Over the last almost 2 years the site has been up, it's run fairly smooth. We've had a few innappropriate posts here and there, but nothing I didn't catch fairly quickly. Well, in the last 6 months, you may have noticed an increase in SPAM bot attacks, which leave "guest" posts in various forums at random. Sometimes there is 1 or 2, but other have left as many as 15 messages. While most of these posts are fairly innocuous, some have been pretty pornographic in nature (and before you even ask, no I didn't save them!
), which have included links and several photos.
So here's my question. The only way I can totally stop this from happening, is to completely lock down the board and personally authorize each member as they register. I'd love to do this, but I just don't have that kind of time to monitor the board. Plus, it's not very user friendly. So.... what are the options?
Option 1. Continue as is, with the ocaissional SPAM drive-by attacks, and remove them as I have time.
Option 2. Enlist a team of moderators who can monitor the site 24/7 to delete and deter posts made by users and SPAM bots.
Option 3. Keep member registration automatic (no admin approval required), but lock out posting priviledges from unregistered "guests" to prevent SPAM bots from posting messages. This would still allow "guests" to view the messages, but not post.
Personally, I like option 3. It's easy and quick, but the downside is in order to post a message, you would have to register, so it will more than likely deter posts from people who want to remain anonymous, or those that just want to post a quick message.
Anyway, I'm open for any suggestions you have. I try very hard to keep this a family friendly forum, but it's difficult when you get slammed at various times by these SPAM bots.
It's up to you! Let me know what you think.....
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