# Some notes on Spam Control & New Users



## Morrus

In case you have a friend who is struggling to register, or having problems, or are just curious, this info may be of use to you.  At present, spam controls are as follows:


Registrations which take under 60 seconds are blocked as spammers 
The IP and email of people trying to register are compared against databases of known spammers before registration is allowed - including Aksimet and StopForumSpam 
Users must have at least 3 posts before they can start a blog 
Users must have at least 3 posts before posting a link to their homepage on their profile 
*Users must have at least 3 posts before posting a link in a forum post** 
We use re-Cachtpa image verification 

*Yep, this one's gonna be the most onerous one.  We'll see how it goes.

We may add more measures; if so I'll note them here.

[h=3]Why are we doing this?[/h]
Before the Big Hack (or Great Breach, or whatever you want to call it) we were being hammered by spambots.  Dozens getting through our defences every day.  In fact, that's why we originally had to close the blogs down - in a few days they were hit by over a *quarter-of-a-million* spam posts.  All that data hammering us so fast was one of the main things behind some of our massive slowdown periods.  It's therefore very, very important that we put secure anti-spam measures in place.

It's not just us.  Forums everywhere are currently being hammered, especially some of the really large ones out there.  

Note that this will not block spammers who have already registered (some register then wait a few days, weeks, or months), just those who try to do so from now on.  Hopefully.

[h=3]But I'm not a spammer!  I just came here to post a link to my website/blog/product![/h]
There's an Alanis Morissette song about that.  And about too many spoons.  Don't worry, though, just make 3 regular posts and our system will know you're not really a spammer, just someone who wants to post links.  DAMN I'm funny!

No, seriously - we know it's a bit onerous.   It is necessary, though (and, hey, it's productive: it encourages you to engage with the community by posting!) 3 posts will fly by so quick you won't even notice it, and then you'll be able to post links to your heart's content.  We'll keep an eye on this, and will modify it if necessary.  We promise we're not trying to inconvenience you, but to make your usage of the forum a more overall pleasant experience.


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## I'm A Banana

Eeeeeexcellent.


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## Morrus

Since I turned it on a short while ago:

2012-12-13 13:18:54     188.231.142.107     LehaOr     lehaor@gmail.com     Spam-O-Matic Tagged username - LehaOr - Spammer Found and rejected.
2012-12-13 13:05:01     175.44.4.3     SonsAnymn     dingattica.not@gmail.com     Spam-O-Matic Tagged email - dingattica.not@gmail.com - Spammer Found and rejected.
2012-12-13 12:34:53     59.63.160.85     acimafasces     pangh3244@gmail.com     Spam-O-Matic Tagged email - pangh3244@gmail.com - Spammer Found and rejected.
2012-12-13 12:34:27     188.16.197.185     dyemaidictecy     uipadoytsb77@gmail.com     Spam-O-Matic Tagged email - uipadoytsb77@gmail.com - Spammer Found and rejected.
2012-12-13 12:20:36     175.42.86.171     anneaeyandexty4012     anneaeyandexty@cmail.com     Spam-O-Matic Tagged email - anneaeyandexty@cmail.com - Spammer Found and rejected.
2012-12-13 12:20:34     46.119.116.182     bpittyetrovy8456     bpittyetrovy@cmail.org     Spam-O-Matic Tagged email - bpittyetrovy@cmail.org - Spammer Found and rejected.
2012-12-13 12:20:21     46.119.116.182     DominicaHanny     da.t.u.s296.2.0.36a@gmail.com     Spam-O-Matic Tagged email - da.t.u.s296.2.0.36a@gmail.com - Spammer Found and rejected.
2012-12-13 12:18:34     175.42.86.171     seippigevek     Voppersroalia@aol.com     Spam-O-Matic Tagged ip - 175.42.86.171 - Spammer Found and rejected.
2012-12-13 12:02:49     46.119.119.138     adamashtolzey4243     adamashtolzey@gotmail.com     Spam-O-Matic Tagged email - adamashtolzey@gotmail.com - Spammer Found and rejected.
2012-12-13 11:59:20     46.119.119.138     milesqgooglty9398     milesqgooglty@cmail.com     Spam-O-Matic Tagged email - milesqgooglty@cmail.com - Spammer Found and rejected.
2012-12-13 11:56:51     46.119.119.138     asperwajese     eosuer@abuselist.com     Spam-O-Matic Tagged email - eosuer@abuselist.com - Spammer Found and rejected.
2012-12-13 11:53:16     61.164.184.42     annetaefrnces699     annetaefrnces@cmail.com     Spam-O-Matic Tagged email - annetaefrnces@cmail.com - Spammer Found and rejected.
2012-12-13 11:52:15     142.4.117.97     algororpova     stevensaleugguk565@mail.ru     Spam-O-Matic Tagged email - stevensaleugguk565@mail.ru - Spammer Found and rejected.
2012-12-13 11:34:00     123.65.221.63     emetacete     nhxmhcpg2974@gmail.com     Spam-O-Matic Tagged email - nhxmhcpg2974@gmail.com - Spammer Found and rejected.
2012-12-13 11:22:14     79.176.202.6     viagra     thomasfrench20875@hotmail.com     Spam-O-Matic Tagged username - viagra - Spammer Found and rejected.
2012-12-13 11:16:48     211.167.112.17     adizzycahvs145     adizzycahvs@cmail.com     Spam-O-Matic Tagged email - adizzycahvs@cmail.com - Spammer Found and rejected.
2012-12-13 11:15:30     175.44.24.187     plalchereoh     abigailpgq+abc028@gmail.com     Spam-O-Matic Tagged email - abigailpgq+abc028@gmail.com - Spammer Found and rejected.


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## Umbran

Nice.  Roughly 8 an hour that we don't need to deal with.  That's awesome!


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## Dannyalcatraz

I thought things had cooled off a mite...


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## Shervyn

You know, I keep forgetting this is actually a forum and I get to do things like post...So here's the first one.


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## Jakyle

I am a bot, beep boop


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## Sherlane

Dropping off my first post


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## Jeegen

how dare you interfere with my fine art of lurking


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## Jon Antilles

The big yellow banner made me do it! Aaaaaaa!


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## Lwaxy

This is great. No more lurking for new registered users to check them over and hope to get them before they can spam.


