These "spambots" are getting out of control.

Just give like captchas for nontrusted ppl

I'm pretty sure a large number of the spammers are actual people, so CAPTCHAs aren't going to put a dent in it

Yes, but surely more human spammers would be discouraged if they had to wait a certain time frame before posting - and had to play a minimum number of rated games, as well ...

Could also make accounts wait even longer before being allowed to create threads. So new users could reply to threads after the provisional period has passed (whatever it may be) - but a longer provisional period could be applied to thread creation ...

Some of the spammer accounts play games and keep the accounts open for a while before spamming. The crux of it is that if the process of being a part of the community is too onerous, a lot of legitimate people go elsewhere.

I like this idea, especially requiring them to actually play a few games. It wouldn't stop it, no, but might slow it down at least. At one point last night, there were six of them... not a state affair but annoying.

I am still curious (comment #4) why new accounts are able to write comments immediately if there is the 48-hour restriction for new accounts. Or there was?

True but i ignore any forum title like #26 showed or any hindi title

So what if we allowed members to reply to threads immediately, but have a provisional period before thread creation is allowed?

Then being part of the community is still instantaneous ... but thread creation itself (the modus operandi of spammers, it seems) must past a provisional period, first ...

The spammers also reply to existing topics.

Ultimately, some kind of trustworthiness score is probably best, where there are multiple factors weighed. Added to that, any posts by accounts with a low trustworthiness score could go to a moderation type queue to be approved, with some message to the member to that effect, and the ability of the member to see their own posts.

As an added layer, improved automated filters to catch spam on creation and edit and immediately handle those accounts.

All that takes time and touches multiple parts of the site. Any one in isolation is easier to circumvent, and as mentioned, if it's too onerous, the site likely loses valid members

What about banning people by email? Baby himself admitted in one of his AMA's they don't blacklist his email when closing his accounts for abuse.

Serial abusers who clearly don't want to contribute constructively should have their emails blacklisted or even shadowbanned.

Lichess shadowbans chat abusers

Also links from untrusted users should be watched, as well as phone numbers.

Here's another example:

[removed -- MS]

Member joined 4 minutes ago. Began a spam thread one minute after account creation.

I'm pretty confident that if thread creation were restricted for new users, the state of the forums would improve ... but that's just my opinion.

What if there was a popup after 48ish hours of account creation advertising the forum?
saying like (You unlocked the forum!) and then showing the types including OTF.

I agree but with disposable emails, endless accounts, lots of patience and just enough gullible people, spammers find a way. No matter what, All it takes is one person falling for it to make the time and effort worth it. The chance to make money is a strong enough reason for them to keep trying no matter the obstacles. sad but true

Oh, I like that idea. It turns it into a reward for legitimate members.

then the limit could be extended, because everyone will know about the forum. Maybe OTF could grow!

That's incorrect. Each banned account isn't able to reuse the exact same email address. They're creating new ones, which is trivial.