Are new Downers getting blocked?
I've been wondering this for a while now, and I think it's worth asking: are all the new people regularly appearing on the 'newest member' ticker at the bottom of the front page being blocked?
When I signed up to the Downs almost two years ago, I had quite a tricky time doing so. My initial signup told me it needed moderator approval, but after a couple of weeks the pending userpage (which looks like this when logged out) had transformed into an Invalid User page (like this). I had to hunt around for an email address for the Barrow-Wight, since non-members or pending members can't send private messages. I think I found one on the non-forum part of the Downs - remember that? The reason I'm wondering whether this was more than a one-off is that it's very rare to see a new user posting, but the current Newest Member, 'CowboyDumpsters', is #18723. I'm #18210, and while I'm not positive that number goes up by 1 for every registration, I think it comes pretty close. I'm not going to look through every userpage between those numbers, but a cursory check shows that the last few are pending, and most before that seem to be invalid. It could well be that the 'new users' are actually all bots or spammers; 'CowboyDumpsters' doesn't exactly have a Tolkien connection, and could be a company name or two random words shoved together. If so, I salute the Barrow-Wight and any other moderators for their service. But if there's just an error in the sign-up function, I figured it was best to say something (after all, with the Amazon series coming up, the Downs may well experience a revival next year!). hS |
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Some of them used to post, in the effort to show of their sketchy links. Some of those were actually pretty amusing. :D Quote:
Since you mentioned the coming Amazon series, I do wonder also if we'll see a glut of new members on its release. If it stimulates interest in the books, it'll at least (like the PJ movies) have one positive asset. ;) |
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However, doing a slightly more in-depth check of the last 30-odd user numbers, it seems a fair number of them have been approved, so everything is functioning as it should be and I should have checked before posting. :) Once again, I salute whatever the current moderation team looks like; they're doing a spectacular job. hS |
I noticed that the visit stats in the What's Going On section now say:
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Though any bot which gets its claws into the Downs is going to be completely wasting its energy. :D hS |
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Since that was from an established member, I would think nothing of the sort is likely. Quote:
On an oddly coincidental note, yesterday I received around two dozen calls with Caller ID spoofing my own number. That's happened once before, but I only got a couple then. :rolleyes: |
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Ah but there were highlights.. tombot...
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The good old days when spam was a matter of norm. :D |
My friend Gando never did get past the 'purgatory' stage here. He could log in, but couldn't post, and never got an activation email. I tried to intervene and find out why but even after I was told it should all be good, he still couldn't post. He didn't bother coming back. I see him on The Tolkien Forums now.
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Which makes me wonder whether we haven't become "too well fortified" for new members to join. Which would be sad. Any evidence to the contrary? |
No Admittance Except on Party Business
"Too Well Fortified" would be a generous way of describing the actual state of affairs in our admissions office, which would be better characterized as "Absentee Landlord".
I scanned the new applications for years but became weary of approving bots with cleaver names and ignoring well-intentioned recruits with suspicious email addresses. Instead, for the past few years I have often just let things linger in limbo until someone made a special plea. This is obviously not optimal. There are two possible solutions, as I see it. (1) Drop the moderation and tolerate the spammers, which are likely to be more active than our membership. (2) Create a better process for new members to validate their humanity (Elfenticity? Dwarvishness?) [The current question and answer is easily circumvented by clever Goblins.] Any thoughts on how we can be more welcoming to new wights but less vulernable to pesky marauders? Thanks! BW |
I remember well the constant war with the spammers, some of whom would merely copy/paste from other posts to "prove" their legitimacy, while peppering useless or dangerous hyperlinks everywhere. I certainly wouldn't want that again.
Maybe some sort of probationary period, where new members could comment on existing threads and posts, but couldn't immediately start their own? That would still leave it somewhat open to the bots, but maybe also asking a "deeper" Tolkien question on registration would help. |
I assume that promoting new admins wouldn't help with this specific issue? Not that a site this sleepy *needs* more admins, but if it's a manpower issue, perhaps it's time for the first new "Steward of Cardolan" in a generation?
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Moderation removed
I have removed new user moderation but strengthened the application process to weed out the bots and spammers. It seems to be working for the moment. Let's see how long it takes for a determined maggot to wriggle its way into the barrow.
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Good deal. To the Fire with them!
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Sting is glowing!
You may have noticed a couple of dirty orclings that slipped through because of a hole I left in the hedge, but I've patched it. Let's see if it holds.
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Even the blasting fire of Orthanc is of no use with watchful men to defend the keep. ;) But let's hope there won't be much need of defending.
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Based upon the screennames of some of our new "members," this may be a bit of a challenge...
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