AOL, hotmail, gmail email addresses and registration

[w3jn]

Please note that due to the high level of spammers using these free email domains that AMFone.net is not accepting new registrations for members using these email domains.

We receive sometimes 200+ spammer registration attempts and it's getting time consuming going through them trying to find the real members from the spammers.

This should not affect any current members using these email domains - although I fatfingered the AOL addresses when I was disabling registration and ended up full banning some members using AOL.  That should be fixed now.  If you are still having problems, please email admin@amfone.net and I'll fix you up.

edit - March 18, 2013 - unfortunately I've had to add hotmail.com due to the 100 or so spammers trying to register here with hotmail.com addresses in the past 24 hours.

[W4EWH]

Please note that due to the high level of spammers using these free email domains that AMFone.net is not accepting new registrations for members using these email domains.

We receive sometimes 200+ spammer registration attempts and it's getting time consuming going through them trying to find the real members from the spammers.

You might be able to set up a "tag" filter, so that applicants have to put something like
"[subscription]" in their subject line. The vast majority of spammers use automated search engines to locate bulletin boards, and then they submit "vanilla" subscription requests for whatever type of BBS they find. A tag disrupts their process and buys you some breathing room, although you'll need to have lots of "readme" files to make sure everyone understands what's needed.

The key is to have some sort of CAPTCHA that will weed out the auto-subscribe robots.

HTH.

Bill, W1AC
Moderator, http://www.telecom-digest.org/

[w3jn]

Bill, we have a Captcha here but the xrumer forum spambot can solve it.  Hence the extreme number of spammer registrations.  The instructions read that users need to register with their call sign or name + SWL if they don't have a license.  That makes it easy to spot the legit registrations but it was time consuming to have to delete 5+ pages of spammers.

If a legit user that has no other email address than these sends me a message at admin at amfone.net I'll be glad to make an account for them.

[kb3ouk]

What might work better than a CAPTCHA is just a simple question that the bot wouldn't know. I think if I remember right, over on the class E forum they give you the formula for ohm's law and ask what the formula is (answer: ohm's law). Or if you were really creative, figure out how to make the CAPTCHA in CW.  It would be like decode this: ...-  --  -.-.  .-.   some kind of random combination like that.

[w3jn]

Yes indeed, unfortunately this bb software doesn't support that plugin.  Trust me, I've thought of this 9 ways to Sunday because weeding out the spammers is a lot of work, yet we want legit members to be able to join.  This is the best way.

[KI4YAN]

Been a while since I was able to login; had to re-register using my work email. My work email is kind of a dummy address, it's real and exists, but I can't actually get to it.

Will I be able to change my email address back to the Gmail that I use daily?

[w3jn]

Yes.  This should only affect new registrations.  If you have trouble email me at admin at amfone dot net and I'll fix you up.