I Have A really Bad Feeling That Something Is Coming Down!

[Earl]

I can also get rather passionate about certain issues; "passionate" being a slightly more graceful term for "pissed off". When it comes to avoiding swearing, I think we have to hand the gold medal to our good friend Earl - I haven't actually seen him use one single word that I'd consider a proper swear word towards another person on this forum.

Thanks for the compliment, i_like_1981. I must admit, though, that I've lost my temper online about seven times at different websites (including once in this forum over a year ago). At A2K I once called kuvasz a jerk (before I apologized to him, that is). If I remember correctly, on one of the first few pages of the "Welcome Sports Haters" thread, I referred to him as "that jerk coach." As I've personally discovered, the problem with getting angry in a website's forum and losing your temper is that your intellect is partially disengaged by the force of emotion so you're not able to make a more convincing argument or respond with a probing question that makes the other poster think. Just speaking for myself here. In other words, when you lose your temper, you often fail to get your point across. (In this context my use of the words "you" and "your" is editorial. But I guess you figured that out as you read this. )

Roughly 40 more new members as of today.

(A warm welcome to the one or two who are legitimate. )

Yeah, I've noticed. What I don't understand is why these many new members with spammish usernames whose intent, I'm sure, is to spam just register and then don't post at all. Are they waiting for orders from their superiors or employers? Are they just sitting here, waiting to strike when told? I don't get it.

[i_like_1981]

Has anyone else seen how much the members list has grown by? All of this has happened without me realising it, but one glance at that members number sure made my eyes pop a bit! I think it is time to purge the Members list of spammers again, and an upgrade to the forum registration procedure would also be a good idea (if it's possible).

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[recovering_fan]

Has anyone else seen how much the members list has grown by? All of this has happened without me realising it, but one glance at that members number sure made my eyes pop a bit! I think it is time to purge the Members list of spammers again, and an upgrade to the forum registration procedure would also be a good idea (if it's possible).

Best regards,
i_like_1981

Yes, and it's freakin' annoying.

Of those members with no posts whose membership numbers are above 200, the only ones who look legitimate are: #542, Rocky Lyman; #452, iamhereforsport; and (possibly) #212, Victoria101, although she was only here for 4 minutes after registering.

As far the other recently-arrived no-post blunders are concerned, it may be time for another purge.

Isn't there some way we can screen these people/bots? Fortunately it hasn't progressed to the point yet where they are arriving faster than we can delete them.

Thanks,
RF

PS--There are some people (like miketv) with membership numbers above 200 who have posted a lot, so hopefully whoever prosecutes the purge will take care to spare them.

[i_like_1981]

Isn't there some way we can screen these people/bots? Fortunately it hasn't progressed to the point yet where they are arriving faster than we can delete them.

Last year, in the aftermath of the 4chan raids, the registration procedure was set to "Admin Approval" after being completely shut off for a while - Skul had to check the new user information and approve the account before it could be activated and used. I actually argued for this to be lifted, as I recall HugeFanOfBadReligion, who has gone on to be a good long-term member of this website, had an account rejected due to the heightened security procedures. No new members were signing up. However, I think a repeat of that increased security may be necessary, because we are getting an awful lot of spam now. I've never seen so many spam accounts made. I'm surprised you were able to read through all of them and pick out the ones who were likely to be genuine people.

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[recovering_fan]

However, I think a repeat of that increased security may be necessary, because we are getting an awful lot of spam now. I've never seen so many spam accounts made. I'm surprised you were able to read through all of them and pick out the ones who were likely to be genuine people.

I really just read the names, and I didn't even read all of those.

Eventually one's mind just starts skipping over the ones with names like "jkl345", doesn't it?

Yes, I agree with your proposal. I don't really think anything is "coming down", but the spam is annoying, and there are simply so many accounts now that using the "Members" list to find any of the newer members is really becoming impossible. Now, I ain't Josef Stalin. I'm the sort of guy who would never even tread on an ant if he saw it walking alone, but carpenter-ant infestations are another matter !

--RF

[miketv]

I think I was "screened" at login the other day...I got a message saying that I had failed to successfully log in too many times (even though I hadn't failed at all... it was my first try), & I had to solve THE WORST captcha I've ever seen on the internet. (Those 6's, B's, 8's & S's all look identical). Anyway, I'm back in, so I just wanted to thank whoever made that possible. I swear I'm not a robot...

[i_like_1981]

I think I was "screened" at login the other day...I got a message saying that I had failed to successfully log in too many times (even though I hadn't failed at all... it was my first try), & I had to solve THE WORST captcha I've ever seen on the internet. (Those 6's, B's, 8's & S's all look identical). Anyway, I'm back in, so I just wanted to thank whoever made that possible. I swear I'm not a robot...

That has happened to me on occasion. And you only have to fail to log in ONCE before it starts giving you the CAPTCHA treatment. The thing is, that won't stop spammers when they've made a profile because they'll automatically be able to fill in the username and password fields using their programs. I really don't know how it is done, or it could just be the case that these are real people doing the spamming. I have been suspecting such a thing for a long time, and that Joyloadly character seemed like a real person who didn't really understand English too well and struck with the spam when their thread had gained rather a lot of attention.

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[recovering_fan]

I really don't know how it is done, or it could just be the case that these are real people doing the spamming. I have been suspecting such a thing for a long time, and that Joyloadly character seemed like a real person who didn't really understand English too well and struck with the spam when their thread had gained rather a lot of attention.

Yes, I agree. It certainly seems possible that businesses could be paying people in third world countries to post spam at sites like ours. They may even give the entry-level workers pre-designed messages that the entry-level people then just copy-paste into numerous posts in different threads.

[i_like_1981]

What confuses me is how many spammers on this forum do spam posts entirely in Russian, but manage to create usernames using the standard English-language alphabet. What's all that about? And how would they be able to fill out the registration form using the Cyrillic alphabet? I don't get it. It further proves my point that there must be real people doing this spamming, using two keyboards - an English/American keyboard for registering, and a Cyrillic keyboard for posting. None of it makes any sense to me.

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[ChrisOH]

What confuses me is how many spammers on this forum do spam posts entirely in Russian, but manage to create usernames using the standard English-language alphabet. What's all that about? And how would they be able to fill out the registration form using the Cyrillic alphabet? I don't get it. It further proves my point that there must be real people doing this spamming, using two keyboards - an English/American keyboard for registering, and a Cyrillic keyboard for posting. None of it makes any sense to me.

But why would you go into a primarily English-language forum and post in a language -- indeed, a whole alphabet -- that most readers aren't likely to be familiar with? Unless they're trying to sell us Russian language-lesson CD's or something!

[i_like_1981]

But why would you go into a primarily English-language forum and post in a language -- indeed, a whole alphabet -- that most readers aren't likely to be familiar with? Unless they're trying to sell us Russian language-lesson CD's or something!

Sometimes I've considered learning a bit of Russian just so I can learn what exactly it is these bloody spammers are trying to advertise! I've got the feeling that what they're advertising isn't legal so they're posting it in an alphabet none of us can read and seeing how long it lasts for! Anyways, the question remains - why exactly are spammers able to type out English-alphabet usernames and fill in the registration form but then switch back to Cyrillic for the posts? A sticker for the person who can come up with the most plausible reason!

Best regards,
i_like_1981