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Official discussion forum of The Mars Society and MarsNews.com

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Announcement: As a reader of NewMars forum, we have opportunities for you to assist with technical discussions in several initiatives underway. NewMars needs volunteers with appropriate education, skills, talent, motivation and generosity of spirit as a highly valued member. Write to newmarsmember * gmail.com to tell us about your ability's to help contribute to NewMars and become a registered member.

#151 2019-11-14 17:03:28

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

Volunteering is the spirit that makes many things work, so getting that word out might be used to see a gain of membership for Newmars..

Also on the note of the forum I have been given the go ahead to start locking 0 posters.

"As a result of continued spamming attacks and large quantity of dormant accounts it is the decision of the board to begin locking accounts that are or have not been active since registering. This will include last visit and no post users as there is no requirement to register to view our forum." We could just delete the account but its pretects the forum from repeat reuse of usernames and emails that are bogus.

“If you wanted your account, sorry, just register again and be sure to post so you aren’t banned again!”

The spamming, large quantity of dormant accounts has prompted the board to lock accounts that are dormant since registering.

Pointing to the registration process legal

words are not enough

continuing to compile thoughts

preamble for the forum message for wanting to post.

tahanson43206 wrote:

For those who go to the trouble of registering to participate in this forum, we are looking for additional persons with expertise in a variety of fields, and a willingness to share insights with forum readers.

We already have on hand representatives from:
engineering
chemistry
physics
finance
biology

Since all these fields have numerous subdivisions, we can certainly provide a receptive audience for new contributors

Right now I'm preparing for volunteer duty at a local organization.  They are holding a gathering just before noon, to prepare publicity to thank volunteers.  I'll be attending with the additional purpose in mind of seeing if anyone there is interested in working on recruiting new volunteers.  We are often short staff for duty which requires five people fully engaged, and the Task Assignment Manager (my title for the coordinator) is constantly on the phone trying to persuade folks to fill in gaps.

I bring this up because the NewMars forum can advance toward goals created by its members, if there are additional high quality volunteers willing to pitch in to help.

I am not shy about calling for volunteers, and I would like to invite you to take another look at the text in the Registration page, about which I posted recently in another topic.  That text is of a legal nature, and should not be disturbed.  However, I'd very much like to see a paragraph added to reveal the kind of person you would REALLY REALLY like to add to the membership.  If you are granted the power to update that page, you can add specific skills sets you're interested in adding to the mix.

At present, it seems to me that the forum is dependent upon random chance to bring in new members of the caliber of Calliban.  In a growing organization, the factors that brought in a new member of the caliber of Calliban would be investigated, to see if the success can be replicated.

From my perspective, you have already demonstrated commendable traits for a group leader, by ruthlessly banning those who deserve that fate.

You have the opportunity to build at the top of the scale, while maintaining strict and firm standards for minimal performance at the bottom.

(th)

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#152 2019-12-03 20:53:51

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

Thanks Robertdyck for nipping sergeysaive another russian posting spam

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#153 2019-12-03 21:41:09

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,746

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

For SpaceNut re #151

I called up the user list after seeing #151 again, and found several pages of banned Zero posters.

If you are doing that work manually, it will take a while.  Thanks for taking that on.

A software solution could be run to set all zero posters to banned status, but perhaps the manual one-at-a-time approach is better.

(th)

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#154 2019-12-03 22:19:40

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

If there was a direct access to the data bases then it would be easy but all I have access to is the php links. The account ban stops the username reuse and the emails as well such as to block the average spammer. Doing the delete account allows it to a wide open attack from the same username and email once more.

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#155 2019-12-04 07:33:37

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,746

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

For SpaceNut or other Moderators:

MarcelaGrr looks like a candidate for review.

GarminE is DEFINITELY a candidate for removal.

(th)

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#156 2019-12-04 07:42:15

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,746

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

For SpaceNut re #154 ...

The Mars Society IT staff may be volunteer, but (I'm hoping) they bring professional skills to the support role.

It is possible you could make a formal request (Work Request) to the appropriate person.

An SQL command could be written to quickly ban all users who have posted zero messages and are older than some period of time, such as one year.

That would leave the ID's out of service, and would still leave plenty of zero post users for manual removal.

In light of your talent for finding useful links in the forum archive, and new links on the Internet, I feel that doing manual banning is a use of your time and energy that should be weighed against the amount of time and energy a member of the IT staff would have to spend planning the SQL to perform the ban automatically.  Once written, the procedure could be run once a year.

Edit(1): SpaceNut ... the procedure can be invoked automatically to be run every night, without human intervention.

If it is written to ban user ID's which have not posted in a year, then no user ID's would exist on the system in an active state with a registration date greater than one year.

You can still ban any ID manually at your discretion.  It's just that the burden would be considerably smaller.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2019-12-04 10:03:07)

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#157 2019-12-04 08:26:12

kbd512
Administrator
Registered: 2015-01-02
Posts: 7,361

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

tahanson43206,

Spammer "GarminE" has been taken care of.  Thanks again.

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#158 2019-12-04 10:24:16

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,746

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

For kbd512 ... thank you for taking care of the earlier spammer.

Now we have jonathanL

This ID was created on November 26th, and it has taken until this week for the spammer to return to test it.

From my perspective, it is a shame to see a "worthy/meaningful" name like this one denied to a legitimate user.

