Forum Moderators: open
The forum script is weak compared to VB and others so I hope I can find some reason to stick around here since I have seen some posts that are informative but otherwise I'm not all that impressed.
Sorry to be critical and likely this post will also be removed by a mod. If not, hopefully I've missed some of the great reasons to hang out here!
WebmasterWorld is free to use as long as you register. Dunno why you are repeatedly asked to join and pay; as far as I am aware, that isn't the normal behaviour.
As for the "weak forum script", it has been designed and refined to meet the needs of the moderators and members over many years. It's not your normal junk script (insert name like Wordpress, Joomla, vBulletin, PHPbb, etc, here) that needs upgrading regularly when yet another "security flaw" has been discovered.
Glad you have found a few useful posts. If you dig deeper you'll find tens of thousands more. If you don't find it useful try somewhere else; Digital Point will welcome you with open arms - and if you can't see the difference between somewhere like that, and here, then you're beyond help.
I won't be paying anything so I guess I will not have access to many of the forum topics eh? Not great on the attitude from mods here so far, but hey, so far you didn't remove my thread for being critical so that's a good sign at least. Thanks for the reply!
[edited by: g1smd at 2:03 am (utc) on Dec. 29, 2008]
By the way, have you heard about the tag team forum spam scenario where one person asks a question and then either a friend signs up and answers the question by offering something "they just happened to find", or the original poster signs up with a new user name to answer the question and make it look as if there are two separate people?
It happens so often, and is so obvious to any reader that has been on the web for more that a couple of weeks, that the moderators of any respectable forum will nuke all posts by both users and ban them from the forums forever.
That's a welcome move, and hopefully helps the spammers get a clue about what is, and is not, acceptable, a bit more quickly.
You do your board no service at all. Now go ahead and remove this entire thread if you like because you won't hear anything further from me here, not that you care anyway!
Typically reading the TOS and forum charters will steer people clear of making mistakes on new forums instead of debating the value of the rules that weren't read in the first place.
When you see how the rest of the forum is behaving and there's an absence of link drops and signatures on all the posts you can pretty much assume it's not how things are done here.
Blending in isn't as hard as it sounds.
[edited by: incrediBILL at 3:16 am (utc) on Dec. 29, 2008]
>> Any way I can get the script to NOT spam my about paying a subscription?
You shouldn't be seeing this unless you are trying to access the supporter forums of which there are 7. Every other forum is open to the public and free to use as long as you are registered (registration is free). For some ISPs, after a certain amount of page views it will ask for login credentials, if this is maybe what you are referring to. (?)
>> Must be hard to say much if you can't even mention names, urls, etc. that are meant to be helpful.
You are right, it would be hard to have a discussion without all of these things; however, it seems you are misunderstanding the rules that we follow here. We allow all of these things--and more--with few exceptions. When there appears to be some sort of purpose for a member to drop specifics in a post other than to be helpful to others, moderators will remove that content. We are not here to promote products and services, and when removing these we err on the side of caution. Our Terms of Service [webmasterworld.com] serves as a basis for all our moderation.
>> I'm being accused of tag team spamming?
This seems to be another misunderstanding. I believe g1smd was giving an example of what mods have to deal with every day and have to take into consideration when dealing with suspicious posts. You have to understand that there is a lot of real spamming attempts on the boards all the time, and there is virtually nothing to separate those professional spammers from those just making a mistake.
So I hope you can find yourself visiting here more than just a few hours the first day after you signed up. Despite your first impression, you might actually like it here before long. :)
WW is a very conservative forum, probably one of the most conservative on the net, but it is also one of the best. I cannot put a price on the free assistance I have had in here and I am not alone. We have a great community as long as you are happy to live with this conservatism. Personally I have had dozens of posts deleted and edited over the years. Apart from when people try some self promotion this tends to happen when serious arguments, abuse and disagreements occur. If you have been on other forums you will know that permitting this adds no value to the big picture.
