Ask HN: How do we solve the bot flooding problem without destroying anonymity?
7 pointsby txrx00008 hours ago7 comments
  • allinonetools_5 hours ago
    The biggest signal I have noticed over time is consistency, not just one good post. Accounts that participate normally for weeks build a kind of trust naturally. Maybe weighting activity history more than identity verification could help without hurting anonymity.
  • throwaway54654 hours ago
    Creates echo chambers, karma whoring 'power' accounts, rewards ego-posting and generally makes the experience about who says what not what is said. Worsens the problem.
    • judahmeek8 minutes ago
      Echo chambers exist no matter what & "who says what" is an essential aspect of determining transferrable credibility.

      Without transferrable credibility, any ratings system simply becomes a question of which side spams the most.

  • fernando_campos6 hours ago
    One issue I keep noticing is that most anti-bot systems optimize for blocking instead of increasing friction progressively.

    Rate limits tied to behavioral patterns rather than identity seem to work better — especially interaction timing, navigation flow, or session consistency.

    We experimented with something similar while building HiveHQ and found bots usually fail when systems require small contextual actions humans do naturally.

    • judahmeek14 minutes ago
      So... use advanced pattern matching to determine human patterns & reject outliers?

      Interaction timing is like rate limiting, but more granular

      Navigation flow is a basically requiring bots to use a headless browser instead of API's

      What does session consistency mean in this context? Restricting to a limited number of interests & activity times?

  • bruceyao19845 hours ago
    could solve bot flooding by raising the cost of automation, not by removing anonymity. Techniques like behavioral detection, rate limiting, proof‑of‑work, reputation systems, and AI‑based anomaly detection can filter bots without requiring real‑world identity. The goal isn’t to know who you are — it’s to know whether you’re human.
  • austin-cheney8 hours ago
    Read this comment and use the script in the linked subject:

    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47203918

  • chistev4 hours ago
    Haven't noticed any negative changes.
  • drsalt7 hours ago
    make spamming illegal give severe punishments and enforce the law