Dan and Rev and I, over on the Border Camp, are aware that our confirmation codes are difficult for some folks to read. This is due to keeping our site security settings at a high level due to the literally hundreds of spammers who bombard our site when the settings are ramped down to make registration easier.
I sympathize with the frustration that's been expressed by a few. I recently had to open a Western Union account, and it took me multiple tries (and having my first registration attempt cancelled, forcing me to start over from scratch) before I found a code I could read. If it hadn't been a necessity that I create an account I would have just given up. Obviously, membership on a discussion forum isn't a necessity for anyone and as a result we have no doubt that that's exactly what some have done, is just give up.
We've modified the "guest" settings for the site so that now potential members can view our guidelines and also contact info for Dan Foster, who can help with the registration process if you run into trouble. Please bear in mind that Dan works a lot of hours and may not be able to get with you right away.
Though my computer savvy is extremely limited, if you can't reach Dan you can contact me at choose_yer_weapon@yahoo.com and I might possibly be able to get you registered. No guarantees, but I'll give it a shot.
We apologize for any inconvenience, but this has been a learn-as-we-go proposition involving a host network whose workings are largely a mystery to us. None of us have extensive time to devote to figuring out a happy medium between acceptable security and ease of access for new registrations, so we're doing the best we can to above all keep our membership safe from those to whom the internet is a wide-open field for criminal and destructive activities.
IMHO - Registration on the Boarder camp is difficult enough to defeat most of the spammers but not so difficult as to repel someone who wants to be there. I enjoy the site and wish I could visit more often, but running this place and other "normal" operations limit my computer time....
While my computer skills are very limited, I can tell you that the problems of getting registered are well worth the effort.
Thank you, gentlemen -- that's kind of you to say.
The main complaint has been due to the difficulty of reading the confirmation code -- the term "old eyes" was used by Papa, I believe it was -- and after my own experience with the Western Union confirmation codes I'm sympathetic to the problem.
However, I do need to stress that, if it comes down to a choice between one or the other, we're going to keep the settings tight rather than open the door to spammers. At various times when we've ramped the settings down, we've had literally hundreds of spam memberships and posts bombard us in the course of a single day, and most of those posts contain links that in many (or most) cases will introduce viruses and other garbage into the computer of anyone who clicks on them.
The internet is very much a wilderness full of various dangers, and unfortunately many who venture into that wilderness don't realize that anything you're not familiar with, that you don't know beyond doubt is safe and trustworthy, be it a website or a post containing a link on a discussion forum, is liable to be harmful to both your computer and YOU. Nothing more than being curious and clicking on a strange link, just to see what it's about, has cost numerous people not only their computers but the money in their bank accounts, their good crddit, even their legal identities. It needs to be understood that logging onto the internet is in no way the same as flipping open the pages of a book or magazine -- caution and common sense are called for.
Quote from: mongrel on February 05, 2012, 03:01:08 PM
Dan and Rev and I, over on the Border Camp, are aware that our confirmation codes are difficult for some folks to read. This is due to keeping our site security settings at a high level due to the literally hundreds of spammers who bombard our site when the settings are ramped down to make registration easier.
I sympathize with the frustration that's been expressed by a few. I recently had to open a Western Union account, and it took me multiple tries (and having my first registration attempt cancelled, forcing me to start over from scratch) before I found a code I could read. If it hadn't been a necessity that I create an account I would have just given up. Obviously, membership on a discussion forum isn't a necessity for anyone and as a result we have no doubt that that's exactly what some have done, is just give up.
We've modified the "guest" settings for the site so that now potential members can view our guidelines and also contact info for Dan Foster, who can help with the registration process if you run into trouble. Please bear in mind that Dan works a lot of hours and may not be able to get with you right away.
Though my computer savvy is extremely limited, if you can't reach Dan you can contact me at choose_yer_weapon@yahoo.com and I might possibly be able to get you registered. No guarantees, but I'll give it a shot.
We apologize for any inconvenience, but this has been a learn-as-we-go proposition involving a host network whose workings are largely a mystery to us. None of us have extensive time to devote to figuring out a happy medium between acceptable security and ease of access for new registrations, so we're doing the best we can to above all keep our membership safe from those to whom the internet is a wide-open field for criminal and destructive activities.
I will add my two cents to this. When we had less security, every single day I would spend a significant amount of time deleting spam accounts, & I live on the left coast. Mongrel & Dan are up 3 hours earlier than me & had already nailed a significant portion of the trash by the time I got to it.
Keep up the good works guys. It is great to have the forums to go to and learn stuff we would never see otherwise. Plus it is good to get opinions from someone other than my buds here in Texas once in a while, just so I am getting a rounded education. 'shok'
I modified the settings to make it a little easier to register. We will monitor the changes & see how it goes...
I had tried the site a couple of times, but it never let me even look past the home page and I don't really feel like I have time for another forum anyway, so I gave up long ago.
I registered this morning, and I haven't seen anything like that since the 60s. ;D
And actually you didn't really see it, in the sixties -- you just, um, sort of "imagined" it.... ROFL
(susp) Grooovy man.
ROFL ROFL noway
I made it in, looks very interesting forum :mini-devil-28492: