking other instances. But the main issue lies with random bot accounts from @alien.top. And I cannot block individually by usernames.

What shall I do to block posts posted by random bot accounts of @alien.top instance?

Update

I looked up potentially affiliated sites connected to that instance and found these.

https://level-up.zone/ (@communick, high post rate)
\ https://gearhead.town/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, high post rate)
\ https://viewfinder.pro/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, medium post rate)
\ https://netheads.online/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, low post rate)
\ https://healthy.community/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, low post rate)
\ https://sfw.community/?dataType=Post&listingType=Local&page=1&sort=New (same admin, no post yet)
\ https://blockchained.world/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, low post rate)
\ https://matchpoint.zone/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, low post rate)
\ https://poweruser.forum/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, high post rate)
\ https://hi-fi.community/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, medium post rate)
\ https://expats.zone/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, medium post rate)
\ https://nba.space/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, high post rate)
\ https://athletic.center/?dataType=Post&listingType=Local&page=1&sort=New (same admin, no post yet)
\ https://style.land/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, high post rate)
\ https://metacritics.zone/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, high post rate)
\ https://academy.garden/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, medium post rate)
\ https://foodie.rehab/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, no post yet)
\ https://indiehackers.space/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, high post rate)
\ https://hardware.watch/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, high post rate)
\ https://nfl.community/?dataType=Post&page=1&sort=New (same admin, high post rate)

The instances may be hours to two months old and are run by the same admin. Some have high post rate, while others have no post yet. The ones with posts are all using @alien.top's random bot accounts. I suspect this problem will amplify.

Update2

Blocking by instance is finally working. I blocked @alien.top and @hardware.watch. Consider this issue resolved.

24 comments

  • I’ve wondered wtf is up with that instance. Someone floods certain communities - apple on hardware.watch for instance - with endless tech support questions, like pages and pages of them a day. Steamdeck on hardware.watch for instance has a dozen posts in the last 5 minutes, so it’s a ridiculous flood.

    A few of the accounts seem more legitimate than others and actually have a history, but most just have 1 post. The questions aren’t badly written and I wonder where they come from - don’t sound like LLM, but I just don’t believe at all that 8,000 random people signed up at this Alien instance and want to ask one tech related question and then disappear. The content doesn’t seem harmful or scammy, though, they’re all things a normal person might post. Is the content copied from reddit? Is this someone’s idea of kickstarting these Lemmy communities? It’s all a bit odd.

    Anyway it’s a limited number of communities these apparent bots post to, so I simply blocked those communities.

    • Is the content copied from reddit?

      Yup, at least in some cases. In one of the home networking subs I've seen several questions that after a quick search were posted on reddit within an hour before they showed up here. It kind of pisses me off wasting time trying to help someone that doesn't even exist on the fediverse.

      • Yeah, I answered a couple questions before I noticed something was off. I guess it’s adding content to Lemmy but it’s more an annoying waste of time.

      • They don't exist yet. Each bot on alien.top represents a real account on reddit. If you think that their question is legit and worthy of a response, but you don't want to give Reddit even more data, the best thing you can do is respond on Lemmy and send a message to the origjnal asker to tell them about Lemmy and help them migrate.

24 comments