Seeing as how there has been a rash of posted ads showing up on the board of late, I thought that I’d make a few comments on this subject.
First, most if not all of these ads are posted by bots, not some actual human. Therefore they can strike at any hour the computer is programmed for.
Second, since they do strike at odd hours it is simply not possible for me or Anthony to always delete them expeditiously. We are doing our best to get them down as quickly as possible, but both of us do occasionally need to sleep and do other things besides prowl the board looking for ads. :lol:
Third, those same bots also typically hide their internet address behind legitimate addresses. So if we were to ban the address used, we might actually end up banning one of our legitimate members.
Fourth, the idea of stopping guests from posting will not stop the problem. These bots are able to complete the registration process and sign up as members. As some of you are aware, I’m also a leader over at OTOL. We’ve had to deal with the ads over there too and guests are not allowed to post at OTOL.
At present I believe that Anthony still considers allowing guests to post as one of his highest priorities. It is possible that once the upgrade is completed that he may be forced to change that policy, but he would prefer not to do that. However, it will not stop the ads if guest posting is disallowed.
Finally, while I realize that the ads are upsetting, especially some of the vulgar sexual ones, commenting on them doesn’t help anyone. And on the off chance that it was placed there by a real person and not a bot, if they come back to check on it then your comments will simply encourage them, since they now know that you actually read the post.
To that end I would please ask that everyone just skip over the topic if it’s obvious what it is, and if it’s not, then just head back to the main menu without comment once you realize what it is. And rest assured that Anthony or I will get the post down as fast as we can possibly accomplish it.
First, most if not all of these ads are posted by bots, not some actual human. Therefore they can strike at any hour the computer is programmed for.
Second, since they do strike at odd hours it is simply not possible for me or Anthony to always delete them expeditiously. We are doing our best to get them down as quickly as possible, but both of us do occasionally need to sleep and do other things besides prowl the board looking for ads. :lol:
Third, those same bots also typically hide their internet address behind legitimate addresses. So if we were to ban the address used, we might actually end up banning one of our legitimate members.
Fourth, the idea of stopping guests from posting will not stop the problem. These bots are able to complete the registration process and sign up as members. As some of you are aware, I’m also a leader over at OTOL. We’ve had to deal with the ads over there too and guests are not allowed to post at OTOL.
At present I believe that Anthony still considers allowing guests to post as one of his highest priorities. It is possible that once the upgrade is completed that he may be forced to change that policy, but he would prefer not to do that. However, it will not stop the ads if guest posting is disallowed.
Finally, while I realize that the ads are upsetting, especially some of the vulgar sexual ones, commenting on them doesn’t help anyone. And on the off chance that it was placed there by a real person and not a bot, if they come back to check on it then your comments will simply encourage them, since they now know that you actually read the post.
To that end I would please ask that everyone just skip over the topic if it’s obvious what it is, and if it’s not, then just head back to the main menu without comment once you realize what it is. And rest assured that Anthony or I will get the post down as fast as we can possibly accomplish it.
