hmm ok, but don't ya all think that the number of spambots has decreased to quite an extent after the introducing of punstop bots q's?

Actually aprone is right, they seem to go in waves. There are none for several days and then boom! a hole gang.

I'm also afraid the punbb antispam question actually didn't work out.

I got a message from a new member (actually one of the Airik developers), saying that everytime she posted the antispam question appeared and she couldn't post a new topic. I used my private address to create a new test account and found the same thing.

The question itself was fine, "what planet do we live on" or "What is the name of this website" but the board just wouldn't take one answer, and new users seemed to need to put it in all the time, even when successfully registered.

So, Sander had to remove it again.

This was however several weeks ago at the start of June, so the present spambot increase isn't related, it's just the season for them, ---- maybe they breed in summer ;D.

Maybe Aprone can go into his evil mad scientist lab and work on a spamicide? ----- or then again maybe not, sinse isn't that how all the really bad monsters are created? ---- through dodgy chemical testing? ;D.

Of course, that game would have to doc points for accusing human members as spammers. ^^

Requiring validation for new users by a mod or admin might work, though it could well increase the workload for the staff.

a spamm hunt game, hahah! although every time I post with stop bot, I use answer button instade pressing enter and no problame at all! I shaired it in another topic
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the eazyest way to know wether that is a spammer or a human is ask to repost theirs post. the spammer's has no ability to do this!
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A spambot hunt game! I can see it now, something like the gunfights in grizly gulch, but instead of a gun you yell "ban!" really loundly, and instead of saying their outlaw lines you here voices saying "free samples!" or "interesting comment!"

Oooh dear, and I bet someone is now going to make it ;D.

Seriously, I think the punbb question was a good idea if we can find a way of it not irritating new members.

Certainly when I tried it myself, while it was fine for registering the new account, it got annoying very quickly sinse it wouldn't let me post a new topic. I'd write the answer and hit the answer button and then just be put back to the question again and again and again! even though the answer was obviously write sinse I'd already registered.

I'm less a fan of mod approval or validation, sinse 1, I wouldn't like to have people having to depend entirely on myself and the other mods' time, and 2, I always feel it's a litle unfriendly.

Certainly myself if I needed to contact a mod or similar I'd be a litle worried about registering somewhere, which is not what we want.

Maybe when sander redesigns the site he could look at creating a better question system such as the one they have on kingdom of Loathing that I've mentioned before.

yeah, I too.

Thanks for the offers people.

I think with four of us on the job we are alright thus far, but we'll contact people privately if this becomes a major issue.

hopefully though, Sander can find a more effective antispam measure that is not irritating to members in future which should cut down the problem.

Well actually cae it's not that spambots attack when we're offline, it's just that those are the only attacks which forum members will see sinse obviously if we're around as soon as we detect a spambot it is exterminated!

Fortunately though now there are four of us on the job not just myself and Cx2, it is more likely someone will be online at any given time and able to deal with spambots as soon as possible.

Afterall, Cx2 and I are both in the Uk, so tend to be on the forum in uk time (not counting insomniation of course). But now we have Lucas and Aprone who are both from different timezones which should certainly help.

Proboards keeps all the banned members in a list, so I can go back and look at how many spambots I've banned if I really want to. I have to count them myself, though...