We get “hit” now and then with spammers and hackers. I would ask that you keep your personal info updated, and that you post on topics once in a while. It helps us find/delete the “problem makers” - and we use a variety of searches to find them. One is the number of posts made since the time you joined, or your last activity date. In some instances there have been only one post since 2003 - and we want to give you an opportunity to stay registered as a subscriber.
Because some of the SPAM data is often filled by a “BOT” having something where we are able to verify you are a “human” would be helpful.
Also a reminder we would like to see the country and state where you live/sail, since often others are looking for people to sail with them.
Finally, any suggestions on how to improve would be helpful. Be sure to check your personal messages (PM’s) for any special notices that the Site Owner or Administrators and might send out.
Finally - to those who post, our thanks for your assistance in making this a useful forum.
on behalf of: Chad (site owner), Earl, Dick, Cougar and Brett
What do you mean by “updating personal information?” You need to be careful what you leave and where it is, so it isn’t picked up by people to use it to impersonate you.
Let me put it this way … there is a bio section that can have whatever added to make you feel comfortable. We continue to ask for a country or state where you live to allow others to find/sail with you - or to suggest places to buy stuff which isn’t much good if you live in some country (unknown) and the person responding is suggesting a local hobby shop in some other country.
No one is asking for phone numbers, social security numbers - but it would be nice to have an email address (kept hidden) so we can contact you. There is a PM (Personal Message) section where we leave notes - but many don’t seem to check that location when signed on.
Finally, we have a database of “registered” members that joined back in 2004 but have yet to make more than one post. Unfortunately, many of the “bots” that find their way onto the site leave the same trail … so if you are a real person - post now than then so there is activity on the site under your name. Fortunately we are familiar with the names of regular posters, and can verify what you have posted in the past (you can too by visiting the name of the poster in the “community” section of the forum) which - if about r/c sailing - is usually enough to let us know you aren’t a “bot” - while on the other hand - folks with fake email addresses, living in one country but posting they live elsewhere, or posting a comment like “I’m the new one here” are easy tip-offs and are soon gone from the site.
In the end YOUR participation and posts help us to keep the site as clean as we can - but we are always looking for assistance if you run across a questionable post - so let us know.
Here is just a sample of what we can find that is easy to determine it’s from a spammer. Plus, most only post once and are then gone on to other sites.
Without any bio info, it is more difficult to identify,
so then we need to look at the number of posts made, and what they contain. :bag: :banghead:
would be helpful.