Spammers...sorry guys!

[jjrpilot-admin]

I went to see a movie and when I got back one person had created almost 25 fake accounts.  I'm sorry guys.  I banned him and like usual blocked his IP address.

How do we stop this?  Is there anything I can do to be proactive to stop these jerks?

[cjd-player]

Josh, on the Lets Talk Guild forum registration is not automatic.  A person desiring "admission" must e-mail the owner to request inclusion.  That requires a brief statement about why the person wants to join the forum.  If approved, then the owner lets the person in.  So there may be a couple-day waiting period before admission is granted.

Not foolproof, and more work for you, but it seems to work well there to keep out most of the riffraff.

[BigSkyTaylorPlayer]

Yes, I have had trouble joining forums BC of the registration process that involved several emails and verifications and such but I think the forum is able to keep the spammers away that way.  It was kind of a pain at the time but I understand why they do it and so I compiled with the rules to get registered.  It was very difficult for me to get an account at AGF at first BC of that.

Hey, speaking of that, this is my qualifying Jr. Member post.........

[jjrpilot-admin]

I changed the registration process to include email verification.  Definitely not fool proof but it's also not instant registration either.  We'll try that...

[Steely Glen]

Birds and Moons, the Unofficial Paul Reed Smith forum, has an email application process similar to the one described above. 

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

Unless you change to an email approval system you cant stop them. The problem with forums that require permission to join is that it turns a lot of people off so you end up with a tight knit group, a clique if you will of single minded members who will quickly take over. One of the reasons the AGF got so big is because anyone can join so the forum offers lots of different opinions, while forums like the UMGF with their by approval only memberships are less welcoming. My advice is just to keep an eye on it.

BTW, 25 user names? What were they selling?

[DMBfan41]

I changed the registration process to include email verification.  Definitely not fool proof but it's also not instant registration either.  We'll try that...

Good deal.  IMO, making it any more complicated to join might discourage folks from signing up.  You can control spammers.

[Cindy]

What were they selling?

   

[Cindy]

Ted, many of the posts weren't even readable. They had embedded links but nothing coherent.

[jjrpilot-admin]

Unless you change to an email approval system you cant stop them. The problem with forums that require permission to join is that it turns a lot of people off so you end up with a tight knit group, a clique if you will of single minded members who will quickly take over. One of the reasons the AGF got so big is because anyone can join so the forum offers lots of different opinions, while forums like the UMGF with their by approval only memberships are less welcoming. My advice is just to keep an eye on it.

BTW, 25 user names? What were they selling?

They were selling jerseys etc.  The new member doesn't get approved by me or anyone else...the email verification is just one step to prevent immediate registration then immediate spamming.

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

Actually I wasn't talking about email verification, I was referring to an actual approval by email system. Some sites like the UMGF require you contact them to be approved to post. Back when I joined I got approved pretty quickly but I hear now it can take a while and a few of my clients have literally given up on them.

[jjrpilot-admin]

Actually I wasn't talking about email verification, I was referring to an actual approval by email system. Some sites like the UMGF require you contact them to be approved to post. Back when I joined I got approved pretty quickly but I hear now it can take a while and a few of my clients have literally given up on them.

That will never happen here.    

[bo1142]

Thanks for keeping them at bay Josh.  I know it's alot of work, and I appreciate it.

[DMBfan41]

Ted, many of the posts weren't even readable. They had embedded links but nothing coherent.

Like some of the papers I wrote in college .

[jjrpilot-admin]

Well good news...having the email verification seems to be stemming the tide of spammers.  As the admin of this site, I can see how many accounts were created...and see how many are "pending"...waiting on their email verification.  This morning...we had 18...and all spam accounts.  I took great JOY in deleting those accounts.   

I also went through our member list and deleted all the spammers' accounts.  (I have to block them...delete their posts...and then go back and delete the account.) 

Whew!  Looks like we're all caught up!

Thank you all for reporting the spam!  It helps so much!