Linux Format forums

Re: Members only forum?

M-Saunders — Thu Jun 16, 2005 5:15 pm

Author: M-Saunders

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 5:15 pm

Yep, grrr! But I'm tallying it up and working out the best bans to implement. Most spam posts in the last few days have been from the same range -- let's see what happens after I do this...

M

Re: Members only forum?

M0PHP — Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:12 pm

Author: M0PHP

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:12 pm

Once again, thursday afternoon, more guest-posted spam

RE: Re: RE: Members only forum?

hairymunky — Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:09 pm

Author: hairymunky

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:09 pm

Yes. Most forums I visit nowadays (even if its just for one question), make you register before you can post. I suppose it cuts out on email farming, spam, and idiots just posting a load of gobble-de-gook!
I would go with members-only posting, but allow all surfers to read posts (allowing googlers to read advice already available)...

RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Members only forum?

towy71 — Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:39 pm

Author: towy71

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:39 pm

I too would prefer anonymous posting for help, for all the reasons formerly stated but on the day I started the thread there were quite a few and I thought we should at least alk about it.
I would hate to have any of our freedoms taken away!
Dick

Re: RE: Re: RE: Members only forum?

nordle — Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:06 pm

Author: nordle

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:06 pm

M-Saunders wrote:

Weeellllllll... Yesterday and today I've been going through all the recent spam, plucking out the IPs and narrowing it down. Most junk posts of late have come from the same IP block; this is now banned, along with a few others. Hopefully it'll keep the level down for now, and I'll be keeping on top of it from here onwards.

Anonymous posting is tremendously useful for newcomers and emergencies, so hopefully we can keep it and make sure the forums remain clutter-free at the same time!

Mike (Site Ed)

Nice one Mike! Trying to keep anon posting for as long as possible has got to be the way.

Maybe the beefy new servers could send DOS's down the line at any IP which spams and take it down

(I'm of course kidding)

RE: Re: RE: Members only forum?

nelz — Tue Jun 14, 2005 9:16 pm

Author: nelz

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 9:16 pm

Not all the spam is in Chinese characters. There have been quite a few with lists of links to online gaming sites.

RE: Re: RE: Members only forum?

Flea — Tue Jun 14, 2005 7:50 pm

Author: Flea

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 7:50 pm

Is it not possible to create a script on the server that deletes (or denies posting) any messages containing Chinese/eastern characters? I seriously doubt anyone here will be able to help a genuine post written in Chinese anyway!

Re: Members only forum?

evilnick — Tue Jun 14, 2005 6:11 pm

Author: evilnick

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 6:11 pm

I would like a members-only forum to be the very last resort. For all the reasons mentioned so far, I think that the help forum should be accessible to everyone.
the other forums do require registration, so it's just the one place that spam can turn up. Although it is annoying, it's hardly at epidemic levels at the moment. Rest assured we will be looking out for it, and blocking off the site from transgressors.

Re: RE: Members only forum?

Marrea — Tue Jun 14, 2005 5:22 pm

Author: Marrea

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 5:22 pm

nelz wrote:

sjeapes wrote:

It seems a little unfair to make people have to register to ask a question.

It does, but so does making people wade through a bunch of spam. So does reducing the likelihood of your question being answered because it appeared between two spam posts so the person with the answer didn't see it.

Unfortunately, life is not fair, so it is a question of picking the least unfair approach.

Unfortunately it is a fact of modern life that so often the law-abiding majority have to suffer because of the actions of the idiot minority. Very, very sad. And it really upsets me that a fantastic resource like the Internet is open to so much abuse by weirdos or those all too willing to take advantage of the more trusting members of society. Let's face it, they only need one or two people to click on a link to a bogus bank site ...

Re: Members only forum?

nelz — Tue Jun 14, 2005 4:37 pm

Author: nelz

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 4:37 pm

M0PHP wrote:

User registration with those human-checking images where you have to type in what's displayed in the graphic will prevent automated sign-ups.

As well as effectively blocking anyone with a text-only browser.

Re: Members only forum?

youlikeicecream — Tue Jun 14, 2005 4:03 pm

Author: youlikeicecream

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 4:03 pm

The day my email account at work was created, before I had a chance to tell anyone what it was ... i had spam from Africa : 'Someone died with the same name as you, we want to recover the funds..." was the general message !! Can't we just round 'em up and blow their 'brains' out

Mike

Re: Members only forum?

M-Saunders — Tue Jun 14, 2005 3:37 pm

Author: M-Saunders

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 3:37 pm

Well, we've only had one spam since yesterday evening -- could just be a quiet day in JunkMailVille, or the plan is working. Let's see!

M

Re: Members only forum?

Nigel — Tue Jun 14, 2005 3:33 pm

Author: Nigel

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 3:33 pm

I keep getting frustrated by the Experts Exchange site as well

I certainly wouldn't want to exclude guests from reading the forum, but posting... I can see where Nelz, Mike, Flea et al are coming from, and if the idiots can be kept off by other means then that's great.

Perhaps if the problem persists, guest posting could be disabled temporarily, say for a month, and hopefully the idiots will have moved on elsewhere by the time it's re-enabled.

Re: Members only forum?

youlikeicecream — Tue Jun 14, 2005 3:12 pm

Author: youlikeicecream

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 3:12 pm

I have always relied on being able to search in google or similiar for help to a problem ... I always get that bloody Experts exchange site, which only shows you the problem and then makes you pay a premium for a solution. Although those weirdos keep putting annoying chinese links on the forum.

Maybe only registered members should be allowed to post, but guests can read?

Mike

Re: Members only forum?

M0PHP — Tue Jun 14, 2005 3:09 pm

Author: M0PHP

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 3:09 pm

User registration with those human-checking images where you have to type in what's displayed in the graphic will prevent automated sign-ups.