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## Ap0c4lyptyc

Yea I see nothing wrong with requiring new users to have at least 10 posts before doing things like that. It isn't like posting is a big deal. Coming to a place like this you kind of have to expect to post in order to interact with the rest of the community and get any worth out of the site itself. Peace Mods! And good luck!

DC(23)


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## Scott DeWar

Spammity spam!


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## Morgan Champion

First post.


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## Kymir

First Post.


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## Dice4Hire

Welcome to Enworld all you first posters.

How about some second posts?


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## Scott DeWar

second post now?


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## daichiasuka

Jeegen said:


> how dare you interfere with my fine art of lurking



Agreed. 

Seriously though, these are required in this day and age.


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## Dice4Hire

Scott DeWar said:


> second post now?




I think you did yours back in 2007


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## Kye_Tyrad

Can't believe I have been simply a lurker for so many years...


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## griffon8

Well, guess this is as good a place as any to stop lurking and actually post. Good luck with the rebuild; I'm a supporter of the Kickstarter project.


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## griffon8

Ack! I've been a member for 8 years and 8 months and I never found a reason to post before?

Well, I guess I wasn't doing a whole lot of lurking either. Just came here occasionally to see news I was pointed to.


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## PopeYodaI

...you're telling me I'm not a member here, too?  Which DnD websites have I been posting to 0.0?  Seriously though, this is a good rule, but I'm kind of curious to see what tools spammers will employ in getting around it.


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## PopeYodaI

Obligatory second post.


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## Thaldon

Lurking for years finally forced into the light 

Noooooooo....


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## griffon8

Someone going even longer without posting. 9 years 3 months. I wonder what the record is? When did the forum come into existence?


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## doghead

Kye_Tyrad said:


> Can't believe I have been simply a lurker for so many years...




Hey. Some of those first timers had join dates in 2004. Thats some Epic lurking.

Welcome Aboard. Hopefully we will see you around the PbP threads some time.

thotd


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## Robert Morris Jr

I'm not sure why people have to be stupid. Game don't spam! Or get a hobby!


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## Guava7

nice work, welcome back


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## Keith Robinson

Is there not some vBulletin add on that would help reduce spam accounts?  I would have thought that vBulletin would have done their own, or some third party add on.  It's not like spam is unique to EN World, so there must be something out there?


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## Morrus

The Kyngdoms said:


> Is there not some vBulletin add on that would help reduce spam accounts?  I would have thought that vBulletin would have done their own, or some third party add on.  It's not like spam is unique to EN World, so there must be something out there?




There are many dozens, and we use many of them.  Spammers evolve.  The current one is one called "bio man" which currently isn't stopped by existing measures, although I am expecting a plug-in for it today.


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## NarcoticSqurl

I've browsed the forum before, but never joined because it seemed rather intimidating. With a large community like this, of course it would . But this is my first post. Introductory shtuff coming soon!


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## Keith Robinson

Morrus said:


> There are many dozens, and we use many of them.  Spammers evolve.  The current one is one called "bio man" which currently isn't stopped by existing measures, although I am expecting a plug-in for it today.




Shame, but I guess that's the spammers for you.  They don't care what they spoil.  Good luck with it all the same, Morrus!


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## Dannyalcatraz

Hmm...make them talk to me.  I mean, actually give me a call and talk to me.  I'll sort 'em out...

For a sensible fee, of course.


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## Scott DeWar

Dannyalcatraz said:


> Hmm...make them talk to me.  I mean, actually give me a call and talk to me.  I'll sort 'em out...
> 
> For a sensible fee, of course.



 Yup, sure ting boss. An' I'll intoduce dem gizez kneekaps to my 3 lb sledge. May be iz treet dem to uh knuckle sammich, eh boss?


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## Dannyalcatraz

Only the worst of 'em, Scotty, only the worst of 'em.


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## Scott DeWar

shure ting boss.


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## duneshadow

1 post, 9 to go....


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## robertzi

We are the borg. I am designation 1 of 10... the other 9 still need to be built.


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## robertzi

We are the borg. I am designation 1 of 10... the other 9 still need to be assimilated.


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## cptbeefalo

Lol, I'm never against more bot-proofing. ;-)


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## frandallfarmer

Morrus said:


> No, seriously - we know it's a bit onerous.   It is necessary, though (and, hey, it's productive: it encourages you to engage with the community by posting!)  10 posts will fly by so quick you won't even notice it, and then you'll be able to post links to your heart's content.  We'll keep an eye on this, and will modify it if necessary.  We promise we're not trying to inconvenience you, but to make your usage of the forum a more overall pleasant experience.




There are other reasonable proxies for enough trust, such as a well-established Facebook account linked to your account...


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## mudbunny

This is weird. The last post as indicated on the topic listing is not the same as the last post in the thread.


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## Morrus

frandallfarmer said:


> There are other reasonable proxies for enough trust, such as a well-established Facebook account linked to your account...




Are you volunteering to write the relevant code? 

It's a decent idea, but for now we'll have to make do with the slightly inconvenient (but not really all that inconvenient) "make 10 posts" method.  Which, for all its flaws, is pretty much 100% foolproof.  New ideas like this one are at the end of a long line of things that need doing in the rebuilding-and-fulfilling-Kickstarter-goals scheme of things.


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## frandallfarmer

Morrus said:


> Are you volunteering to write the relevant code?
> 
> It's a decent idea, but for now we'll have to make do with the slightly inconvenient (but not really all that inconvenient) "make 10 posts" method.  Which, for all its flaws, is pretty much 100% foolproof.




Dude - assuming everyone might be a troll and imposing a specific task that is generating lots of "here's another post to meet my requirement" (which I found several places) indicates it IS inconvenient - I was ready to walk away if it was higher than 10 - so some completely legitimate users are leaving because of this new hoop. Did any of your original members have to do this? If not, I'm telling you that this is a pain, and if everyone had to do it they'd complain to no end.

Did you try 5? Do you need 100%? If someone writes a bot to do this, will you just jack up the number?

And, why doesn't the text that appears after I've carefully crafted my post with images and URLs say "You need a total of X posts before..." instead of the vague "a few"? I hope that's not to keep it a secret from the spammers, because it's another example of penalizing innocent users to protect yourself from spam.

I know you're busy - but bouncing new users should probably be decently high on your problems list.


