Housekeeping

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-14 05:46:49

For SpaceNut ... your last post was 2020-04-09 01:42:41 Today is 2010-04-14

Best wishes for dealing with whatever is happening there in New Hampshire.

For moderators .... in the absence of SpaceNut, there are opportunities to deal with three recent Spam candidates.

For Quaoar ... best wishes for protection while helping your patients in Italy.

For Louis ... thank you for the link to Felix' interview with Dr. Zubrin! I appreciated the opportunity to learn (or refresh perhaps) about his interest in chess, and his pursuit of mastery of the Russian languagel His review of the history of the loss of momentum in space after Apollo was quite interesting. I've read other perspectives on that history, so found Dr. Zubrin's insights into how all the pieces fit together helpful.

Calliban ... it is past time for the Asteroid topic to see an update. Apophis awaits!

GW Johnson ... I'd very much like to see if we (the forum) can do something useful with Void's "invention/re-invention" of the ballute.

Edit#1: I found this post by GW Johnson on the exact scenario: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 73#p115973

kbd512 ... I am still trying to schedule time to study the plasma link you provided recently. It seems promising in a number of areas.

I ran a quick lookup for Administrators ... There are four listed, but James Burk is listed twice. Josh Cryer last posted in 2018, before I joined the forum.

Edit #2: New spam memberships have arrived during 2020/04/14:

LamontPenm
Hung73N688
Ovdeenko055

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-04-14 14:28:21)

clark · 2020-04-14 23:58:49

Asteroids often drift in silence for ages. So to those who look up.

Cheers.

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-15 07:27:14

For SpaceNut ... your last post was 2020-04-09 01:42:41 Today is 2010-04-15
Best wishes for dealing with whatever is happening there in New Hampshire.

For moderators .... in the absence of SpaceNut, there are opportunities to deal with recent Spam candidates.

For Quaoar ... best wishes for protection while helping your patients in Italy.

2020/04/15 NewMars Status
Today: 2020-04-15
ID Last Post Days Elapsed New Spam
Administrator
SpaceNut 2020-04-09 6
Banned    2020-04-08 7 > 50 < 100
Moderators
Adrian    2008-01-06 4483
IanM    2019-10-04 194
kbd512    2020-04-14 1
RobertDyck 2020-04-13 2
Members
Louis    2020-04-14 1
clark    2020-04-15 0

Edit#1:

I will reach out to him and let you know if I hear back
James Burk
IT Director, The Mars Society

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-04-15 10:21:24)

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-16 06:15:42

For SpaceNut ... your last post was 2020-04-09 01:42:41 Today is 2010-04-16
Best wishes for dealing with whatever is happening there in New Hampshire.

For moderators .... in the absence of SpaceNut, there are opportunities to deal with recent Spam candidates.
For Quaoar ... best wishes for protection while helping your patients in Italy.

In inquiry about SpaceNut was opened. A reply is pending.

(th)

kbd512 · 2020-04-16 22:06:33

tahanson43206,

Let me know if you hear anything back about SpaceNut.

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-17 04:27:49

Thanks kbd512 re #55

James Burk said he would inquire.

I most certainly will report anything he finds, although he could also post here in the forum, since he is the lead Administrator.

I've been thinking about contacting others who might be able to help.

At this point I no longer think a simple Internet hangup is the cause.

For that reason, I invite everyone to join me in wishing the very best possible outcome for whatever SpaceNut is dealing with.

For SpaceNut ... your last post was 2020-04-09 01:42:41 Today is 2010-04-17

(th)

GW Johnson · 2020-04-17 17:55:33

I've seen and heard nothing regarding Spacenut since he went silent. Has anyone else?

GW

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-18 07:02:29

Two initiatives are underway (that I know about) to try to found out how SpaceNut is doing
I'll immediately report if a response arrives from either of these.
However, I am glad to see GW Johnson's post, and hope that additional initiatives may take place.

I would like to point out that an initiative using email might not be productive, if that is the approach someone is considering.
A personal relationship with SpaceNut would appear to be indicated.

