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I was browsing through questions and all of a sudden my reputation on Super User dropped from 16 to 1, this I am sure of, and I can't seem to find a reason why.

On the other hand, I think my reputation on Stack Overflow has gone from 12 to 13, again with seemingly no reason.

Also while trying to post this I received the message "Your post cannot be submitted at this time due to the volume of spam and abuse originating from your network". I am on a work network where I am the IT admin and I am very sure I would be the only person using stack exchange. A few users accepted various correct answers i've given across the site in order to try and help me to be able to post this question to get help.

I know these aren't big numbers to begin with, but does anyone have any idea what caused this? Why does SE think i'm spamming? (Should I be worried about some sort of trojan or spambot in my network?)

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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You posted an answer recommending a website which has been previously spammed by multiple users.

Apart from that your answer:

Check that your F2 and F4 keys work!!

does not actually answer the question.

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    Why yes I did!! I should have joined the dots there, still getting used to the nuances of what is and isn't acceptable on these sites, i'll get there, apologies and thanks for the clarification! For reference, if I had posted that as a comment rather than an answer, would that be acceptable? Because it could be a possible cause of the users issue and definitely worth trying to eliminate the possibility at least? Also was it not a tad excessive to categorize that as "a high volume of spam and abuse"? Do I have any way of regaining those 15 points no? Thank you again David!
    – Ciaran McKenzie
    Commented Dec 12, 2017 at 13:30
  • @CiaranMcKenzie I have cleared the spam flag. Please be more careful next time.
    – DavidPostill Mod
    Commented Dec 12, 2017 at 13:38
  • I appreciate it! I think a deep breath and a second thought is all I need before posting answers and I should be ok. Thanks for your help! Glad to have the opportunity to learn!
    – Ciaran McKenzie
    Commented Dec 12, 2017 at 13:50
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    @CiaranMcKenzie Software Recommendations should be done sparingly. If done they must be exceptionally written, and must explain in detail, the reason the recommendationed software is key to your suggested solution
    – Ramhound
    Commented Dec 12, 2017 at 15:14
  • @Ramhound Duly noted! Thanks for the clarification, i'll be wary of that in future!
    – Ciaran McKenzie
    Commented Dec 12, 2017 at 17:05
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    @CiaranMcKenzie And for the future How do I recommend software for some tips as to how you should go about recommending software. You should provide at least a link, some additional information about the software itself, and how it can be used to solve the problem in the question.
    – DavidPostill Mod
    Commented Dec 12, 2017 at 17:06
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    I just had a read through that and it seems reasonable enough, I understand the need for these kind of guidelines to maintain the standard and relevance of answers! I appreciate the guidance from both you and @Ramhound
    – Ciaran McKenzie
    Commented Dec 12, 2017 at 17:16
  • @CiaranMcKenzie We strive away from recommendations due to there being a very thin line between a recommendation and an advertisement for a product. So an answer if it’s making a recommendation better explain the problem, what the solution is exactly, and if a tool is particularly good at doing that only then suggest the program.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Dec 12, 2017 at 17:21
  • @Ramhound That seems reasonable enough and obviously is necessary to uphold the integrity of unbiased answering! I'll attempt to air on the side of caution in future!
    – Ciaran McKenzie
    Commented Dec 14, 2017 at 11:05
  • @DavidPostill Might I suggest removing the site OP was caught spamming from your answer? As this is still exposing the site that was being pushed.
    – Cheesus Crust
    Commented Dec 20, 2017 at 13:31
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    @CheesusCrust Done :)
    – DavidPostill Mod
    Commented Dec 20, 2017 at 14:15

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