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## Morrus

frandallfarmer said:


> Dude - assuming everyone might be a troll and imposing a specific task that is generating lots of "here's another post to meet my requirement" (which I found several places) indicates it IS inconvenient - I was ready to walk away if it was higher than 10 - so some completely legitimate users are leaving because of this new hoop. Did any of your original members have to do this? If not, I'm telling you that this is a pain, and if everyone had to do it they'd complain to no end.
> 
> Did you try 5? Do you need 100%? If someone writes a bot to do this, will you just jack up the number?
> 
> And, why doesn't the text that appears after I've carefully crafted my post with images and URLs say "You need a total of X posts before..." instead of the vague "a few"? I hope that's not to keep it a secret from the spammers, because it's another example of penalizing innocent users to protect yourself from spam.
> 
> I know you're busy - but bouncing new users should probably be decently high on your problems list.




Because I am part way into rebuilding the entire website after it was hacked and destroyed 3 months ago, and I have to work with what we've got for the moment.  Those are the emergency tools I currently have available.  I'll have more later, but we've a long way to go.  No amount of pointing out how the situation isn't ideal is going to speed that up - there's a LOT of stuff that isn't ideal right now, and we're working on it.

Please be patient.  3 months ago I didn't even have a website.  Now THAT was a detriment to getting new users, I can tell you.  This?  Maybe a little, but not so much.

No, I don't particularly like it, either.  But it works (prior to that we were getting 250K spamposts a week - which had the additional effect of bringing the site down completely; another thing users seemed to find inconvenient).  For a month or so after that, we had registration shut off completely -- that also didn't exactly help gain new users.

I appreciate it's a pain.  It is. But it's what we currently have, and it's better than what we recently had.  I'm working on rebuilding everything, and yes, there are many, many things that need fixing or rebuilding.  I'm sorry about that, but berating me for it isn't going to help any.

As for it being "secret" -- there's a big yellow notice at the top of the page for every new user telling them exactly how many it is.  It reads:

Welcome, {username}! Thanks for joining us! You haven't posted yet, but please feel free to do so - we'll try to make you feel welcome! If you have any problems posting, drop me an email at morrus@hotmail.com and I'll see if I can help. A couple of notes - due to all the spambots we get, there are a few things you won't be able to do until you've made 10 posts. This isn't to annoy you, I promise! Thanks again for joining us, and happy posting!


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## frandallfarmer

Morrus said:


> No, I don't particularly like it, either...
> 
> I appreciate it's a pain.  It is. But it's what we currently have, and it's better than what we recently had.  I'm working on rebuilding everything, and yes, there are many, many things that need fixing or rebuilding.  I'm sorry about that, but berating me for it isn't going to help any.




Understood. Sorry - I didn't mean to berate you. Honestly, if you'd said in your first reply what you say above, instead of seemingly dismissing the effect on new users as "not all that inconvenient" I would have just said, "Thanks for hearing me!" You're overloaded, and when I'm overloaded, I can say similar things under stress. Good luck bringing this place back. I'd always wanted to check it out.

I got some snark from one of the mods and I think it spilled over onto you a bit. Please, accept my apologies. I've been a CEO of a social media company. I know what you're going through.

Though I'll personally ignore the dust and construction, I hope that your team values any feedback they get about improving the experience here - even if it will be weeks or months before it can be addressed.


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## frandallfarmer

Morrus said:


> As for it being "secret" -- there's a big yellow notice at the top of the page for every new user telling them exactly how many it is.  It reads:
> 
> Welcome, {username}! Thanks for joining us! You haven't posted yet, but please feel free to do so - we'll try to make you feel welcome! If you have any problems posting, drop me an email at morrus@hotmail.com and I'll see if I can help. A couple of notes - due to all the spambots we get, there are a few things you won't be able to do until you've made 10 posts. This isn't to annoy you, I promise! Thanks again for joining us, and happy posting!




Oh, god. Apparently, I'm a complete idiot (or blind as a bat) and didn't notice that. Mea Culpa.

As feedback: Interesting that no one else replied with that information when I asked around...


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## Deset Gled

robertzi said:


> We are the borg. I am designation 1 of 10... the other 9 still need to be assimilated.




  [MENTION=1]Morrus[/MENTION] I'm seeing a pretty weird little bug here.  Under robertzi's profile (both the short one to the left of his post, and on the view profile page here: http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?6711830-robertzi ) I see that his post count is 0.  But I can clearly see that he has two posts.  Do posts in the Meta forums not count towards the limit?



frandallfarmer said:


> Did any of your original members have to do this? If not, I'm telling you that this is a pain, and if everyone had to do it they'd complain to no end.




While this was not a requirement when I joined the site, I am 100% sure that I had more than 10 posts under by belt before I ever posted a link or an image.  The purpose of the boards is discussion, and the number of times that I've needed to use external links to discuss something is way lower than 10%.  Posters like me might never even realize there's a break-in period.

Edit: And you ninja'ed me with your apologies, so I guess this defense of the practice is slightly unnecessary.  Oh well.


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## Morrus

frandallfarmer said:


> Understood. Sorry - I didn't mean to berate you. Honestly, if you'd said in your first reply what you say above, instead of seemingly dismissing the effect on new users as "not all that inconvenient" I would have just said, "Thanks for hearing me!" You're overloaded, and when I'm overloaded, I can say similar things under stress. Good luck bringing this place back. I'd always wanted to check it out.
> 
> I got some snark from one of the mods and I think it spilled over onto you a bit. Please, accept my apologies. I've been a CEO of a social media company. I know what you're going through.
> 
> Though I'll personally ignore the dust and construction, I hope that your team values any feedback they get about improving the experience here - even if it will be weeks or months before it can be addressed.




No worries.  Sometimes I just assume people are aware of recent history without realising that I'm the only one who pretty much _literally_ lives here!


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## Morrus

Deset Gled said:


> @_*Morrus*_  I'm seeing a pretty weird little bug here.  Under robertzi's profile (both the short one to the left of his post, and on the view profile page here: http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?6711830-robertzi ) I see that his post count is 0.  But I can clearly see that he has two posts.  Do posts in the Meta forums not count towards the limit?.




That's weird.  Are they very recent posts?  Postcounts aren't updated immediately, but they should be within an hour or two.

[Edit - ah, he had a dupli-post during a server hiccup.  Looks like they didn't get counted.]


