Context
Hi team 👋
We recently noticed a few spam issues filed against OpenSearch-Dashboards — specifically #11884, #11885, and #11886 — all opened by the same new account within minutes. Each one was just the default bug template submitted with no content filled in.
This is a minor nuisance today, but it could become a bigger problem if not addressed, especially for maintainers who spend time triaging.
Suggestions
I wanted to open a friendly discussion on a few ideas that might help:
1. YAML Issue Forms with required fields
Converting our markdown issue templates to YAML issue forms would let us mark key fields (like bug description and reproduction steps) as required. GitHub enforces this client-side, so empty template submissions would no longer be possible. This is probably the highest-impact, lowest-effort improvement.
2. Org-level interaction limits during spam waves
GitHub supports temporary interaction limits that can restrict issue creation to existing users or prior contributors for 24 hours, 3 days, or 6 months. This could be useful as a quick response tool when a spam wave hits.
3. GitHub Actions workflow for auto-labeling new account issues
A lightweight Actions workflow could automatically label issues from very new accounts (e.g., created < 7 days ago) with something like needs-review, giving maintainers a heads-up without blocking legitimate new contributors.
What do you think?
I am not suggesting we make it harder for new community members to participate — that is the last thing we want! Just looking for a good balance between keeping things open and reducing noise for maintainers.
Would love to hear thoughts from the admin team and other maintainers. Happy to help with implementation if any of these ideas sound useful. 🙂
References
Context
Hi team 👋
We recently noticed a few spam issues filed against OpenSearch-Dashboards — specifically #11884, #11885, and #11886 — all opened by the same new account within minutes. Each one was just the default bug template submitted with no content filled in.
This is a minor nuisance today, but it could become a bigger problem if not addressed, especially for maintainers who spend time triaging.
Suggestions
I wanted to open a friendly discussion on a few ideas that might help:
1. YAML Issue Forms with required fields
Converting our markdown issue templates to YAML issue forms would let us mark key fields (like bug description and reproduction steps) as required. GitHub enforces this client-side, so empty template submissions would no longer be possible. This is probably the highest-impact, lowest-effort improvement.
2. Org-level interaction limits during spam waves
GitHub supports temporary interaction limits that can restrict issue creation to existing users or prior contributors for 24 hours, 3 days, or 6 months. This could be useful as a quick response tool when a spam wave hits.
3. GitHub Actions workflow for auto-labeling new account issues
A lightweight Actions workflow could automatically label issues from very new accounts (e.g., created < 7 days ago) with something like
needs-review, giving maintainers a heads-up without blocking legitimate new contributors.What do you think?
I am not suggesting we make it harder for new community members to participate — that is the last thing we want! Just looking for a good balance between keeping things open and reducing noise for maintainers.
Would love to hear thoughts from the admin team and other maintainers. Happy to help with implementation if any of these ideas sound useful. 🙂
References