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Spam is unwanted repetitive content intended to render a medium of communication useless for a period of time, or to cause annoyance to users.
Spam is unwanted repetitive content intended to render a medium of communication useless for a period of time, or to cause annoyance to users.
Users throughout OWOT's history have complained about the overabundance of spam, which has almost always drowned out [[Art|original content]] at [[Spawn]]. While spam is generally seen as inevitable, [[FP]](''the only active admin'') is known to [[Moderation|moderate]] it on a regular basis, undertaking actions such as: ratelimiting, color banning, or IP banning spammers, performing rollbacks to restore destroyed content, or updating the site's code in order to brick specific spam scripts. Despite this, dedicated spammers have generally been able to circumvent these measures and attack the site for prolonged periods of time.
On their part, regular users can fight spam by clearing it manually. They can also use a [[Wipers|wiper]] script, though these are subject to abuse and tend not to be handed out freely. And while FP is the only admin on the OWOT [[/|Frontpage]], several trusted users have been given the ability to perform rollbacks on [[/main]] using a tool known as the [[Moderation#Time Machine|time machine]].


== Chat Spam ==
== Chat Spam ==
=== Rigged Poll ===
=== Rigged Poll ===
{{main|Rigged poll spammer}}
"Rigged Poll" is in reference to the World of the Day Poll, which was known for its lack of security and its tendency to have illegitimate votes favor one particular World of the Day candidate. Prior to the events leading to the poll's replacement with an automated ratings system, it was very easy for a single user or a small group of individuals to launch a [[wikipedia:Sybil_attack|Sybil attack]] on the poll by placing an "x" character next to the world name over the course of a few days. It was one of the duties of a front page [[member]] to protect each vote that gets added to the poll, as long as it's not obvious that somebody is trying to rig the votes. A frequent occurrence was also the removal of legitimate votes from the poll by users who did not originally vote for that world. This eventually leads to unpopular worlds receiving the World of the Day status. For most of the poll's history, the front page members did not regard the votes on the poll, hence the meaning of Rigged Poll.
"Rigged Poll" is in reference to the World of the Day Poll, which was known for its lack of security and its tendency to have illegitimate votes favor one particular World of the Day candidate. Prior to the events leading to the poll's replacement with an automated ratings system, it was very easy for a single user or a small group of individuals to launch a [[wikipedia:Sybil_attack|Sybil attack]] on the poll by placing an "x" character next to the world name over the course of a few days. It was one of the duties of a front page [[member]] to protect each vote that gets added to the poll, as long as it's not obvious that somebody is trying to rig the votes. A frequent occurrence was also the removal of legitimate votes from the poll by users who did not originally vote for that world. This eventually leads to unpopular worlds receiving the World of the Day status. For most of the poll's history, the front page members did not regard the votes on the poll, hence the meaning of Rigged Poll.


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== Canvas spam ==
== Canvas spam ==
There are multiple types of spam on the canvas, most of which are usually done with scripts. Most of them are done away from the X and Y axes far from spawn.
This section contains documentation for common types of spam on the OWOT canvas, and also for notable spammers/instances of spam.


=== Road spam ===
=== Road spam ===
[[File:Road spam.png|thumb|Road spam]]
[[File:Road spam.png|thumb|Road spam|221x221px]]
Multiple different colored roads have been pasted on the canvas that appear to lead to nowhere in particular. They usually wind around and go over each other.
[[File:Road spam remnants.png|thumb|Last remnant of the road spam in 2025(''the curve at the top was added by [[JRT]]'')|225x225px]]
[[File:Fp big mainpage screenshot july 8 2024.jpg|center|thumb|756x756px|Before they were cleared, multicolored roads extended for hundreds of coordinates, forming a massive tangled mass around spawn.This image is a [[Large OWOT Screenshots|large snapshot]] of the mainpage from that era.]]
In 2020, multiple different colored roads were pasted on the canvas that appear to lead to nowhere in particular. They would wind around randomly and go over each other, extending for hundreds of coordinates.