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## frandallfarmer

Deset Gled said:


> I am 100% sure that I had more than 10 posts under by belt before I ever posted a link or an image.  The purpose of the boards is discussion, and the number of times that I've needed to use external links to discuss something is way lower than 10%.  Posters like me might never even realize there's a break-in period.
> 
> Edit: And you ninja'ed me with your apologies, so I guess this defense of the practice is slightly unnecessary.  Oh well.




There are many different ways to use forums. Well over 50% of my posts contain links and/or images. This thread is an exception. 

And a lot of them are link heavy for very good reasons - see:http://www.goodman-games.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=44169&p=98442#p98442


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## Morrus

frandallfarmer said:


> There are many different ways to use forums. Well over 50% of my posts contain links and/or images. This thread is an exception.
> 
> And a lot of them are link heavy for very good reasons - see:http://www.goodman-games.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=44169&p=98442#p98442




To be fair that - excellent - thread is not typical of the sort of thread started by a new user.  By far the most common starting thread is a rules question.  I think you may be overestimating the inconvenience to the user body as a whole, while I can certainly appreciate that individual cases do get hit harder by it.


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## frandallfarmer

Morrus said:


> To be fair that - excellent - thread is not typical of the sort of thread started by a new user.  By far the most common starting thread is a rules question.  I think you may be overestimating the inconvenience to the user body as a whole, while I can certainly appreciate that individual cases do get hit harder by it.




Thanks!

For the record - this is my attempt at a first post here (which I had to hold in a window until I did the 10-post hoop): http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...m-Control-amp-New-Users&p=6106083#post6106083

I see starting a topic/thread as something I wouldn't usually start off with at a board I've never visited before. I usually start by contributing something helpful to a thread that already exists, easing my way in.
Though, I often post a biography pretty soon after, and that always contains photos/videos, and links.

Just another n00b datapoint...


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## Nagol

Why hold the window?  Copy the post to notepad or equivalent (assuming you used embedded links).  When you're free to post, copy the text back.


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## frandallfarmer

Nagol said:


> Why hold the window?  Copy the post to notepad or equivalent (assuming you used embedded links).  When you're free to post, copy the text back.




Well I was in wysiwyg mode with photos - so when I cut-an-pasted to a text editor the photos were lost. 

I did back-it-up to MSWord, but it turned out that this version of Vbulletin does maintain a draft copy of work in progress automatically, so I didn't need it.


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## Scott DeWar

[MENTION=6668264]frandallfarmer[/MENTION], if you want, I will post 10 times here, just to make it fair. Just say the word.


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## Kashari

It's funny, member since 2008. This is my first post. Hrm. Lurk Moar? 

-Kashari


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## Scott DeWar

[MENTION=62262]Kashari[/MENTION]: lurk two munch, knead too post moor!


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## swilde23

Kashari said:


> It's funny, member since 2008. This is my first post. Hrm. Lurk Moar?
> 
> -Kashari




Same here.

Oct 2008, no posts. Guess I should start?


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## Scott DeWar

go phoar it gholks!


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## Artur Hawkwing

Yu can haz cheezberger


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## Adamos

Understood and it actually makes sense.


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## Adamos

This is my second post.  Does anybody really think D&D NEXT (version 5) will take off?


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## Morrus

Adamos said:


> This is my second post.  Does anybody really think D&D NEXT (version 5) will take off?




I imagine you'll get a better response in a D&D Next thread (or start one in the D&D forum).


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## Lugh Kahal

Although a pain in the butt I understand the need for this it's a big turn off for those who want information only to find "visit my porn site . la dee da .comehither" every other post. I thank you for the effort I can imagine how frustrating it can be on your end. Hopefully all works out spectacularly.


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## Lugh Kahal

Shervyn said:


> You know, I keep forgetting this is actually a forum and I get to do things like post...So here's the first one.




I know right? I've never been one to be very outspoken though anyways... sooo there you go.


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## Scott DeWar

for a good laugh, check out OOTS: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0883.html


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## delveg

Jeegen said:


> how dare you interfere with my fine art of lurking



 I was thinking the same. I just come for the news, and I donated because good RPG sites should benefit from a raise dead.


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## Scott DeWar

Wow, you lurkers, coming out of the Ewoodwork! Step into the ELight! its ok, its a whole new Eworld!


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## Jemal

on the subject of Spam, I've noticed a lot of posters in threads that are just copy-pasting a line or two from a post earlier in the same thread in dark text followed by a smiley face.. wutsupwitdat?


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## Dannyalcatraz

Those are spammers.

BTW, Morrus, I was noticing that another site I frequent- GuitarPlayer.com- has a nifty feature: if a post has already been reported, instead of letting the next complainant continue on and file an additional report, they are greeted by the message *"This post has already been reported to the moderators."* or some such.  Then it redirects the would-be reporter back to his or her thread.


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## Scott DeWar

Dannyalcatraz said:


> Those are spammers.
> 
> BTW, Morrus, I was noticing that another site I frequent- GuitarPlayer.com- has a nifty feature: if a post has already been reported, instead of letting the next complainant continue on and file an additional report, they are greeted by the message *"This post has already been reported to the moderators."* or some such.  Then it redirects the would-be reporter back to his or her thread.




that would be nice!


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## Obryn

Jemal said:


> on the subject of Spam, I've noticed a lot of posters in threads that are just copy-pasting a line or two from a post earlier in the same thread in dark text followed by a smiley face.. wutsupwitdat?



The smiley, fwiw, is from a different site. 

It may be to harvest data based on how many times the image was accessed. 

-O


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## Scott DeWar

Obryn said:


> The smiley, fwiw, is from a different site.
> 
> It may be to harvest data based on how many times the image was accessed.
> 
> -O




fascinating, like a train wreak


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## Umbran

Dannyalcatraz said:


> Those are spammers.
> 
> BTW, Morrus, I was noticing that another site I frequent- GuitarPlayer.com- has a nifty feature: if a post has already been reported, instead of letting the next complainant continue on and file an additional report, they are greeted by the message *"This post has already been reported to the moderators."* or some such.  Then it redirects the would-be reporter back to his or her thread.




That wold be nifty for spam.  It is not so nifty for other reporting.  We only need one report of a spam, but we want to know if multiple people have an issue with behavior.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Umbran said:


> That wold be nifty for spam.  It is not so nifty for other reporting.  We only need one report of a spam, but we want to know if multiple people have an issue with behavior.




that makes sense - know who the invisible warriors are in the secret war against the dark lords of Spamalia.


