392 replies to this topic

[Zireael]

If bots can post as guest, they can also register, even if they will have to supply an e-mail and validate it (that said, I still would prefer to see guest posting disabled, but that's another matter).

The Question/Answer system like in the Imoen Romance forums is probably the most effective system against spam, since the answers can't be guessed by bots not specifically designed to target Baldur's Gate forums. This is not only much more effective against Bots, but also much more friendly to humans who do not have to decipher those horribles (and ineffective) captchas.

The Q&A system would be better, even if the question is as easy as the one on BWL. It could be even something like 'What is your father's name?' Answer: 'Bhaal'. Or 'foster father's'...

[Sam.]

The Question/Answer system like in the Imoen Romance forums is probably the most effective system against spam, since the answers can't be guessed by bots not specifically designed to target Baldur's Gate forums.

The Q&A system would be better, even if the question is as easy as the one on BWL. It could be even something like 'What is your father's name?' Answer: 'Bhaal'. Or 'foster father's'...

I see several potential problems with this type of system. Firstly, consider the various Total Conversions hosted at SHS. Take Classic Adventures for instance. The story doesn't take place in Amn, or even anywhere along the Sword Coast. The plot has nothing to do with Bhaal, you don't start off in Candlekeep or Irenicus's Dungeon, and none of the quests are the same. Even if someone who wants to post a question about CA on the forum has played Baldur's Gate before, they aren't necessarily familiar enough with it to be able to answer the questions. In the past, I have loaned one of my copies of BG2 to various friends so that they could try Classic Adventures. They have never played any of the Baldur's Gate games, and so would be unable to answer any questions about them.

Another example is in the Operating Theatre. Many legitimate posters may have never played the Baldur's Gate games. Lola here is a good example of this.

[Anomaly]

Well, you're not forced to ask a question about Baldur's Gate lore if this is what you fear. Examples :

- What is the color of snow ?
- What is the first name of Barrak Obama ?
- What is the first letter of Athaktla ?
...

But I think it would be less effective. Players of C.A. should remember at least major bits of Baldur's Gate II plot. I don't suggest to ask tough questions like : "Gives all Harpers Names that will fight you when Jaheira brings you to the Harper basement". But basic questions everyone who has played once should remember : Who is Irenicus's sister ? What is Bodhi ? Where is Athaktla ? What is the name of Baldur's Gate II expansion pack ?

Even if you don't know the answer of one question, you can ask the forum to ask you another one, just like when a captcha is unreadable, you usually have a way to generate another one.

Reported ten spams today... even one in this very topic. All of the recent posts are spam. Please do something. SHS shoudn't become like Imoen Romance's old forums (which died because of spam). By the way, Gibberlings 3 is also spammed, even if a bit less than SHS.

[Solaufein]

Spam bots, that's what happens when you allow guest posting. But still you will get those few bots that can actually sign up. Disable guest posting and you'll cut out 75-80% of spam bots.

[the bigg]

Wikipedia exists, as does google. Even if you never played BG1, if you can't look up the name of BG1's antagonist on Wikipedia you have no business posting on the same forum as grown-ups.

[Anomaly]

Just below the Donation Tracker, the "recently added topics" frame, 100% filled with spam. Who would donate in that case ?

[Choo Choo]

We're aware of all the spam, and I'd wager we're more tired of it than you guys are, since we're the ones cleaning it up.

I'm really not the most knowledgeable when it comes to tech issues, but I do know that getting rid of all the spam without disabling guest posting - which won't reduce all of it and will cut out all real, active content from guests - will take upgrading the forum software, and that's not something done over ten minutes. It will be dealt with as soon as possible, so please, be patient and just keep reporting any spam you see. Thanks.

Edited by Choo Choo, 19 May 2011 - 04:05 AM.

[Yovaneth]

Search 'weidu' = No results found for 'weidu'.

Eh?

-Y-

[theacefes]

Search 'weidu' = No results found for 'weidu'.

Eh?

-Y-

Psh, *no one* uses Weidu anymore.

[Galactygon]

Search 'weidu' = No results found for 'weidu'.

Eh?

-Y-

Psh, *no one* uses Weidu anymore.

I was able to reproduce this by typing in 'WeiDU'. The search function does not work.

-Galactygon

[Cerest]

http://mycroft.mozde...ellhold Studios

This, however does work. Its a simple search extension that inputs "Weidu" as "site:shsforums.net weidu" onto a google search engine.

You can google search, "site:shsforums.net weidu" yourself, but the above plugin will integrate it directly into your browser when you manage your search engines.

[Galactygon]

Unfortunately, the search engines only return topics; they do not allow you to preview and scroll through the individual posts if for example, what you are looking for is buried in a 20-page thread.

-Galactygon

[scient]

Is it possible for admin to get in touch with me about gaining access or info on how to go about updating PST mods? I tried to send K'aeloree a PM few weeks ago and haven't heard back. I imagine he gets lots of PM's and is busy so I figured I'd post in here in case someone else can help. Qwinn always took care of packaging and releasing updates, so I have no clue how to go about it.

[Kaeloree]

Hey! I got your PM, just haven't had the time to set it up (it's a bit of an involved process). I've just set it up so you're a moderator of those categories, it's a bit of a quick'n'dirty fix but at least you'll have access to them.

[scient]

Ah great thank you!

[scient]

I updated all download pages, would it be possible to update the readme's as well with ones found in new packages? Just minor changes to version/changelog so no hurry. I attached the three html readme files below for convenience. I take it this requires access to server and not accessible to Qwinn or myself?

http://readme.spellh...ack_Readme.html
http://readme.spellh...TUB_Readme.html
http://readme.spellh...aks_Readme.html

 readme_update.rar   60.28K   174 downloads

Thanks again for helping me get this sorted.

Edited by scient, 08 August 2011 - 07:58 AM.

[Jarno Mikkola]

This text has been at the bottom of the first forum page since the two thousand and eleven update:

0 member(s) have a birthday today
No members are celebrating a birthday today

It might be time to fix the calendar or whatever... not that it needs to be hurried up, my birth day was about a month ago.

[Jarno Mikkola]

Also, the "Support topic" -links in the download sectioning rarely lead to anywhere... It actually gives this:

An Error Occurred
Sorry, an error occurred. If you are unsure on how to use a feature, or don't know why you got this error message, try looking through the help files for more information.
[#10342] We could not determine which forum this topic is in.

At least to intelligent location because the whole section is auto created and cannot be changed by the upload-ers, well at least by us the regular members...

[phordicus]

All attachments are corrupted for me. First I've tried since the change.

[Bookwyrme]

All attachments are corrupted for me. First I've tried since the change.

I'm finding the same. .d attachments appear to work, but I've tried .rar a few times on a couple of days, and it's showing up as corrupt.