bjoernvold.com

Greetings Earthlings,

Can I ask if bjoernvold.com has a specific mod installed to access the stopforumspam.com database? And if so, which mod? And in addition to that, how the hell do you install mods in to phpBB? Does one seriously open an .xml file and manually read through it and follow the instructions one by one? Would that not take potentially hours to install some mods? Or am I missing something? Is that too many questions? :-)


S.

Many questions there - since I am old with limited capacity I'll answer the ones I remember....

There is no mod to check the stopformspam.com database here. We check manually and many spammers are not listed there (until we report them . that is).

Mostly we smell a spammer "ten miles against the wind" and use stopforumspam.com when in doubt. We may also ban on pure suspicion.

"Hey! that is undemocratic! you say?

Yep

We use our common sense; according to Einstein that is; the set of prejudices that you have acquired by the age of 18.

Our set of prejudices will contain this:

Totally off topic and not IT related is pretty much a sure ban (trying to start interesting "discussions" about the sales object).
IT related but clearly leading to a "pay for this" link.
Totally relevant but edited one week later with links to "pay for this".

So in general our moderators have a manual job of "blood sweat and tears".

We have mods installed though - quite a lot of them. I am considering implementing stopforumspam.com - if practically possible...

We had captcha as a mod but this is default in phpbb now.

We have the solved topic mod, which takes an hour or so to implement. It needs hacking and adding of php code and altering of the Mysql database.
Lots of added BBC functionality like integrating youtube and vimeo videos or putting content in spoilers (real easy code snippets to enter in the ACP).
We can add (the old fashioned technology of) flash


We have the link in new tab mode:
When you use a vanilla phpbb install and preview a post and check if your link is correct there - then you will jump to that page and your post will be gone (this has really annoyed me on forums that do not have it implemented) !

Also if you follow an external link bjoernvold.com will be gone
You can avoid this by middle click your mouse but people don't do that

We have the Google search under "Advanced search".

And other mods (like the chat) etc may vary in complexity and installation time.
Realistically you will not implement a mod faster than 30 minutes (even if it says 5 min mod etc), because you need some time to find the right places, make sure etc.(Quality control).

If in doubt (mostly); I always implement a mod in a test environment first.

In some cases I have just altered the php code myself without it being a "mod" in the phpbb sense.

As a conclusion it can be said that there is no substitution for a "horse sense" moderator, he/she will always be needed. But any mod to avoid/remove spam is welcome here.

viking60 wrote:"Hey! that is undemocratic! you say?

De-moc-ra-what? :-)

viking60 wrote:We have the link in new tab mode:
When you use a vanilla phpbb install and preview a post and check if your link is correct there - then you will jump to that page and your post will be gone (this has really annoyed me on forums that do not have it implemented) !

Also if you follow an external link bjoernvold.com will be gone
You can avoid this by middle click your mouse but people don't do that

I almost always open links in a new tab with middle-click... I didn't even notice that the links here open in a new tab. :-)

viking60 wrote:Realistically you will not implement a mod faster than 30 minutes (even if it says 5 min mod etc), because you need some time to find the right places, make sure etc.(Quality control).

Have you ever run in to problems with a mod being broken by an upgrade? Or not working with a specific skin?

To be honest, it sounds like "mods" should be renamed to "hacks" and are basically begging to break things at some point. I have a funny feeling I won't even be considering any mods on the little phpBB setup I have. I was thinking it would be nice if I could automatically have the registration page just block anyone from "listed IP's" but it sounds like it would be much easier to disable registrations and create a sticky post with an "email me" link.

S.

It could be called hacks that is what it basically is.
If you do the mods carefully then they should work if you remember to empty the cache etc. Most mods do work nicely after an upgrade though so that part is pretty much covered.
Naturally it is possible and not unlikely that some mods will brake; it depends on what files are replaced.

In general you should know your way around php.

I forgot to mention the advanced last topics mod where you can directly click on a link on the overview and get to the last unread post.
I have set it to "First unread post of last topic".

Old thread again I know. Just wanted to say that I remember the days of being undemocratic here with the spammers. Some of the best times I ever had online, anywhere. Tony the Tiger comes to mind.

viking knows how much I hate those b@stards.