=== Chess piece spam===
The damage done by the road spam was incredibly difficult to rollback due to its sheer scale, but [[Fp|FP]] was able to accomplish this in 2022 using a newly introduced [[Moderation#Time Machine|time machine]] feature.
{{main|The chess pieces}}In February 2023, an [[Anon|anonymous user]] created a script on https://owot-countdown.glitch.me/ that would open a WebSocket and spam chess pieces. A link to the site was also spammed. 3 days later, the WebSockets were removed, ending the conflict. Many chess pieces still exist, but [[KKosty4ka]] created a [https://pastebin.com/3WT5cDJE script] to remove them.
[[File:Mainpage december 14 2021.jpg|thumb|365x365px|Black and white [[Large OWOT screenshots|snapshot]] of the 2020 road spam|none]]
[[File:Fp big mainpage screenshot july 8 2024.jpg|thumb|649x649px|Before they were cleared, multicolored roads extended for hundreds of coordinates, forming a massive tangled mass around spawn.This image is a [[Large OWOT Screenshots|large snapshot]] of the mainpage from that era.|none]]


=== Replicator spam ===
=== Replicator spam ===
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Replicator spam was a big issue during the early days of OWOT, being responsible for damaging thousands of coordinates of text.
Replicator spam was a big issue during the early days of OWOT, being responsible for damaging thousands of coordinates of text.
<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
 
A notable example of replicator spam from recent times is the [[The Chess Pieces|Chess Pieces]] spam from 2023.
<gallery widths="120" heights="120">
File:Replicator spam.png|Replicator spam
File:Replicator spam.png|Replicator spam
File:Link replicator spam.png|Replicator spam (links only)
File:Link replicator spam.png|Replicator spam (links only)
Line 29: Line 38:


=== Particle spam ===
=== Particle spam ===
<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
<gallery widths="120" heights="120">
File:Cjk tile spam.png|CJK tile spam (very sparse)
File:Cjk tile spam.png|CJK tile spam (very sparse)
File:Dense unicode cluster spam.png|Dense Unicode cluster spam
File:Dense unicode cluster spam.png|Dense Unicode cluster spam
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=== Image paste spam ===
=== Image paste spam ===
{{main|Image Pasters}}<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
{{main|Image Pasters}}<gallery widths="120" heights="120">
File:Image Spam.jpg
File:Image Spam.jpg
File:Anime face spam.png
File:Anime face spam.png
</gallery>
</gallery>


=== Fireworks spam ===
{{main|Animated scripts#Fireworks script}}
Unicode fireworks that slowly explode on the canvas. The script was originally created by [[FP]] for less destructive purposes, but has since been exploited for spam. You can see it in action [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avAYxAhByzw here] at 1:00.
Like many other spam scripts, the firework script has also been ported to [[Your World of Text]] in black and white form.
<gallery widths="120" heights="120">
File:DisIsFuckinInsane.jpeg|Firework spam by an [[Anonymous users|anon]] called ourworldoftest
File:Fireworks spam ywot.png|Firework spam in YWOT on March 14th, 2023
File:Fireworks spam november 28 2025.png|By [[Ա]] on November 28th, 2025
</gallery>
=== PKK ===
=== PKK ===
{{main|PKK}}<gallery widths="120" heights="120">
File:Pkk 3.png|Flag spam pt. 1
File:Pkk 2.png|Flag spam pt. 2
File:Pkk 1.png|Scribble spam
File:Pkk 4.png|Flag spam pt. 3
File:Pkk note link spam.png|[[Links#Note links|Note links]] spam
</gallery>


<gallery widths="200" heights="180">
=== StormXXBoy ===
File:Pkk_3.png|link=https://wiki.ourworldoftext.com/wiki/File:Pkk_3.png
Known for advertising his website using rainbow colored spam.<gallery widths="120" heights="120">
File:Pkk_2.png|link=https://wiki.ourworldoftext.com/wiki/File:Pkk_2.png
File:Rainbow circle.gif|Circular spam''Sped up 16x'')
File:Pkk_1.png|link=https://wiki.ourworldoftext.com/wiki/File:Pkk_1.png
File:Stormxxboy message overwrite.png|Script that replaces text with links to StormXXBoy's website
File:Pkk_4.png|link=https://wiki.ourworldoftext.com/wiki/File:Pkk_4.png
</gallery>
=== "Only Gays Here" spam ===
<gallery heights="150" widths="350">
File:Onlygaysherespam2.png|April 26th, 2025
File:Onlygaysherespam.png
</gallery>
=== Emoji Spam ===
<gallery widths="120" heights="120">
File:Fp on emoji spam.png
File:Pika city emoji spam.png|Emoji spam covering [[Pika City]] on August 19th, 2025
File:Yellow emoji spam timelapse august 28 2025.gif|Emoji spam with a peculiar spreading pattern(''Sped up ~40x'')
File:Emoji spam stop spamming.png
</gallery>
 
