Yet another cookie stuffer

Cas77 wrote: ↑members/alamat-1044675/

Started stuffing in November.

Mod wrote the following:
Last edited by eladmk; Nov 25th, 2014 at 09:36 AM. Reason: removed suspicious image

So let me get this straight; someone is caught IMGstuffing Amazon and reported to a mod and instead of an immediate ban they get their post edited by removing the pixel and keep doing it for 2 months unscathed?

Maybe knowing what cookie stuffing is should be a prerequisite for modding a shopping forum no? Especially when the rule is, and I state: "Cookie stuffing is not permitted and will result in an immediate ban"

The user never posted since December until yesterday. And he/she is now banned.
Cookie stuffing is an instant permaban.

AcidBomber wrote: ↑The user never posted since December until yesterday. And he/she is now banned.
Cookie stuffing is an instant permaban.

All I was saying is the user should have been permabanned in November when it was first reported. I'm pretty sure very few people would NOT know a 1x1 white pixel a mod labelled "suspicious image" is not stuffing browsers. Whatever he got flushed and I cleared my cookies.

What is "Cookie stuffing"?

valeriey wrote: ↑What is "Cookie stuffing"?

Yes please explain. Whatever it is, I agree that he should have been banned in November. This site should be safe for all users especially those of us who don't understand this stuff.

each time you visit certain sites they store a cookie in your browser. Let's use Amazon since this is what they were stuffing. If you click an amazon affiliate link on RFD they store a cookie in your browser to know you came from rfd. If you make an amazon purchase in the following 24 hours (iirc) RFD gets credited for the sale and earn a a couple percent of your total purchase.

What this user was doing is hiding a white pixel in his posts that basically forced a cookie in your browser without you clicking anything. Once you simply visited a page on which he posted, his cookie would overide the current cookie you had stored and reset the 24 hour timer. So if you made an amazon purchase he would be making money. Multiply that by the very large amount of views some threads get and the fact that people come here with their wallets open looking for deals you can see how this can become a pretty lucrative thing.

My issue sith this is giving money to a scammer. Based on his use of the english language you can easily tell you're supporting someone/something/somewhere in a foreign country.

It's highly illegal (criminal offense in the US) and there have been cases where people were convicted and served jail time (google Shawn Hogan and Brian Dunning).

Wow! Thanks for the information.

Thanks Cas77!
Is it always 24 hrs?
And how do you know when this has happened?

ishfish wrote: ↑Thanks Cas77!
Is it always 24 hrs?
And how do you know when this has happened?

No but in this case I'm 99% sure it was Amazon which I think went from 48 hours to 24 hours a few years back. Ebay is another popular one who's cookie lasts 30 days. Most retailers have an affiliate program of some sort and each has their own terms wrt cookie duration.

I've reported about half a dozen over the years and the amount of time it took to delete their posts is staggering. Some were still stuffing browsers on their old posts over a week after being reported, almost like I was lying even after telling them how to detect it. This is one of the reasons I decided to report this one publicly.

In this case there is no reason it shouldn't have been caught right off the get go considering all posts by new members have to be approved. I've caught smarter ones getting their posts approved then editing them afterwards to add their cookie.

That being said, there's no effective way to know it's happened unless you clear your cookies before going to an online site to make a purchase, but if that's the case even RFD wouldn't make any money. The onus is on the site protecting it's members and it's own stream of income.