New and inactive members please read this post!

[davesmith_au]

It has again become necessary (see this older thread for some history) to take some drastic action regarding spam signups. We can at times get up to 50 in a day, many of which go right through to the stage of posting some spammy rubbish. Regular members don't get to see these posts as all new members' posts are held in a moderation queue for just this reason.

Over the next week or so, we'll be making some experimental adjustments and also a cull of ALL USERS WITH ZERO POSTS AND ALL INACTIVE USERS.

Again, if real bona fide users get caught up in the cull, we apologize and ask you to have patience and simply sign up again. Note that you may have to wait for an admin to approve your new account, as that's one of the measures we are going to experiment with.

We know that this can be inconvenient for those wishing to maintain a low profile, but the incessant spam sign-up issue is creating much too large a workload on our volunteers to let it continue.

Dave Smith.
Forum Administrator.

[stickwhistler]

If inactive members ( or very low posting rate members ) are culled,
would that mean that they do not receive the Thunderbolts Update
from David Talbot?

[davesmith_au]

If inactive members ( or very low posting rate members ) are culled,
would that mean that they do not receive the Thunderbolts Update
from David Talbot?

No, the Thunderbolts Update is an entirely different animal. It is instigated by the "Free Newsletter" sign-up on the proper site, not connected with forum membership.

[Cavemann]

Hi, I don't want to be culled again, does this post count? I prefer to just read and learn, not debate.

[davesmith_au]

Hi, I don't want to be culled again, does this post count? I prefer to just read and learn, not debate.

Yes it does Cavemann, so you're safe now.

For everyone's info, we're working on a much better system to register which will be implemented in the near future, which should stymie all but the craftiest of spammers/spambots. Then we shouldn't have to go through this process again.

Cheers, Dave.

[Osmosis]

Hi Dave,

A simple-minded question: Will my username and password get me in from other IP addresses than the one I'm using now?

Regards,
Osmosis

[davesmith_au]

Hi Dave,

A simple-minded question: Will my username and password get me in from other IP addresses than the one I'm using now?

Regards,
Osmosis

Yes it should Os, and by the way, only those who have zero posts will be culled, so you're safe.

Cheers, Dave.

[davesmith_au]

OK everyone, we've now finished the latest cull, and at the same time we've instigated a newer, much more difficult system to register for the forum.

I apologize if any bona fide members got caught up in the cull. We had over 10,000 inactivated accounts, as well as over 4000 activated accounts with zero posts, which have almost all been culled. So you can see how difficult it was to sort the wheat from the chaff. If you're one of the unlucky users who has been caught in the cull, please go through the new registration process to renew your membership. I know there will likely be a few folk who had to do this last time we culled the excess too, but this time around, with the new registration system in place, it should negate the need to go through such a harsh culling process again in the future.

Thank you all for your patience.

Dave Smith.
Forum Administrator.

[Solar]

We had over 10,000 inactivated accounts, as well as over 4000 activated accounts with zero posts, ....

That was flabbergasting.

Spam is so bad these days the spam filters that some sites use where you have to type in a word or phrase before getting access have started to use two words now. Those are some amazing numbers though.

[davesmith_au]

Yep, my flabber is still being gasted over it...

The new system has stopped them in their tracks though, at least for the moment. Now at least the number of members shown at the bottom of the forum is pretty close to accurate.

Cheers, Dave.

[danikutya]

Hi, I don't want to be culled again, does this post count? I prefer to just read and learn, not debate.

Yes it does Cavemann, so you're safe now.

For everyone's info, we're working on a much better system to register which will be implemented in the near future, which should stymie all but the craftiest of spammers/spambots. Then we shouldn't have to go through this process again.

Cheers, Dave.

Now I prefer to read and learn too, and I hope, You don't quit my registry. I'm waiting for the time, when I shall have enough time to write, translate and ask all my questions, beacuse I have a a truckload of questions yet.
since I've finded your website, I'm a diligent visitor, and tell everybody to visit sites too.
cheers: Dankuty

[AgentP]

Hello Thunderbolts!
I am new here and this is my first post.
I hope to continue learning a lot from you all, and hopefully contribute here as well.

[killswitchengage]

as i asked in the facebook page we are really excited to hear about the EU 2014 workshop

[CuriousCat]

Hello again. I had gotten distracted, very distracted, and had a rather long and eventful absence. A certain Hobbit reminded me of the discussions here. Thank you for not culling me.

Cat

[Scholar-72]

Well it seems I've joined up here after all the Spamtastic Festivities! Yay for me! Hope to learn some things and throw my two cents in here and there.