#purge the bots

[mckitterick]

Bots-B-Gone

(AKA How to Tumblr)

Hey, I get it. Xitter is xitting on its users, same for Reddit and Facebook and so many others, and you migrated here because it's not been so badly enshittified. Hooray! Welcome!

So that means those of us who've lived here in [tumblr] land have been getting lots of new followers lately, many of whom are just lurking until you've figured out how to use this place. That's cool.

~ however ~

If you recently started following me and you're legitimately a human being, take note:

I'll soon resume blocking (and, when appropriate, reporting) all followers who don't do the bare minimum of appearing human - that is, one or more of these:

create a user icon. pick some image you like and use it rather than the default icon. doesn't need to be fancy, just try not to look like a bot dumped into our social ecosystem to farm human creativity

like stuff. that's kinda the point of following people, right? because you like it? so let us know, which also shows us there's a human mind behind the blog

reblog stuff. you don't need to add anything, you don't even need to tag your reblogs. here's the heart of what makes [tumblr] original. it's also why this place is so much more fun than most social platforms

reblog with interesting or fun additions. got something to add that'll elevate a post? awesome! some folks put their thoughts into the tags instead of in the post (maybe they're shy, maybe they don't want their blog to get new followers, or whatever. it's fine, and fun for the original poster to see in their notes)

drop me a note or tag me on a post, or send me an ask or message. I check my activity pretty much every day, so I'll see if someone wants to interact. I love that stuff

make original posts of your own! got a cute cat? show us! enjoy taking photos of wildflowers? fabulous! like sharing quotes from books you're reading? we love that! doesn't need to be a big deal, just hint at the human mind behind the blog name

I hate blocking blogs, because what if that's a shy human I'm blocking? But gaining a few dozen new followers in the past week whose blogs are blank means it's time to cull again.

So if you want to keep following me (and probably the same for most other Tumblr users), please show me you're a real human some time in the next week (I'll start culling on August 24, 2023).

[shapedforfighting]

The.What.jpg

[that-crazy-scorpio-man]

Hey, @staff, do something about these spam bots, man!

This mess is insane! I get so many in a day and if I block them then I get more!!!

[comorianqiqi]

LIMAHABAT ALLAH.

[artianaiolanthe]

Is it just me or is the Twitter migration yielding a bot flood, I haven't had to block this many in one week in months???

[watercooler-raptors]

So I went and cleared out the spam bots that have followed me recently, reporting and blocking, and now suddenly the actual followers have vanished off my followers list too? Literally as I got rid of the last bot.... If you follow me can you drop a reply or something, just so I know you're still there?

[chaotickyrith]

when you almost block genuine accounts for following you cause you’re so done with the porn bots😭😭 I didn’t but I almost did I’m sorry, welcome, I mostly just reblog art and fics😭

[mckitterick]

Dear New (non-bot) Followers:

welcome! I hope you enjoy the stuff I post and reblog!

Tumblr is facing a wave of new bots, and like a lot of us I've been getting follows from tons of them - so I've been blocking tons of (fake) new accounts

I understand that because of RIP Twitter and other factors, Tumblr has been seeing a big influx of new (actual) users, and not everyone posts right away

HOWEVER, in an effort to do my part to eliminate the bot threat, I'm about to do a purge of followers who have no content, user-icons, background images, or likes. (be aware that lots of other existing users are also doing the same purge of their follower list, too)

SO: if you're new here and have a blank blog and don't want me to block you on the assumption you're a bot, please do some or all of these:

reblog some stuff

like some stuff

upload some kind of user icon

upload some kind of background image

make these look like a real person did it

or DM me to let me know you're a human

I don't want to block any actual human followers!

I encourage y'all to do the same, and to report spam accounts (usually empty or mostly do except for posts or reblogs that link to porn or store sites)

together we can end the bot scourge!

[dragonpyre]

Hey guys, if you're blog looks like this

It doesn't matter if you have anything in your likes. You will be getting reported and blocked by people for thinking your a bot. This is the blogging website. You HAVE to reblog stuff

[0venatrix]

Quick someone write a short story about a group of asexuals fighting robots.

[artianaiolanthe]

Did I just spend 20 minutes intentionally going down a rabbit hole to report as many bots as I could?

Yes, of course I did. Whatever keeps their shit off my dash and out of my inbox.

[stargirl230]

Luke(s)

sketches in which luke looks different every time i try to draw him (different face syndrome???)

(no reposts; reblogs appreciated)

[elumish]

I mean this in the absolute nicest way possible, but if you follow me with a default icon, no bio, no posts, and no visible likes, you will more likely than not end up blocked/reported.

If you're a real person, please at the very least change your bio or make a post reading "I'm a real person."

[mushramoo]

if ur new to tumblr or even just only use it to lurk, at LEAST change ur title cos otherwise u look like a bot to me and I gotta block u

[luveline]

thank u for 43 followers <3 thank you so much all of you for reading and for being here!! i didn’t think to plan any celebrations or anything but requests are open as always ❤️ love u love u ❤️❤️

[expelliarmus]