Blocking Policies

[Thomas Knierim]

I have blocked forum access for users with email addresses ending with @mail.ru. Unfortunately, this step was necessary to prevent the large amount of spam and dummy registrations originating from mail.ru addresses reaching our board. Although spam is not publicly visible at TBV, since all new registrations are moderated, I still need to review every post and every registration. I haven't blocked email domains before, except for some particularly notorious ones in China, but I don't see any alternative in this case, since spam from mail.ru has increased drastically.

Cheers, Thomas

[Thomas Knierim]

As of today, I have started blocking certain IP addresses from access to TBV. I have taken this step because I believe to see repeating patterns in the ever increasing spam this forum receives. There appears to be a small group of offenders that keeps sending automated emails from spam bots.

Since these bots use multiple IP addresses, I am forced to block entire networks using three octets in most cases. So far only Chinese and Korean IPs are affected. Unfortunately, it is possible that some legitimate users in these countries are locked out by this method, although the probability is low. I will have to assess over time whether IP blocking decreases spam substantially and turns out to be a worthwhile strategy.

Cheers, Thomas

[CSwriter1]

Thank you for your efforts. If everyone with your responsibility takes action, the internet will gain the necessary discipline, because everyone will learn it does work to maintain an offensive practice.