Spammers

[computerphoto]

Enable some form of questions/answer based thing during the sign up process. Add about 5-10 different questions to this and change the pool semi-regularly. Bonus if one of the questions is "not politically correct" which may prevent the AI from being able to answer it. For example, any references to teens and stripping, or questions about common classics of the genre. For example the AI is probably not going to like to give a summary of "Those Pictures" or, depending on which AI provider it is using, the AI might outright refuse to answer due to content.

Sadly, this function exists in the admin forum, but for some godforsaken reason, it just continuously asks the first question all the time, making it absolutely pointless.

As for creating a new subforum for new users, technically we already do this, But I don't think these are just automated spambots just for the reason of volume.

We've had spam bot infestations before, where we get something like 30-40 users a day that keep spamming stuff just like the example you gave, those are actually being stopped as we speak.

But this one is just four or five users a day (provided we don't delete them) that spam 100-200 messages before we get to them, and the e-mails they use seem to have taunting messages, this is apparently a human user creating accounts and handing them off to spambots for malicious purposes, and I say this having set up like three anti-spam measures including Google ReCapcha, Akismet and even open source databases.

If all of these can't stop it, that just tells me this isn't a bot, at least not entirely, based on the evidence.

Then why not just delete those users accounts, or ban the IP address they are coming from

[Girlspns]

Oh, I have been doing that, constantly in fact, another element that makes me think this person is doing this by hand, because it'd be easy to just use a VPN to switch to a new IP address.

[Darky]

Yeah, we ban every username and including IP adress, but apparently that isn’t enough to stop them.

[Kazu]

Then why not just delete those users accounts, or ban the IP address they are coming from

Unfortunately IP banning hasn't been a viable option for spammers for a long time, since VPNs became a thing(as the admins have said). It it just too easy jump to a number of different ones. Additionally, your IP changes occasionally just due to how the ISP works unless you are still rockin' a dial-up connection.

If there was a mute function, it might serve as a good temp option. Or a way to make it that you have to make a certain amount of posts before a signature is allowed.

[computerphoto]

Then why not just delete those users accounts, or ban the IP address they are coming from

Unfortunately IP banning hasn't been a viable option for spammers for a long time, since VPNs became a thing(as the admins have said). It it just too easy jump to a number of different ones. Additionally, your IP changes occasionally just due to how the ISP works unless you are still rockin' a dial-up connection.

If there was a mute function, it might serve as a good temp option. Or a way to make it that you have to make a certain amount of posts before a signature is allowed.

Not sure if its an option but if it shows everyone mac address that is a lot harder to fake, yes I know about VPN's I use one myself on my phone.

[Kazu]

Then why not just delete those users accounts, or ban the IP address they are coming from

Unfortunately IP banning hasn't been a viable option for spammers for a long time, since VPNs became a thing(as the admins have said). It it just too easy jump to a number of different ones. Additionally, your IP changes occasionally just due to how the ISP works unless you are still rockin' a dial-up connection.

If there was a mute function, it might serve as a good temp option. Or a way to make it that you have to make a certain amount of posts before a signature is allowed.

Not sure if its an option but if it shows everyone mac address that is a lot harder to fake, yes I know about VPN's I use one myself on my phone.

Correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't it just show the MAC of the Server or Router from the VPN?
Also, MACs can be spoofed pretty easily on their own. In face, I think that rolling MACs are a feature for most modern cellphone OS.

[Girlspns]

Well, one of the new anti-spam countermeasures seems to be working, so at the very least the spammer won't have an easy time getting around it.

[dublinjohn]

Well, one of the new anti-spam countermeasures seems to be working, so at the very least the spammer won't have an easy time getting around it.

May you be proved correct

[Buckaroo]

Well, one of the new anti-spam countermeasures seems to be working, so at the very least the spammer won't have an easy time getting around it.

'Thank you.

[tester1]

not sure if this is related but i registered an account "jllash" a day or so ago and i didn't receive an activation email. i wait 24 hours and resent the activation email but it still didn't arrive.
i reached out to the "contact us" form, and i found this tester1 account's credentials online, but is there any way i can get my account activated?