Website comments

[Craig @craig Emperor]

Sorry, I should have added, if you are copying and pasting you don’t need the @ symbol at all, that’s why it is happening.

See: Timeloop

[IAmNotAFishIAmAFreeMan @pedant]

@craig @timeloop has just link to ones where the issue occurs – the @ not attaching to the name. Not really a huge problem, imo, just a WordPress quirk.

[Craig @craig Emperor]

IAmNotAFishIAmAFreeMan

It’s not really a quirk, it’s the way it’s supposed to work. If you paste a name that’s already linked to a forum member, then @ mention it as well, if it didn’t ignore the @ mention then it’d create a link to a link to a forum member, then the world would probably spiral out of its orbit or something!

The person you’re responding to still gets an email, and anyone reading can still follow the link to the person’s profile.

If you’re going to copy and paste names (in visual mode), I’d say leave off the @. No need for it. Look how I just linked to you by copying and pasting, and without using “pedant” at all.

[Timeloop @timeloop]

@craig Thanks for making that clear. I did it before and it just added the @ in blue, but thats not really important. Good to know. Thanks for all the care mods

[IAmNotAFishIAmAFreeMan @pedant]

@craig and anyone else really. User mery (labeled as Abel) sending spammy private messages – probably not just to me.

Killkillkillkillkill…..

[Craig @craig Emperor]

@pedant Yeah, I got one too. I’ve deleted them.

[Miapatrick @miapatrick]

Yeah me to. Bit weird- ‘I like your profile’ my profiles completely blank! ’email me so you can see my pictures’ bah. I suppose this means this website has ‘arrived’- we even get spam! swings and roundabouts…

[wolfweed @wolfweed]

I replied to the spam and we immediately got married and now I’m called ‘Mr Abel’.

[ScaryB @scaryb]

Congrats @wolfweed  – bet his/her pics aren’t up to the standard of yours 😉

Thanks @craig – hope it was messy 😈

So when did we sneak up to 346 members?!  😯 🙂

[CraigNixon @craignixon]

….But she loves me!

Meee

Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

*Runs screaming down a conveniently placed hallway*

[Craig @craig Emperor]

Hi everyone, am back home after a 7:00am meeting!

Apologies for the spam. They do keep me on my toes, the buggers. Glad you’ve taken it in good humour.

I’ve had a quick look into it, and it looks like one way to stop it happening again would be to only allow private messages between members who have “friended” each other. What do you think about that solution?

I’ll keep looking to see if I can find a more global solution in any case.

[janetteB @janetteb]

I didn’t even know how to find private messages until this issue arose and as I have recieved just the one, (only spammers love me), I don’t really care. On other forums I have been involved with p.ms were mostly used for trading or political arguments. Neither is likely to occur on this forum so restricting p.ms to members who are “friended” is fine. Anything to get the better of spammers.

Cheers

Janette

[Whisht @whisht]

Hey @wolfweed – word of caution.

I went out with Merry some while ago and then she got a bit weird on me.

Which I liked.

We broke up, and it was so traumatic I haven’t ‘friended’ since.

best of luck (she’s a great bloke).

[Arkleseizure @arkleseizure]

Oh, and there was me hoping it was just me and some fine young woman has a thing for small green aliens. <Sulk, sulk, sulk>

[IAmNotAFishIAmAFreeMan @pedant]

It might be worth installing the Stop Spammer Registration plug-in: http://www.blogseye.com/i-make-plugins/stop-spammer-registrations-plugin/

I use it on a couple of sites I manage and it works pretty well.

[Anonymous @]

@arkleseizure — well, she told me that she thought my moderators’ visor and natty little cap were manly and virile…. sob…

[Craig @craig Emperor]

@pedant I’ve got a lot of anti-spammer registration stuff installed already, after the first few weeks of spambot sign-ups. Unfortunately there are poor people employed for a pittance to register with sites then pass the login details to the spammers. Registration is pretty blocked to bots right now, but not to real people.

But I’ll check it out. What I’d like is something that stops automated, multiple private messages once they can actually log in, as that seems to be my only weak link at the moment (well, that is until the next one!).

[IAmNotAFishIAmAFreeMan @pedant]

Well, FWIW the plug in I mention has proved very effective (the drones tend to be at the same machine, on the same IP address)

[IAmNotAFishIAmAFreeMan @pedant]

reCaptcha also helps @craig.

[ScaryB @scaryb]

Ditto @janetteb I hardly ever use the PM. Presumably if anyone wants to they just have to friend first then they can PM to their hearts content. Whatever it takes to keep the pesky wee buggers under control without @craig having to chase after them all the time

[Whisht @whisht]

yep @pedant – reCaptcha also blocks real humans.

