Unable to access fb.net forums

General discussion for topics related to the FreeBASIC project or its community.
deltarho[1859]
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Re: Unable to access fb.net forums

Post by deltarho[1859] »

Thanks, Jeff, regarding all the deletions. I never start things, I just respond. All we need is for someone else never to start things either. Image
Juergen Kuehlwein
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Re: Unable to access fb.net forums

Post by Juergen Kuehlwein »

I'm trying to keep the store open for business.
Thanks!
jj2007
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Re: Unable to access fb.net forums

Post by jj2007 »

There is a debate on whether to open a FreeBasic subforum at Masm32.com, and one wannabe member has serious problems to get registered to this forum.
badidea
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Re: Unable to access fb.net forums

Post by badidea »

jj2007 wrote:There is a debate on whether to open a FreeBasic subforum at Masm32.com, and one wannabe member has serious problems to get registered to this forum.
16 new members registered in Dec 2019, 0 in January 2020. That is suspicious.
coderJeff
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Re: Unable to access fb.net forums

Post by coderJeff »

From 2019-12-29 to 2020-01-08 we had 300+ new users registered. And then about 100+ cases of spam posts, that Imortis cleaned-up.

I changed the Q&A question to avoid the spam bots from registering. I was concerned the question might be too hard, and apparently it is.

The question is:
"What is the name of the programming language this site is about? Append four exclamation marks and one "period" to the end of your answer"

Answer is:

Code: Select all

var s = "FreeBASIC"
s += "!!!!"
s += "period"
print s
"period" is a literal. Too hard? I will gladly take suggestions for a better question / answer. Even one that maybe references a specific wiki page, or url, or whatever. I had tried allowing "." as well, but the spam bots were already guessing that one.
Josep Roca
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Re: Unable to access fb.net forums

Post by Josep Roca »

The hard part is "FreeBASIC". Most people will try "FreeBasic", "Free Basic", "freebasic", etc.
coderJeff
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Re: Unable to access fb.net forums

Post by coderJeff »

Yeah, I don't think that's it. The Q&A was/is set up to accept several variations with or without spaces and mixed case. "free basic "..., "FreeBASIC "..., "Free Basic "... and so on, would all be valid. There is an option under the Q&A named "Strict Check: Enable to enforce mixed case, punctuation and whitespace." currently set to "no". However, that setting is probably why "." as I initially tried to allow had no effective usage against the spam bots.

Anyway, it's quite frustrating overall because everything the site has to offer is openly available even without a registered user name. We don't ask for real names and we don't share personal information like email addresses. Plus, first post is checked by a human every time. It must cost them nothing to harass the site. Like, we still get the 100,000+ hits a day from several IP's. I don't dare unblock those IP's or the site would become inaccessible again.
MrSwiss
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Re: Unable to access fb.net forums

Post by MrSwiss »

coderJeff wrote:"period" is a literal. Too hard?
Yes, I guess it is, because everybody is likely to assume "." (if literal isn't stated somewhere).
Josep Roca
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Location: Valencia, Spain

Re: Unable to access fb.net forums

Post by Josep Roca »

The MASM member was using "." instead of "period"
I answered freebasic!!!!.

but apparently that's not correct. Two other trys and I exceeded my attempts.
coderJeff
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Re: Unable to access fb.net forums

Post by coderJeff »

I tried registering over at MASM forums hopefully to be of direct assistance. The MASM forum registration asks 7 questions. I do believe it took me at least 10 attempts to pass the Q&A. Not too bright I am, I guess. We'll see. I haven't actually received the confirmation email yet to login and post anything. Statistically, this seems pretty good to deter spam bots.

If anyone is registered at MASM, maybe they can tell "jimg" that "AW" provided the answer.

As mentioned before, I will gladly accept suggestions for better question & answer. I don't pretend to be an expert in running a forum. I am thankful for any guidance. Doing my best. That's all.
Xusinboy Bekchanov
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Re: Unable to access fb.net forums

Post by Xusinboy Bekchanov »

I think that the answer should be obvious to the person.
MrSwiss
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Location: Switzerland

Re: Unable to access fb.net forums

Post by MrSwiss »

Suggestion:
replacing the Q&A with one or more CAPTCHA's may be more effective?
(easier on users while being harder for machines)
jj2007
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Re: Unable to access fb.net forums

Post by jj2007 »

coderJeff wrote:If anyone is registered at MASM, maybe they can tell "jimg" that "AW" provided the answer
I volunteer to do that ;-)
badidea
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Re: Unable to access fb.net forums

Post by badidea »

coderJeff wrote:As mentioned before, I will gladly accept suggestions for better question & answer. I don't pretend to be an expert in running a forum. I am thankful for any guidance. Doing my best. That's all.
Image
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Generated with: https://rebus.club/
Or:
Image
Or:
Image
jimg
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Joined: Jan 16, 2020 19:43
Location: Oregon

Re: Unable to access fb.net forums

Post by jimg »

Finally got registered! It didn't include the period in the question this time though.
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