(th)

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#159 2019-12-04 15:05:42

Oldfart1939
Member
Registered: 2016-11-26
Posts: 2,366

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

I just reported jonathanL as well. More illegal garbage for sale--fake IDs.

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#160 2019-12-04 17:23:29

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

jonathanL, GarminE, MarcelaGrr  have been banned and posts removed.
Thanks to all for the help...

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#161 2019-12-11 07:36:55

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,746

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

We have a visitor from India.  While this particular ID needs to be given attention, I see in this incident a positive indication that NewMars forum is indeed visible to someone in India.  It is possible that there exists a person in India who would be a good fit for the mission of this group. If there is such a person in the forum readership, please consider registering as a contributing member.  We have put a LOT on our collective plate, and need plenty of help. 

The ID for review is:  techsupportleads

(th)

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#162 2019-12-13 18:35:57

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,746

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

For SpaceNut or other Moderators ...

Delaquanz appears to be a candidate for review.

(th)

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#163 2019-12-13 19:18:05

kbd512
Administrator
Registered: 2015-01-02
Posts: 7,361

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

tahanson43206,

Thanks for the heads up.  User "Delaquanz" has been banned and the spam post removed.

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#164 2019-12-16 08:13:57

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,746

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

MckinleyDe appears to be a place holder for future spam.

It would be better for humanity if the person behind this (probably fake) ID were to try to find ways to make a productive contribution to society.

There is SO much that needs doing to address problems the human race is facing.

(th)

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#165 2019-12-16 08:31:34

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

Ya I tagged it in the report function....

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#166 2019-12-21 07:38:04

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,746

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

For SpaceNut or other moderators:

VictorU is a candidate for banning.

That's a shame, as always.  VictorU is a perfectly good User ID, and the behavior of this individual denies that ID to someone with positive intent who might have made a contribution to the forum.

(th)

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#167 2019-12-21 08:25:51

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

Got em,, thanks

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#168 2019-12-25 12:46:44

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

we now have a third poster with the title of topic "I am the new one" with the same email server address for 2 of them. I believe these have been on the spammer side of postings in the past. So if they do not post again in a few weeks we will lock there accounts before they can do harm.

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#169 2019-12-25 13:29:29

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,746

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

For SpaceNut re the "new one" ...

As a suggestion, why wait?

What I'm thinking about is the psychology of the interaction with this person.  If you act swiftly whenever this post appears, it is possible the individual will decide to go bother less alert web sites.

I'd like to bring up again the text that appears when people register.

Please consider taking a look at that.

It could be updated to inform applicants that impostors will be swiftly banned, or whatever policy you decide to implement.

(th)

edit other steps to update:

tahanson43206 wrote:

luf.org, like NewMars forum, draws readers from around the world.

I am hoping to encourage more cross-site correspondence.  We have already received contributions from Lizard King on finances and related matters.

Your contribution may stimulate someone else to respond.

NewMars.com/forum has a VERY liberal registration policy.

Almost ANYONE can gain registered status, as the large number of spam providers confirms.

However, occasionally the registration software blocks a person we would LIKE to have join.  The clue is that you do NOT receive the confirmation email promptly from the registration software.   If you do not receive the temporary password within 24 hours, the ID you tried is blocked for some reason.

You can deal with that after you get registered. Just try another ID until you receive the confirmation email.

If THAT doesn't work the problem may have to do with your email provider.  Try another email provider.

Please document ALL problems and report them when you finally secure access.

***
For SpaceNut ... the recovery option appears to have been removed.  Has anyone notified you of the change?

(th)

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#170 2019-12-30 15:34:27

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

It is believed that the email is linked to spamming filter of the recieving web server and that the return email may be bouncing as well from the email severs as it detects the incoming email as spam or it ends up in the spam email box at the client.

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#171 2020-01-03 18:24:32

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

started to day to ban suspect email addresses that are typical spamming names for server

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#172 2020-01-04 11:04:51

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,746

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

For SpaceNut ... missed one << grin >> drecarlos02
(th)

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#173 2020-01-04 11:08:53

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

banned and now for the cleanup

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#174 2020-01-06 09:33:13

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,746

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

For SpaceNut or other moderators ...

It is Monday, and the Cat's away ...

EduardM is back with a familiar offering

LatoyaStre is not likely to make a useful contribution.

***
For those who go to the trouble of registering to participate in this forum, we are looking for additional persons with expertise in a variety of fields, and a willingness to share insights with forum readers.

We already have on hand representatives from:
engineering
chemistry
physics
finance
biology

Since all these fields have numerous subdivisions, we can certainly provide a receptive audience for new contributors

However, the total number of people ** I ** am looking for is 2750, which is the number of people I'm inviting to take "ownership" of a virtual plot in Sagan City 2018, which is represented by the My Hacienda topic.

I'm looking for folks who will decide upon a specialization that will blend into a complete community able to not only survive, but PROSPER in a location like Mars, or at similarly challenging locations on Earth, such as Devon Island in Canada and Svalbard in Norway.

(th)

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#175 2020-01-06 17:04:13

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: Okay guys, we need new moderators... - Want a job? Post here or nominate.

Thanks for the spamming round up and for the thoughts on a preamble for the forum message for wanting to post.
Now to do some cleanup...and to see if they are newly registered on older...

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