;¬)

Google definitely does evil!

[Craig @craig Emperor]

@pedant Already have reCaptcha, but actually thinking of removing it. Was my first line of defence but as @whisht says, also blocks humans. Have a lot smarter spam defences in place now. Big ‘fuck off’ walls. But the PM thing took me by surprise. Must have been a human sign-on followed by a bot. Give me a few days… well, maybe a week, have to go up to Scotland at the weekend for my Dad’s 70th. After that, I’ll get my ‘big bot swatter’ out.

@whisht I kinda like the thinking behind reCaptcha – isn’t really evil – helps digitise books. May be for Google’s benefit at the moment, but Google won’t last for ever, but the digitising of the books will.

[IAmNotAFishIAmAFreeMan @pedant]

@Craif @whisht Agree about Google, but reCaptcha only stops stupid humans!

[ScaryB @scaryb]

@pedant

reCaptcha only stops stupid humans  😳

@craig have a fab time in the North!  Weather’s the same as usual – generally grey with occasional glimpses of a mysterious big shiny thing in the sky. Bring wellies, a brolly, shorts and sunglasses!

[HTPBDET @htpbdet]

@craig

Hello!

Thanks for everything these last weeks – you are a true gentleman and champion. Much much appreciated.

I am on slow return to normal world, so plodding.

Is it possible to re-order the blogs in The Doctors so that they are in order? I think they are apart from Tom Baker.

And I can go in an edit the text of them – is that right? There are things I need to fix (spelling is not my forte!) and maybe add a few things – when that journey started I was not sure how deeply the narratives would entwine, but now I do and I might just need to flesh out the odd moment along the way. If that is possible?

Cheers

[Craig @craig Emperor]

Hi @htpbdet great to see you posting again. And as always, it was my pleasure. And your nephew seems a wonderful young man who loves his Uncle very much.

In the “teach a man to fish” vein, you should be able to reorder your posts yourself.

Just go to the post you want to move. At the right-hand side above the “Publish/Update” button, there is a publish date, which you can change (I think). The posts are ordered by date so that’s how you can move them around.

And yes, you should be able to edit them too.

If you have any problems though, or don’t have the permissions, please let me know and I can either increase your permissions or do it for you.

[HTPBDET @htpbdet]

Thanks @craig.

Have a great weekend.

[IAmNotAFishIAmAFreeMan @pedant]

@craig – suspicious friend request in inbox….

[Anonymous @]

@pedant – I got that too.  Just decline as I did …

It would be an odd spammer though.   Someone who’s been a member over two weeks, and there are now 2 people who have accepted friend requests.  We’ll have to see what @wolfweed says about the experience.

[IAmNotAFishIAmAFreeMan @pedant]

Wolfweed has, but no posts and another single-poster as friend.

Me suspects a set up for on-topic trolling.

[wolfweed @wolfweed]

@Shazzbot & @pedant. I friended without really thinking and then shortly after I unfriended. Whether or not the course of my destiny is irrevocably altered remains to be seen I suppose…

[Anonymous @]

@wolfweed – I like to think that we are all friends here … which is why I’m suspicious of newbies who go that extra mile.  Call me cynical, but anyone new to this forum who indiscriminately ‘friends’ people is getting my Dagger Look ™.

Gawww, I do love a bit of Donna.  😀

[CraigNixon @craignixon]

Hahaha, I thought I was special.
Should have known really!

I assume we are talking about Chameleon4rch? A few people have now friended but I don’t think I’ve seen any of them active.

Tempted to friend just to see what happens, but thats a trait I’m trying not indulge!

[ScaryB @scaryb]

@craignixon You obv just like living dangerously! (Did you not kick yourself a while back for being unable to resist an obvious BIG spoiler?!)  But enjoy the spam to follow 😀

Anyone coming in and mass friending everyone has issues one way or another. This site doesn’t work by people having little private conversations in corners – we’re all upfront and out there.

PS Been meaning to say for ages – love the “Susan” avatar

[CraigNixon @craignixon]

@scaryb,

Yeah, but I’m marrier with kids now, so my self control issues have been (mostly) tamed compared to the old days. So it has to come out one way or another.

 

Test subject accepted, Email Spam filter set up  😀

 

Ta  🙂

[Craig @craig Emperor]

@chameleon4rch Right now I’m guessing you’re either a spammer or a sad middle-aged man with no friends who needs to use a little goth-girl picture to get anyone to pay attention to you.

