Arweave TX
This is a guide to try and help a new user from being labeled a spammer on Farcaster (FC). But please DYOR, and always remember. I do not make the rules and this subject is ever evolving. 🙂
To start off, FarCaster is an awesome app with a bright future ahead of it—one that I am glad to be a part of.
However, like with any social media (SM) journey, one must take heed of the rules of the platform—or, in this case, the FC spam algorithm. While each SM algorithm is unique, they ultimately all have the same effect: keeping the platform safe and having the ability of making or breaking a user's experience.
As a new user, you should take the time to familiarize yourself with any and all relevant rules and information regarding the SM platform you are planning to use. That said, the publicly available information online about spam labeling for FC is limited. This isn’t to say that, with searching using the app’s "Search" feature, you couldn’t uncover more.
**For transparency - There is a search feature in app that you can search for casts. But for a naive user. It may be a upriver battle, that may be lost before you start. Or even be aware of the feature to be able to do so.
The "Spam" system on FC has different levels that one can fall into. Please take the time to review the attached cast on the bottom of this guide for more information. This guide will not go into any detail regarding this. This guide is to help new users to try not get the label in the first place.
A Google search might make you think you’ve found all the information you need. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with FC. The information I found through Google and on the FC main site was outdated, with many sources having 2023 publication dates. With only one source of formal material pertaining to "Spam." Which I was able to find on the "Warpcast Blog" on the Notion site that specifically addressed "Spam Warnings," which I will detail later below.
As the leadership team of FC has stated. "Changes will occur on a regular basis. There will be ups, downs, sideways motions, and sometimes, not all will be happy with the changes" So do take that into account when reading this and going forward in your exciting journey on FC.
Rule of thumb: "Don’t take a break!" Just kidding. But FC moves really fast, so always be prepared for change. It’s okay, though—the platform is constantly learning, growing, and adjusting to meet its evolving demands while maintaining a healthy social media environment for everyone. This is something I’m thankful for. And truly, take a break if you need one! There’s no harm in stepping away when necessary—it’s sometimes needed and completely okay.
Taking breaks is good for us all! Never think you must be always present. You should consume the amount of SM that you consider healthy and take breaks when needed.
Seriously though, this is not something to take lightly. As a new user, you are already under the microscope, so being aware early on is critical to your success and overall enjoyment of the app. By no means is this a magic formula to make you invincible from being labeled, but consider it another tool in your toolbox to help you move forward while staying informed.
Be mindful on replying to users that are not following you back.
In my opinion, this is probably the most important point to take note of and the main driver behind most spam labeling. When replying to another user who is not following you back—regardless of whether you are following them—you run the risk of your message going into the "Spam Hidden" folder, where it is hidden from the user you commented to. If enough users don’t interact with your comment sent to them (e.g., liking, replying, or recasting), you eventually end up in the "spam folder."
To help try to avoid this, it’s always best to create a thoughtful and honest comment or reply to the person you’re trying to connect with. Use more than just a single emoji or a comment lacking substance.
Think of it this way: how would you like to be approached on the street? Would you prefer someone to simply smile at you, or would you appreciate them introducing themselves with a smile and starting a genuine conversation? Food for thought, friends—being authentic and real is always a positive approach.
That said, you may still end up in the "Spam Hidden" folder. You can check by backing out of the cast and clicking on the original cast to see if your comment is visible. If it’s not, scroll to the bottom of the cast replies, click "See Hidden Replies," and delete your message. There’s also an action button that can be installed to help you check for hidden replies. But do note, it can only check if you have a reply to someone that is not following you back.
Ultimately, be mindful when commenting on a user’s cast if they don’t follow you back. If they don’t interact with your reply, consider deleting it or trying a different approach to get their attention.
Do note... Not everyone wants to be your friend. So maybe the reason the user is not interacting with your reply or quote cast is exactly that. Move on and be merry. Not saying that is always the case, but it is something to consider. Just stating realities.
Be Cautious on Cold DM's
My opinion is no cold dm's. Start a connection first on the timeline. A lot of users do not like being DM from a random user.
Don't Farm engagement or Spam Cast/Replies
Don't spam any timeline or replies. Be it a channel or your own TL. Users will mute you, and that is a quick way to be labeled.
Cast quality content
Always bring your best to the timeline. Quality shows, and is rewarded.
Be Authentic
Just be yourself, and have fun on the app. People enjoy authenticity.
Be kind, and respectful to others
Quick way to be muted and blocked. Self-explanatory
Ask a friend
You can never going wrong on asking questions. Be it to a friend or just asking a question on the timeline.
Join a Channel / Read channel rules
Definitely join a channel that suites your interest. Just make sure to read the rules and ask questions if you have any.
Don't be a Bot
Your best bet if you get labeled. Take a moment to review your timeline and ask yourself some questions.
Do I have "Hidden Replies?" Delete them if so.
Is there room for improvements on Quality of casts?
Is there some behavior that can be cleaned up or adjusted?
Am I following the rules of Channels that I belong in?
Am I following the rules of FarCaster?
