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Rank: Enthusiast
Joined: 8/31/2008
Posts: 155
Location: Sydney
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Hey do we have an active forum moderator/admin here at the moment?
I've just started using the forums again after going AWOL for 6 months and wow... first thing I've noticed is an incredible amount of spam threads.
It'd be nice to have someone around who could actively remove them?
Edited by Hobo_Joe: 4/6/2009 08:44:54 PM
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Rank: Technician
Joined: 7/7/2008
Posts: 221
Location: Melbourne
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agreed if the staff aren't going to moderate it give it to one of us ... I've noticed the spam alot ...even when cyber was about ... William can you give one of us some powers to clean the boards up abit -please 
...madness be my friend...
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Rank: Enthusiast
Joined: 8/31/2008
Posts: 155
Location: Sydney
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oh by the way, I realise there's a thread called SPAM in another section, apologies for doubling up. Looking at it I notice the last post was in May so yeah.. Either way! Good to be back  Lets liven up these forums a little!
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Rank: Elite
Moderator
Joined: 7/11/2008
Posts: 1,177
Location: Mackay North QLD
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good to see you both back. Yes, ever since cyber pulled the pin things have gone from bad to worse.
Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it's a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from. Ask questions. There's no such thing as a stupid one, just stupid answers. (mostly)
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Rank: Expert
Joined: 5/29/2008
Posts: 688
Location: Lismore NSW
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i vote that too need to kill the spam btw iv finished housesitting out in the middle of no where hence back to broadband so i shall be on here more often!!
We are all born ignorant but one must work hard to remain stupid
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Rank: Elite
Moderator
Joined: 7/11/2008
Posts: 1,177
Location: Mackay North QLD
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Good to hear Nat. Hope you didn't have to swim home.
Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it's a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from. Ask questions. There's no such thing as a stupid one, just stupid answers. (mostly)
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Rank: I'm new around here
Joined: 4/3/2008
Posts: 15
Location: Adelaide
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Thinking 99. Good idea that
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Rank: PC Authority Labs
Brand Editor
Joined: 3/26/2008
Posts: 94
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Have just posted this in another thread, but will repost here as well.
The technical admins have been in touch to let me know they have added a captcha to the registration form for PCA. Hopefully this will ease the spam problem, but we're watching to see how it goes. Thanks again for all your feedback and suggestions.
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Rank: Elite
Moderator
Joined: 7/11/2008
Posts: 1,177
Location: Mackay North QLD
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i just tried setting up a bogus account. It went OK till it told me I'd be getting am email to activate the account. If anyone has the Email address me@home.com.au, I apologise for spamming your account. My point is that in order to activate an account, the user has to have an active email account. If the site bans hotmail, gmail etc. accounts, then bans the email accounts of spammers, this spam infestation should be controllable. the captcha is all well and good, but the site first needs a full blown disinfection program to get rid of the crap that's already inside. We also need a pool of moderators to clean up the rubbish that gets through. For about a year we had young cyb3r working on his own. now he's gone and we can see what he had to deal with.
Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it's a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from. Ask questions. There's no such thing as a stupid one, just stupid answers. (mostly)
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Rank: Elite
Moderator
Joined: 7/11/2008
Posts: 1,177
Location: Mackay North QLD
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Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, these bastards are starting to spam their own spam to try to make it look interesting.
Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it's a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from.
Ask questions. There's no such thing as a stupid one, just stupid answers. (mostly)
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Rank: Expert
Joined: 5/29/2008
Posts: 688
Location: Lismore NSW
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ha thats weird
We are all born ignorant but one must work hard to remain stupid
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Rank: Enthusiast
Joined: 8/31/2008
Posts: 155
Location: Sydney
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Damn, was off the forums for 2 days and look at all the new spam in the software area! haha
Hilarious how they're "replying" to their threads now though.
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Rank: Elite
Moderator
Joined: 7/11/2008
Posts: 1,177
Location: Mackay North QLD
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if any of you blokes are still monitoring this thread, you may like to have another look.
We miss yous all.
Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it's a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from.
Ask questions. There's no such thing as a stupid one, just stupid answers. (mostly)
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Rank: Moderator
Joined: 3/30/2008
Posts: 802
Location: Sydney, Australia
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This place will not prosper unless management invest time into improving it. Knowing how rough Haymarket treats its magazines, and the limited budgets and dev time, it's not going to happen any time soon. The forum software used here is complete rubbish. - The RTM system is impossibly useless. - There's no way for moderators to converse together in private, or with management, without using PMs and e-mail. - The spam filters are utter tripe - The forum lacks individuality. It's generic and unappealing. Communities generate communities. If there's nothing here to draw people in, no one will want to stay. Its almost a catch 22 situation. People won't stay if there's nobody here, and if people don't stay there's nobody here. A niche must be created to draw users with similar interests. This will not happen without drastic changes. When you see the spammers outweighing legit posts by several magnitudes, the place looks like an incubator for crud. How do you sell that? You can't. Edited by .:Cyb3rGlitch:.: 14/9/2009 09:12:33 PM
Vito Cassisi: Tech Blog
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Rank: Elite
Moderator
Joined: 7/11/2008
Posts: 1,177
Location: Mackay North QLD
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No no Cyber, don't hold back mate.
Been a couple of days since I've seen any spam. I've almost forgotten how to convert my videos. Have you been squashing it?
I know I haven't.
Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it's a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from.
Ask questions. There's no such thing as a stupid one, just stupid answers. (mostly)
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Rank: Moderator
Joined: 3/30/2008
Posts: 802
Location: Sydney, Australia
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Reality is harsh Slatts, and I've learnt that political correctness achieves nothing. Spam has gone down, but it's still quite abundant. We'll see how that goes. But yeah, the forum really does need some serious changes before it'll catch on.
Vito Cassisi: Tech Blog
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Rank: Elite
Moderator
Joined: 7/11/2008
Posts: 1,177
Location: Mackay North QLD
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If I was interested in reality cyb3r, I wouldn't be cruising forums.  I've got no time for political correctness. Tolerance and manners on the other hand are tools I do try to use. Mostly. Edited by Slatts: 16/9/2009 06:44:20 PM
Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it's a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from. Ask questions. There's no such thing as a stupid one, just stupid answers. (mostly)
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Rank: I'm new around here
Staff
Joined: 8/13/2009
Posts: 10
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Hi all,
Firstly, let me apologise for the amount of spam that this forum has received in the past few months, it has been a major cause of frustration for us as well. We have put quite a lot of effort over recent weeks to tackle the spam problem head on, and I think we're on top of it. This is what we've done:
- removed all existing spam, and blocked every IP address that has posted spam
- in some cases, where there is a clear pattern, blocked IP ranges
- set up alerts to immediately staff when spam is posted, so it can be removed
The results:
- Early indicators are showing that it has reduced the spam to less than one post per day
- Of the spammers that persist, and do get through, we haven’t had any posts stay up on the site for any longer than a few hours, and the majority are removed within an hour. To the majority of users, they will see no spam.
PC Authority and Haymarket are committed to the community, and ensuring that these forums are an informative and useful resource for its users. We want the forums to prosper, and feedback threads like this are very helpful.
Like any business, we don't have unlimited resources and budgets, however we will always do the best with what we have.
As for the future, look out for upcoming promotions and competitions that will encourage interaction on the forums, and hopefully draw back previous members who have since left.
If anyone does see any spam in the future, please click the "Report" button, and we'll get removed ASAP. There will be someone watching.
Cheers,
Rhys Williams
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