Help and Support

Re: We have GOT to do something about the SPAM

Jack Roberts — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:42:38 GMT

If the mises forum is running on windows you could install peerblock and add the forum spam blocklists from iblocklist.org.

http://www.peerblock.com/

http://www.iblocklist.com/lists.php

If its on linux or freebsd then you need to use iptables or pf to add the forum spam list to blocklist table.

It won't solve all spam but might help. Usually you need a combination of measures to prevent spam. But even that won't stop manual spammers.

Another idea would be to add a field on the signup that asks a basic question about Austrian economics or better a few of them that rotate. This should prevent automated signups. Adding a single field that needs to be checked against an answer is fairly easy but adding a rotation can be a bit more complicated.

Re: We have GOT to do something about the SPAM

Wheylous — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:20:58 GMT

I'm working to create forums for LibertyHQ and I hope to draw over the Mises people there. It's still in the very most rudimentary stages, and hence not for public viewing, but I hope to have it out before Thanksgiving.

Re: We have GOT to do something about the SPAM

No2statism — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:03:12 GMT

~~Does the quote button really make a difference? I was just wondering, because it's only as bright as it's user.~~ The quote button can make a difference depending on how elitist the mods are.

As for me, I'm number 2 because my posts are a load of number 2 like spam.

Re: We have GOT to do something about the SPAM

limitgov — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 13:56:50 GMT

yes, you need a recaptcha when creating a new account.

they are actually free to use. there is a main popular one that most sites use:

http://www.google.com/recaptcha/whyrecaptcha

Re: We have GOT to do something about the SPAM

limitgov — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 13:56:06 GMT

php language is free. any cheap server comes supporting php. I use notepad++ to develop php. Its free as well.

Can you ban not only the user, but also the IP address?

Re: We have GOT to do something about the SPAM

Physiocrat — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 10:52:15 GMT

Dave,

Not sure if serious.

Obviously after the initial creation of an account. Also with us now working the cloud I believe IP addresses may not be as important so I'm not sure if it is possible to ban an IP address, even before that however I'm not sure if that was possible.

Re: We have GOT to do something about the SPAM

Physiocrat — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 10:49:44 GMT

As I understand it Danny Sanchez was heading up the search and development of a new forum after the departure of Jeff Tucker- the new Mises Community was really quite bad. However the line has gone completely dead since that thread and I've heard nothing. There have been a few posters creating their own such as Fephisto's Mises Hypreboard forum and Autolykos has created a Voluntaryist forum but nothing official has taken place. Possibly one of the complications is that they want to move the archive to the new platform as well as starting a fresh. I'm not really techinical so don't really know.

Despite the techinal faults this is one of the best forums I've been a member of. So unitl something much better appears we'll have to put up with spammers and a lack of a quote button.

Re: We have GOT to do something about the SPAM

Smiling Dave — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 10:47:39 GMT

How does one ban people?

Re: We have GOT to do something about the SPAM

Groucho — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 10:42:01 GMT

Thank you. I saw (and even posted in) this thread a while back, but it's been dead since January. I'm just trying to get some ideas going, as the present system can almost certainly be improved upon and I'm sure we all want that to happen.

If a software change in under consideration, what (if anything) can we forum members do to pitch in? I really appreciate the uniquely libertarian-centered intellectual discussion that takes place here and want to help the forum in any way I can.

Re: We have GOT to do something about the SPAM

Physiocrat — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 10:07:36 GMT

We have discussed at length that we need a new forum, which you can find if you search, but nothing as yet has happened. The problem with the spam is that there's no way to verify whether your a human such as the type what's in the box below type thing when you create an account. It is ridiculous every time I log in there's around 3-5 spam threads to delete and a few spammers to ban which is a real irritant.

We have GOT to do something about the SPAM

Groucho — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 04:16:32 GMT

For my part I'm going to do everything I can to boycott the creator of this software, "Telligent". Well, everything short of leaving the forum (it's bad, but it's certainly not THAT bad).

Is Telligent typical in terms of forum software packages? I would have thought it was freeware from all of its quirks, but apparently they actually charge a bit of money. The PHP software I looked up online looks like it would be a few hundred dollars to buy and install and less than a hundred dollars per year to renew (but I must say I have no idea of what other costs involved in running a forum).

What kind of dollar figures would be needed to dump Telligent for a more user (and I'm sure moderator)-friendly platform? PHP, vBulletin, whatever is ultimately chosen by the admin - maybe a fund raised by donations could be established for its purchase? Put a "donation counter" on the main page to track the progress of donations. That would actually be exciting since the counter wuold be like a "Countdown to a Better Forum"

Anyway, just some ideas.