Russian spambots

[CherokeeGunslinger]

Would it be possible under the current server architecture to appoint users to ban these spambots? It pisses me off to see them.

[Admin]

Sure - and as the site grows, the mods will have that as a duty. If you allow free email addresses (and we currently do) and self managed user account activation, there is going to be spam, which has only gotten worse over the years. The other alternative I'm considering is mod activated accounts - you are held in limbo until your account is activated. I've held off on that because if ARFCOM has a major outage, that will delay the ability of that community to carry on here - which is one of my major objectives for the site.

[Admin]

We have now gone to mod activated accounts. After you register successfully, your account is held in a holding area until a mod approves it. There is a way around that for paying members, so the spam posters now have to pay to post their spam.....