Spambots

[jrickert]

It is definately time to update things a bit.

I used to be involved in a similar design-build-compete style competition (only without static events grrr). One of the teams started an excellent forum called chiefdelphi which could serve as a model of what we need for FSAE. They often get >100 posts a day. It has a forum, place to upload pictures, whitepapers, files, news blog etc. It runs vBulletin which is perhaps my favorite forum software. vBulletin is not free but there are others that are free and close in quality (phpBB). A new FSAE forum might benefit from new better categories. "Open FSAE Disscussion and "Dynamic events" are a bit broad. Better categories might be "Autocross, Acceleration, Suspension, Drivetrain, etc. Most forum packages have scripts for migrating threads over from other forum packages.

I've been comtemplating starting another FSAE forum for quite some time. I have been reluctant to do so, because traffic on this one is already slow and i don't want to dilute the flow of information.

That said, a better forum might encourage more posting.

I found it interesting that people were much more open and there was WAY more traffic on chiefdelphi.com . I should note that the FIRST competition is at 42 competitions and growing while our organizers are struggling to keep 2 together. That aside, it seems that people are often afraid to ask questions on this forum for fear of ridicule or making their team seem ignorant. I sometimes feel we have fostered a culture of elitism on this forum where it is not okay to be in the beginning stages of a quest for knowledge. Everybody starts at the beginning and in my opinion more experienced teams should do everything they can to help new team. This is the only way this competition will stay alive and prosper. I don't post on this forum as oftne as a read it. I have noticed more oftne than necessary the only thing being shared is ego. Often when a newb asks a legitimate question he is met with a sarcastic answer/SBYP/RTFR. More knowledgeable people are afraid to ask or answer questions for fear of of showing uncertainty. I'm not condemning this forum as a whole. By and large it is a positive influence on the community. Like everything in racing we should strive to be even better. Perhaps a new forum would help this.

[jrickert]

It is definately time to update things a bit.

I used to be involved in a similar design-build-compete style competition (only without static events grrr). One of the teams started an excellent forum called chiefdelphi which could serve as a model of what we need for FSAE. They often get >100 posts a day. It has a forum, place to upload pictures, whitepapers, files, news blog etc. It runs vBulletin which is perhaps my favorite forum software. vBulletin is not free but there are others that are free and close in quality (phpBB). A new FSAE forum might benefit from new better categories. "Open FSAE Disscussion and "Dynamic events" are a bit broad. Better categories might be "Autocross, Acceleration, Suspension, Drivetrain, etc. Most forum packages have scripts for migrating threads over from other forum packages.

I've been comtemplating starting another FSAE forum for quite some time. I have been reluctant to do so, because traffic on this one is already slow and i don't want to dilute the flow of information.

That said, a better forum might encourage more posting.

I found it interesting that people were much more open and there was WAY more traffic on chiefdelphi.com . I should note that the FIRST competition is at 42 competitions and growing while our organizers are struggling to keep 2 together. That aside, it seems that people are often afraid to ask questions on this forum for fear of ridicule or making their team seem ignorant. I sometimes feel we have fostered a culture of elitism on this forum where it is not okay to be in the beginning stages of a quest for knowledge. Everybody starts at the beginning and in my opinion more experienced teams should do everything they can to help new team. This is the only way this competition will stay alive and prosper. I don't post on this forum as oftne as a read it. I have noticed more oftne than necessary the only thing being shared is ego. Often when a newb asks a legitimate question he is met with a sarcastic answer/SBYP/RTFR. More knowledgeable people are afraid to ask or answer questions for fear of of showing uncertainty. I'm not condemning this forum as a whole. By and large it is a positive influence on the community. Like everything in racing we should strive to be even better. Perhaps a new forum would help this.

[exFSAE]

Originally posted by vreihen:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike Macie:
How about when you register you have to type in those image verification things that are a pain to read.

This is CAPTCHA, and as I said above, the spammers have figured out how to get around it by harnessing third-world labor to physically sit and type them in a sweatshop..... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Wow.. seriously??

[Zac]

yes, seriously.

the other way of breaking a captcha is to send the image to a false captcha on a high traffic(read: porn) site the attacker owns.

[FSAE.com]

hey guys,

thanks for the suggestions on how to handle the spambots that have recently appeared.

as a quick fix, moderators have been deleting posts and users that are identified as spambots.

certain posts are also being flagged for moderator approval based on keywords, thus the occasional posting delays that have been brought up in other threads.

we'll be taking a closer look at other counter-measures this week.

thanks!

Ennis
ennis@witnessracing.com

[vreihen]

Originally posted by exFSAE:
Wow.. seriously??

Look at this "job posting" from 2006, where 58 people bid $100 or less to work a 50-hour week answering CAPTCHAs:

http://www.getafreelancer.com/...y-Solve-CAPTCHA.html

If you read the responses, one person brags about being into "SEO" (search engine optimization), which is EXACTLY what's behind the spambots invading this forum right now.....

[Adambomb]

Originally posted by jrickert:
That sounds distracting if you are busy looking at porn.

LMAO...

[RobbyObby]

Alright this has got to be a first! A spambot posting on a thread about all the spambots telling us all how the spambots get access to the forums. LMAO.

[theTTshark]

Originally posted by RobbyObby:
Alright this has got to be a first! A spambot posting on a thread about all the spambots telling us all how the spambots get access to the forums. LMAO.

Oh god, they're become sentinel. It's only a matter of time before the Drivenator comes back through time to replace all human race car drivers! NOOOO!!!!

[RobbyObby]

Its already happening to the Military. It's only a matter of time until they find their way into the automotive industry. Those Google cars aren't helping our cause either!