https for this forum website? (might help with spammers…)

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  • December 31, 2017 at 2:55 am #1080049
    cvcalhoun
    Participant

    @peterw_diy 170239 wrote:

    Erin, Henry, have y’all investigated switching the forums to https?

    It sounds like you might be able to sign up fro CloudFlare to not only get https for no additional cost, but also get some protection against spam: https://blog.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-tips-using-cloudflare-for-your-for/

    There are a lot of things that could be done. Updating the software to the latest version. Using Google CAPTCHA instead of questions easy for a spambot to get. Using a honeypot question. Using Akismet. Unfortunately, the forum just hasn’t been updated in a long time, and spammers have developed more tools in that time.

    December 31, 2017 at 4:07 am #1080051
    peterw_diy
    Participant

    My primary interest in https is not decreasing spam. I’ve seen a number of posts by BikeArlington staff about spam lately (but unfortunately nothing about using https to safeguard our privacy and authentication credentials) and it sounds like the free CloudFlare https service would also help in that regard.

    January 6, 2018 at 5:44 pm #1080664
    peterw_diy
    Participant

    Erin, Henry…?

    January 8, 2018 at 2:15 pm #1080686
    Erin Potter
    Participant

    We’ve solved some of the issues we were having with the forum (such as receiving notifications), so have been better able to deal with spam issues. We tend to get a spike over the weekend, when, admittedly, we’re both less likely to be paying attention to email inboxes and notifications. We’re also working on how best to improve the forum, and appreciate all the users who have offered suggestions. Feel free to email us at info AT bikearlington.com with more thoughts!

    January 8, 2018 at 2:24 pm #1080693
    mstone
    Participant

    one of the biggest things is just staying on top of the spam–the spammers go where they know their links will be around for a while

    January 8, 2018 at 3:33 pm #1080713
    Vicegrip
    Participant

    @Erin Potter 171078 wrote:

    We’ve solved some of the issues we were having with the forum (such as receiving notifications), so have been better able to deal with spam issues. We tend to get a spike over the weekend, when, admittedly, we’re both less likely to be paying attention to email inboxes and notifications. We’re also working on how best to improve the forum, and appreciate all the users who have offered suggestions. Feel free to email us at info AT bikearlington.com with more thoughts!

    No posting of links for anyone with less than 50 posts (or some other XX number) Less than 50 posts and need to post a real post with a link? It has to be aproved prior to posting. No link makes for a worthles spam platform.

    January 8, 2018 at 9:40 pm #1080763
    n18
    Participant

    Questions:

    What’s admins preferred reporting method?
    Does forum software show one entry for each SPAM post regardless of how many reported it or not?

    Some of us think that reporting the same post by multiple users would flood your inbox, so some wouldn’t report it. I generally report those that reply to legitimate threads with SPAM because they are basically hidden.

    Also, I used to get about 200 email SPAM on a website that I have with email link for contact, but once I switched to a “Contact us” page and using a software to “bounce” SPAM to sender so the email address appear to have been terminated, SPAM dropped to one or two a week after few months to a year. However, per this FAQ, it requires the spammer to use a valid return address rather than fake one, otherwise, there is no one getting email unknown messages. However, if some of the spammers use valid email, like the companies that sell databases of email addresses, they would take you of their database, and you eventually get less SPAM.

    5 Tools to Bounce Spam Email Back to Sender with Non-Delivery Notifications(I used MailWasher):
    https://www.raymond.cc/blog/bounce-email-spam-messages-back-to-spammers-with-non-delivery-notifications/

    January 8, 2018 at 9:47 pm #1080764
    Erin Potter
    Participant

    We get a notification each time someone reports a SPAM post, and appreciate all folks who take the time to do that. The ones hidden in real threads are harder to spot, so special attention there is great. But go ahead and report any spam you see. Worst that happens is I check a link multiple times, and get the satisfaction of having already dealt with someone.

    January 8, 2018 at 11:12 pm #1080771
    peterw_diy
    Participant

    …and what about https?

    January 9, 2018 at 6:20 pm #1080865
    Erin Potter
    Participant

    As noted above, it’s something we’re exploring.

    January 10, 2018 at 1:08 am #1080896
    peterw_diy
    Participant

    @Erin Potter 171233 wrote:

    As noted above, it’s something we’re exploring.

    You’re referring to “working on how best to improve the forum”? OK, got it. Thanks.

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