I looked on about lunchtime and it was okay then. Suspect all the spam has made folks give up.
No posts between 18:00 yesterday and 15:33 today? (and only spam since then).
Has the site been down?
I don't know everything. - But I'm good at searching for, and finding, stuff.
Migration from ESA to Universal Credit- Click here for information.
I looked on about lunchtime and it was okay then. Suspect all the spam has made folks give up.
Might just be a quiet day for some reason. (May be the DWP have not made any mistakes today. LOL)
Other forums I visit also seem to be quieter than their normal traffic.
I don't know everything. - But I'm good at searching for, and finding, stuff.
Migration from ESA to Universal Credit- Click here for information.
I logged in on Saturday only to find over 100 spam posts! But I'm finding the spam coming in during the week as well so it's not just weekends. Plus spam attached to genuine posts.
Even tonight there's more spam than real posts.
I just feel sorry for anyone viewing Youreable for the first time as I must admit that if I was new here and desperate for help I might assume that there wasn't anything but spam here and not bother.
How about new members are not able to include links until both 100 days membership and a minimum number of posts have been submitted.
Don't think they have the capability or even any sense of pride or even worse any sense of the importance to those that need the help that is/was available on this site.
Numerous offers of help from those that really care have been made, and I think not taken up. All I can say is....shame on you DLF
Last edited by phillee; 01-29-2019 at 10:18 PM.
That's a simple setting in the vBulletin software that the forum runs on.
It does need 'Owner/Administrator' access to change it though, it's not something a Moderator can do.
And of course it needs someone who has been given the responsibility/authority to make these decisions/changes without having to get permission from higher in 'the organisation'.
Often you'll find that the person who is charged with running a forum like this one has been given it as an additional duty to their regular job, and they may not be that familiar with the use and administration of the vBulletin software.
You also start to get complaints from genuine users if/when you put these kinds of restrictions on.
For example last year the Malwarebytes forum had to restrict users ability to edit their own posts because the 'edit spam'* was getting so bad on there.
Only certain 'advanced' user groups there can now edit their own posts, which has led to complaints from those regular members who are not in one of the Advanced groups.
Limiting the ability to post links is not that great a deterent anyway these days.
The spammer soon learns what the limit is, and just waits the required number of days, or makes hundreds of posts without links. (or even just turns off link parsing so the filter software doesn't see it as a clickable link).
You've seen how quickly a spambot can make hundred of posts.
*PS.
'edit spam' is a way spammers getting around automatic spam filters. (I won't go into details but I'm sure you can work it out).
Whatever automatic filters and/or restrictions you put in place the spammer will find a way around them.
Last edited by nukecad; 01-30-2019 at 06:25 AM.
I don't know everything. - But I'm good at searching for, and finding, stuff.
Migration from ESA to Universal Credit- Click here for information.