DVDxR/BLOG raises some very valid points about the recently launched Twitter Blacklist. The main complaint is that the use of the Following:Followers ratio is not enough and, as a result, non-spammers are getting caught in the list. So what needs to be added to the formula? From the DVDxR BLOG post:
While I agree that a blacklist of twitter-spammers is a good thing, probably approaching necessary, some logic other than just an arbitrary ratio of followers needs to be used to determine who is a spammer and who is just trying to get the most out of twitter. A more indepth analysis of tweets is needed, and without some other info (such as Blocked stats for users) it probably can’t be automated. The only tell-tale way to tag a spammer would be to look at links in tweets, but how to do you sort out the spammers from the Scobleizers or mashables?
I still think the best set of criteria for what defines someone worth following on Twitter comes from none other than Merlin Mann. These suggestions were actually suggestions for additions to the Profile page but maybe they could be reworked for a spammer detection algorithm.
