New Site Update Bans lots of IPs

[LeftieBiker]

One lone spammer last night - from Kansas...

[2k1Toaster]

One lone spammer last night - from Kansas...

Ban all US IP addresses!

[wxxyz]

My connections are still banned. Banning VPNs is not a good way of doing it. Only way I can get on now is to hotspot with my phone. Otherwise all my connections go through various VPNs.

The forums I moderated with MUCH more traffic we just had all new posts from new members go into a queue to be approved by a human moderator. That simple. No blanket bans of any kind. With a few moderators in each timezone, no post went more than a couple hours before it was posted. And once you became trusted you were approved and could automatically post. If you tried to post spam, your user id and email were blocked (useless, but it helps log in the forum database). New users also could not post links or images.

This sort of post has a lot more pull when it ends with "and I'd be happy to help".

Thanks for your suggestions, I'll have to see if the moderators can handle all of the extra work that approving all new posts would require.

I asked you for your IP 2 weeks ago, you didn't send it. That's why you still can't access via your VPN.

[WetEV]

My connections are still banned. Banning VPNs is not a good way of doing it. Only way I can get on now is to hotspot with my phone. Otherwise all my connections go through various VPNs.

The forums I moderated with MUCH more traffic we just had all new posts from new members go into a queue to be approved by a human moderator. That simple. No blanket bans of any kind. With a few moderators in each timezone, no post went more than a couple hours before it was posted. And once you became trusted you were approved and could automatically post. If you tried to post spam, your user id and email were blocked (useless, but it helps log in the forum database). New users also could not post links or images.

This sort of post has a lot more pull when it ends with "and I'd be happy to help".

Thanks for your suggestions, I'll have to see if the moderators can handle all of the extra work that approving all new posts would require.

I asked you for your IP 2 weeks ago, you didn't send it. That's why you still can't access via your VPN.

A VPN connection isn't going to have a static IP. Especially if using different VPNs.

The IP of a VPN might be used by many different people, in many different parts of the world, from Afghanistan to Zambia.

[jlv]

This sort of post has a lot more pull when it ends with "and I'd be happy to help".

Thanks for your suggestions, I'll have to see if the moderators can handle all of the extra work that approving all new posts would require.

If you put in place a "the first N messages new users post must be moderator approved", I'd volunteer to be a moderator and would be happy to help.

[wxxyz]

A VPN connection isn't going to have a static IP. Especially if using different VPNs.

The IP of a VPN might be used by many different people, in many different parts of the world, from Afghanistan to Zambia.

Sorry, I always forget that there are people on here that know what they're talking about, so vague responses aren't always helpful!

Correct, a VPN won't use a static IP, which is why we use a service that tracks VPNs not just by IP but also CIDRs and signature references.
Yes, it's also true that a VPN is used by all sorts of people from all over, spammers use them from all over the world to come and pollute the forum with garbage, and that's why they are banned.

I will disable the VPN block and monitor how that goes for spam count.

[wxxyz]

If you put in place a "the first N messages new users post must be moderator approved", I'd volunteer to be a moderator and would be happy to help.

Thanks! I've added you as a moderator

[wxxyz]

The board is now set up where a new member post needs to be approved before it displays on the forum. After manually approved, then the member can freely post on the forum.

If it becomes a lot of work, we may put a call out for more moderator help.

Mike

[LeftieBiker]

Excepting one night where the spammers may have been trying to prove something, it's been pretty slow lately, SPAM-wise.

[jlv]

If you put in place a "the first N messages new users post must be moderator approved", I'd volunteer to be a moderator and would be happy to help.

Thanks! I've added you as a moderator

Just to note publicly, I only intend use my moderation privilege to remove spam and approve new user posts.