Colleen is correct.

HU stands for 'Houzz User' and the numbers just dfferentiate between the various, usually new members to the site, who do not care to sign up with a typical screen or user name, as noted above.

Sometimes it may be a member who was previously deleted, and started a new account.

Makes sense. Thank you. HuKitchen is a favorite restaurant of mine for lunch in Manhattan. Every time I see 'HU' I want their AlmondButter chocolate bar, : )

It is easy to tell which is the spammer. They sign up. Focus on one section, such as cooking, then pull up and post to as many antique threads as they can, with a LINK to their spam site. A post for mashed potatoes will have a link to "Hey you can bake bread!" with a web address to their junk. If you go to their home page, they have no pictures, no comments, and only post to the spam of the day.

The new posters don't realize that they can give themselves a "real" screen name. GW, before Houzz, you had to pick a screen name.

This last time the 'usual' spammer' did give themselves a 'real screen name'. I can't remember what it was, I just hovered over the link to be sure it was what I thought it was, then flagged them. I pretty much knew when I saw so many old posts come alive.

So, when I flagged them, then commented "spammer is back" it didn't go away? Because it did for me on my computer...?

If you comment AND flag it will go away. If you just comment it won't.

Ah, I misunderstood. Thanks tigereye.

Two people have to flag a comment for it to be removed from a thread.

It may come back after the mods review it

Not if it is spam....one flag is all it takes :-)

Not true. I mark plenty of spam that just sits there until someone else comes along. That's why I often add a "spam" comment.

On second thought, perhaps there are different catagories of spam. Like the movie link spam vs the contractor in Podunk who posts his latest job. One can disappear on one flag, the other takes a second (or third).

I flag a lot of self-promoting spam threads on the Landscape Design forum and they disappear almost immediately. Same with any of the cooking or movie spammers. Now I have no way of knowing if anyone else flags them as well but the speed with which they vanish would indicate not. They certainly don't hang around!!

I think the Houzz 'powers that be' are very intent in keeping the forums spam-free.

I've flagged just a couple times. Once a few weeks ago early, like 3am here. Maybe 15-20 in a row obvious spam, not 'HU'. They went away immediately. I happened to catch them within a minute posting.

This is the best chocolate,

I flagged three from same company in the Furniture Forum yesterday. At least one is still there right now. (tufted furniture)

(Edited, two are still there)

FWIW, things might be returned after they're flagged, depending on moderator's judgement. I believe they go to a queue to be reviewed, and can be returned if mods decide they're not in violation.