----------



## Dannyalcatraz

Umbran said:


> That wold be nifty for spam.  It is not so nifty for other reporting.  We only need one report of a spam, but we want to know if multiple people have an issue with behavior.




Hadn't thought of that.


----------



## JamesonCourage

Maybe a "Spam" button or option once you click on the report triangle? Obviously wouldn't expect it anytime soon, but it might be nice for you guys once everything settles (and we get our visible XP back... ).


----------



## Scott DeWar

JamesonCourage said:


> Maybe a "Spam" button or option once you click on the report triangle? Obviously wouldn't expect it anytime soon, but it might be nice for you guys once everything settles (and we get our visible XP back... ).



 and dice  roller.

I like the field  for typing things like 'green eggs and SPAM!' or some such like that.


----------



## Leo Atreides

1st post - one of 10


----------



## Lord_Anubitz

*Stopping Spam*

I applaud your efforts to stop spam.

Also, first post.


----------



## mbielaczyc

First post as well.


----------



## Garick83

I'll go ahead and drop off a post here.  The spam bot is definitely working.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Garick83 said:


> I'll go ahead and drop off a post here.  The spam bot is definitely working.



if you yack a bit here you can get some of the other 7 out of the way, or if you want to wander into an _*ALL*_ nonsense thread, get a laugh or give a laugh here:



http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...ers-apply-within/page68&p=6127304#post6127304

ps: over there, if any give you trouble, just tell them I said you could play there! Just don't try and read the whole thing, just read what is talked about now.


----------



## Garick83

ok great I'll have to take some time and look through it!


----------



## Dannyalcatraz

Its a lot like Camelot- 'tis a silly place.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Hive of the round table?


----------



## Dannyalcatraz

The Hive is relatively like Camelot.

(I have to report spam a looooooot.)


----------



## Griffon86

Wow, 10 posts before you can post a link...that's quite onerous for folks with the publisher account seeking to promote and share news about their games. Unless I'm missing something there, which is entirely possible. Heck, here's 1 of 10....


----------



## Griffon86

While I understand the necessity for these measures -- especially given the massive amounts of time and effort to keep this website and the community alive -- this particular "10 posts before posting a link" requirement isn't very conducive to meaningful communication and discussion on the forums. After glancing through this one thread I see a lot of posts consisting of "first post," "second post," etc. While the troglodyte part of my brain wants to make 10 blah posts to get my reward (the privilege of posting links, etc.), the slightly more civilized part of my brain wants to make some meaningful contribution to the dialogue here...and I don't really have that kind of time. I applaud En World's creators' efforts to protect the community, but I suppose I'll have to bide my time seeking opportunities for relevant, meaningful contributions on my part before posting publisher press releases to contribute to the site's quite comprehensive gaming news roundup....

Fly casual,


----------



## Morrus

It's not ideal - but 250K spam posts every single day isn't conducive to discussion either! And that's what we were getting. 10 posts gives us time to see them first.


----------



## Umbran

I think you'll find that 10 posts is really nothing, and that unless you're selling something, you really don't need to post links all that often.

And, if you are selling something, that's cool.  Becoming an active a member through conversation will get people to pay far more attention to you than posting a link right off.


----------



## Griffon86

Morrus and Umbran, and others,

I fully agree with your sentiments that the continued prosperity, nay existence, of such a central online community as EnWorld, requires such measures. I vaguely recall the crash, and I know how easy it would have been to simply walk away; that reconstructing the community, including the infrastructure, in such a way to avoid a similar crash (and spam interference) was paramount.

I do plan on being an occasionally involved poster of meaningful material on relevant topics -- beyond press releases -- and am determined to do so in as expedient and yet relevant way possible. 

Thank you, ultimately, for not only making this vital gaming community available, but for ensuring it survives and prospers for a long time.

Best regards,
Peter


----------



## Morrus

And, to be fair, we'd really prefer people didn't introduce themselves just with a link to buy their stuff (indeed, if that were one's only intention, one would actually _be_ a spammer - which, I guess, means that the system tends to bother those it's supposed to!) That said, threads like that -  even my own ones! - don't get much attention. The best approach, IMO, is to join the community and build a following, but that is hard work. Even I find it difficult!


----------



## Dannyalcatraz

IME, the sellers around here who get the most attention are the guys who are known industry pros, or long-time ENWorlders who have proven their chops by contributing to conversations in others' threads: if your posts are insightful or otherwise helpful, it makes others think your product may be worth considering.  You've become a proven commodity in their eyes.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Welcome to En World publisher Griffon86!


----------



## Griffon86

I find Dannyalcatraz's statement, "the sellers around here who get the most attention are the guys who are known industry pros" extremely useful intelligence; the second half of that statement remains quite true for any forum.

Oddly enough, while the first press release I intended to post here included news about a 25% off coupon for one of my products, it also included a link to a free PDF adventure related to said product; so while I'm certainly selling something, I'm also giving something away. I'd also considered posting free material from when I was slightly more mainstream in the "industry," but for now that's all going to other venues, too.

Thank you, Scott DeWar, for your warm welcome.

Best regards,
Peter


----------



## Quartz

Morrus said:


> It's not ideal - but 250K spam posts every single day isn't conducive to discussion either!






Does that not rather indicate a problem with the signing-up process? That it's letting too many spammers through?


----------



## Morrus

Quartz said:


> Does that not rather indicate a problem with the signing-up process? That it's letting too many spammers through?




Yes. That's the nature of the ongoing battle between forum software development companies and spammers. Software blocks them, spammers work out how to circumvent, software changes again to block, spammers circumvent, ad nauseum for ever and ever .

Companies spend literally millions on this stuff.


----------



## Scott DeWar

ephasis on nausium of the ad nausium?

Griffon, that warm welcome was from all non spammer on En World!


----------



## Randombrujah

This is number one... my lurking days are done, soon I will rule the universe, maybe ... if its nice to me ... and mum says I can go out to play with the big kids


----------



## Scott DeWar

Well, welcome to the big kids' playground!


----------



## Ravenstorm

by the rules abide


----------



## TRDG

Interesting, new here to but I've been to other forums that have had this problem, Is there a welcome thread and where is the best place to post a thread (saw the "find Games" option but...) to find some players for a VTT game of Pathfinder I hope to run?C

Cheers

Tom


----------



## Scott DeWar

I think players seeking players might be to your liking.


