Fake member explosion? - Page 2

roy bates · 24 November 2011, 22:45

to be honest if i was joining now,i wouldent mind one question to gain access to the wealth and freindlyness(if theres such a word)of eab.

RCK · 16 December 2011, 00:15

Updated to: What is this forum about ? (single word)

MrCheese · 16 December 2011, 14:02

Carbon based unit here and a recent member. Just thought I would post this and giggle at the legitimate use of the word member. I had a forum question when I joined up, something like "What is this forum about". Good anti spam idea. Some sites show a picture and you have to select what it is from a few radio buttons e.g. picture of cat, choice of dog, cat, sheep, fish. Or you can have "What is the missing letter "Amga", with the answer in this case being i.

Graham Humphrey · 16 December 2011, 14:30

We're still getting a few spammers through (I've killed one off just now, for instance) but the number registering has dropped significantly recently, so something appears to be working

Graham Humphrey · 16 January 2012, 15:05

Looks like the spambots are getting through thick and fast once more

Just today I've caught and banned six that have signed up... a quick look at the members list reveals that the actual number is likely to be many more than that.

pmc · 16 January 2012, 15:19

Is it maybe possible to add one of those "type the letters you can see displayed as graphics in the box above" type things - not sure what the proper name for those is.

Yes they can be annoying but I'm guessing they're pretty effective at stopping bot sign up?

Synthesize Me · 16 January 2012, 19:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by pmc

Is it maybe possible to add one of those "type the letters you can see displayed as graphics in the box above" type things - not sure what the proper name for those is.

Yes they can be annoying but I'm guessing they're pretty effective at stopping bot sign up?

I think you are talking about a CAPTCHA, the only problem with these is that there is software out there that can actually read and type in the text automatically.. I personally think the "What is the model number of the first Amiga released?" question is a great solution. If you are new to the Amiga then you can easily find out the answer within a minute by Wiki'ing it.

Galahad/FLT · 16 January 2012, 20:39

i dunno, you need to not be too harsh with the questions.

I went onto Amiga.org to look for something yesterday, and I consider myself pretty Amiga knowledgeable, yet I struggled over some of the questions!

FOL · 16 January 2012, 20:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

i dunno, you need to not be too harsh with the questions.

I went onto Amiga.org to look for something yesterday, and I consider myself pretty Amiga knowledgeable, yet I struggled over some of the questions!

Aye, I could'nt get in (to amigaworld I think) cause I didnt know the certain spelling of billy's surname.

It put me off.

Ian · 16 January 2012, 21:02

The problem is that these days it's actually people creating the accounts. So all the captcha systems are pretty much useless.

There are plenty of spamblock hacks for vbulletin, some of which consult the known spammers list and some that use various different variations of captcha.

Best solution for a board this size is to make only one forum accessible for zero posters and moderate all post in there.

Any spam will be stopped before us "normal" people see it and the mods should then ban the account through the modcp.

Then when RCK has a spare few seconds he can just permanently ban all those accounts or he could assign it to his most trusted mod and give them limited admin rights.

StingRay · 16 January 2012, 23:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian

Best solution for a board this size is to make only one forum accessible for zero posters and moderate all post in there.

Good idea indeed!

pmc · 17 January 2012, 09:03

Seconded.

Sounds like a good effective solution to me.

Nice one Ian

RCK · 30 January 2012, 12:44

yup, it's a good idea !

what about this, zero poster member would be in a "new member" group that could only see "Member Introductions" forum with moderation active like "news" forum.
If real human post are validated, their post number would grow up to 1 and then EAB will move them to normal 'register' usergroup, without restriction.

Amiga1992 · 30 January 2012, 12:51

But then people will be complaining that they don't see the rest of the board. It could turn people off to force them to post in the introduction section.

I have seen this implemented by force in other forums and it didn't work really well. People get angry when you constrain them :P

RCK · 30 January 2012, 12:53

We can show the other forums in read only

Or better, let's close new inscription and make the board invite only

cosmicfrog · 30 January 2012, 13:35

blimey 2 posts from rck in the same day \o/

what ever gets rid of the bots works for me

Amiga1992 · 30 January 2012, 14:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCK

We can show the other forums in read only

Or better, let's close new inscription and make the board invite only

Haha!

