IAC DISCUSSION FORUMS

Am I alone among IAC members using the forum who has been receiving what appears to be spam?

It hadn't yesterday on all four forums, a load of gibberish on each of them.

Nobody mentioned it yesterday, so I'll mention it now because it's happended again this morning, on all but the first forum - that is, the following, from one "tuvw708" -

"greatly shocked wow gold at the 'unlady-like gimmick,' and wondered 'how she had picked it up.' 'But you can soon crumble her wow accounts of it, Fille Hoar,' said she: 'it is only a wont; and if you leave upright gently inform wow powerleveling her every second she does so, I am certain she gift soon lay it message.' I not only 'gently reminded' her, I tried to strike upon her how condemnable it was, and how heavy to the ears of decorous group: but cheap wow gold all in vain: I was exclusive answered by a incautious laugh, and, 'Oh, Shoot Wear, how shocked you are!"

What's this all about?

Ian Woodward

Yes, sorry, odd bits of spam come our way. As soon as Jan, Mike or I spot them we delete the person and the posts. Usually we do that before anyone notices. The latest spammer came on during the two hours I was off shopping at Morrisons this morning!

The forum joining process keeps out the scores (literally) of robot spammers which try to get on every day, but there is a group in China who use real people - presumably English-speaking students - to join up. There is no practical defence against that other than making every applicant wait for manual approval. That is frustrating if a legitimate user signs up because she or he want to make a point or ask a question immediately. We may have to move to that if the problem gets worse.

We take off two or three a day at present.

Dave (who oddly enough likes tinned spam but not the web-based kind ... )

Ah, we learn smething new every day, Dave...I somehow thought that internet forums were immune from spam, but now I know that that's one definition of naivety.

Ian (who as a boy loved spam fritters but as an adult hates frittered spams...)