19 replies to this topic

[Ash]

Earlier on, a frequent member (possibly staffer, I didn't take time to notice) noticed a post from a bot. Said member asked: "Why the hell did you link to sites to buy drugs?"

I deleted the post, so I think it warrants an explanation to you guys:

You got hit by a spam bot. They seem to periodically post their shite here and there to advertise either p0rn, buying prescription medicines, or just generally to be a pain in the ass.

You can usually spot them by having the post-header picture as a . There's one sure-fire way to get rid: To turn guest posting off. Now, tis up to you whether you do that, but yeah...if you get any weird posts like that, just delete 'em. If I find 'em first, I'll kill 'em for ya.

[Malkor]

Yes, and this isn't the only place I know that is having them.

I recommend -

Disabling guest posting.

Banning their IP's.

It's also known that some of them aren't actually bots, but people hired to do that, and thus they can get by some registration countermeasures.

[Mastermind]

We already have a CAPTCHA system in place for guest posts, so that helps deter some. If you disable guest posting they simply register accounts and post. Banning the IPs doesn't really work, as they tend to use proxies, and a wide variety of other means to hide their origin. Believe me, we've been dealing with them for quite some time, and have already enacted about the highest level of protection we can without unduly inconveniencing legitimate users.

[Malkor]

Yeah. It kinda sucks when they go through those kind of lengths just to post that crap. It's unfortunate you can't find out their ISP, and report them to authorities.

[Ash]

Very few bots actually register, tho. In fact, exceedingly few. I've yet to have a single bot in the RPG Guild, and the CNC Guild hasn't seen one yet, despite the fact it's the most popular division here and has references to it all over the Internet.

It's the call of the division admin what they wanna do. I'm just pointing out that that's what happened.

[eyeballpaul]

cheers paradox...that was actually myself that posted a reply...

just a pain, but I can see that it would be hard to stop...

[thudo]

I would REALLY to see guest posting stopped. Having someone anonymously posting to a private forum exclusive to a specific project is just a no-go. I need to see who people are so we can ensure we understand whom we are talking with.

[eyeballpaul]

ye agree..would be good to have it off....i posted as a guest once by mistake....i did use my real forum name tho....

[Malkor]

Not registering is just simply being lazy. I highly doubt revora will send any spam and if you use Gmail like I do then it filters it all quite intelligently, regardless. It takes ten seconds to register and then that's it.

[eyeballpaul]

ye I dont receive any spam and I have registered on a few dawn of war forums....for the sake of a few seconds...and then if you post a lot, you also get to know the folk on the forums as well....bonus.

[Ash]

I would REALLY to see guest posting stopped. Having someone anonymously posting to a private forum exclusive to a specific project is just a no-go. I need to see who people are so we can ensure we understand whom we are talking with.

You're the admin of this division...you can set it up so that guest posting is off, and the NLs can't say boo to you.

[thudo]

Thanks! Done!

Although I want new people to be able see the forums just NOT post as guests.. I always wanted people to be visible when chatting with us.

[eyeballpaul]

braw...

[Zulgaines]

Fight the man! *Makes a new account named Guest and distributes the password*

[Ash]

lol

Yes you can do that. Just set it so guests can view, but remove any posting abilities in this area.

All of RPG Guild has that setup.

I think the account name 'Guest' is either disallowed, or has already been taken.

[Zulgaines]

Sigh. Beaten by my arch nemeses, logic, again. One day I'll win.

[Corsix]

I'll bet Gu3st , Gue5t, G|_|est, etc aren't taken

[thudo]

Done! Now guests can view the general forums and threads BUT cannot post/reply. Thanks Paradox! But damn... that board admin stuff is killer.. amazing to see how far we've gone from the dialup BBS days of the 80s/early 90s!