Tiki Central Spamming

As we grow in number here on TC, I do believe we will be hit more and more from spammers, so I thought I'd pose a question that's actually for Hanford (and Mig), but hopefully a good answer can be found with suggestions from all of us:

How about requiring a minimum of at least a verifiable email address rather than just allowing people to register with just a sign-on name?

A person must first register, but cannot post until TC (Hanford, Mig) sends a "Welcome to Tiki Central" email to the registered person. The person would actually have to email 3 names of desired screen names to Hanford and he would verify that one of the three is available, input the name for them with a generic password, which the new member can modify when they return to TC, and thus 'verifying' the new members email address.

To take it a step further, why not a monthly "Letter from Hanford (and Mig)" sent to everyone's email address. Nothing fancy, just another way of a continuing verification of email addresses. Those that bounce back with an incorrect or non-existing email address will have their screen name deactivated until the member notices that they cannot post anything and will have to contact Hanford with their correct/new email address. Yeah, it's more work for Hanford....but we do have 2 Special Agents that can assist, don't we?

I believe we are different in comparison to other on-line forums, since we actually like to meet each other to share in experiences related to Tiki, rather than just sharing knowledge on-line. In addition, taking the example of Sabu's birthday party, it's helpful if we did have everyone's email address in case a secret surprise birthday party is being planned. We all really didn't know who would be able to show up at Sabu's gathering beyond those that actually had a listed email address, and it would have been nice to be able to contact others to join us at his party, but WE DIDN'T HAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS!

Lastly, it also helps for those traveling tiki-philes to be able to search for TC'ers in various parts of the country (and world), if members listed their location as an actual city and state/province, rather than "tikiland","hulaland","the land of tiki", etc., etc..

What are your thoughts?

Just my 2 (20 in this case) coconuts worth.

SugarCaddyDaddy's Schedule of Stuff!

[ Edited by: sugarcaddydaddy on 2003-06-09 11:12 ]

I'm gonna back-up SCD on this one. A verifiable email address will cut down on those who open profiles specifically to SPAM us. As a TC Special Agent I'd be willing to do my part in assisting with whatever process is implemented to minimize this problem.

Big-time support, at the very least for paragraph 2 & 3 suggestions (verifiable email)...death to spammers everwhere!

emspace.

I don't think the spamming has gotten to the point where such measures need to be implemented... I think the anti spam policy already in place works pretty well.

You know, the one where someone posts spam, then us crazy monkeys jump in and hurl poop at them, sending them running screaming for the hills from whence they came...

T-Fish,

I believe a preventive measure is best.

We already know that on-line groups get spammed sooner or later, that's been proven many times over on this board and the millions of other boards on the web. It would also keep a tighter exact count of actual members rather than having members with multiple screen names. Yes, you can just skip over a spamming post, but why even give an EASY outlet for spammers?

I do admit hurling poop can be quite satisfying at times. :lol:

Good ideas SCD-hopefully thay are feasible. I also would appreciated it if members would list their real city instead of "tiki-ville". It makes it more fun to see where people are from. Hey, if you folks are really paranoid that we are goona rob you, then list your general area (like Northern CA). Thanks for "listening to me"

Agent Two standing by, ready to assist....

Hey Mr. Smiley- where are you from? Your posts don't say. :)

A verifyable email is a good idea -- maybe it could be built into the program so you register your info and submit it to the site, then the program emails back with a generic password and a canned "Welcome to TC email" that spells out the spamming policy.

Another possibility is to have the first 5 posts from new members go into a queue whereby TC Special Agents must "approve" them before they get posted to the list. After 5 posts, their messages then go directly to the list. Spam never makes it out to the list.

If this policy is made clear at signup, I'll bet a lot of spammers won't even bother.

If this is too much work for the TC Special Agents, you could make several people "TC Spam Cops" with the ability to do this.

There's my 2 coconauts

-Mug

Good ideas. I agree with Tikifish, I don't think the small trouble we've had is worth having to manually verify every new member name.

The muggler's ideas of automating the email verification is a good one. There's something like that already here for people who forget their password, but it's not tied directly into the sign-up process. I'll look into that.

~Hanford

I'm from Tiki-Ville of course!!!
Actually, because I am so famous, I figured EVERYONE already knew were I was from!

Did I say "Tiki-Ville"?
Oh, Now I am from Tiki-Ville.

Mrsmiley lives in the TV!

I know, I saw it!

Is that Mr. Smiley or Mrs. Miley?

Give me a couple of drinks, some heels and make-up and who knows?

just a note - that everytime you post your email anywhere public on the net (and i notice alot of folks post their personal info here) you have the potential of getting crawled and spammed. for instance the party list thread under events is ripe for picking up by an automated engine. I think that's more likely to happen than someone maliciously signing in just to gain access to a single profile at a time.

I always insert funky text wherever my email appears in public, i.e. the words "NOSPAMPLEASE" before and after the @ sign. Then a friend who copies and pastes my email can still find me, but the automated spam engines send to a nonexistent address. and so far so good... no spam!!!

why is everyone so down on spam? It comes in a can, slice it up, fry it and put it on two pieces of wonder bread. Just like my mama use to make in the trailer!

I agree... spam is good...
Here's the National "Best SPAM Recipe" Competition 2002 Grand Prize Winner

SPAM & Jam Layered Sandwich

Ingredients:
2 (8-ounce) cans reduced fat refrigerated crescent rolls
1 (12-ounce) can SPAM Oven Roasted Turkey, thinly sliced
4 slices Colby cheese
4 slices Swiss cheese
1/3 cup raspberry jam
Maple Mustard Sauce (see recipe below)
Powdered sugar

Cooking Directions:
Heat oven to 375°. Separate dough into 4 long rectangles. Place rectangles crosswise on 1 large or 2 small ungreased cookie sheets. Firmly press perforations to seal. Rectangles should not touch when baking. Bake for 8-12 minutes until golden brown. Cool on pans for 5 minutes. Top one crust with half of SPAM and Colby cheese. Place second crust on top of the cheese. Top evenly with other half of SPAM and Swiss cheese. Place third crust on top of the cheese; spread evenly with raspberry jam. Top with fourth crust. Return layered sandwich to the oven and heat for 15 minutes or until filling is hot. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Sprinkle sandwich with powdered sugar, if desired, and slice into 1-inch pieces. If desired, serve with Maple Mustard Sauce. Serves 6-8.

Maple Mustard Sauce:
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning

In small bowl, combine all ingredients. Serve as a dipping sauce with sandwich. Tip: SPAM Classic may be used in place of the SPAM Oven Roasted Turkey or in combination.