NewMars Forum Status
Today: | 2020-04-18 | | Accumulated
ID | Last Post |Days Elapsed | New Spam
Administrator
SpaceNut| 2020-04-09 | 9
Banned | 2020-04-08 | 10 | > 50 < 100
Moderators
Adrian | 2008-01-06 | 4486
IanM | 2019-10-04 | 197
kbd512 | 2020-04-17 | 1
RobertDyck| 2020-04-13 | 5
Members
Louis | 2020-04-18 | 0
clark | 2020-04-18 | 0
Void | 2020-04-15 | 3
calliban| 2020-03-31 | 18
elderflower| 2020-04-18 | 0
Terraformer| 2020-04-18 | 0
GW Johnson| 2020-04-17 | 1

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-04-18 07:06:38)

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-19 06:29:10

No news about SpaceNut had arrived late last evening.

Two initiatives that I know about remain pending. It would seem prudent for the Administrator of a Forum such as this one to put in place a secondary support person in case of an emergency.

NewMars Forum Status
Today: | 2020-04-19 | | Accumulated
ID | Last Post | Days Elapsed | New Spam
Administrator
SpaceNut | 2020-04-09 | 10
Banned | 2020-04-08 | 11 | > 50 < 100
Moderators
Adrian | 2008-01-06 | 4487
IanM    | 2019-10-04 | 198
kbd512 | 2020-04-17 | 2
RobertDyck | 2020-04-17 | 2
Members
Louis | 2020-04-19 | 0
clark    | 2020-04-18 | 1
Void    | 2020-04-18 | 1
calliban | 2020-03-31 | 19
elderflower | 2020-04-18 | 1
Terraformer | 2020-04-18 | 1
GW Johnson | 2020-04-17 | 2

Edit#1: There were no updates in the email queue this morning.

It is highly likely the impact of the virus at both potential sources is significant. My inquiries would necessarily have gone to the back of a long queue.

If a new Administrator is assigned to this forum, as a temporary fill-in for SpaceNut, I certainly hope that person will make SURE there is a backup plan for an emergency that might occur.

Edit #2: A reasonable backup would be a backup Administrator. This would be someone willing to serve primarily as a moderator, but willing to step up to the Administrator responsibility if necessary, or for the convenience of the primary Administrator, who would quite reasonably be expected to need an occasional break.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-04-19 09:45:44)

SpaceNut · 2020-04-19 13:10:56

Sorry for the absence but am still dealing with getting a network connection. I am posting this from a WiFi connected tablet and have been checking in while at work when it is connecting to the forums. The family is fine and I am wearing my mask at all times for work.

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-19 14:00:58

Welcome back! Nice surprise, to see this was just a network issue.

Question ... what is the monthly cost for the least expensive fiber connection in your area?

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-22 07:29:39

NewMars Forum Status
Today: | 2020-04-22 | ____________ | Accumulated
ID | Last Post | Days Elapsed | New Spam
Administrator
SpaceNut | 2020-04-19 | 3
Banned | 2020-04-08 | 14 | > 100 < 150
Moderators
Adrian | 2008-01-06 | 4490
IanM | 2019-10-04 | 201
kbd512 | 2020-04-21 | 1
RobertDyck | 2020-04-19 | 3
Members
Louis | 2020-04-20 | 2
clark | 2020-04-22 | 0
Void | 2020-04-20 | 2
calliban | 2020-03-31 | 22
elderflower | 2020-04-18 | 4
Terraformer | 2020-04-18 | 4
GW Johnson | 2020-04-17 | 5
oldfart1939 | 2020-03-26 | 27
knightdepaix | 2020-04-05 | 17
Spaniard | 2020-04-21 | 1

kbd512 · 2020-04-22 16:20:18

SpaceNut,

Any idea what it would cost to get you a solid internet connection?

I can chip in some funds if it's only a matter of money.

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-22 17:06:58

For kbd512 re #63

Thanks for picking up on that possibility! I was thinking about GoFundMe as a possible vehicle for allowing forum members to help out to the extent they can.

