If you post as a Guest I hope you don't mind registering

[guspasho]

Because at this point you will have to in order to post. We've been having some recurring problems with a bot abusing the guest posting access. Unfortunately, the IP keeps changing with every attack so I can't think of any solution available to us other than closing off guest posting. I'm sorry about this. I hope this doesn't discourage anyone from participating here, and sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you.

[Waffles]

if it has to be done this it must be done! *slams fist down on table*

[guspasho]

LOL

Let me know your feelings on this. I am not thrilled with it, since I know a lot of people make good use of the guest posting access here, including some of our staff.

Email me if you like: guspasho@yahoo.com

[Dustin]

Once the owner of the bot realizes it will no longer work here, they should quit.

I think after a week, you could turn it back on again temporarily, to see if the bots are still bothering us, and if they are not, we could leave it back on again.

For now, you should be able to ban those IPs that were doing the posting. The IP ban would at least disallow them full access to this forum. However, if it keeps changing, than its probably just an IP mask. In which case, one of those IP's is actually the real one, and would ban them for good.

Also, you can try using the list of IP's at this url:
http://cqcounter.com/whois/

It will do a IP trace and tell you almost exactly where they are. Also, it gives technical information as to who they're ISP is and how you can contact them and inform them someone with that IP is attacking this forum's server.

If you're interested as to how well it works, try inputting your on IP (If you're unsure of your IP, go here: http://www.whatismyip.com/).

I input my IP, and it had some very specific information, including how to contact my ISP's main tech. man.

[staze]

Dustin,

This was thought of.  Since they are generally automated bots that troll looking for accessable forums, I would imagine it won't specifically mark us as being "unaccessable" so much as it will just stop trying that round and come back later.

Guest access is generally a bad idea.  It sucks, but it is.  There is no way for the general population to confirm that one guest is the same or different than another.  Sure, we can look at his/her IP, but that won't always tell us anything (if both have comcast, or roadrunner, then the masks are pretty large, and comcast at least refuses to put any useful information in either DNS records).  

If there is some real desire for this to be reenabled, we will see what we can do.  There may be some way to sandbox/moderate guest posts, and let them wait for approval.  I haven't looked into this as a posibility.

Please do let us know if you take exception to this rule.  It's certainly something we have tried NOT to do for 3 years now... but some things are just unavoidable.

Thanks!

[Dustin]

I actually don't take any particular offense to removing guest posting, I was just trying to be helpful.

I believe if people find their questions important enough to be awnsered, they can spend two minutes registering a name, email address, etc.

[yuki-chan]

You know what would be really funny? If it ends up being one of the mods doing all this.

[HaSanGo]

I never really understood the purpose of allowing guest posting. Registration is free and it provides benefits to the community. Not only is it easier to keep track of who says what, it prevents people from impersonating someone, allows easier contact through PM/Email, gives people more of an idea of who they are talking to and overall makes it easier from an admin/moderation standpoint. It also can help deter flame wars because people have a tendency to hide behind the anonymity of guest.

It doesn't take too long to login. This is actually one of the only boards I've been too where guests are allowed to post, almost every forum I go to requires you to login. You can read the posts but to participate with the community you have to register.

[guspasho]

It wasn't me, if that's what you're hinting at, Yuki-chan.

I would prefer everyone register for the reasons HaSanGo pointed out, (plus you can edit your posts) but we've been good enough to avoid flame wars of the type that Guest posting could be abused, but I can see the great benefit of it for people who don't visit regularly. For example, I only visit certain hardware or software manufacturers' support forums when I have a problem, which is rare, which makes it damn annoying to have to remember what my password or sometimes even my username was at that site. What I think we would like to do is turn those people into regular posters, asking them to register at their leisure.

For Dustin, what I've seen of the bot so far is that it strikes only every couple of weeks or so. It posts a couple times in the space of a few minutes and then disappears. Not often at all. I'm not sure if it would notice if I reenabled Guest posting even for only a month. I do think we should try it and see, and I'm willing to reenable Guest posting after about that amount of time. It isn't like the bot has been posting anything bothersome, merely bumping threads with nonsense.

EDIT: clarity

[Waffles]

yeah botting is horrible....anyways the guest posting is nice but  it is not needed It takes a minute at top make a name on the site. for some people like heavensclone he had trouble logging in so he just used the guest posting. as for what you said gus about remembering all your logging names and passwords...Its not that hard...just you know keep the same password. I have personally about 4 different passwords i use

[yuki-chan]

@guspasho

I wasn't hinting at anything of the sort. I was merely pointing out the irony of it all if it was in fact a moderator.

@Waffles

I have a bad habit of using the same password and most of the time the same username for just about everything. The only thing I have a different password for is the windows logon thinger on my computer. It's a full sentence, complete with capitalization, puncuation and grammar. Take that all you shorthand typers! =3

((it's a pet peeve of mine when people excessively type in shorthand.))

[superjaz]

it needs to be done it will also take care of the problem of when we post and just forgot to log in or acidently on logged off

[EcchiSpice]

((it's a pet peeve of mine when people excessively type in shorthand.))

We totally have something in common! I can't even use shortened words and  sentences in instant messages. My whole family is that way.

Any way, guest posting... unfortunately our guest posters can't put in their two cents on this thread to defend why they don't register. (Though Gus was kind enough to give us his email for such.)

I like having it gone myself, simply because I can't accidentely be logged in as a guest. But it was nice when someone asked a question in confidentiality. It was legit, and I'm sure they appreciated the responses.

[Waffles]

if you have a question and you dont want people to know who it is because you are afraid or something dont post it
or ask admin because they should'nt judge!

[Geirr]

At the risk of sounding like a crank or a grouch, I gotta disaggree on this one. I am now writing from a public library, where I actually had to show I/friggin/D - my passport - to get on a computer. (But at least no cookies or whatnot are accessing my personal computer at home.)

Yes - to me, forcing logins is an onerous violation of my personal privacy. Reminds me of my time in the USSR in the 80's: you were surveilled and followed constantly. Sometimes they wouldn't even try to conceal themselves.

I also remember CB clubs in the 70's.  You bought the equipment and you could go play. Nobody knew who you were, where you were parked, or were you lived. You just tuned in on, say, 37 Lower Sideband, Thursdays at 7:30pm, and chatted with all your friends. Once in a while the gang would meet at a Denny's or something. You didn't do stupid things like blurt out phone numbers or credit card numbers, 'cuz ANYONE could be listening - including the police, which is why you didn't try to coordinate a downtown bank heist on the air either. But wonderful fun on the whole.

Yeah, there would be a troll once in a while who would barge into the group (I forgot the CB slang for such an intruder) play music**, key over people, etc, and we'd have to deal with that, usually by switching channels and times.

Technically some SF-types would tell us that somewhere a zillion miles away those radio waves are still out there, entertaining or perhaps confusing some other aliens listening in. But practically speaking, those conversations are lost amid a million calls of "Breaker One-Nine" and "Skipland-Skipland-Skipland."

Now this forum is like a house party but where there's a webcam in every room, and every conversation is recorded. By whom and what for? Either way, it's a whole lot less fun, loving, and spontaneous this way.

For me, the Internet should operate today like CB radio did back then: universal, anonymous, and free to use. And fun.
 
My opinion.  :cry:

Geirr, AMV Coordinator, and
"KBOF1549" a very long time ago...

**which was not only illegal, but it invariably sounded like crap...

[Thejew]

if it has to be done this it must be done! *slams fist down on table*

I agree waffles......
*Smashes hammer on table*

[spindrift]

I am posting just because I am insanely tiered and need sleep