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[spider jerusalem]

this may not be spam related,
but this is the thread it was discussed in already

Connection Problems

Sorry, SMF was unable to connect to the database. This may be caused by the server being busy. Please try again later.

this happens all the time lately...  

Yeah it has happened twice in last 15 minutes  
It's so much worse when you see the 'Connection Problems' page just after you clicked on the 'Post' button.

the admins are aware of this forum mis-feature,
and it's complicated to fix

http://www.theshadowbox.net/forum/index.php?topic=23911.msg424526#msg424526

It is almost impossible to know why we are having connection problems between Forum and Database without analyzing logs or network traffic. IMO, this is not only because of spams, it may be related to the host service.

[N.U.]

Have a look at another website where I am a global moderator: http://www.mycodedontstink.com/solutions/

They use phpBB as their source code.

It has become the standard for message boards for how clean, user friendly, and, more importantly, bug-free their updates are. Also, when we have come across bugs( they happen to everyone from time to time), the phpBB community works diligently to fix reported bugs. It's open-source, free, and very customizable.

http://www.phpbb.com/

[spider jerusalem]

Have a look at another website where I am a global moderator: http://www.mycodedontstink.com/solutions/

They use phpBB as their source code.

It has become the standard for message boards for how clean, user friendly, and, more importantly, bug-free their updates are. Also, when we have come across bugs( they happen to everyone from time to time), the phpBB community works diligently to fix reported bugs. It's open-source, free, and very customizable.

http://www.phpbb.com/

The old board used to run over phpBB 2, but the spam surge was so big that they had to reset the board and switch platforms. The folks from SMF are also really helpful, and so is the community. The biggest problem with the showbox is the weak system to block bots from registering. However, according to Hilary, neither updating, neither installing new mods with be easy due their host.


Both phpBB and SMF are quite amazing free forum systems, and both with weak bot blocking are open to invasion/spamming. And so is Invision and vBulletin.

 

[N.U.]

the other board counts their spambot posts per year on one hand, so that's not it.

[spider jerusalem]

the other board counts their spambot posts per year on one hand, so that's not it.

I think that another board reset is not an option. and if installing mods and updating are already a difficulty for them, imagine migrating.

[The Angel Raliel]

we would end up like Battle Star galactica.. rag-tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest...

[Musings]

More verification questions for first time users....q

[The Angel Raliel]

seriously...thee quarters if not more of the daily traffic on this forum is spam

[The Angel Raliel]

...it deters new users and and old ones

[spider jerusalem]

I'd like to know, technically speakng, what block us from updating the board to the 2.0 version or adding mods to block spammers from registering.

[lentower]

the other board counts their spambot posts per year on one hand, so that's not it.

I think that another board reset is not an option. and if installing mods and updating are already a difficulty for them, imagine migrating.

which way to go partially depends on exactly what the problem is

[Shock G]

It makes no sense, I'm on much larger boards which have next to 0 spam bots, they are vBulletin though.

[spider jerusalem]

Many boards I've been in in the last years would require manual activation or would have stronger registering blockage. Some have both. I have problems with bots registering on my board, and got rid of them when I installed a question system. No bots for a year and couting.

[Shock G]

Many boards I've been in in the last years would require manual activation or would have stronger registering blockage. Some have both. I have problems with bots registering on my board, and got rid of them when I installed a question system. No bots for a year and couting.

The board I'm talking about has almost 200k members so I doubt they do manual activation.  There is one random question that most people would no but others could google in 5 seconds and that's it.

[spider jerusalem]

The board I'm talking about has almost 200k members so I doubt they do manual activation.  There is one random question that most people would no but others could google in 5 seconds and that's it.

I meant to say manual activation from the user, not the moderator/administrator.  Questions we use on our board are subject related ("which band does amanda and brian play together?") or small logical problems, like "adding two with 3 you get: (answer with a number)".