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This topic is intended to provide information about the phpBB3 NewMars image server installed 2025/11/30.
The announcement you see when opening the server is:
New Mars Image Server
NMIS is a repository for newmars.com forum user-generated images
To access the server enter
The site will be available to NewMars members.
At the moment, we are allowing open registration.
Every NewMars member who would like to be able to store images for display in the regular NewMars.com/forums is welcome to register.
Procedure for storing an image will be posted in Post #3.
Many thanks to webmaster kbd512 for creating this service.
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This post is reserved for an index to posts that may be contributed by NewMars members.
Index:
Post #3: Instructions for storing images in the NewMars Image Server and linking them in NewMars.com/forums
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This post is reserved for instructions for NewMars members to store images and link them for display in NewMars.com/forums
***
Log in and click on Images for FluxBB
click on post reply
click on Additions
Use the file selector to select the png or jpg
Then! Be sure to click on the button to put the file inline in the message
Finally, submit
After that, right click on the image and copy the address.
Then! log into NewMars and paste the link into a post.
I realize this could be simpler, but I honestly don't know how to make it easier.
You can use the same password as you use here to keep things simple.
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This post is for SpaceNut and kbd512
RobertDyck is not yet a participant in management of the Image Server.
FYI .... As of today, 2025/12/25, I have decided to leave registration open on the Image Server for the convenience of NewMars members who might wish to take advantage of the server. The size of uploads is limited to 256 Kb, so huge png files cannot be stored there. On the other hand, if a member can create a version of an image that fits in 256 kb, then the Mars Society will host that file thanks to the generosity of Mars Society members and supporters.
For all examples I have tried so far, 256 kb seems more than adequate. Members can link to huge files from outside services, with the understanding those services can go away at any time.
Today I removed a spammer who attempted to create an account on the Image Server. phpBB3 has a nice feature... new members must be approved by an admin. The approval process consists of removing the member from the newly registered group, while allowing membership in the registered group to persist.
To remove a member entirely, the reverse process seemed to work. I removed the spammer from the registered group first. After checking the registered group to confirm only the spammer had been removed, I then removed the spammer from the Newly Registered group.
I'll watch the Image Server closely for the near term, to be sure that the spammer does not return. I would prefer to be able to allow NewMars members to register to store images without the admins having to do anything other than to remove them from the Newly Registered group.
Addendum to procedure: I did not perform a check of the NewMars server before removing the spammer, because the User ID chosen by the spammer was so obviously contrived.
However, this note is a reminder that a check of the NewMars user list before deleting a spammer is a simple procedure that takes only a few moments.
Update: I checked and the spammer was not a member of NewMars. The spammer was trying to advertise a web site.
In the spammer's brief time in the forum, it created five new topics that were pending approval. I learned how to remove them by disapproving them.
This turned out to be a bit of extra work. If this happens again I'll reluctantly turn off open registration.
Update: Subsequently I learned how to prevent newly registered members from creating post or topics until they've been approved by an admin.
We still have the ability to create our desired account (User ID and password) but then we have to wait for an admin to release the account for use.
If a NewMars members ** does ** create such account, please let us know here so we can release it for use. The external mail system does not appear to be working. The ** private ** message system is definitely working, but that is not available to a new user in pending status.
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The procedure to remove the spammer and prevent future incidents took a bit more work. I consulted with Gemini, and here is a report of the procedures we went through:
I am actually trying to update my fellow admins, and your offer of a concise summary of our experience today would be most welcome. Can you prepare it in BBCode?That would help to insure it looks good in our forum.
It’s a pleasure! I’ve put together a summary of our troubleshooting session and the security improvements we discussed. You can copy and paste the code below directly into a forum post for your fellow administrators.
Summary: Recent phpBB3 Admin Operations & Security Updates
1. Resolving Statistical Discrepancies We encountered an issue where "Total Members" and "Newest Member" did not update after removing a spammer.
[]Action Taken: Deleted the spammer via ACP > Users and Groups > Manage Users > Delete User. This automatically corrected the member count and "Newest Member" line. []Future Note: If topic or post counts appear incorrect, use Resynchronise Statistics on the General tab or the Resynchronise (orange arrows) icon next to specific forums in the Forums tab.
2. New Registration Security ("The Goldilocks Method") To prevent uninvited guests while still allowing legitimate sign-ups, we have adjusted the registration gate.
[]New Setting: Account Activation by Admin. []Path: ACP > General > Board Configuration > User registration settings.
Result: New users can fill out the registration form, but they cannot log in or post until an administrator manually approves them via the "Inactive Users" list on the ACP General page.
3. Emergency Procedures If we ever need to halt all new activity quickly:
[]To Stop Registrations: Set Account Activation to Disable. []To Close the Board: Go to ACP > General > Board settings and set Disable board to Yes. A custom message can be added here to explain the maintenance to our members.
4. Additional Spam Prevention (Future Consideration) We discussed implementing a Q&A CAPTCHA (ACP > General > Spam prevention). This would require registrants to answer a specific question that a bot cannot guess, adding a second layer of defense before the Admin approval stage.
I hope this helps keep your team on the same page! If there is anything else you need to add to the report, just let me know.
To clarify... I set new registrations to Needs Admin Approval" from the default "Automatic activation"
The advantage (as I see it) is that NewMars members can create an account on the Image Server, and just let me know here in ** this ** forum they have applied for an account. I will now see anything otherwise, unless I log in as an Admin, which happens rarely.
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