----------



## TRDG

Thanks Scot, I put a thread up in the D&D/Pathfinder forum, no luck as of yet, so there is a player (more like GM) looking for player specific thread/forum, or are ya talking about the find game option?

Cheers

Tom


----------



## TRDG

Scott DeWar said:


> I think players seeking players might be to your liking.




OOPS


Just saw the Player looking for Player forum, but it looks like not to much is going on there for 2013, as to newer threads.  So is my other thread in the D&D/Pathfinder forum OK there, or does it need to be moved?

Cheers, thanks

Tom


----------



## Morrus

TRDG said:


> OOPS
> 
> 
> Just saw the Player looking for Player forum, but it looks like not to much is going on there for 2013, as to newer threads.  So is my other thread in the D&D/Pathfinder forum OK there, or does it need to be moved?
> 
> Cheers, thanks
> 
> Tom




Yes, it now needs to be moved. Please try to post in the correct forum - it saves me work. Thanks!


----------



## TRDG

Sorry bud, still getting used to this new site.

Cheers, but it would be OK to start a thread there to see how many people actually play on VTT's these days, thinking of a poll, if I have that option yet...
Sorry for the hassles here!! 

Tom


----------



## Scott DeWar

Morrus is the best to ask the question.


----------



## TRDG

Got it, thanks Scott, and I actully got some interest from my looking for VTT players to today!!

SWEET

Tom


----------



## Scott DeWar

TRDG said:


> Got it, thanks Scott, and I actully got some interest from my looking for VTT players to today!!
> 
> SWEET
> 
> Tom




Wahooooo!!!


----------



## Thorf

Spam is a real issue for all forums.  I applaud your efforts to reduce it.


----------



## Heddric Gilbert

New here and that is completely understandable. I own a game developing company and we have a LOT going on as far as new games on the market and in production and would like to get the community's feedback. That being said, there is no harm in getting to know the community and making sure that I am sharing information and not just spamming.

Look forward to the conversations!


----------



## Nod_Hero

Seems fair


----------



## Poline

it's fair


----------



## IronHag

*monotone robotic voice* _Exterminate--_err....wait. I mean, hi.


----------



## Rbledsaw

Ahhhh, this explains the vague "you must have a few posts" message I've been getting.


----------



## CSwizzy

I used to run a forum and it was always an uphill battle with the spam bots. Then again I didn't really know what I was doing......


----------



## msDarkSage

Well, since it is a law...


----------



## ambassadorshade

Fully support these measures.  

#1.


----------



## Hoid

Just posting up to ten.


----------



## Supersonic159

Great work!


----------



## ghostie

Ah ha! Here is my first post.


----------



## spitzalod

*First post- 9 more to go*

Just a random note, by a human


----------



## tmak712

lurking..........


----------



## Citan Uzuki

*skulk, skulk, skulk*  I am doing nothing!
... bad.  I think...
o.o  I hope.


----------



## miniaturehoarder

Heh, whatever you gotta do.


----------



## ncjarhead89

Nice


----------



## GameNightLife

Morrus said:


> 10 posts will fly by so quick you won't even notice it




Aaaah but I want to have *good* posts that actually have thought behind them.  That'll take longer! 

I am glad for the spambot defenses though. I'd rather have to go through this than wade through botpoo.


----------



## hoffrg86

OK got it


----------



## Drattz

I'm good with these rules


----------



## Scott DeWar

[MENTION=1]Morrus[/MENTION], I have noticed there have been 2 bots that have posted links with only one post. Is there a bug in the sight, or did they find a workaround? I just thought it should be made note of to you. I already reported the two posts, one being today, the other a few days ago.


----------



## Morrus

Two? Try hundreds! 

I delete one roughly every 30 minutes at the moment.


----------



## Scott DeWar

those are the only perps I caught, but the point I was making was the single post count instead of 10 which is something you had it set on, didn't you? new members had to post 10 times before making a post with a link? Or do I remember incorrectly?


----------



## Instant Dungeon

Thanks, read and understood.

Thanks for the add.

BR,

Vorpalia


----------



## Scott DeWar

Instant Dungeon said:


> Thanks, read and understood.
> 
> Thanks for the add.
> 
> BR,
> 
> Vorpalia




Bienavidos! Welcome to En world!


----------



## Instant Dungeon

Hi, again, thanks to admit.

We are a tiny, humble, little startup, trying to survive in these hard times.

My name is Javier, I´m owner of Vorpalia Juegos (translated "games"), creators of Instant Dungeon Tactical, funded at www.verkami.com one year ago.

Now, with the arrival of Kickstarter to Spain, we created a project on the major CF´s page, TBA midst june.

Please, contact me for any required information.

Sorry for my poor english and thanks for your time.

If there´s wrong place for this post, please move to the correct section.

Best regards,

Javier

Off course, I´m not a bot.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Instant Dungeon said:


> Hi, again, thanks to admit.
> 
> We are a tiny, humble, little startup, trying to survive in these hard times.
> 
> My name is Javier, I´m owner of Vorpalia Juegos (translated "games"), creators of Instant Dungeon Tactical, funded at www.verkami.com one year ago.
> 
> Now, with the arrival of Kickstarter to Spain, we created a project on the major CF´s page, TBA midst june.
> 
> Please, contact me for any required information.
> 
> Sorry for my poor english and thanks for your time.
> 
> If there´s wrong place for this post, please move to the correct section.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Javier
> 
> Off course, I´m not a bot.




 [MENTION=6795345]Instant Dungeon[/MENTION], here is an area that might be more to your preferred area of wanderings: http://www.enworld.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?470-Industry-amp-Gaming-Business

aquí es un área que podría ser más a su zona preferida de peregrinaciones: http://www.enworld.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?470-Industry-amp-Gaming-Business

.translated via google translator; traducida a través de google traductor.


----------



## Instant Dungeon

Thanks, you are becoming a real help, indeed.

Best regards,

Vorpalia Staff


----------



## Scott DeWar

glad to be of service!

contento de estar de servicio


----------



## seanfrid

Hi,

Some friend told me to download a character sheet from your site. I could not because I was not registered. So I just registered and validated my email. I do not understand why I still can't download anything from there http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?do=download&downloadid=1180. I tried to download some other D&D5 character sheets or previews and I'm not allowed to do this ("You do not have permission to access this page."). So regarding those "free" downloads, what is the purpose of registration then ?


