992599 - The SPAM limiter for contributors does not appear to reset

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(support.mozilla.org :: Users and Groups, defect, P1)

Description

[Matt]

This bug arises from discussion here https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/forums/contributors/710144#post-58482

And my own experiences in Bug 981996 where I remained unable to post a message until I was placed in the protected contributors group.

The fact that the limiter exists without explanation is bad enough.  That is simple chops people off mid thread for an undefined period of time with no automatic reset is simply driving contributors away.  There is a limit to the number of hoops that people are prepared to jump through to give their time and expertise away.

I have set the severity of this bug to critical, as it has extreme effects on new contributors. Just the people we need to encourage, not inconvenience.

Comment 1

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Is this still an issue?
If it is, will bug 928400 help?

ref: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/forums/contributors/710089

Comment 2

[sfhowes]

(In reply to Wayne Mery (:wsmwk, use Needinfo for questions) from comment #1)
> Is this still an issue?
> If it is, will bug 928400 help?
> 
> ref: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/forums/contributors/710089

It hasn't been an issue for me since the original report, but I don't make anywhere near the number of posts to test the threshold, which I believe is 100 per day.

Comment 3

[vesper]

Closing this out since it's been a while and assigning users to a special group as a workaround seems to be working OK.

Comment 4

[Matt]

I would argue that if you want to get rid of new contributors put in a spam firewall that blocks all further contributions with no obvious "out".

Comment 5

[Alice Wyman]

This is still happening.  The workaround is just that, it's not a fix.  It's also a poor workaround if only vesper and madalina can remove the block. See:
http://logs.glob.uno/?c=mozilla%23sumo&s=30+Aug+2017&e=30+Aug+2017#c108674

18:58	Tonnes	guig: for the first time ever I'm getting the blocked for spamming msg when posting. any action required?
18:58	Tonnes	guigs: ^
18:59	alex_mayorga	Tonnes: Stop spamming =)
18:59	Tonnes	alex_mayorga: But I want to, so baadly!! :D
19:01	Tonnes	cc vesper
19:01	timc	Need someone to add you to the trusted contributors group to stop that :)
19:03	Tonnes	really?
19:03	timc	if you're seeing the spamming error when posting, yes :)
19:03	Tonnes	gosh..
19:03	timc	it either has no limits or increased limits for posting
19:03	timc	known "issue"
19:04	timc	simple to resolve - just need an admin's attention
19:08	guigs	Hey Tonnes, that can only be fixed by madalina or vesper
19:08	Tonnes	yes, and that's the hardest part nowadays ;( The bits and bytes and the ability to change them are pretty fast nowadays ;)
19:33	Tonnes	damnit, I'm blocked
19:35	Tonnes	sigh..
19:35	Tonnes	ping madalina
19:35	timc	:( Wish I could help but I don't have admin rights
19:36	Tonnes	why are some things so hard to accomplish at moz
19:36	Tonnes	thought we had the powerrrr of changing the world
19:36	Tonnes	on-the-fly if needed
19:39	timc	hey roland :) You free to add Tonnes to the trusted contribs group in Kitsune? He's been blocked for "spamming" ;)
19:44	rolandtanglao	timc: i don't think i can do that but i can try
19:44	timc	its worth a try - thank you :)
19:45	timc	it's a squid proxy - Lynn's team will know
19:45	timc	oops - wrong window - ignore
19:49	rolandtanglao	i don't know how to add a person to a group timc Tonnes please let me know how to do it and i'll try to add toness to trusted contribs otehrwise email vesper or guigs

Comment 6

[Alice Wyman]

(from comment #5)
> This is still happening.  The workaround is just that, it's not a fix.  It's
> also a poor workaround if only vesper and madalina can remove the block.

See also bug 981996 comment 31, where madalina suggested allowing moderators to add users to the "trusted contributors" group ... and Kadir's reply (can this be "done in the admin" ?)

Comment 7

[Alice Wyman]

Still happening. See https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/forums/contributors/713492 Requesting to Be WhiteListed

Comment 8

[Emil Ghitta, QA [:emilghitta]]

I believe that this issue can be closed.

Users are ratelimited to 100 answers/day (24hrs). I've confirmed that after 24 hrs the user is no longer rate limited and can contribute again. There is also the option to add the trusted user/contributor to a group which gives him the necessary permissions of bypassing the ratelimit.