Taking the time to ask yourself these questions and more will help you improve your standings. Overall you will have to give it time for the spam label to pass. But in the meantime, taking steps to improve and changing behaviors will ultimately help you improve your likelihood of having a good experience on the app.
FarCaster is more than just an app—it's a endless evolving community. Just remember on your SM journey, to engage thoughtfully, stay authentic, and contribute quality content to the timeline. While algorithms and rules may seem daunting at first, they’re designed to enhance the experience for everyone, fostering meaningful connections and interactions.
So embrace the fast pace, adapt to the changes, and don’t hesitate to take breaks when needed. You should enjoy social media, not be overwhelm it. Stay curious, ask questions, and make the most of the opportunities to connect and grow within the community you decide to join or form.
Most importantly, have fun, be yourself, and enjoy the ride—your FarCaster story is just beginning!
Take the time to view these cast and follow these accounts to help stay current on the latest updates. I also included links to Farcaster Docs and to the Warpcast Blog sites for ones own research.
A protocol for building sufficiently decentralized social networks.
Posts
We've noticed an increase in accounts that are "reply farming". A common pattern is posting a lot of uninteresting or unhelpful replies with the aim of farming airdrops. This makes the experience worse for everyone, especially the cast authors. Reply farming accounts get reported often and then our algo applies the spam label to their accounts.
Some thoughts on spam on Farcaster and how we tackle it. First question - What is spam? The naive answer is "automated activity" but this isn't right. Over 75% of spam we find comes from real humans who have phones, wallets and x accounts. The best definition is "inauthentic activity". It's that feeling you get when you realize that someone who is following, liking or replying to is doing it to benefit themselves and not because they're interested in you.
The spam filtering dilemma Sharing how we think about it so people can better understand: 1. Most people will only use social networks if they are fun 2. Casting something and getting dozens of spammy replies is not fun 3. If you get enough spammy replies, you'll just stop using the app 4. So, aggressively filtering for spam is necessary to keep your existing users happy 5. However, this means some good new users will hit spam filters. Understatement: this is a bad user experience for those people. It would be great to not have this happen. 6. But given the choice of who to make unhappy — an existing user who has invested a ton of time and energy into the network or a new user that is most likely to churn (top tier social networks lose 50% of users!), then you have to optimize for your existing users. 7. So does that mean you don’t care about new users? No! It’s existential to have new users be able to join Farcaster and find people to connect with — without being labeled as spam. 1/2
What does the Warpcast team consider spam? What are examples of spammy behavior? How do you know if you are marked as spam? Everything that has been made public about the spam algo is in the frame below, including the tool to check if your account has been marked. I can't help you get unmarked as spam. I created /farcasterunion to bring these issues to the forefront and give people a public place to talk about it, but all I can do is help raise awareness. If you've seen something that should be included here, please let me know. https://whykusk.warpcast.tools/api/frames/cold-goose-28
"I thought if before, casting in channels showed my casts to people who follow the channel but don't follow me?" 1. We tried it, didn't work; this was measured through 100% of users in an A/B test for the home feed on Warpcast. People *engaged less* with content recommended from channels they followed but people they weren't following. 2. What has worked is boosting individual accounts and casts with engagement from a lot of people you follow 3. So any version of claiming that people were getting a lot of engagement from content post in channels is not backed up by the data. 4. There were a small % of users visiting channel pages. But vast majority never left the home feed. When you asked them why not, the answer was channel pages were uninteresting and in many cases spammy. https://warpcast.com/dwr.eth/0x879acef4
Our spam models puts accounts into one of four categories: Level 0 - not enough information to make a decision Level 1 - an authentic users that other users will like Level 2 - a slightly inauthentic user that some users won't like Level 3 - a very inauthentic user that almost all people will dislike If we're certain that someone is spammy, their account goes into level 3 and their activity is usually hidden under the "Show more" in conversations. In most cases, it's less clear. An account may be good for a while and suddenly turn spammy when a new airdrop launches. In this case Level 2 might be applied, which does something lighter like disqualifying you from boosts, but still letting your replies appear. Accounts are also re-evaluated by our model very often so that new information can be used to make a more accurate decision. We rank and re-rank roughly 4-5 accounts every minute.
"I'm not a spammy, I'm a real person not a bot." or "Just use proof of humanity to solve spam." 1. Spam is relative: you might not find something spammy but another person might find it spammy. 2. If you are casting in your home feed or to people who chose to follow you, then it's by definition not spammy 3. If you are casting *at* someone else, then their opinion does matter. It's no different than walking up to someone on the street and trying to strike up a conversation with them. 4. Fundamentally, spam is unwanted inbound that tries to get someone's attention (literally what spam email is). 5. Humans can be spammy and bots can be not spammy. 6. What proof of humanity does is limits how fast new accounts can get created, i.e. if you want to create 1000 accounts, you now have to get 1000 proof of humanity credentials. That's friction. 7. However, if you have proof of humanity, you can still be spammy (and still hook your account up to ChatGPT, etc.). https://warpcast.com/dwr.eth/0xf8abcce9
Aaron - Open Plains Studios
