Definition

Use of a network, product or service in a way that violates the provider’s terms of service, community guidelines, or other rules, generally because it creates or increases the risk of harm to a person or group or tends to undermine the purpose, function or quality of the service.

Related Terms

Terms of Service Violation, Platform Abuse, Technical Abuse, Network Abuse, Malicious Bot Activity, Spamming, Data Scraping, Denial of Service (DoS/DDoS).

Background

This category covers a range of technically abusive behaviours, including but not limited to Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against an instance, overwhelming the service with spam (content or account creation spam), unauthorised or malicious data scraping, and the abusive use of automated accounts (bots) for disruptive purposes.

While some forms of service abuse, like spam, are visible to moderators, others, like DDoS attacks or sophisticated data scraping, are typically detected and handled by service administrator, web host, or technical staff who monitor server performance and network traffic. Preventing and mitigating service abuse is crucial for maintaining the stability, usability, and security of an instance and the wider Fediverse.

Why We Care

Service Abuse can severely impact the availability, performance, and trustworthiness of a Fediverse instance and, in some cases, the broader network. Activities like DDoS attacks can render a service unusable for all its members. Spamming degrades the user experience and can overwhelm valuable content. Malicious data scraping can violate user privacy and enable further abuse. Uncontrolled bot activity can disrupt conversations and strain server resources.

Addressing service abuse helps ensure the platform remains stable, secure, functional, and enjoyable for genuine users, and protects the resources of the service provider.

Spotting Service Abuse: What to Look For

Identification of service abuse can range from obvious (e.g., massive spam floods) to highly technical (e.g., detecting a DDoS attack’s traffic patterns or covert scraping).

Account Traits: Multiple accounts created rapidly, often with generic or nonsensical profiles or common spam usernames, posting similar or identical content. Bot accounts might exhibit unnaturally fast or repetitive posting patterns, or lack human-like interaction when engaged.

Content Characteristics: Unsolicited, repetitive, often commercial or deceptive messages posted in large volumes. Content might be off-topic, include malicious links, or aim to scam users.

Posting Patterns: High frequency of posts from specific accounts or IP ranges. Identical or near-identical messages appearing across many different threads or communities. For other abuses like DDoS or scraping, patterns are typically observed in network traffic or server logs by administrators.

Behaviour (General):

• Spamming: Persistent, high-volume posting of unsolicited content.
• Malicious Bot Activity: Automated accounts used for harassment, spreading disinformation, artificially inflating engagement, or other disruptive activities beyond benign, disclosed automation.
• Data Scraping: Accounts systematically and rapidly accessing and collecting large amounts of user profile data or posts in a way that seems automated and non-consensual (though usually a server-side detection).
• DDoS/DoS Attacks: Instance becomes very slow, unresponsive, or completely unavailable.

Key Questions for Assessment:

• “Is an account or group of accounts posting an excessive volume of unsolicited, repetitive, or off-topic content?”
• “Does an account exhibit clear signs of being an undisclosed or malicious bot, engaging in disruptive automated behaviour?”
• “Is the service experiencing significant slowdowns or outages that administrators attribute to malicious traffic?”
• “Are there reports or evidence of systematic, unauthorised scraping of user data from the platform?”
• “Does the activity clearly violate specific clauses in the Terms of Service regarding resource use, automated access, or system integrity?”

Before You Act: Common Pitfalls & Nuances

Distinguishing malicious service abuse from legitimate high activity or poorly configured benign bots is important.

• Legitimate Activity: A popular instance or a viral post can generate very high traffic and activity, distinct from a malicious DDoS attack.
• Benign Bots: Many useful bots exist on the Fediverse. Policies usually require bots to be clearly identified and to operate responsibly, respecting API limits and not spamming. Service abuse occurs when bots are malicious, undisclosed, or abusive.
• Accusations of Scraping: Not all data access is malicious scraping. Federation itself involves data exchange. Malicious scraping refers to large-scale, unauthorised collection for harmful or privacy-violating purposes. See Web Crawlers and Scrapers.
• Common Gotchas:
  • Trying to personally “fight” a DDoS attack (this is for admins/ISPs).
  • Banning accounts for spam one-by-one during a massive spam wave without also alerting admins who might have tools for bulk removal or IP blocking.
  • Confusing a poorly written but well-intentioned script/bot with a malicious one without investigation.

Key Point: Service Abuse is about actions that technically or operationally harm the service or its users, violating ToS regarding how the platform can be used. Response often requires technical intervention by service administrators or web hosts.

Managing Suspected Service Abuse: Key Steps

Response depends heavily on the type of abuse and often involves Service Administrators.

For Spam/Malicious Bots (Moderator Actions):

• Remove Spam Content: Delete spam posts and messages.
• Ban Spam/Bot Accounts: Suspend or ban accounts clearly engaged in spamming or malicious bot activity.
• Report to Administrators: Alert Service Administrators to large-scale spam attacks or sophisticated bot activity, as they may have tools for IP blocking, rate limiting, or broader mitigation.

For DDoS Attacks (Primarily Administrator Actions):

• Service Administrators work to identify attack vectors and mitigate them, often involving upstream network providers or specialised DDoS mitigation services.
• Moderators can help by communicating service status to users (if directed) and managing community discussion around the outage.

For Malicious Data Scraping (Primarily Administrator Actions):

• Service Administrators may implement technical measures to detect and block scrapers (e.g., rate limiting, IP blocking, analysing access patterns).
• Policies on data access should be clear in the ToS.

General Steps:

• Consult ToS: Refer to your instance’s Terms of Service, which should outline prohibited technical abuses.
• Discuss with Team: Moderators should coordinate with each other and relevant administrators.
• Implement Preventative Measures: Service administrators should aim to implement technical measures to prevent common forms of service abuse where possible (e.g., robust registration checks, API rate limits, DDoS protection).

Example Community Guidance

Strike System: “Minor infractions related to irresponsible bot behaviour or accidental ToS violations might receive a warning. Deliberate spamming or malicious technical abuse will lead to immediate bans.”

General Prohibition (in Terms of Service): “Users must not engage in any activity that disrupts, degrades, or compromises the security or performance of the service. This includes, but is not limited to, distributing spam, participating in Denial of Service attacks, unauthorised data scraping, or operating malicious or undisclosed automated accounts (bots) that violate our bot policy.”

Strict Enforcement: “Engaging in activities such as DDoS attacks, persistent spamming, or malicious botting will result in immediate and permanent bans, and may be reported to law enforcement or relevant network abuse centres. Service Administrators reserve the right to implement technical measures to block or mitigate any perceived service abuse.”