Spam

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Petert
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Re: Spam

Post by Petert » Thu Jan 16, 2020 3:17 am

D-train wrote:
Wed Jan 15, 2020 7:50 pm
I wonder if there's a way to make the enrollment procedures more stringent. Might be good to check with the company that developed the software.
If they support ‘challenge and response’ protocols, it’s posdible.

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D-train
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Re: Spam

Post by D-train » Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:11 am

Petert wrote:
Thu Jan 16, 2020 3:17 am
D-train wrote:
Wed Jan 15, 2020 7:50 pm
I wonder if there's a way to make the enrollment procedures more stringent. Might be good to check with the company that developed the software.
If they support ‘challenge and response’ protocols, it’s posdible.
Thanks Peter. Is that something you could investigate. It is light years outside of the realm of my expertise. Thanks. No biggy if not.
dt

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Petert
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Re: Spam

Post by Petert » Thu Jan 16, 2020 3:59 pm

D-train wrote:
Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:11 am
Petert wrote:
Thu Jan 16, 2020 3:17 am
D-train wrote:
Wed Jan 15, 2020 7:50 pm
I wonder if there's a way to make the enrollment procedures more stringent. Might be good to check with the company that developed the software.
If they support ‘challenge and response’ protocols, it’s posdible.
Thanks Peter. Is that something you could investigate. It is light years outside of the realm of my expertise. Thanks. No biggy if not.
Yes, I can take a look, although coding/test/activating that function would have to be done by someone else. Where (or from whom) can I get details on the platform on which the forum app is written ? If you or someone else could send me a private message with whatever information you have in that regard, that’s be great.

Thanks !

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D-train
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Re: Spam

Post by D-train » Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:03 pm

Petert wrote:
Thu Jan 16, 2020 3:59 pm
D-train wrote:
Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:11 am
Petert wrote:
Thu Jan 16, 2020 3:17 am


If they support ‘challenge and response’ protocols, it’s posdible.
Thanks Peter. Is that something you could investigate. It is light years outside of the realm of my expertise. Thanks. No biggy if not.
Yes, I can take a look, although coding/test/activating that function would have to be done by someone else. Where (or from whom) can I get details on the platform on which the forum app is written ? If you or someone else could send me a private message with whatever information you have in that regard, that’s be great.

Thanks !
Thank you! I think PMs are disabled but perhaps you can just reach out to phpBB and they might be able to help. Thanks again!
dt

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Petert
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Re: Spam

Post by Petert » Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:39 pm

D-train wrote:
Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:03 pm
Petert wrote:
Thu Jan 16, 2020 3:59 pm
D-train wrote:
Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:11 am


Thanks Peter. Is that something you could investigate. It is light years outside of the realm of my expertise. Thanks. No biggy if not.
Yes, I can take a look, although coding/test/activating that function would have to be done by someone else. Where (or from whom) can I get details on the platform on which the forum app is written ? If you or someone else could send me a private message with whatever information you have in that regard, that’s be great.

Thanks !
Thank you! I think PMs are disabled but perhaps you can just reach out to phpBB and they might be able to help. Thanks again!
Thanks. I am looking on *their* forum (which is surprisingly free of spam ;)) and the information there is encouraging. Two questions for you as moderator, though:

1. Implementing a security protocol will probably mean a ‘second step’ when either accepting a new member, creating a new topic, or answering an existing post. (Think of a ‘capcha’ function or secret question or something like that.) Is the forum membership willing to undergo that additional process in the interest of clamping down on spam ?

2. It might be wise to open a new topic (with a survey that I can put together) to initiate a discussion on #1., and to get a feeling of just how tolerant/understanding the membership is to such steps, since there would be a level of ‘inconvenience’ inherent in them. It would be counterproductive to institute a procedure everyone has to be subject to, if it takes away from spontaneity, and eventually results in diminished interaction or attribution of membership on the forum.

What do you think ?

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D-train
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Re: Spam

Post by D-train » Thu Jan 16, 2020 5:06 pm

Can the added security only apply to the initial registration process and once you are in everything would be as it is now? I don't think anything beyond that would be worth the hassle. Thanks again, PT.
dt

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Petert
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Re: Spam

Post by Petert » Thu Jan 16, 2020 5:39 pm

D-train wrote:
Thu Jan 16, 2020 5:06 pm
Can the added security only apply to the initial registration process and once you are in everything would be as it is now? I don't think anything beyond that would be worth the hassle. Thanks again, PT.
I’m researching that, and I think so. The problem with that is twofold:

1. Some spammer tooling/scripting is adaptive, so an initial screening process on registration would have to have some depth to it (a question whose answer couldn’t be found on the internet, for example - like ‘who is the pride of Yakima ? :D ) and the challenge to the registrant would have to change/rotate.

2. It wouldn’t prevent an approved registrant from spamming the forum.

But I agree this would be a good starting point, as it’s the least painful to all concerned. I’ll dig into this and revert to you with some suggestions/recommendations in this regard.

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Petert
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Re: Spam

Post by Petert » Thu Jan 16, 2020 5:39 pm

Petert wrote:
Thu Jan 16, 2020 5:39 pm
D-train wrote:
Thu Jan 16, 2020 5:06 pm
Can the added security only apply to the initial registration process and once you are in everything would be as it is now? I don't think anything beyond that would be worth the hassle. Thanks again, PT.
I’m researching that, and I think so. The problem with that is twofold:

1. Some spammer tooling/scripting is adaptive, so an initial screening process on registration would have to have some depth to it (a question whose answer couldn’t be found on the internet, for example - like ‘who is the pride of Yakima ?’ :D ) and the challenge to the registrant would have to change/rotate.

2. It wouldn’t prevent an approved registrant from spamming the forum.

But I agree this would be a good starting point, as it’s the least painful to all concerned. I’ll dig into this and revert to you with some suggestions/recommendations in this regard.

jason
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Re: Spam

Post by jason » Thu Jan 16, 2020 6:13 pm

In reaction to forum requests we have enabled a security question upon registration that a Mariners fan should easily be able to answer, however may be more of a deterrent to spammers. Private messaging was another easy avenue for spammers and often contained adult content. If these security measures prevent spammers from registering, private messaging will be re-enabled.

Our favorite baseball team is the Seattle:


Thank you for sticking around guys, and especially thanks to Dtrain for taking care of the place, he deserves a lot of credit for the time he's put into it, there have been far more spammers than I would have expected.

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D-train
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Re: Spam

Post by D-train » Thu Jan 16, 2020 6:59 pm

jason wrote:
Thu Jan 16, 2020 6:13 pm
In reaction to forum requests we have enabled a security question upon registration that a Mariners fan should easily be able to answer, however may be more of a deterrent to spammers. Private messaging was another easy avenue for spammers and often contained adult content. If these security measures prevent spammers from registering, private messaging will be re-enabled.

Our favorite baseball team is the Seattle:


Thank you for sticking around guys, and especially thanks to Dtrain for taking care of the place, he deserves a lot of credit for the time he's put into it, there have been far more spammers than I would have expected.
Pilots? :) Thanks Jason! Great idea and thanks for the explanation on the PMs. It has been a challenge to talk behind peoples back. :lol: I almost never see recurring spam after the initial blast so I don't think the spammers that are already in should be a problem.

And Thank YOU for starting this awesome forum!
dt

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