Restricted PMing rights

This is actually sort of overdue as I've been considering posting about it before, but after getting the occasional PM from random, new users complaining about his/her account not getting activated or whatever of the like yet (which are still a -somewhat- decent reason to ask for help, but sending an PM to every single user on the forum about it is sort of overdone as well), it's getting to the point that I'm getting random PMs from spambots and other commercial crap now.

Can't we simply restrict PMing rights until after members have been approved to full membership so that annoyances like these can get out of the way? I personally don't see why non-members would be allowed to use it anyway, as they won't make full usage of the forum until they're fully approved of anyway.

The issue is, of course, if we remove the ability for new users to send a limited number of PM's, then if they are struggling with the registration system they can't get hold of anyone at all.

Have to agree with Kozgugore. There must be a better way to handle trouble with new people. Maybe make it a bit more clear to new registers who to contact etc?

Isn't the mass PMing a different issue anyway? With people using the wrong contact tool and mass PMing rather than simple PMing?

Or is that a different forum I am thinking of?

:/

I'm not sure how exactly the registration process works nowadays, but if PMing people/mods is a part of it, can't the tool simply be restricted to not being able to mass-PM everyone at once at the very least? I -think- there should be an option like that on free forums, though I could be thinking of a different kind of forum instead.

I can take a look in a while, but I think this issue was raised before I joined the admin team and nothing could be done about it.

i periodicaly also get "advetisement" emails to.. had two of them so far

Since I joined these forums, I've never ever experienced anything like this.

I've only recently started getting random advertisement mail, but I tend to just delete them and move on.

I'm running the Shatterskull forum on the same place that this forum is run. Its been running since 2007 without these kind of issues. Its all part of your setup, wich can be changed somewhere. You can always hit the phpBB support forum for some help.
http://help.forumotion.com/forum

My entire inbox is full of them. Perhaps some of them might be simply selective and not mass-sent to everyone, but it's quite a common occurrence to me anyway. One way or another, it might simply not be a great idea to have spambots have their way with the PMing system, that's all I'm trying to say.

I haven't gotten any spam at all. It must be certain members that are getting it?

Got 4 spammail so far. Starting to get annoying... :s

Yeah. I get several too.

Since no Admin has looked into it yet, i did on my forum. There's a few options you can use as Admin's against this.

Go to the Admin Panel. Click the "General" tab. Under the "Forum" options should be a "Security" button, click it. Now there's a good deal of options you can use to avoid spammers on your forum.

Unauthorize members with less than a week registration to post external links and emails:
This should only be mildly annoying for new members, but will make sure no PM's and new spammed posts has links of the evil kind.

Unauthorize guests to post external links and emails:
Same as above, just with "guests" aswell.

Unauthorize subscriptions made with the most commonly used spam usernames.:
You'd be surprised how many of the spammers use these simple names.

Unauthorize unofficial forms to post messages and private messages on the forum:
This is the best one.


Anyway. There's several other small mechanics you can start here aswell. Wont take an admin for than 10 minutes to look through.

I've gotten 17 of them since christmas. And a loooot of them before that too, but I deleted all those around christmas. So yeah, it's starting to become a proper hassle.

Likewise I keep getting them too. Always advising some legal service. It's only started happening since Sept. It's annoying

never got one \0/

Lets see my inbox....

4x

From: Guest
[Contact] Be successful online

You know how important it is to be visible. You know you need to use the internet better. But you also need to take care of your business. You can’t do both. Well, you take care of your business… we’ll take care of the internet for you. Our expert staff understands how to make search engines your friend. Email us and we’ll get started.

Sender e-mail address: ramonelliot438@gmail.com

1x

From: Guest
[CONTACT] ONLINE MARKETING OF YOUR BUSINESS

It’s a fact: more people find out about your business on Facebook or Twitter than on search engines. Making these sites work maybe tricky for you, but it’s business as usual for us. Let us improve your visibility and enhance your image. It’s part of our complete Internet Marketing package. We’ll be more than your friends --- we’ll be your partners.

Sender e-mail address: stellafair2@gmail.com

I don't mind to much, can always delete them from the box, though i do admit its at times annoying when you expect a PM, "oh, did it come now....ah crap, junk again"

I like them. Gives me the feeling I am no total outcast of society

So I've added some restrictions on the PM rights.

I woke up this morning to another spam email, so if you received one this morning as well, this should put an end to it.

I'm going to leave this thread open, so anyone can let me know if they receive another spam mail after this was posted.

[Contact] Organic SEO - Defiasrp.com

From Guest To Coppersocket, Today at 10:05 am
Defiasrp.com Team,

I thought you might like to know some of the reasons why you are not getting enough Social Media and Organic search engine traffic for Defiasrp.com

1.Your website Defiasrp.com is not ranking top in Google organic search for many competitive keyword phrases.

2.Your website profile is not available in most of the Social Media Websites.

3. Your site has 0 Google back links, this can be improved further.

There are many additional improvements that could be made to your website, and if you would like to learn about them, and are curious to know what our working together would involve, then I would be glad to provide you with a detailed analysis in the form of a WEBSITE AUDIT REPORT for FREE.

Our clients consistently tell us that their customers find them because they are at the top of the Google search rankings.Being at the top left of Google (#1- #3 organic positions) is the best thing you can do for your company's website traffic and online reputation.

I found your site in the Google search and after having a look over your website I think you should go for an SEO campaign to boost your marketing strategy.

Sounds interesting? Feel free to email us or alternatively you can provide me with your phone number and the best time to call you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Best Regards,
Diana J.Blevins
(301)859-4903
SEO Consultant
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PS1: This is onetime email and you may ask us to “REMOVE” you from our mailing list.
PS2: I found your site from online advertising but did not click.
PS3: We operate 24 x7. I will be happy to send you links to price list,refund policy,client rankings,client testimonials, “How we are different from others?”, and “Why should you choose us?” on receiving a response from you.

Sender e-mail address: onlineweb78@gmail.com




Just got this, found it quite funny.
DefiasRP, online advertising, today

It is quite odd. As far as I know there has always been a PM restriction saying you have to write a certain amount of post before you can send PMs.

That's the same mail I received and everything. The issue is here, I can place as much limitation on members to send PMs as I like, but since guests aren't technically anything, I see no option to deny them the ability to PM.

I'll keep looking.

Since some of them are labelled with [Contact], at least when they're being PM'd to me, I've disabled the contact link.

Again, let me know if you're still being spammed after this point.