=== SLC spam ===
Spam consisting of [[Symbols for Legacy Computing|SLC]] slopes which would spread in strange patterns.
 
These appeared throughout the first half of November 2025. Around the same time, the creator also created an [[image paster]] that utilized SLC slopes.
[[File:Spreading slc spam.gif|none|thumb|290x290px|Spreading in real time]]
 
<gallery widths="120" heights="120">
File:Spreading slc spam 1.png|"Glitch script"
File:Spreading slc spam 2.png|"Fungus script"
</gallery>
 
=== Blobfish spam ===
An onslaught of vaporeon image pastes that began appearing on November 11th, 2025. It spread rapidly over the following months, eventually covering over a hundred coordinates on all sides. [[FP]] took an active role in fighting this spam wave and dubbed it the "blobfish spam."<gallery widths="120" heights="120">
File:Blobfish november 12.png|November 12th, 2025
File:Blobfish november 12 2.png|200x200 coordinate screenshot by [[Realredtext-]](''November 12th, 2025'')
File:Blobfish november 13.png|November 13th, 2025
File:Blobfish november 18.png|500x500 coordinate screenshot by [[e_g.]](''November 18th, 2025'')
</gallery>
 
=== Pacman spam ===
{{Quote|quote=Whatever, go my pacmen|speaker=Anonymous message sent before each onslaught}}Spam from December 2025 which uses a [https://ourworldoftext.com/pacmanscript script] by gimmickCellar. Surprisingly, this wasn't the first time that a large amount of pacmen were released into Spawn.<gallery widths="250" heights="250">
File:Gimmickcellar pacman script 2.gif|December 8th, 2025(''Sped up 5x'')
File:Gimmickcellar pacman script 3.gif|December 8th, 2025(''Real time'')
File:Pacman duplication.gif|Pacmen from [[Mr. Black]]'s script being unleashed onto the canvas(''September 2024'')
</gallery>
</gallery>


=== Miscellaneous ===
=== Miscellaneous ===
<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
<gallery widths="200" heights="120" mode="packed">
File:Script experimentation.png|Miscellaneous script experimentation
File:Script experimentation.png|Miscellaneous script experimentation
File:DisIsFuckinInsane.jpeg|Firework spam by a anon called ourworldoftest
File:Langtons ant spam.png|[[wikipedia:Langton's_ant|Langton's ant]] script(''September 30th, 2024'')
File:Rainbow circle.gif|Circular spam by StormXXBoy(''Sped up 16x'')
File:Test server spawn november 24 2025.webp|The Spawn of OWOT's [https://test.ourworldoftext.com test server](''November 24th, 2025'')
File:Yellow emoji spam timelapse august 28 2025.gif|Emoji spam with a peculiar spreading pattern(''Sped up ~60x'')
File:Test server spam prohibit.png|Test server spam by Prohibit(''November 24th, 2025'')<ref>"''this caused ~718 unique constraint errors''" -  FP</ref>
</gallery><gallery mode="packed" heights="500" caption="Miscellaneous large-scale spam">
File:Black spam august 28 2025.jpg|Large amounts of spam over Spawn on August 28th, 2025
File:Sharty spam september 22 2025.png|Soyjak.party spam, extends ~80 coordinates up and down(''September 22nd, 2025'')(''Actually orchestrated by crystal.cafe'')
File:Test server spam prohibit 2.png|[[Large OWOT screenshots|Large screenshot]] of OWOT's test server(''November 24th, 2025'')  
</gallery>
</gallery>
== Notes ==
[[Category:Spam]]
[[Category:Spam]]
[[Category:Scripts]]
[[Category:Scripts]]
[[Category:Compilation pages]]

Latest revision as of 22:27, 11 December 2025

Spam is unwanted repetitive content intended to render a medium of communication useless for a period of time, or to cause annoyance to users.