----------



## Scott DeWar

It may be that you need to make 10 posts, so if you just make 9 more posts on this very thread, you can try again. You need to wait 30 seconds between each post just to let you know.


----------



## seanfrid

Is spamming an antispam thread really a good idea ?


----------



## Scott DeWar

sometimes. If I give permission.


----------



## seanfrid

Here we go !


----------



## seanfrid

Four


----------



## seanfrid

Five


----------



## Scott DeWar

Wait, did I give you permission? *Snicker*


----------



## seanfrid

Six


----------



## seanfrid

Seven


----------



## seanfrid

Eight


----------



## seanfrid

Nine


----------



## seanfrid

Ten


----------



## seanfrid

Nothing has changed  Try to download the changelog here http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?do=download&downloadid=1180 ? Does not seem to be some exclusive content either.

For my part I still only get:


		Code:
	

vBulletin Message
You do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

   - Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
   - If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.
   - You are trying to use a feature available only to Community Supporter Subscribers. This includes Search, access to Exclusive Content and more.


----------



## Scott DeWar

stand by, I am going to be a bit slow to look further on this. I had my vision messed with by the eye doc today.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Let me try something here . . . . .

View attachment Changelog.pdfView attachment Character Sheet v5.98 (A4).pdf

try and down load that and tell me if it works.


----------



## seanfrid

It works for both links


----------



## Scott DeWar

ok, I will try and post the rest sometime today for you. I am glad we found something that works!


----------



## seanfrid

Thank you. I only need to also get the Complete Spell Sheets PDF file.


----------



## Scott DeWar

having trouble uploading it . . . never mind, it showed up any way.


----------



## seanfrid

Thank you very much for your help and your time. All is OK now. I am still investigating about why I can't download files from this site in the regular way and without your help. I will let you know when I find. As far as now, it seems to be related to how the vBulletin forum engine works.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Are you on a computer? or are you on a phone?

At home or at work?

Do you have you security setting on a high level?

Are you on a proxy server?

Ask an admin after you get these questions answered, that is what I now recommend.


----------



## seanfrid

I am at work on a Linux computer and using Firefox 38. This is a small business structure and there is no proxy in the way. If of any importance, I am located in France.


----------



## Scott DeWar

I do not know. Sorry. Maybe [MENTION=52905]darjr[/MENTION] has some advice . . . . . he is the local guru. adding @ in front of someone's name will cause a mention and get their attention.


----------



## darjr

I don't understand. What is at issue?


----------



## Scott DeWar

He is having trouble downloading some stuff. It is detailed on post 156

Post 165 has some stuff that I thought might have an effect on download


----------



## seanfrid

Some news. Our Linux expert told me that it might be caused by a firefox privacy option he forced on our network. This is _network.http.sendRefererHeader_ which is locally set to "0" (no referrer sent - maximum privacy) for websurfing privacy concerns while the Mozilla default value is "2" (always send the referrer - no privacy). I tried to set it to "1" and now I can download  How this setting can actually break only (this) one site ?


----------



## Scott DeWar

I do not know.


----------



## seanfrid

Thanks anyway. Since we will play this evening, I had time to prepare and print my character sheets with your help.


----------



## Scott DeWar

*bows* glad to be of assistance!


----------



## Pendrake Utherman

not having any struggles, but I figgered I would get the 10 out da way.


----------



## Pendrake Utherman

Music playing right now: Don't tell me no lies and keep ypour hands to your self.

post number 3!


----------



## Pendrake Utherman

I ares not da spammers - I eatses the spams!

post number 4


----------



## Pendrake Utherman

Takeses mes to yours leader - I ownses this planets.

post 5


----------



## Pendrake Utherman

And here we are folks at he display of post number 8. Notice the bonding fusion of passion and fury . . . . .


----------



## Pendrake Utherman

Nuttin ta see here, just a post number 9.


----------



## Pendrake Utherman

wahoo! wees founds da prizes! it bees post numbers 10! now wees ownses the internetses!


----------



## Kate Yancey

Hello!


----------



## Pendrake Utherman

Hale, oh fellow traveler! I greet ye!


----------



## Sgurr

Well, it's a rough situation for bots (and bot wannabes) but I welcome the restrictions!


----------



## Scott DeWar

That's right! the attack bots of the internet overlords shall not prevail!


----------



## Steffen_the_Wolf

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Steffen_the_Wolf said:


> Yeah!!!!!!!!!!




Greetings Steppin wolf!

Welcome to En World!


----------



## evdwal

So this also means I can't use the "announcement" button then?


----------



## Scott DeWar

I am not sure, actually. I have never heard of it.


----------



## Scott DeWar

evdwal said:


> So this also means I can't use the "announcement" button then?




Lets try this:

 [MENTION=1]Morrus[/MENTION], can you comment on this?


----------



## vegansamurai

Makes sense!


----------



## Scott DeWar

vegansamurai said:


> Makes sense!



 greetings and welcome to En World!


----------



## LordFlameStryke

So, does this mean I have to post several messages because I had to rebuild my OS and lost everything?  I downloaded the same file about a month ago with no problems, not even being registered (apparently, since my email address didn't send any flags when I reregistered), yet now I can't download the file at all?  There is nothing on the page indicating it requires a subscription, and I know I didn't have a subscription when I downloaded it last time.....

I really don't want to post spam (which this rule is supposed to curb) nor do I want to spend hours searching through the entire message board database to find something I can reply to that is worth what I would be sending.....


----------



## Scott DeWar

It is just 9 little tiny minuscule posts of three  characters or more. aw, come on!


----------



## Morrus

LordFlameStryke said:


> So, does this mean I have to post several messages because I had to rebuild my OS and lost everything?  I downloaded the same file about a month ago with no problems, not even being registered (apparently, since my email address didn't send any flags when I reregistered), yet now I can't download the file at all?  There is nothing on the page indicating it requires a subscription, and I know I didn't have a subscription when I downloaded it last time.....




I don't really know what any of that means or what it refers to, but the link posting limit does not stop you downloading anything. It just stops you posting links.


----------



## Scott DeWar

And if Lord flame stryke is a former member of en world, he should use the link to recover the password.