Right now is a tough time for everyone, but even so, if enough forum members (and forum readers who are not registered) add what they can, we might be able to cover a year of a ground based Internet service for SpaceNut.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-23 07:58:18

NewMars Forum Status
Today: | 2020-04-23 | _______ | Accumulated
ID _____| Last Post | Days Elapsed | New Spam

Administrator
SpaceNut | 2020-04-19 | 4
Banned __| 2020-04-08 | 15 | > 100 < 150
Moderators
kbd512 __| 2020-04-21 | 2
RobertDyck | 2020-04-19 | 4
IanM ______| 2019-10-04 | 202
Adrian _____| 2008-01-06 | 4491

Members
calliban ___| 2020-03-31 | 23
clark ______| 2020-04-22 | 1
elderflower | 2020-04-22 | 1
GW Johnson | 2020-04-17 | 6
knightdepaix | 2020-04-05 | 18
Louis _____| 2020-04-22 | 1
oldfart1939 __| 2020-03-26 | 28
Spaniard ____| 2020-04-21 | 2
Terraformer | 2020-04-18 | 5
Void _______| 2020-04-22 | 1

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-26 07:13:09

NewMars Forum Status
Today: | 04/26/20 | _______ | Accumulated
ID _____| Last Post | Days Elapsed | New Spam

Administrator
SpaceNut ___| 43940 | 01/06/00
Banned by SpaceNut _| 43929 | 01/17/00 | > 100 < 150 Weed Count
Moderators
kbd512 ______| 43947 | 12/30/99
RobertDyck | 43947 | 12/30/99
IanM ______| 43742 | 07/23/00
Adrian _____| 39453 | 04/20/12

Members
calliban ___| 43921 | 01/25/00
clark ______| 43943 | 01/03/00
elderflower __| 43946 | 12/31/99
GW Johnson | 43946 | 12/31/99
knightdepaix | 43926 | 01/20/00
Louis _____| 43947 | 12/30/99
oldfart1939 __| 43945 | 01/01/00
Quaoar ______| 43926 | 01/20/00 <<-- Medical duty
Spaniard ____| 43942 | 01/04/00
Terraformer __| 43939 | 01/07/00
Void _______| 43946 | 12/31/99

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-26 19:27:47

There may be something happening in the Administrator front. Stay tuned. (th)

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-27 06:41:38

NewMars Forum Status
Today: ______| Apr 27, 2020 | _______ | Accumulated
ID ___________| Last Post | Days Elapsed | New Spam

Administrator
SpaceNut _________| Apr 19, 2020 | 8
Josh Cryer _________| Feb 6, 2018 | 811
Banned by SpaceNut | Apr 8, 2020 | 19 | > 100 < 150 Weed Count

Moderators
kbd512 ____________| Apr 26, 2020 | 1
RobertDyck _______| Apr 26, 2020 | 1
IanM _____________| Oct 4, 2019 | 206
Adrian ____________| Jan 6, 2008 | 4495

Members
calliban ___________| Mar 31, 2020 | 27
clark _____________| Apr 22, 2020 | 5
elderflower ______| Apr 25, 2020 | 2
GW Johnson ___| Apr 26, 2020 | 1
knightdepaix __| Apr 5, 2020 | 22
Louis _____| Apr 26, 2020 | 1
oldfart1939 ____| Apr 24, 2020 | 3
Quaoar ______| Apr 5, 2020 | 22 <<-- Medical duty
Spaniard ______| Apr 21, 2020 | 6
Terraformer ___| Apr 18, 2020 | 9
Tmcom __________| Apr 25, 2020 | 2
Void ___________| Apr 25, 2020 | 2

Edit#1: Update from Mr. Burk:

On 4/27/20 5:04 AM, James Burk wrote:
> I have upgraded kbd512
>
> James Burk
> IT Director, The Mars Society

Congratulations to kbd512 ... Hopefully SpaceNut will be back with us soon, but in the mean time, best wishes for a smooth transition from moderator.

