Umrah Hajj Packages

[TikiSoo]

Great, looks like spammers came along with the TCM Board Migration.

[EP Millstone]

Great, looks like spammers came along with the TCM Board Migration.

I have reported Rizwan Ahmed via the Contact us link.

I noticed that there are several "bots" listed as Registered users in the WHO IS ONLINE section at the bottom of the SSO home page.

[Masha]

Great, looks like spammers came along with the TCM Board Migration.

The requirement that new users be approved by moderators was removed to accommodate the migration. There may soon become a time when the moderators will wish to restore that because it is less burdensome than removing spam.

[Masha]

I noticed that there are several "bots" listed as Registered users in the WHO IS ONLINE section at the bottom of the SSO home page.

Search engines such as: Google and: Bing and others use bots to collect words and phrases for indexing so that the site can be adequately represented in search results. The moderators approved the bots. This is standard practice because it reduces bandwidth demand. A bot which is a registered user will have all additions and changes presented to it in the same manner as any other user sees the highlighted red post titles. A bot which is denied registered user status will download the entire site to compare it with what it found during its last visit.

[txfilmfan]

FYI, you can report any post using the "!" icon on that post. It will tell you if the post has already been reported. It had already been reported by around 7 am CST today when I reported it.

[EP Millstone]

Search engines such as: Google and: Bing and others use bots to collect words and phrases for indexing so that the site can be adequately represented in search results. The moderators approved the bots. This is standard practice because it reduces bandwidth demand. A bot which is a registered user will have all additions and changes presented to it in the same manner as any other user sees the highlighted red post titles. A bot which is denied registered user status will download the entire site to compare it with what it found during its last visit.

Thanks for the explanation.

The requirement that new users be approved by moderators was removed to accommodate the migration. There may soon become a time when the moderators will wish to restore that because it is less burdensome than removing spam.

Understood, and I wouldn't criticize the moderators if they reinstated the membership approval step. I suspected that removing membership approval would open the floodgates to spammers. I would just ask the administrators and moderators to make the confirmation code easier to decipher than the original code design.

[EP Millstone]

FYI, you can report any post using the "!" icon on that post. It will tell you if the post has already been reported. It had already been reported by around 7 am CST today when I reported it.

Yeah, I noticed the Report this post button.

I wanted to "go the extra mile" and report spammer and "newest member" "Rizwan Ahmed" who, as far as I'm concerned, should lose his membership.

[Masha]

I would just ask the administrators and moderators to make the confirmation code easier to decipher than the original code design.

I do not recall details of the process when I came to this forum years ago but it could not have been very onerous as I did it on my own rather than waiting and having it done by the tech who regularly came to recertify our computers. I feel that I am reasonably competent with many computer things but I seem to have a mental disconnect when it comes to following the steps and creating username and password on the fly.

[EP Millstone]

I do not recall details of the process when I came to this forum years ago but it could not have been very onerous as I did it on my own rather than waiting and having it done by the tech who regularly came to recertify our computers. I feel that I am reasonably competent with many computer things but I seem to have a mental disconnect when it comes to following the steps and creating username and password on the fly.

When I tried to join the SSO -- several times -- during October, I found the confirmation code almost impossible to read. I get the point that confirmation codes should be difficult enough to stymie and deter bots and spammers. But the psychedelic color design of the SSO confirmation was too difficult for me to crack the first and even the fifth time.

[Lomm]

Hi everyone. I have banned these spammers this morning. We did update the method the confirmation code displayed after you joined, EP, so that it was actually legible to all normal people (I completely agree it was too hard to read lol). The current process requires a real person to enter text displayed as an image, which should thwart most spam accounts. I appreciate the reports and will continue banning as needed, for the time being. If it becomes overwhelming...which I don't expect, really, with the captcha in place... then we may have to address by changing the approval method again. I really don't want to go that route. Most other boards don't require a manual approval and still seem to be able to manage spammers. Let's hope we can too.

[Dargo]

So, I take it nobody around here has any plans to visit Pakistan in the immediate future then, eh?!

(...personally, I've always thought Pismo Beach was a far better destination to spend one's hard-earned vacation dollars)

[EP Millstone]

Hi everyone. I have banned these spammers this morning . . .

Lomm,

Thank you for your response, remedial action on spammers, and updating the confirmation code!

[Masha]

So, I take it nobody around here has any plans to visit Pakistan in the immediate future then, eh?!

(...personally, I've always thought Pismo Beach was a far better destination to spend one's hard-earned vacation dollars)

You must, must, must! try their pistachio biscuits if you do go. They are on the very short list of foods which taste absolutely heavenly and are considered good for you.

It is possible to find recipes for them online but the taste is not so wonderful when they are made with what you can find in a supermarket rather than the traditional ingredients.

[Dargo]

So, I take it nobody around here has any plans to visit Pakistan in the immediate future then, eh?!

(...personally, I've always thought Pismo Beach was a far better destination to spend one's hard-earned vacation dollars)

You must, must, must! try their pistachio biscuits if you do go. They are on the very short list of foods which taste absolutely heavenly and are considered good for you.

It is possible to find recipes for them online but the taste is not so wonderful when they are made with what you can find in a supermarket rather than the traditional ingredients.

Hmmm, now these pistachio biscuits you're ravin' about, are we talkin' in Pakistan or in Pismo Beach here my dear???

(...and 'cause the last time I made the CORRECT toin at Albakoikee and ended up in Pismo Beach, the only thing I remember about it was all the clams I could eat!)

[Masha]

Hmmm, now these pistachio biscuits you're ravin' about, are we talkin' in Pakistan or in Pismo Beach here my dear???

(...and 'cause the last time I made the CORRECT toin at Albakoikee and ended up in Pismo Beach, the only thing I remember about it was all the clams I could eat!)

Pakistan. I have never been but I was quite good friends with a pilot who flew there regularly and would bring back as large a sack of them as he dared. It was something of a mark of his favoritism if he shared them with me first rather than any of the young ladies who were constantly chasing him.

I am sorry to have to tell you that I do not believe Pismo Beach is a real place. I am sure that it is mythical and the name was created as a shortening of: Pepto Bismol to provide a touch of light humor in comedy shorts and cartoons. I believe that I do not want it to exist as the mental image of the combination of beach and diarrhea is not the sort of thing which I wish to embrace.