If you spend some time in here rather than taking the huff you will see what we mean. Try it, you'll like it. :)
Regarding the WW form script, at the risk of upsetting the boss ;) (who I understand developed it) I agree that there are some weaknesses. I have had some problems with it in the past and it is not as slick as some of the commercial and OS offerings. But we have to remember that it is not a commercial script and it fulfils its requirements here. Most of us are quite happy with it as it stands.
The forum script is weak compared to VB and others so I hope I can find some reason to stick around here since I have seen some posts that are informative but otherwise I'm not all that impressed.
(My bold).
Welcome to WebmasterWorld!
That's the whole point; WebmasterWorld isn't the latest in "web 2.0" (dread term), and the software isn't fresh off the dinky machine of some top designer. WebmasterWorld takes the toughest line on self-promotion, and has zero tolerance for spam.
It's all about the content; if you learn, stick around, if it doesn't suit, find another. No sweat; your choice.
But there's none with more info than WebmasterWorld.
You're also right that the software here is antiquated in many respects. However it does run fast and it's easier to read and navigate than other forum software once you get used to it. And you can actually read this site on a mobile device.
In other words, everything you're complaining about is absolutely correct IMO and I've complained about it myself in the past. The flip side is that there are reasons for the way things are. I don't even disagree that the lines should be drawn where they are - the question is whether you're able to use the site given what you see as the restrictions.
If you want to see the converse side, appreciate that you didn't get banned - and realize that in most other forums you would have. Heck, with the frequency that I get posts deleted and my comments here and on other sites, I'd have been banned a long time ago in most other forums - including my own. I trust you can see that that makes the moderation here far more liberal in some respects. In my forum I'd have banned myself a long time ago, and I'd have banned you after your first break in the TOS - 'cause I don't care to waste my time explaining things :).
Innocent newbie errors can easily look like spam. It's a classic line, even more obvious when both people in the thread are new to a forum. How did they stumble across that post in particular? By posting, was their motive to get something out of the forum, before they had put anything in? These are (some of) the wider issues that guide the quality of what is posted here.
If you're off, mind the carp doesn't slap you on the way out.
><((@>
If you're off, mind the carp doesn't slap you on the way out.
LOL.
Professional forum spammers [webmasterworld.com]
mind the carp doesn't slap you on the way out
Beats getting a dope slap, that's for sure.
G1smd your message box is full.
Thanks. Well I have been lurking for a couple weeks now. I guess I still don't understand the mods and culture here too well. If you can't mention or link to "brand names" then how can you provide useful input?
If you can't mention or link to "brand names" then how can you provide useful input?
It's difficult.
Funnily enough the OP loves the moderation over at DP. Yet I just took a 10 day ban there. My crime? Somebody posted a site for sale and asked people to request a PM. I posted and requested the info. Boom! 10 day ban. No warning. Different strokes I guess, the OP's unhappy with the mod style here, you can image I'm a bit disgruntled about a ban elsewhere that I feel could be better handled with a warning (of course, the rationale with that is they don't have time/can't be bothered warning people).
I remember my first post—it was answered within minutes with a fantastic response. As was my second, third, fourth...
I would not be a web professional without WebmasterWorld. Please stick around, read the links given about the reasons why many links are not permitted and see if it works for you.
Once you get your head around what can and should not be posted you'll love it here. The moderation keeps the topics on track and the content really useful.
The subscription message thing sounds like a bug to me. When do you see the request to join as a subscriber?
Most have been edited at one time or another. I know I have - even once or twice as a moderator.
to quote tedster from somewhere long ago (on probably many times since):
Usually, once a problem is fixed, the example page will either disappear completely or will show only the corrected version. That means that the thread was only of value to the one person who posted the initial question. Visitors searching for the solution to a similar problem would find the thread but come against a blank wall, as the original code is absent!
in other words, a little more work today to suitably describe your problem provides a lasting resource for others.
Banning is an absolute last resort and is reserved for incorrigibles.
My solution to the DP banning of my userid? I set my dns to resolve that forum to 127.0.0.1.