Edit#2: There is no change visible in the forum listings for Adminstrator and Moderator.

kbd512 ... have you seen a change? Perhaps time is needed for the change to take effect?

The change has taken effect. kbd512 was moved from Moderator to Administrator

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-04-27 09:51:43)

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-28 12:57:22

There is a tradition in the US Military (and probably all human military organizations) to award "Battlefield Commissions" to enlisted personnel who show particular leadership potential. Something like that has just happened to kbd512, in the extended absence of longtime Administrator SpaceNut.

While SpaceNut sorts out the connection difficulties that make participation here difficult, kbd512 offered to step forward to "try" to fill the position, and his petition was accepted by the "Powers that Be".

This is a good time for regular members to think about a word of encouragement for kbd512. The ongoing campaign of global spammers is unrelenting, so kbd512 will have his typing keys busy with that challenge alone.

However, there is an opportunity for kbd512 to tweak the culture of the forum a bit while we wait for SpaceNut to return.

I would like to offer my support for kbd512 in the Sols ahead, and offer best wishes for the success of the forum.

(th)

SpaceNut · 2020-04-28 19:34:55

Sorry for the delay to get an active connection Sprint still can not resolve what they caused in the first place by there mega mergers.
This post is being made possible with a temporary cellphone wifi tethering on the new windows 10 machine for just today.
It gives me another possible option but its more costly and there are no benefits to doing so on a permanent basis.

Good move to have others that actually participate on the forum as Administrators.

Thanks' for keeping up the good work to all.

The family is fine, I am at work through more cases are springing up positive in the building that I am in...not cool.
I am wearing my mask and washing my hands religiously.

kbd512 · 2020-04-28 20:20:42

tahanson43206,

I'm only standing in for SpaceNut until he returns. After he returns, he'll be the primary administrator once again and hopefully everything will be business as usual.

All I'm after is an open exchange of ideas that could contribute in some small way to the greatest endeavor humanity will likely undertake in our lifetimes- namely the exploration of Mars. If others can take whatever small bits happen to be "good ideas" from amongst the numerous and varied ideas posted here on the New Mars Forums and apply them to an actual space exploration program, then I'll consider that a major win for humanity and this forum.

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-29 08:29:41

For kbd512 re #71

Thank you for stepping up to fill in for SpaceNut!

It is your decision to make, but I recommend banning the poster that just appeared in Space Advocacy Organizations, and removing both the post and my reply.

***
I few Sols ago, I offered to work on preparing a site for experiments with the latest version of FluxBB. At the time, I was thinking of building a server for the purpose, and while that is a time tested approach which I am confident I could have pulled off (having done it multiple times), my monthly encounters with younger folks who are still active in the IT industry reminded me that cloud computing is now readily available.

Microsoft offers a free year of Azure use, and that is attractive on a number of counts, but at the end of the year, the ID which opened the free account would have to subscribe to monthly fees. I ** think ** Amazon offers a free trial for their cloud service, but I haven't checked recently.

However, there is a Linux cloud service that starts at $5 a month for a decent small server, and I find that offer quite interesting.

I'm curious to know if you would be willing to experiment with the latest FluxBB to see if we (you and I an whoever else decides to participate) can figure out how to implement some of the spam prevention methods routinely used by FluxBB operators.

I don't know this for a fact, but there is at least a chance that a well documented, well tested feature that does something useful to improve the situation for users of this forum would be accepted by the Mars Society IT department, and added to the existing FluxBB package.

At a bare minimum, I would recommend testing the hidden field option which I have described previously. According to conversation on the FlubBB forum, this single patch can reduce successful registrations by 90%, because robot programs tend to fill out all the fields on a web site, and humans (of course) do not fill out a hidden field.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-04-29 08:30:53)

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-30 08:00:44

This Housekeeping post is for Yoda ...

Yoda, if you see this post, please reply.

I'll follow up with some suggestions about how to deal with spammers in the future.

