Author Topic: Question Forum registration  (Read 4966 times)

ManuelL

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Question Forum registration
« on: July 07, 2016, 08:56:14 PM »
Hi,

a friend of mine tried to register a couple of weeks ago (user name cs1) and didn't hear back yet. I would asume the admins are just very busy, but his email provider also blocks emails if the email address differs from the domain address, so he is wondering, if there is a technical issue.

There is no rush, just want to check if there could be a technical glitch and he should try again.

Thanks a lot!
Manuel

lharby

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Re: Question Forum registration
« Reply #1 on: July 08, 2016, 09:06:46 AM »
I also had an issue registering.

In the end I went through the galleries and found a couple of admins and emailed them directly, the second admin kindly sorted it out for me.
Everything should be tried once except incest and folk dancing.

MacArron

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Re: Question Forum registration
« Reply #2 on: July 08, 2016, 07:56:05 PM »
Same problem here. After two or three weeks without reply, I commented that with my friend Domingo, and some days later, maybe a week more, I got access...

It is a forum for the chosen ones :)

Hope it solves soon.
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jojonas~

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Re: Question Forum registration
« Reply #3 on: August 02, 2016, 02:20:38 PM »
I'm pretty sure Ed has commented on this before. I can't find where though at the min. let's see if he or anyone else chimes in here
/jonas

ManuelL

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Re: Question Forum registration
« Reply #4 on: August 03, 2016, 06:54:07 AM »
Thanks for all the comments! Will probaly write an email or PM once my friend is back from vacation.

Ed Wenn

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Re: Question Forum registration
« Reply #5 on: November 27, 2016, 11:52:21 PM »
Hi All, just catching up on this thread....quick on the uptake as always.

There's no glossing over this one: the forum registration process leaves a lot to be desired. Ten years ago when we started the site we used a basic Captcha challenge to separate real people from bots. We also blacklisted whole geographic regions because that's where almost all of the spam sign ups came from (and still do in fact) and known dodgy ISPs etc. This worked for a bit until we realised two things:
  • Most sign ups these days from spammers are done by real people, not robots.
  • Our blanket region/ISP policy was too heavy-handed and we were rejecting genuine sign up requests.
So, starting about 5 years ago we took a different tack and now use a semi-automated approach which combines anti-spam software to weed out the really obvious, known offenders (of which there are several hundred a day) and then an additional set of manual checks by the admins for all registrations which don't get flagged by the software. This manual step is still necessary because the software doesn't pick up everything. These manual checks - at least when I do them - take around 5-10 minutes per registration.

Now, this process worked really well for a couple of years while the 5 of us who started Filmwasters were all still frequent visitors to the site. Over the last 2-3 years however, our visits have dropped off a lot and we don't visit weekly sometimes, let alone several times a day like we used to. This means that admin tasks such as checking new registrations can really stack up. The fact that there are 5 of us who have admin rights to the forum means that on average we probably check registrations once a fortnight, but it can be longer (or shorter) between visits. This is - of course - very bad news for people who want to join the forum and who don't get their application accepted after a few hours.

In fact it's pretty inexcusable....and we're sorry, but there's nothing much we can do about other than try to do the admin chores more frequently than we currently are. Oh yeah, we also don't really check our Inbox very often either, so if you mail us to ask about where your registration has gone, we may not see it for months.

It comes across sometime as though we're being elitist and checking potential users' portfolios or something to see if they're worthy. The reality couldn't be further from the truth...as long as you're a real human, not a spammer and are interested in our type of photography then you are most welcome at FW.

Most aspects of the forum tick along well enough without us being involved day-to-day, but the new registrations issue is something we need to get better at if we're not going to upset people and lose a lot of friends.

If you're reading this post and are currently waiting for your sign up to be approved, I can only apologise for the delay and assure you that it's nothing personal.




Francois

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Re: Question Forum registration
« Reply #6 on: November 29, 2016, 03:44:17 PM »
Ed: can you place on the registration page a message telling people that the registrations are hand verified to avoid spammers and tell the aspiring members to please be patient?

I think a lot of them would appreciate.
Francois

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Ed Wenn

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Re: Question Forum registration
« Reply #7 on: December 09, 2016, 03:19:59 PM »
Hi Francois, good point. We did customize the response page/email that people see, but I'm not sure no exactly what it says. I'll re-check and make it clearer if that's what is required.