Help with antispam setup

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Anagallis__
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Help with antispam setup

Post by Anagallis__ »

We're setting up a new board with 3.3.7 as the successor of an older one which suffered severely from spammers. (Note that I've virtually no experience with configuring phpbb boards - only done a little moderation and admin work before.).

Background: The board is a plant identification board, i.e. new users create new topics and post image attachments. Normal users should be able to use the board right away without having to wait for admin actions. (Users often have little experience with discussion boards and won't understand why their posts don't appear immediately.)

So, a couple of hints would be very welcome:

1) How well does the Q&A antispam test really work? Answering the question should require a little thinking, but does this actually keep out many legitimate people from boards? (For example, if the question is "What topic is this forum about?")

2) Is it possible to configure "recently registered users" to require moderator action *only* when posting links?

Reasoning: This allows most new users to post right away while spammers usually need to post links to do their work. (Some kind of whitelist would be good, allowing links to a couple of known sites.)

3) Can moderators be allowed to delete "newbie" users with all their posts, but not normal users?
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stevemaury
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Re: Help with antispam setup

Post by stevemaury »

Q&A is the best available anti-spam tool, when accompanied by use of the Newly Registered Users Group. Give me a link to your board and I will PM you a good question.
I can stop all your spam. I can upgrade or update your Board. PM or email me. (Paid support)
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stevemaury
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Re: Help with antispam setup

Post by stevemaury »

Responded by PM.
I can stop all your spam. I can upgrade or update your Board. PM or email me. (Paid support)
Anagallis__
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Re: Help with antispam setup

Post by Anagallis__ »

Thanks! That suggestion sounds sensible. We'll try that and if it works well, the questions about moderator permissions may not be necessary.
screenshot
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Re: Help with antispam setup

Post by screenshot »

a bit 'offtopic' , but is there a same q&a protection for wordpress too, because the regular captcha stuff doesnt work with that either?
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KevC
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Re: Help with antispam setup

Post by KevC »

Much better off asking on a wordpress forum.
It has akismet built in which is usually pretty good.
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ponchi101
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Re: Help with antispam setup

Post by ponchi101 »

I have a tennis related forum. Our question is:
Write down, in the order they appear, the terms that are NOT tennis related: ace, deuce, net, racquet, bogey, serve, ball, alpine, score.

I find that it is better to have the people identify something that is not like the rest. AI still has issues with that. It has worked very well for us.
Also, you may have a low flow site (it sounds very specialized) so there is an extension that forces the registering person to post a justification for registering. It has worked well for us.
Hope you have fun with your forum :thumbsup:
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Mick
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Re: Help with antispam setup

Post by Mick »

@ponchi101: just hope a bot doesn’t read your information ;)
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ponchi101
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Re: Help with antispam setup

Post by ponchi101 »

Mick wrote: Sat Feb 25, 2023 12:05 pm @ponchi101: just hope a bot doesn’t read your information ;)
We have a new suspect. I gather we need to update that question. Txs for the heads up.
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