No matter, either you reply publicly here why you made so many friend requests without ever posting anything, or I delete you 3 hours from now – that’s 11 o’clock UK time.

Look forward to hearing from you 😉

[Craig @craig Emperor]

@chameleon4rch Okay, you had your chance. I’m deleting you. If you have any complaints you can email me. My address is on the home page.

[Anonymous @]

Hello Maestro (@craig) – I’ve noticed something and I hope it doesn’t take too much out of your day job to research.  When someone @ thingy’s me, if it’s buried in their [longer] reply, then I don’t get an email and it doesn’t appear in my Profile ‘mentions’.

Is there a character limit for @ mentions?  Ta, S.

[IAmNotAFishIAmAFreeMan @pedant]

@craig

Harsh, but fair.

[Craig @craig Emperor]

@Shazzbot Can you link to an example post where you’ve been mentioned and not got an email and it hasn’t appeared in your mentions, then I can look into it.

Cheers.

[Anonymous @]

Hello Maestro (@craig) – here is an example of a comment where my @ name was buried and for which I did not get the expected email / profile ‘mention’ :

http://www.thedoctorwhoforum.com/forums/topic/the-empty-child-the-doctor-dances/#post-12442

 

[Anonymous @]

Maestro (@craig) – here is another example:

http://www.thedoctorwhoforum.com/forums/topic/the-empty-child-the-doctor-dances/#post-12447

[Craig @craig Emperor]

@Shazzbot Cheers, have no idea why you didn’t get an email or a mention. Have you checked your spam folder (as there were several links in those comments which may mean the email gets wrongly identified as spam).

If they’re not there then yes, it will take too much out of my day job to research, at least for a week or two. I will look into it eventually though.

[Craig @craig Emperor]

@dontplaywithfood And once again you enlighten us with your Wildean wit.

Really, please try to contribute something interesting, or leave. One of your posts has shown you have it in you.

We’re not an “anything goes” forum here. This is not a comedy stage. We want people who will join in the conversation and make the forum better. We’d rather stay small, with fewer members, than allow everyone in and see standards slide. You are, I’m sorry to say, making standards slide.

So this is a gentle warning. I’d love to see you make some posts along the lines of the one you made a short while ago about Eccleston. Please try and keep the comedy routine either incredibly funny (so far it hasn’t been) or keep it to your self.

[Anonymous @]

Hello Maestro ( @craig ) – naahh, it’s not about spam folders.  And please don’t take time away from your presentation work; it isn’t really important.  Just glad to get onto your to-do list.  🙂

There are ample examples of buried @ links which don’t trigger ‘mentions’ nor emails.  I’m not unduly worried, and I don’t want to give you headaches.  Your site is lovely.  🙂  Now, where is @htpbdet ?!  (see, it’s buried, so he will never see!)

[DontPlayWithFood @dontplaywithfood]

@craig

Sorry

Actually the above comment about email was made before I knew I had an email from you.  It looks like I am cheeking you but I really am not.  It was a coincidence… you don’t have to believe that…

As to your comment about the number of posts, I’m not used to either the edit feature, or a recent posts feed.

Meanwhile the avatar which looked modest on its own looks blingy when there’s more than one copy.  It ain’t the main problem, but I’m going to retire it.

[Craig @craig Emperor]

@dontplaywithfood Apology accepted. Thanks. I had no problem with the avatar and would be happy to have it back. I actually thought it was quite fun. Just try and rein it in a little and make intelligent posts, as I know you are capable of, and you’ll be welcome here.

Sorry if I’m coming across as a hardass, but we’re trying to be a bit different from the rest of the internet. We may be fighting a losing battle, but the more people we have on board who would like to take part in decent conversations, that engage and stimulate, the better. We started that way and we’re trying hard to maintain it.

And if you fancy doing comedy, there are plenty of photos that require crazy captions if you head over to the blog (we’re not completely serious – well, I am but some of the others aren’t 😉 ).

[DontPlayWithFood @dontplaywithfood]

@craig

Thanks

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

Hi @craig, I was going to PM you, but thought I’d make a post asking for general feedback.

I just noticed another spammer abusing the update function. I can’t access those to delete.

I’ve never seen an active member make good use of the function (I seem to remember someone signed up to update us with the vital news of “how they were getting their feels on for 10 and Rose”) and it seems to attract spammers.

If it’s an easy job, and a separate component could we disable this? Either by removing the input box or the the underlying script?

After that I can delete any spam that gets posted into the threads.

If anyone has strong feelings about missing the function, I’m happy to be corrected.

[Anonymous @]

@phaseshift – what’s ‘the update function’?

[Author]

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