Users throughout OWOT's history have complained about the overabundance of spam, which has almost always drowned out original content at Spawn. While spam is generally seen as inevitable, FP(the only active admin) is known to moderate it on a regular basis, undertaking actions such as: ratelimiting, color banning, or IP banning spammers, performing rollbacks to restore destroyed content, or updating the site's code in order to brick specific spam scripts. Despite this, dedicated spammers have generally been able to circumvent these measures and attack the site for prolonged periods of time.

On their part, regular users can fight spam by clearing it manually. They can also use a wiper script, though these are subject to abuse and tend not to be handed out freely. And while FP is the only admin on the OWOT Frontpage, several trusted users have been given the ability to perform rollbacks on /main using a tool known as the time machine.

Chat Spam

Rigged Poll

"Rigged Poll" is in reference to the World of the Day Poll, which was known for its lack of security and its tendency to have illegitimate votes favor one particular World of the Day candidate. Prior to the events leading to the poll's replacement with an automated ratings system, it was very easy for a single user or a small group of individuals to launch a Sybil attack on the poll by placing an "x" character next to the world name over the course of a few days. It was one of the duties of a front page member to protect each vote that gets added to the poll, as long as it's not obvious that somebody is trying to rig the votes. A frequent occurrence was also the removal of legitimate votes from the poll by users who did not originally vote for that world. This eventually leads to unpopular worlds receiving the World of the Day status. For most of the poll's history, the front page members did not regard the votes on the poll, hence the meaning of Rigged Poll.

The W Chat Spam

Spammers use these to clear the chat since it's a long character and can sometimes be more annoying if they spam each time with a different ID.

Canvas spam

This section contains documentation for common types of spam on the OWOT canvas, and also for notable spammers/instances of spam.

Road spam

Road spam
Last remnant of the road spam in 2025(the curve at the top was added by JRT)

In 2020, multiple different colored roads were pasted on the canvas that appear to lead to nowhere in particular. They would wind around randomly and go over each other, extending for hundreds of coordinates.

The damage done by the road spam was incredibly difficult to rollback due to its sheer scale, but FP was able to accomplish this in 2022 using a newly introduced time machine feature.

Black and white snapshot of the 2020 road spam
Before they were cleared, multicolored roads extended for hundreds of coordinates, forming a massive tangled mass around spawn.This image is a large snapshot of the mainpage from that era.

Replicator spam

Links that replicate themselves when clicked.

Replicator spam was a big issue during the early days of OWOT, being responsible for damaging thousands of coordinates of text.

A notable example of replicator spam from recent times is the Chess Pieces spam from 2023.

Particle spam

Image paste spam

Fireworks spam

Unicode fireworks that slowly explode on the canvas. The script was originally created by FP for less destructive purposes, but has since been exploited for spam. You can see it in action here at 1:00.

Like many other spam scripts, the firework script has also been ported to Your World of Text in black and white form.

PKK

StormXXBoy

Known for advertising his website using rainbow colored spam.

"Only Gays Here" spam

Emoji Spam

SLC spam

Spam consisting of SLC slopes which would spread in strange patterns.

These appeared throughout the first half of November 2025. Around the same time, the creator also created an image paster that utilized SLC slopes.

Spreading in real time

Blobfish spam

An onslaught of vaporeon image pastes that began appearing on November 11th, 2025. It spread rapidly over the following months, eventually covering over a hundred coordinates on all sides. FP took an active role in fighting this spam wave and dubbed it the "blobfish spam."

Pacman spam

"Whatever, go my pacmen" ― Anonymous message sent before each onslaught

Spam from December 2025 which uses a script by gimmickCellar. Surprisingly, this wasn't the first time that a large amount of pacmen were released into Spawn.

Miscellaneous

Notes

  1. "this caused ~718 unique constraint errors" - FP