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is it time to start approving newcomers?
I know that it really sucks not to be able to write on a forum until you have been approved by the admin, but with all these damn spammers I think it has to be time soon.
I know that this is also a hassel for you, but something should be done and as far as I know the easiest way would be to enable the "admin approval" feature which the board should have somewhere. |
Sadly it wouldn't help much - they just need to come up with reasonable answers and I'd never know - and yeah it's a lot of work (and I'm not always here, sometimes on the road!) and it sucks not to be able to post immediately, so nope, I think it's not the answer to the spam scum.
Relatively speaking we don't get all that many, and there's enough people keeping an eye out that we get them pretty quickly. thanks for trying to find a solution though! |
What was it Groucho Marxs said, " Would I want to be a member of any club that'd have me" ? :innocent:
Andy |
We keep them pretty much under control. I have seen other sites which are much more polluted. Anyone can report a post to the moderators and within minutes it will usually be acted upon so as long as everyone is vigilent we'll keep it to the minimum.
Death to all spammers :hang: |
Gecko's right - though I admit I've sometimes been disappointed when members have clearly seen spam and didnt bother to pass it on. Perhaps they were unsure of recommended procedure. If so, then maybe some kind of automatic reminder message about spam when joining the HUBB might be considered.
On the other hand, it's nice to spot spam within an hour of it being posted and let a moderator know. Thats the most effective antispam response I know....and it lets people know that the well-being of the HUBB depends on everyone. |
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It could be nice to point this out to new members, same goes for not putting a full email-adress in a post or any other of the FAQs, but who reads the full manual after purchasing a new toy (discovering this neverending source of knowledge) ? I know it took me 2 years before I discovered the http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...s/firstnew.gif [gotofirstnewpost] button. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...cons/icon7.gif cheers |
Here's what new registrants get automatically when they sign up:
========================= Dear "username", Thanks for registering on the Horizons Unlimited Bulletin Board - the HUBB! We're glad you have chosen to be a part of the Horizons Unlimited Travellers Community, and we hope you enjoy your stay. Take some time to browse the site, there's a wealth of information on everything to do with motorcycle travel. There's even a new page designed to give new travellers the basics on what's on our huge website (over 30,000 pages, 60+ forums, 100's of blogs, and loads more pages with important information on travel, such as the Shipping database - "How and where to ship your bike"). For a great intro to the site, see: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/intro.php For excellent tips on how to use the HUBB, (especially if you're new to Bulletin Board software) see: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/faq.php An important tip: NEVER post your email address on any website so it's visible, e.g. in a post. Spammers send out software that reads and collects those email addresses and adds them to their spam list - so you'll get a lot more spam! On HU, we care about your security and privacy and have enabled ways to contact other readers without risk. Just click someone's user name to see how to contact them. Need inspiration? There's over 5,000 pages of content and great photos, including exciting, humorous and sometimes terrifying stories from intrepid motorcycle adventurers on every continent. See the Trip Stories at: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/ (and if you haven't got a website for your trip, you could post your own travel story there!) You can also subscribe to the HU Travellers Ezine, regular news from travellers on the road delivered straight to your inbox! http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/newsletter/ Ready to start planning the big trip? If you're preparing for a trip, have a look at the trip planning section at http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tripplan/, where you'll find a wide range of articles and stories covering how to get yourself and your motorcycle across the continent or around the world, including where and when to go, living on the road, border crossings, shipping (across oceans or war zones), organized tours, and much more. The HUBB as you may have already discovered is the best place to get up-to-date answers from both travellers on the road and those who've done it already. There's 30,000+ pages of invaluable information contributed by our very active regulars, in over 60 forums, covering route planning, which bike and bike tech, safety on the road, trip transport, paperwork, regional forums, equipment, photography, navigation, communications, bike swaps, and much more. The HUBB - Powered by vBulletin Already on the road? Check out the Community section, Horizons Unlimited - Motorcycle Travellers Community and meet travellers in their own homes and on the road! We have a true global community of motorcycle travellers, with over 500 Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Travellers Communities established in at least 90 countries around the world, to enable motorcycle travellers, both those on the road and those at home, to meet up with like minded people. Wherever you are and whatever you're looking for in the world of motorcycle travel, you're likely to find it here - and if not, use the Search engine at the top right of every page - it works great! And if you still can't find it, let us know and we'll see what we can do! Last, but definitely not least, the HU Travellers Meetings, http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/meetings/ are an awesome introduction to motorcycle travel, held at around 10 locations on 5 continents every year! You can meet people who don't think you're crazy for wanting to ride your bike to South America or Africa or across Asia, or even around the world! Admit it, all your 'normal' friends and most of your family fears for your sanity! So, this is your opportunity to meet the people who will encourage you in that craziness, share their experiences and advice on how to do it, and maybe you'll meet them again in Mongolia or Timbuktu! We hope to see you at a travellers meeting this year, or on the road, someday, somewhere... Grant and Susan Johnson Horizons Unlimited - Live the Dream! at the Motorcycle Travellers' website: Horizons Unlimited - THE Motorcycle Travel site =============== Can't do much more, they've got all the info - if they read it. And yes, most don't. :hammer: |
Grant - can't fault you. As always!
(should be worth a free sticker sometime!!). Slightly O/T, A niggle with some is that newcomers cannot access the PM service until they have contributed a certain number of posts. (Not a problem for me - I have been boring people for ages). This is probably to reduce spammers getting to us through PM by giving them a 'probation' period of relevant posts. Unless a reduction would start spam-storms, could it be reviewed? Keep up the good work. |
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Finally, of course, people need to simply reply directly on the board - what drives me crazy is when people want to ask questions via PM that should be asked and ANSWERED for the benefit of ALL on the board! SHARING the info is what it's all about. :mchappy: |
Grant
Thanks for the reply. The circumstances are, as expected. Fully agree about sharing information being the purpose of HUBB, but the point arose recently when a newcomer wanted to give me personal contact details so we could possibly meet - we were both on the road in Russia at the time. But, "You's the Boss" - and probably know best :yes:. |
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BUT there is often a solution - you just have to tell him your email address! Newbies can READ PM's, they just can't reply. :) |
The HUBB's one of the best travel forums around & granting instant access to it makes it more dynamic & fresh.
Just imagine being stuck in some remote hell hole needing help, then having to wait a week before getting approved! |
I think it is symptomatic of times now that people want instant everything. Instant gratification, "sound bites", microwaves, e mail, faster internet, 1 hour photo developing and so on.
Well, I for one, was prepared to wait to have the advantages of a regular poster, and why not? If it's worthwhile then it's worth waiting for (or so my wife keeps telling me). This forum is not compulsory, it's not a Government requirement, you don't have to have licence for it or pass a test - you just have to post a few times to be accepted. Big deal. To whoever is complaining, get over it and move on. If you don't like it, then move somewhere else anyway. That's my opinion, I know you didn't ask for it, but I gave it anyway. So there. Time for my anger management class. |
Why be selfish
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2) Sending a message to the HUBB gets every one ... well all of those reading the HUBB ... and those are probably the people who will offer advice rather than a PM to someone who may be away, busy or just don't know that subject. 3) A message on the HUBB would probably get more replys .. some with differening information .. and that difference may give you the best solution to the problem. 4) by putting it on the HUBB we all learn. With a PM only few may learn. Help is best gained by advertising to the majority. |
See first post
I think, Frank, he was referring to the start of this thread. peter-denmark said that due to the amount of spam getting on the board, we should make people get approved before they can even post on the HUBB. What you say is indeed true, and that's why Grant said he is reluctant to change the way it operates.
regards Nigel in NZ |
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