In regards to these shoe ads that have been popping up:<br /><br />We do have moderators that delete these ads (thanks, Marian!), but since we allow "anonymous" posts from people who aren't logged in, it's impossible to ban them—moderators have to delete it message by message. Allowing posts only from logged-in users would sharply decrease the amount of spam ads on the site. I'd like the forum users to answer a quick poll on whether that would be a good idea. If you have any other thoughts on the matter, feel free to respond to this topic.
Ads on the message board
Message Submitted by 23902fix on Sun, 04/04/2010 - 13:58
if you look thru the boards, SPAM or advertising is miniscule as compared to the great information posted. Even these commercial posters could sign up as normal travelers and post their adds . So that is not a good fix and you may keep a lot of non ITN users from posting good information
Call me old-fashioned, but I like people to take responsibility for what they write. Logging in is easy, and maybe if "Guests" had to identify themselves, perhaps the tone of some messages would be moderated a bit (smarTours anyone?). So when people register, I'd have them enter a user name and then their actual name and email address if that's different from the user name they choose. That also might allow ITN to block posts from the email address of our shoe salesperson. I understand there are ways to circumvent ideas such as these, but I do think they'd help, at minimal inconvenience to those of us who find value in the message board.
At the moment it doesn't look like a majority vote for going registered-only.I don't really buy the "scammers" conspiracy, but if that's what it is, there would be nothing preventing them from registering and continuing to post. It might get rid of Shoe Lady and her ilk--I doubt if she is specifically targeting this board but suspect she is casting a wider and rather random net.
When this new board started I registered but had tode-register because of problems logging in. This wasafter exchanging e-mails with the board administrators.I am concerned that this could be a problem for others but I am willing to give it another try, if necessary.I think that we can spot and ignore most of those unpleasant messages without opening them and would wait to see if the recent commercial postergets tired and stops abusing this message board.
I appreciate seeing who posts responses to queries. Although I've never met them, some frequent respondents seem like 'old friends' by now and I've learned that I can trust the accuracy and quality of their advice. I've also suspected that some individuals who respond as 'guests' might just be representing their own travel companies. If registering would reduce ads on the message board (like all those recent shoe ads) and improve the quality of information shared even more, I support participant registration. Also, I would hope that the message board moderator would have the authority to restrict access for those who abuse ITN's service. Even with the occasional ads and passionate comments from 'guests,' this message board offers a valuable service to all who love travel.
If you're taking a vote count, add me to the list of those who support registration before posting to this forum.
Lots of website blogs have "abuse" buttons that would at least notify the moderator if some improper activity was going on, because while they are annoying they are only a few and most people here are good folks who do not engage in flame wars and petty retribution. It seems mainly a well-behaved board so just an easier way to let the moderator know they might need to clean out some posts due to their set of standards might solve the problem without having to sign in and out all the time.
I agree with the last post that it would be good to find a middle ground solution.
I don't like the hassle of logging in; but I dislike the ads even more. I will log in if it gets rid of the ads and the abusers.
Having a log in name does not require you to log in every time. You will automatically be logged in when you come to the site on your own computer. I have been monitoring the Board 2-3 times a day and deleting ads (and inflammatory responses that always come from "guests".) My problem has been that I cannot log in as moderator when I am away from my own computer and I travel a lot. I strongly support having to register before posting.Marian
I would be willing to have to sign in ( Like we did in the past ) to have access to the board, just to get rid of the garbage spam that is showing up. Would it be possible for the board to automatically "ban" or refuse to accept anything from the people causing the spam problems? Or cancel their subscription to ITN for posting spam? Larry