In addition, I'll offer an introduction to one of the forum's authors.

(th)

elderflower · 2020-04-30 10:31:51

what is it that makes the topic Other Space Advocacy Organisations so attractive to the spammers? Or are we getting targeted by a single bot using many names? if the latter, is there a counterattack method available,

tahanson43206 · 2020-04-30 10:45:47

For elderflower re #74

Thank you for bringing this question into view ... I'd been wondering the same thing, but didn't see anything obvious in the Index. There is a possibility that what we users see as the Index is a sorted display of entries made from database records, and if the bots pull the database without sorting, then they might find the first physical record and just go with it.

Another possibility is that (as Yoda surmised) we may be dealing with a single spammer, whose software has discovered (through trial and error) that the Space Advocacy topic does not result in banning, so they just continue to use it.

I understand the dilemma that kbd512 (and SpaceNut before him) face ... Yoda appears to be a legitimate new member, but his initial approach to us used a format so similar to the bots that I was expecting to see him banned, or at least watched like a hawk. Instead, kbd512 gave him the benefit of the doubt, and I am looking forward to his contributions to the forum.

My recommendation for consideration by the group is to carry out a series of actions which would be designed to reduce spam registration while at the same time encouraging legitimate new members to feel welcome.

The first step would require an update to the FluxBB package. According to the FluxBB.org web site, a popular and successful procedure cuts spam by about 90%. The changes involve:

1) Create a hidden field in the registration form
2) Add code to the registration section of the web site software to look for an entry in the hidden field.

The logic is that a human will NOT fill out a field which the human cannot see, but a robot ** can ** "see" all fields, and (apparently) most such robots put a value into the field. The FluxBB registration routine then finds the hidden field content, and automatically bans the user.

The method that I think would be best in the long run would be to set up a duplicate FluxBB forum just for Applications for Membership.

That forum would be visible to the public, so all current NewMars forum members could help to check on activity there.

When a legitimate applicant appears, they would have been instructed (by the registration page) to say something intelligent (non-robotic) that would distinguish them from all the spam registrations.

Those applicants would then be available for conversation with NewMars forum members who volunteer for that duty, to confirm the applicants are legitimate.

At ** that ** point, a simple manual process would be carried out by one of the Forum Administrators to admit the new candidate.

***
The FluxBB.org forum has an active topic devoted to spam. That forum and the topic are open for public viewing.

(th)

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#51 2020-04-14 05:46:49

Re: Housekeeping

#52 2020-04-14 23:58:49

Re: Housekeeping

#53 2020-04-15 07:27:14

Re: Housekeeping

#54 2020-04-16 06:15:42

Re: Housekeeping

#55 2020-04-16 22:06:33

Re: Housekeeping

#56 2020-04-17 04:27:49

Re: Housekeeping

#57 2020-04-17 17:55:33

Re: Housekeeping

#58 2020-04-18 07:02:29

Re: Housekeeping

#59 2020-04-19 06:29:10

Re: Housekeeping

#60 2020-04-19 13:10:56

Re: Housekeeping

#61 2020-04-19 14:00:58

Re: Housekeeping

#62 2020-04-22 07:29:39

Re: Housekeeping

#63 2020-04-22 16:20:18

Re: Housekeeping

#64 2020-04-22 17:06:58

Re: Housekeeping

#65 2020-04-23 07:58:18

Re: Housekeeping

#66 2020-04-26 07:13:09

Re: Housekeeping

#67 2020-04-26 19:27:47

Re: Housekeeping

#68 2020-04-27 06:41:38

Re: Housekeeping

#69 2020-04-28 12:57:22

Re: Housekeeping

#70 2020-04-28 19:34:55

Re: Housekeeping

#71 2020-04-28 20:20:42

Re: Housekeeping

#72 2020-04-29 08:29:41

Re: Housekeeping

#73 2020-04-30 08:00:44

Re: Housekeeping

#74 2020-04-30 10:31:51

Re: Housekeeping

#75 2020-04-30 10:45:47

Re: Housekeeping

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