One of the problems with a forum of this size is that it is a target for spammers.
While the total at the bottom of the main page says we have nearly 13000 accounts, I reckon over 11000 are spam accounts.
Some of them actively spam the boards, and are caught and disabled and/or banned.
Others simply leave links in their profile and signature, and try to use that for search engine ranking.
To that end, there have been some changes with the new software:
- We now use reCAPTCHA as the captcha for registering.
- If you have fewer than 5 posts to your credit, you must also use reCAPTCHA to verify that you aren't a bot.
- All links to websites have been disabled in all profiles. Sorry.
- You may not have links or images in your signature, unless you reach 5 posts
- Posts in "Forum Games" do not count for this.
We also use Bad Behavior, Project Honey Pot, and Stop Forum Spam. There are three sets of mods that seem to help things.
Hopefully, I will not have to spend more time chasing spammers.