scottcomstock
01-18-2011, 07:22 PM
All,
Since the recent software update, I've been doing some further work behind the scenes. Dealing with spammers has, unfortunately, been taking up an ever-increasing amount of time. I've instituted some new technical measures, automated and otherwise, to keep the Roundtable spam-free.
First, effective immediately, new users will be able to post immediately after their email addresses are verified. However, posts from new users will be held for moderation by me or the moderators, and several features that spammers find attractive, such as signatures on posts, will be unavailable. Once a user has made a certain number of posts that pass moderation, all restrictions will be lifted automatically and further posts will not require moderation. This is currently set to five posts, but may change at my discretion or as circumstances require.
Second, due to popular demand, private messaging between Roundtable users has been restored -- the link is next to "New Posts" on the top bar. However, access to private messaging by new users is restricted as described above.
These restrictions apply ONLY to new accounts registered today (1/18/2011) or afterward; they DO NOT apply to accounts registered before today, so everyone can post as they always have, without restrictions.
I want to stress that posts will only be rejected if they're flat-out spam (and didn't get caught by a filter first) or may, in my opinion, present a legal problem for me or the person posting it (i.e. something that could be considered libelous). Anything else will be approved as quickly as possible. Some of you may be concerned that this may be used to censor criticism or silence unpopular opinions or "bad news". I want to assure you here and now that this will never be the case as long as I'm running the Roundtable.
In my experience, the spammers' goal is always to get their links out as quickly as possible, to as many sites as possible (before they get caught), so that their search engine rankings are automatically inflated. They can't take the time to come up with enough posts that'll be approved, because spammers use automated programs on hijacked computers to spread their spam. Having human eyes check the posts before they show up throws up a very effective roadblock.
As always, shoot me an email (or a PM, now!) if you have any questions.
Since the recent software update, I've been doing some further work behind the scenes. Dealing with spammers has, unfortunately, been taking up an ever-increasing amount of time. I've instituted some new technical measures, automated and otherwise, to keep the Roundtable spam-free.
First, effective immediately, new users will be able to post immediately after their email addresses are verified. However, posts from new users will be held for moderation by me or the moderators, and several features that spammers find attractive, such as signatures on posts, will be unavailable. Once a user has made a certain number of posts that pass moderation, all restrictions will be lifted automatically and further posts will not require moderation. This is currently set to five posts, but may change at my discretion or as circumstances require.
Second, due to popular demand, private messaging between Roundtable users has been restored -- the link is next to "New Posts" on the top bar. However, access to private messaging by new users is restricted as described above.
These restrictions apply ONLY to new accounts registered today (1/18/2011) or afterward; they DO NOT apply to accounts registered before today, so everyone can post as they always have, without restrictions.
I want to stress that posts will only be rejected if they're flat-out spam (and didn't get caught by a filter first) or may, in my opinion, present a legal problem for me or the person posting it (i.e. something that could be considered libelous). Anything else will be approved as quickly as possible. Some of you may be concerned that this may be used to censor criticism or silence unpopular opinions or "bad news". I want to assure you here and now that this will never be the case as long as I'm running the Roundtable.
In my experience, the spammers' goal is always to get their links out as quickly as possible, to as many sites as possible (before they get caught), so that their search engine rankings are automatically inflated. They can't take the time to come up with enough posts that'll be approved, because spammers use automated programs on hijacked computers to spread their spam. Having human eyes check the posts before they show up throws up a very effective roadblock.
As always, shoot me an email (or a PM, now!) if you have any questions.