Since there have been a number of, erm... inappropriate posts from certain sources, I think there may needs be a new line of defense: E-mail verification.

Pretty much, people who register get an e-mail. Before they can post or anything, they have to use the code given in the e-mail to access their account, possibly as the starting password.

Brenda and Admin are working on a new site and I'm sure there will be features in it to limit or eliminate this type of messaging. I don't know when it will be available however, but it is in the works. Meanwhile back to removing the messages one by one...

Is it just me or am I the only one who takes the time to report them? I know those threads get a lot of views.

Nope, I've been reporting them whenever they appear.

Me too.

***

Can it be set up so that we can report these without actually going into the thread. Alot of these you can tell just by the thread title but cannot report until the thread is opened.

Sean

When you go straight to report, it doesn't count as viewing it. Just don't click on anything when your there.

If you know it to be more of that junk without having to open the thread to read it, I suppose you can contact the administrators and ask them to band the the person that posted it. Unfortunately, each time this person gets banned, he/she just keeps coming back under different user handles.

rsine, you know these are just bots, right?

Or, someone's being paid to repost the same eight messages over, and over, and over again, going through the trouble of creating new accounts and e-mails, possibly even from a different computer each time to avoid the ip-bans, all over a forum for artists...

Probably the former.

And, while I have some attention... What's this about a new site?

Something Brenda has had in the works for at least a couple of months. I t sounds interesting the little that they say.
Paulette

I'll admit I don't understand a lot of computer tech and so I don't much apperciate your snide response thank you!

Aah... I hadn't meant to seem snide or rude. My apologies.

A great big, fat, huge, gigantic, enormous, gargantuous (I either made up this word or misspelled it!) THANK YOU to everyone who has been reporting the horrid posts. A new system will be implemented into our new site, which is still in the planning stages. However, the launch of this new site may be months away, so, I have a meeting next week with the wonderful web developers to find a way to deal with this specific issue ASAP.

Currently, the moderators have to go into each rotten post and delete them individually. Words cannot express how much work these individuals are doing behind the scenes to keep this site clean! They are the glue that holds this forum together!

Hence, I’d like for everyone to raise their glasses (of your beverage of choice) and toast our incredible team of moderators!



Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Hugs,
Brenda (technically challenged - what's a "bot"?)

The things making the posts are programs on somone's computer, programs commonly refered to as "bots." Just a couple tip-taps on the keyboard, and BAM! Annoying, soulless machines're giving us artists a hard time.

My hot, strong, coffee is raised to the moderators, the techs, Brenda and all those who do the reporting. Thank you for keeping our site clean and all the hard work you do to keep it that way.
Paulette

LOL Brenda, A bot is a type of computer software that someone uses and it does everything technically. Lets say someone has the "certain program" they sign on under a name and its all computerized as for the post. I don't think its a set individual thats doing it but a program. I could be wrong but I think I am on the lines of basically being right. And YES, A "BIG" Toast to ALL of the Mods who make it to delete the yuckies from the the threads before I do... I know we are all busten our lil butts to get rid of the stuff!!! So, Thank You EVERYONE who takes the time to report, I know we all appreciate it!!!

Brenda, have you tried the security number/letter thingy for new members who sign up to be a member? It may help to scare away some of the bots and I know ALOT of websites with foums and threads are using it as a way to keep the spam off their sites.?.?

Has the number just been implemented ? I don't remember if it was there when I created my account.

Maybe computer programs can still figure out what that code should be. Many forums of this nature use a graphical number or word that a computer program cannot discern. Only a human can read the numbers twisted into a funny looking graphic. No character recognition or computer bot program can.

This would not stop humans from continually taking the effort to register new accounts to spam us with, but keeps out the bots.

I don't know if this comment is helpful, but hopefully it is.

Thanks
Jazzmanian

Hi Jazzmanian and everybody. A discuss topic about this problem is goin' on in the tech thread.

The graphical thing you're referring to is named CAPTCHA (an initialism for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart", trademarked by Carnegie Mellon University) [from Wikipedia]

The method works good enough to keep most of the bots (comes from Robots) away. Hope in the new site.