Spam? (Or whatever it's called)

Indeed, I have blocked his IP address and removed him from the memberlist. I remove a couple every day although most don't go as far as posting.

Yith - would it be worth trying switching 'Enable account activation' to 'Admin' rather than 'User' for a trial period?

Since we are all on the forum then it wouldn't be much hassle to validate requests manually rather than a user self-validating and we should catch spammers before they cause problems - better than deleting after the event. And it's not like we have 200 new sign-ups a day to check, is it?

I've had a look at Anti-Spam ACP which may help but I suspect our problem is with manual sign-ups rather than Bots.

We did this on MVWF and it worked.

OK, I've switched it - let's see what happens...

No... absolutely not. Its a crap idea.

I've done this before and all it meant is that I got spammed rather than the site and that real honest users had restricted access.

I will sort something, but this is not the answer.

I will now switch it back.

Eh? What do you mean YOU get spammed?
All it means is that the spammer can't post until WE validate them.
Doesn't restrict 'honest' user's access in the slightest except that they can't post until we let them.
This forum is very porous - just ran a test today and bang it was straight in and posting, not good.

#1 Honest users can't access the forum until you allow it. This is a restriction.
#2 You get spammed by loads of new user account emails.
#3 It is impossible to tell which are spammers and which aren't until they've posted a spam post, so how can filtering them at the time of registration possibly help?

I have a better way in mind... I just need a bit of time to write it. Its going to be a specific modification to the forum and hence will work against spam robots perfectly and will not affect the operation of the forum for normal users.

1. We are not being hit by bots, these are manual spammers - most I've ever deleted is three per day, usually it is only one per day.
2. We have a slow and regular intake of new users.
3. It is easy to spot spammers - they usually add and ICQ number, have a link to a dodgy web site or have a .ru or unlikely email address.

While we wait for you to write your mod why not just turn on manual acceptance - I already delete the darm things every day so it is no hassle for ME to administer new members. NO work for YOU to do at all, I don't mind doing it.

Honest users CAN access the forum before acceptance, they just can't post until accepted - which MAY be a few hours, more probably much sooner - simple solution to a simple problem.

Sorry Dave... this site has to be inclusive, not exclusive.

I've personally in the past deleted an honest user from a forum thinking they're a spammer. I then met them face to face. To say he was pissed off was an understatement.

Lets not alienate our users.

Inclusive doesn't extend the automatic right for ANYONE (or anything) to POST on OUR forum.

Inclusive doesn't mean we allow pornographic or other nefarious activities to be advertised through OUR forum.

A manual authentication has NOTHING to do with alienation - spammers alienate forum users, authentication doesn't.

A manual authentication is SIMPLE and effective and can be done right now.

Manual authentication doesn't stop people viewing our forum, it doesn't stop people registering, all it does is delay their privilege to post by a few hours.

The fact that you deleted a real user from some forum in the past is neither here nor there - I don't want spammers and pornographers on my server or using our forum.

So tell me dave. How do you tell a real user from a spammer?

I've certainly never been able to tell the difference until they've posted.

Already did, ninth post 3rd point.

We have two problems:
One is the passive 'member' that has a web site link in his profile. This may be accessed by a curious other member but more importantly it is indexed by Google and adds to their Google rating by adding another external link plus it is a was of getting Google to index their web site.
Second is the active member that dumps posts in the forum either automatically or manually, advertising porn/investment/medicals (to which Headshot refered at the begining of this thread, Oldsweat saw several posted the other morning). Not only is this offensive it looks shabby on us too.

Both these problems can easily be solved by a manual activation, simple, quick and easy. If there is any doubt as to the potential member then obviously you authorise it (and deal with it if it later turns out to be dodgy). Case in point: latest member Bubi. Strange name which makes you look closer, no posts yet which may be an indication of a spammer but looking at the profile there is nothing untoward except a weird email address. So give it the benefit of the doubt until spam posting takes place in which case block the IP and remove the member.
On the other hand 'DrugsBuyNow' with an email address of skdsigv0@jdfnfi.ru and a web link to cheapviagra.ru and an ICQ number clearly is a spammer and gets no futher than an activation request.

We don't have a high traffic forum and it is very unlikely that we will have a barrage of spamming. It is so little work to check over members first before allowing them to post that I fail to see why you are objecting to it. If you are short of time then I have said I am happy to do it (hell, I have been doing it every day anyway).

Hmmm... I can see where you are going but I'm still not convinced there Dave...

I've been down this route before, tried the whole manual thing and all I got was lots and lots of emails from spammers trying to register. And when I say lots, I really mean LOTS!

I can stop the web addresses appearing in the user lists. I can make auto bans on names that contain dodgy wording. The fact is that these guys will still keep coming. I've tried it all.

The only sure way is to leave it open and have active moderating of the forums themselves. Otherwise all you can do is ban everybody from posting... just in case their a spammer.

Now what I actually plan on doing, when I get chance, is adding an extra question to registration. This will be "Why do you want to post on this forum?" A real user will fill it in sensibly, a spammer won't. Simple. We can make the item a required entry, which will stop most if not all spam bots. Then just watch out for users that post nonsense entries and ban 'em.

We don't have masses of registrations, maybe three per day max. and until such time as we are inundated I am perfectly happy to deal with it, just as I have been doing.

Yes, you could stop web addresses appearing on profiles - I find them interesting when they are included and would be a blunt instrument to deny all. And it helps folk with their Google listings.

The only sure way is to manually moderate - no-one is banned at all, I don't know why you keep saying that, there is just a delay before they can post.

If you do add an optional question (there are pre-written mods to just such, as you know) then the answer still has to be moderated unless you have a fixed required answer. Regardless, between now and you sorting this I would like to impliment this simple step of manual approval - if you are too busy to do it I have already said I will.

Oy vey. I wish I hadn't mentioned it now!

I just don't see how manual moderation helps at all.

A determined spammer will still get through.

However a perfectly innocent user is slowed down from accessing the forums.

Where is the fairness of that?

It just seems to me to be rather like the VCR Act... i.e. something that is done which incoveniences the innocent law abiding public, but which the criminal (in this case spammer) is maybe slightly incovenienced by, but by no means stopped.

Its just a waste of time... you'd be better off just checking the forums regularly for spam posts.

Oy vey. I wish I hadn't mentioned it now!

I'm with you !

bye-eck! Me and Chomley could argue for England you know!

FFS Yith, no pigging user is slowed down accessing the forums - they just can't post!!! For a couple of hours!!!!

I want to STOP anyone posting spam in the first place - a spammer CAN'T do that unless his account is activated.

THAT'S fair.

I just can't understand why you are arsing me about Richard.