Well as always do what you think is best, but I believe forcing people to introduce themselves first might not work really well with some people who will bitch about it endlessly :/

If I get this correctly, this all depends on admin moderation anyway, right? So, is there a system like Wordpress's Akismet that checks posts for them being spammy? If such system existed, said posts would be flagged for admin approval and then the admin can see if it's spam or not and act accordingly.

You could also make this even more precise and only have it work with new users, so the system doesn't go and check for every damned post being made on the board.

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24 November 2011, 22:45	#21
roy bates Registered User Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: birmingham Age: 55 Posts: 2,827	to be honest if i was joining now,i wouldent mind one question to gain access to the wealth and freindlyness(if theres such a word)of eab.

16 December 2011, 00:15	#22
RCK Administrator Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Paris / France Age: 45 Posts: 3,084	Updated to: What is this forum about ? (single word)

16 December 2011, 14:02	#23
MrCheese Registered User Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Manchester Posts: 91	Carbon based unit here and a recent member. Just thought I would post this and giggle at the legitimate use of the word member. I had a forum question when I joined up, something like "What is this forum about". Good anti spam idea. Some sites show a picture and you have to select what it is from a few radio buttons e.g. picture of cat, choice of dog, cat, sheep, fish. Or you can have "What is the missing letter "Amga", with the answer in this case being i.

16 December 2011, 14:30	#24
Graham Humphrey Moderator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK Age: 37 Posts: 11,167	We're still getting a few spammers through (I've killed one off just now, for instance) but the number registering has dropped significantly recently, so something appears to be working

16 January 2012, 15:05	#25
Graham Humphrey Moderator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK Age: 37 Posts: 11,167	Looks like the spambots are getting through thick and fast once more Just today I've caught and banned six that have signed up... a quick look at the members list reveals that the actual number is likely to be many more than that.

16 January 2012, 15:19	#26
pmc gone Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: completely gone Posts: 1,596	Is it maybe possible to add one of those "type the letters you can see displayed as graphics in the box above" type things - not sure what the proper name for those is. Yes they can be annoying but I'm guessing they're pretty effective at stopping bot sign up?

16 January 2012, 20:39	#28
Galahad/FLT Going nowhere Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: United Kingdom Age: 50 Posts: 8,986	i dunno, you need to not be too harsh with the questions. I went onto Amiga.org to look for something yesterday, and I consider myself pretty Amiga knowledgeable, yet I struggled over some of the questions!

16 January 2012, 21:02	#30
Ian Global Moderator Join Date: May 2001 Location: Derby, UK Age: 46 Posts: 2,287	The problem is that these days it's actually people creating the accounts. So all the captcha systems are pretty much useless. There are plenty of spamblock hacks for vbulletin, some of which consult the known spammers list and some that use various different variations of captcha. Best solution for a board this size is to make only one forum accessible for zero posters and moderate all post in there. Any spam will be stopped before us "normal" people see it and the mods should then ban the account through the modcp. Then when RCK has a spare few seconds he can just permanently ban all those accounts or he could assign it to his most trusted mod and give them limited admin rights.

17 January 2012, 09:03	#32
pmc gone Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: completely gone Posts: 1,596	Seconded. Sounds like a good effective solution to me. Nice one Ian

30 January 2012, 12:44	#33
RCK Administrator Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Paris / France Age: 45 Posts: 3,084	yup, it's a good idea ! what about this, zero poster member would be in a "new member" group that could only see "Member Introductions" forum with moderation active like "news" forum. If real human post are validated, their post number would grow up to 1 and then EAB will move them to normal 'register' usergroup, without restriction.

30 January 2012, 12:51	#34
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,645	But then people will be complaining that they don't see the rest of the board. It could turn people off to force them to post in the introduction section. I have seen this implemented by force in other forums and it didn't work really well. People get angry when you constrain them :P

30 January 2012, 12:53	#35
RCK Administrator Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Paris / France Age: 45 Posts: 3,084	We can show the other forums in read only Or better, let's close new inscription and make the board invite only

30 January 2012, 13:35	#36
cosmicfrog The 1 who ribbits Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: leek, Staffs, UK Age: 56 Posts: 3,557	blimey 2 posts from rck in the same day \o/ what ever gets rid of the bots works for me

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