Move to non-free emails only?

[clapham_gull]

Anyone else think this would be a good idea, the board is over-run with spammers and they've been becoming an increasing issue for a while now, whilst not a perfect solution have you (bozza) considered restricting registration to people with isp/work emails e.t.c. that are not free, many other forums do this and it is pretty successful.

You never know, it might keep some JCLs out too

Do you have evidence to suggest that it make the situation any different ? Have you spoken to the people who run other boards ?

 

[Iggle Piggle]

Is it me or has anyone else noticed the irony that the person who has recently posted by far and away the most shit on this board is actually complaining about it?

 

[Dominoid]

I used to be a mod on Dogbomb.co.uk before it died a death and this was the method there to stop spammers. It worked and it was simple enough to implement. I can't see any issues as you HAVE to have an ISP to be online and thus nobody with internet access doens't have access to create an ISP branded email if they want to. Non free email addresses tend to say "disposable at the drop of a hat" and it really amazes me how many business cards have yahoo or hotmail addresses on. It's rare that I'll do business with anyone that does this!

 

[RexCathedra]

They do that on the palace bbs board. Works quite well.

Ditto, e.g. Red and White Kop. Volume similar to NSC -- 3.3 million posts in their top forum. They have a minimum post limit before you can start a thread, a low maximum number of posts per day until some total is reached, and other steps similar to those suggested.

If it's sufficient to maintain civility among the Scousers -- albeit 'civility' by Liverpool standards -- it should work a treat in the genteel purlieus of Sussex.

 

[Norman Potting]

How so?

In the early days of the Internet I used to use the ISPs e-mail all the time (lineone.net in those days). However, it didn't take many ISP changes to make me realise that sticking to a yahoo one made more sense. Especially now they have damn good spam filters.

I tend not to use my original e-mail address (tiscali/talktalk) as their concept of spam filter seems to be folder called "spam" that you can move it to yourself!

I have various web based e-mail addresses and would not go back to a "fixed" front end (I used to use Thunderbird). Google works fine for me and you can also set it up so that e-mails from other addresses come into the one inbox, and their spam filter is superb, as is the Yahoo one which I use for work.

So that would be no is what I am basically saying.

 

[El Presidente]

I'm sure the mods would love to hear some other suggestions too.

Only if it involves watching the Hollyoaks omnibus, some goose grease, and a gas mask.

 

[bhaexpress]

The problem with using non free emails is that should you have the temerity to change ISPs (which many of us do for a variety of reasons) then life gets difficult. For example I registered an email address that I haven't used for five years with the Inland Revenue to do an online tax return. You would not believe just how difficult it is for them to change my email address so that I could do my return online (I don't get the option to change it myself). Granted that's a fairly extreme case but at the end of the day I can't see banning the likes of Hotmail, Yahoo and Gmail from preventing the serious spammers in anyway.

As for the 'dreaded' JCLs, I find a lot of them have a lot more worth knowing to say that some of the regular posters, especially the ones who enjoy excrement agitation.

 

[sten_super]

The only sensible solution I can see (besides changing nothing) would be to stop new posters being able to create threads for the first 7 days of membership. I would have thought the 'thrill' to these kids is the immediacy of it all; if they had to wait for a week after registering before posting their drivel they may not bother?

 

[Kazenga <3]

The only sensible solution I can see (besides changing nothing) would be to stop new posters being able to create threads for the first 7 days of membership. I would have thought the 'thrill' to these kids is the immediacy of it all; if they had to wait for a week after registering before posting their drivel they may not bother?

This would probably work.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

Ditto, e.g. Red and White Kop. Volume similar to NSC -- 3.3 million posts in their top forum. They have a minimum post limit before you can start a thread, a low maximum number of posts per day until some total is reached, and other steps similar to those suggested.

If it's sufficient to maintain civility among the Scousers -- albeit 'civility' by Liverpool standards -- it should work a treat in the genteel purlieus of Sussex.

Agree with your (and others) points. No thread starting until you have made a set number of posts, daily post limit until you hit a set number etc. All automated and will regulate the Summer holiday idiots a bit. But quoting you simply because I think "the genteel purlieus of Sussex" is one of the best uses of English I've read on NSC. I had to look it up!!

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

The best message boards are free-for-alls, so what if there is drivel posted, its no less worthy than anything else. The cream always rises to the top.

 

[Bozza]

Many years ago I used to ban a lot of email hosts - it started with Hotmail and Yahoo and then got extended every time someone dodgy came along and spammed the board. The issue back then was with automated spambots and due to other measures I've since put in place that is not much of a problem today. Because of this, there are no restrictions on email address when joining.

It's a highly manual process anyway - there are literally thousands of free email providers, so any determined bad guy will quickly find one that has not been added to the NSC list and get in that way.

Out of the box vBulletin doesn't provide any measures to temper what a new user can do immediately after joining although I don't doubt there are numerous plugins available to impose restrictions such as have been discussed above. I'll take a look when I get the time.

NSC users can help out here too. When people do join to arse about:

1. Don't feed the troll. Just don't do it. Ignore the post and don't reply.

2. Report it.

If everyone does 1 and someone does 2, it can all be easily taken care of.

 

[El Presidente]

No matter what is done, NSC will not be as good as it used to be x

 

[El Presidente]

The cream always rises to the top.

It's the same with my porn collection.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

"1. Don't feed the troll. Just don't do it. Ignore the post and don't reply."

If only people had the self-control (and I include me in that sometimes).

 

[severnside gull]

I really do find it a difficult issue because one of the absolute delights (and indeed primary attractions) of NSC is its blend of football (and specifically BHA) topicality with the completely inane and irreligious. The fact that nothing is sacrosanct is what makes it so appealing.

However, when the kindergarten takes over (as with Monsters Inc last night) I find that it does get under my skin in a way that genuinely upsets me because I don't want to say "go sit on the naughty step" but the level of noise they create just totally does my head in. I don't often resort to reporting them and when (as last night) I do it is with a real sense of remorse. I know that I am a grungy old git and I know that in attempting to spoil their fun I am actually adding to it. I know that I don't understand the yoof because I can still remember that my parents didn't understand what made me laugh .............BUT THESE TROLLS ARE STILL f***ing ANNOYING.

Day 6 of the close season and it is going to be one long frigging summer.......................................... :US:

 

[little al]

On the Palace BBS all new accounts first posts go to moderators first to be vetted. It works pretty well, although there are a small amount of spammers that do get through.

 

[Bozza]

On the Palace BBS all new accounts first posts go to moderators first to be vetted. It works pretty well, although there are a small amount of spammers that do get through.

We've had that too, and I do impose it again from time to time if we do seem to be the subject of a particularly intensive spam attack.

My preference, however, is not to use this as a matter of course...

1. When people join, it is likely that they have something they want to contribute NOW. If I don't activate their account for some hours, the moment could be lost and they don't get properly involved in the community as they intended.

2. Often people have joined to sell a ticket in the hours immediately preceding a game. Again, if they are not able to post pretty much immediately, then the opportunity is missed.

 

[Bozza]

...and I personally hate it if I join a site and can't contribute immediately.

 

[Brovion]

No matter what is done, NSC will not be as good as it used to be x

Ha! Yes I'm waiting for that thread! (My money's on Superphil starting it). We've had the annual "Why aren't we allowed to celebrate St George's Day?" binfest, we've got the "So-and-so is available. Could do a job? Discuss" threads so all we need now to show that summer is here is the "NSC isn't what it used to be, we've lost a lot of good posters recently" whinge.