T&L Publications

I'm sure I mentioned this before, but I am on another forum that, after registration, it will not allow you to post anything new until you have responded to a fixed number of other posts, over a set period of time. The responses you provide must be meaningful and related to the original posts.
This stops the 'two-minute member' and their wild string of posts. Many posters are spur of the moment and can't, or are unwilling to, get past that vetting period.
Maybe, Just Maybe.....?

I have received an E-mail from Sean, and it seems that they're trying some new software to weed out the SPAM.

Well, we'll just have to wait and see.
Meanwhile......
We will have to continue, and endure the current onslaught of SPAM.


Signed: Janitor Tzap

It takes a programmer, or hacker, or alike...

For a post count of less than -say 10 posts-; the message (and spam) can be seen only by the poster and nobody else. The spammer believes it is published and bothers no one. Moderation releases to the public if deserved.

I still say that new members need to be reviewed before being allowed to be accepted. I think that would help out a lot more than filtering.. Or ??

QUOTED,,,,,,Janitor Tzap
I have received an E-mail from Sean, and it seems that they're trying some new software to weed out the SPAM.
Well, we'll just have to wait and see.
Meanwhile......
We will have to continue, and endure the current onslaught of SPAM.

dacflyer wrote: ↑Tue Dec 28, 2021 5:42 am I still say that new members need to be reviewed before being allowed to be accepted. I think that would help out a lot more than filtering.. Or ??

AGREED!

This site needs more Moderators!

Right now it is only Sean, and the filtering software is just not cutting it.
I mean....
We're even getting Chinese SPAM!


Signed: Janitor Tzap

Another one today! Is this site listed somewhere as "easy to attack with spam"?

suggest magazine subscribers', and buyers of ads in magazine memberships be active immediately, though still subject to no spamming. other new members can not post for 72 hours (or more), but new posts marked from start to make reading the forum easier.

Guess I'm just plain old dumb, but, what the H--- is the point of all this spam?

Email and phone spam; I get it that they are trying to harvest personal data for nefarious means. That's likely a bust since anyone that responds to their requests probably doesn't have information worth anything. Those of us that do have valuable data rely on banks and credit card systems to provide that valuable information to the hackers for us. It's called a 'security breach' . To fix it, we will just need more levels of ineffective security checks to keep us out of our own accounts.

But on a forum, what is there that is of value to them, other than being a PIA to valid users? Maybe, someone will figure a way to back trace the mail to the account or server and we could launch a counter strike, like a good old fashion DOS (denial of service) attack!
But wait, that's not the accepted way anymore. The new norm is to straighten your tie, lay down, hold your breath, and wait to be walked on.

What have they put in the water or air that is making the whole world looking more like the script from the movie, 'Soylent Green' (remember that)

Since most of our spam is posted the same day the spammer 'joins', a waiting period is a proven way to dampen the fires of hell.
So, what's the reason this is not being considered, or is there a plan to just hope it goes away before the members leave?

Sorry, for the rant. My therapist is out of the office until tomorrow....

I never could understand why they (the spammers) decided to do what they do. It's a waste of their resources to post such inane crap on non-related sites where they either get deleted (is that now a pipe dream?) or people just pass them by. I do get that it's the "shotgun" approach - scatter as much shot in the air and you're bound to hit a target, but geez!
(Actually, nowadays, since they've "bot" automated everything, it's more of the Ron Popeil approach -set it and forget it)

They (admin) needs to start banning by IP, if that's even possible under phpbb. But first, they need to be present. Is anyone home?

And furthermore....
It has been noticed that the overwhelming quantity of spam is always in the Discussions part of the board, and rarely in the other sections.
Since I have seen occasional, but not this aggressive form of spam on other forums, the question is...

• Is it because it is the 'Discussions' section is the most active and gets the largest (maybe a misnomer) quantity of posts?

• Is it targeted for a personal reason; maybe a disgruntled ex-member?

• I would think a script-bot would not care, but would blitz everywhere possible. 'Fire-for effect'

• Or are we just lucky and 'they' like us?

• Maybe it's something else I've missed!

Hummmm

Perhaps another option to help rid the spam would be...
If the system could be configured so that when a set number of 'trusted' members flag a post, it is removed until Sean can review it. Then he can make the decision, as he does now, to allow or delete the post. With this idea, if the spammer checks in to see his dirty work, they'll see their posts have a short life, the board will be a bit cleaner, and some pressure comes off Sean.

Maybe?

Another board I'm a Mod on has the 3 report removal option. It just got a whole new makeover and is still in the sorting out phase, but I just got my Mod abilities back. I got a chance to see some of the back end today and the stuff that has been implemented is working, but I don't know if it'll work for phpbb. We still need a more consistent presence.

As for the Discussion section bearing the brunt, it does have the most posts and activity, so it would make sense to concentrate there.