Have a look at Stopforumspam and similar services.

It collates a database of known usernames, IP addresses, etc of spammers and link-farmers, from the community of participants, and you can configure logic to block attempts to post or register by anyone with a risk score. If any get through, when you ban them they are appended to the database..... helps everyone fight back! We have used it and found it very effective, reducing volume of spam by perhaps 90%- Some still get through, but it significantly reduces the moderation overhead.

We now use and cross reference three different services, and register offenders with all three. Very few get through!

We also use a series of "honeypot" sites on the same framework to identify them (they often target a particular technology as they have worked out ways to do it with Bots)- if the same username / IP address shows up in multiple sites in coordinated way that would tend to attract a very high risk score, and can be presumed to be an offender, or at least alerted for close moderation.



I'll try to find out the names of the various others we use, and post them back here.

Max, my apologies if I gave the impression of being upset by Your intervention.



My only concern was, I saw Your post and at the same time I realized I can not modify my signature any more (the control panel says "You are not authorized" or something like that). Therefore I put these two together and thought "oh God, maybe I did something wrong with my signature, but I really can't remember anything bad about it".



Now I understand what's going on. My only problem at this point is how to fix the "unauthorized" message when I try to edit my signature. Maybe the staff will have a look into it.



Best regards!

Filippo


==============================================
Filippo1974
PPL(A) holder - CPL + IR + MEP in progress
Senior specialist in throwing Italian ATS units into panic every weekend.

filippo1974,

The post was not in any way aimed at you & I apologise if it seemed that way.
What happened is that people with their own websites are replying to various posts just to get their signature (which is a website address) on the forum.
Since my posting, giving your thread as an example, the Mods have removed the offending posts, so it now does not quite read as intended.
Rest assured, I did not intend any discourtesy to your good self.

You may yet see examples of the sort of posts I'm referring to on other threads.

Best regards

Max.

Hi All,



I originally opened the thread about issues with Italy charts, and I was quite surprised to find out this complaint by Max UK.



I don't remember having put any advertisement neither in that post, nor in my signature. By the way, I found out that I can't modify my signature any more - is this related to Max's complaint?



Is it my fault or is it something that happens regardless of what I did?



Thanks for Your advice

Regards,

Filippo

==============================================
Filippo1974
PPL(A) holder - CPL + IR + MEP in progress
Senior specialist in throwing Italian ATS units into panic every weekend.

I found a couple of settings that might help, and have changed them.

If there were an automated way of doing it, we would have done it. I'm fed up too because I keep having to delete them. At some point we may be able to upgrade the forum software and that might help.

Tim & the crew,

Am I the only one getting fed up with the spurious posters in every section who have advertising signatures.

Would it be possible to prevent any posts which have this sort of link in them?

Example in the "Charts" section "Possible issue with Italy chart". Spoils what is otherwise an intelligent forum?

Regards,

Max