Spamtwats - The trouble with this

[romanovsky]

Tony has complained about consistent abuse of this site by 'spamtwats'.

At the moment his solution is to manually remove these on a regular basis. Sure it works okay now but as the spam abuse gets worse it will become unmanageable. This is only a drop in the ocean.

Tony's arrogance and occassional abuse of posters on this site is not wise. He may think that he can deliver abuse from behind the safety of a website and feel smug about his power in doing so, and that he can just revoke user's access when he feels like it if he takes a disliking to someone.

But as Tony is finding out, it aint as simple as that and that power and self-righteousness he feels may dwindle away until it is revealed what he really is....a twat!

[Tony McC]

The ONLY people that have ever been banned are spammers and serial abusers. I don't remove, ban, block or disbar anyone who disagrees with me. This forum is run for the exchange of information, not for my own smug satisfaction. If you have information on ANYONE that's been removed without good reason, I'd be happy to look at it. Post it here for all to see.

I don't abuse posters - if I did, you'd be getting a mouthful right now. So: what's your problem? Why do you seem to think I should allow the spamtwats to have the run of the place? Don't you find their porn and their pharmaceuticals detract from the general tone of the place? Or is your 'drop in the ocean' comment a threat?

You're under no obligation to come in to the Brew Cabin. If you don't like the way I run things, feel free to bugger off and set up your own spam-board.

[lutonlagerlout]

TROLL go forth and multiply
LLL

[dig dug dan]

looks to me like he is a spamtwat who has logged in just to post this coment, hence posts:1.
We all support you tony, and I have never found any of your comments abusive or arrogant.
keep up the good work

[Dave_L]

I am really struggling to see why the opening poster has posted this drivel!!

[lutonlagerlout]

thing is he is in edinburgh on blue yonder isp so he is unlikely to be a russky,i say terminate
LLL

[TarmacLady]

Tony, you are far better than this sorry excuse for a person could ever even think of being.

I understand why you didn't delete it -- even if you should have.

Romanovsky, you were bold enough to throw down the gauntlet -- now be bold enough to justify your post.

You had to consciously reach this page, then make the conscious decision to post -- why, if you despise all who chat here so thoroughly? Isn't it far easier to just navigate to another website?

Alternately, please feel free to set up your own message board any time you like -- that's the magic of the internet.

[Dave_L]

.....oh, and there's always the OFF button on your computer! :0 :laugh:

[Suggers]

Out of interest LLL - how do you know the geezers from Edinburgh? - can me & me mates give him a little slap?

[Dave_L]

Out of interest LLL - how do you know the geezers from Edinburgh? - can me & me mates give him a little slap?

vee have ways!

[dig dug dan]

I was wondering that too! let us in on your secret LLL!

[Dave_L]

It's no secret really - every post here has an IP assigned to it - which can be traced back to your ISP and (with their help) the originating computer.

For example, your IP is 81.157.25.** - they can be either dynamic (change every time you connect) or static (remain the same)

Last two digits obscured for security reasons.

More info here -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address

[Stuarty]

He could be hiding behind a proxy, but i doubt it.

[enigmaenigma]

EDIT NOTE
FFS this was supposed to have been posted in the other Spamtwats topic by andypartington



Hi there and sorry to go jumping in as a stranger / new member mid thread, but been a lurker for some moons and after reading this it has dragged me out of lurk mode - I hate to see the corners of the internet that I frequent getting the bad end of the stick


Sorry if I’m teaching grandma what to do with her eggs but a few pointers that might help

In regards the banning of IP’s

You would need to be careful as most IP’s are dynamic, in as much as they get reissued a fresh after a user reboots or reconnects to the net - So unless you can confirm that it is a static IP that is always attached to that offending machine, you could at some point end up penalizing an innocent member

That’s without the issue of NTL / Virgin Media which uses proxy servers, so depending upon how you forum software views the IP all NTL users within a certain range share the same IP number


In regards your board software

You need to look at any security updates for your board software and take any appropriate action in regards updates - I had a quick look at the software / version number and there’s known SQL vulnerabilities or injections for this version, however that extra digit within the version number may indicate that you have already patched this version



Ensure that any feature that allows the use of HTML code is disabled and only allow your board software’s BB code to be used

Take a look at the support forums for your board software at any available mods as in modifications which are available – certain board software is better than others in this regard and not only can you get modifications that make life easier, but on certain boards you can get ones that can capture any attempts at SQL injections that a member attempt to insert into a post so that you can identify the account in question or ones that display duplicate accounts


If available enable flood control so that it stops or staggers the time between postings or other actions

Create user groups and icons that are easily identifiable especially in regards staff members, so that as daft as it sounds any undesirables will see a staff presence or a hierarchy that aren’t likely to sit back and allow mischief to go un-reported

Although a staff presence is needed on any board, being a public board that is available to view without signing up this is even more important – and if possible get staff members to leave their window on the forum open, so that although they aren’t there in person it appears as though they are there


Look at the email accounts that have been used in regards these spam accounts, I am not talking about Yahoo or Hotmail but another that when used wisely is great but in the wrong hands allows for all sorts of mischief – it is one of those that you would need to look at your data base and see whether it is part of the problem or not


And as tempting as it may be to go after those involved, and although there are items available that can assist you in doing this, the best course of action is to get rid of them and move on / carry on with what you do best by running your forum – its very easy to get caught up in the moment and invest in a whole lot of additional effort and hassle

EDIT
Don’t know if it’s related but been looking & pressing buttons and for some strange reason your View All Emoticons and View iB Code links instead of showing all available emos & code direct you to a site called chatbites – might just be a default link that was placed in there by the board software makers and that has never been changed but it seems somewhat odd

[seanandruby]

enigma you beat me to it i was just about to say that.