----------



## LordFlameStryke

Scott:  it's not the posts that I object to, it's that the spam filter seems to encourage spam.  And if I was a former member, when reregestering with my email address it would have told me I have an account, which it didn't.

Morrus:  When I try to download a link, I'm referred to a page with a lovely box stating that I don't have permission to access the page.

The page I'm trying to download from is at rpgdownloads.php?do=download&downloadid=1234, and the result I get states the following:

"You do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.
You are trying to use a feature available only to Community Supporter Subscribers. This includes Search, access to Exclusive Content and more."


----------



## Morrus

LordFlameStryke said:


> Scott:  it's not the posts that I object to, it's that the spam filter seems to encourage spam.




If you have a better suggestion, I'm all ears!  This is the best solution to the thousands of daily spambots I've been able to come up with in 16 years. It has nothing to do with your downloading issue, though.

That said, the spambot limit is currently set at 3 posts, so if you post once more it might be worth rechecking.



> Morrus:  When I try to download a link, I'm referred to a page with a lovely box stating that I don't have permission to access the page.
> 
> The page I'm trying to download from is at rpgdownloads.php?do=download&downloadid=1234, and the result I get states the following:




How odd. I can't see anything in your account that would cause that.  Does that happen with all of the files on that page, or just a particular one?  Does it happen when trying to download files from elsewhere in the downloads area?


----------



## LordFlameStryke

When I click on the Download All Files button, I get that message.  When I click on any of the individual file links, it only refreshes the page.  The links appear to have individual file IDs, but nothing is downloaded.

It appears the same thing happens on other pages as well.  Clicking on file links refreshes the page, while clicking on the button refers me to the page indicating I don't have permission.


----------



## Scott DeWar

LordFlameStryke said:


> When I click on the Download All Files button, I get that message.  When I click on any of the individual file links, it only refreshes the page.  The links appear to have individual file IDs, but nothing is downloaded.
> 
> It appears the same thing happens on other pages as well.  Clicking on file links refreshes the page, while clicking on the button refers me to the page indicating I don't have permission.




Maybe I need to call for super [MENTION=52905]darjr[/MENTION] for this.


----------



## Morrus

LordFlameStryke said:


> When I click on the Download All Files button, I get that message.  When I click on any of the individual file links, it only refreshes the page.  The links appear to have individual file IDs, but nothing is downloaded.
> 
> It appears the same thing happens on other pages as well.  Clicking on file links refreshes the page, while clicking on the button refers me to the page indicating I don't have permission.




I see to recall someone else having a similar issue, and it turned out to be security settings in their browser.  Maybe try checking those, or seeing if the problem persists with a different browser?


----------



## LordFlameStryke

Well, that seemed to work, although I don't know why.  I use Chrome, so all the settings and extensions were carried over from my previous installation, and everything downloaded just fine then.  Just now it's not working right.....

But at least I know I can still use Internet Exploder to download stuff.  Thanks.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Fire fox works great too.


----------



## Ravi

Well... I guess I will make some posts... It's not got much spam in it.


----------



## Scott DeWar

just fry the spam and an egg and put on two slices of bread,


----------



## Tedmeister

Huh. So THIS is how I'm greeted to a new forum? By being restricted! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS! *fume fume*

Nah, I'm just kidding. While I did come here initially to advertise my game group's sessions, I see EN World as a vast reservoir of roleplaying ideas and suggestions. I think I'll fit in just nicely, here!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Your argument is invalid *snotle*


----------



## napsterthegrey

Even though many may find it tiring, I believe it is necessary for a forum as big as this one. I've been an admin for some time on another, really small, forum and there was a time when the spambots were more than the users. And also, I guess I should stop lurking and finally start posting and become a regular member of the community


----------



## Morrus

napsterthegrey said:


> Even though many may find it tiring, I believe it is necessary for a forum as big as this one. I've been an admin for some time on another, really small, forum and there was a time when the spambots were more than the users. And also, I guess I should stop lurking and finally start posting and become a regular member of the community




As a perspective, some days we'll get upwards of 10K attempted spambot registrations. The spam defenses, annoying as they are, manage to deal with the majority of those, leaving only a half dozen or so a day that we end up having to deal with manually.


----------



## Tedmeister

Morrus said:


> As a perspective, some days we'll get upwards of *10K attempted spambot registrations*. The spam defenses, annoying as they are, manage to deal with the majority of those, leaving only a half dozen or so a day that we end up having to deal with manually.




Goodness! I had no idea that EN World drew such a horde of spambots. Still, I understand why such defenses are up, and I wholeheartedly agree with having them implemented.


----------



## Scott DeWar

napsterthegrey said:


> Even though many may find it tiring, I believe it is necessary for a forum as big as this one. I've been an admin for some time on another, really small, forum and there was a time when the spambots were more than the users. And also, I guess I should stop lurking and finally start posting and become a regular member of the community



well, its about time!!! I was wondering if you were a spambot!


----------



## Elf_flambe

Tedmeister said:


> I see EN World as a vast reservoir of roleplaying ideas and suggestions. I think I'll fit in just nicely, here!




Exactly my feelings. I've been lurking and reading for a while now, and recently started downloading a few useful lists. Looking at the EN5ider offerings, I'll probably be getting a subscription soon.

Mighty efficient gelatinous cube operation you have here, Morrus! Certainly sucked me in quite nicely. And made me LIKE it...


----------



## Egill

I havent got a web site or a home page so not being able to link to them isn't that arduous. And no opinions either so trying to find ten things to post on might be a problem anyway.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Well, we can talk about the weather. How about that?


----------



## Egill

We dont have weather in the UK. Thats why we find it so interesting.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Well, I am in the middle south of the us, central Tennessee - Nashville. The weather here varies quite nicely, without getting too cold.  Usually.


----------



## Egill

The weather here in the North of England is mild. Mild rain, mild sun, mild wind, mild snow. We had a weather warning today for fog but it was actually quite mild. 
I have enjoyed the weather in the US on the few occasions I have been. I spent two months in Boston in the Fall 10 years ago and that was entirely pleasant. SF was fab (8 yrs ago), didnt see the famous fog at all and Waikiki was hot (quarter of a century ago), but not as unpleasantly hot as Dubai last month (45 C).


----------



## Scott DeWar

Dubai? I have lived in the Mojave Desert of southern California. I understand 130 F and 20%or less of Humidity. This was before the first gulf war.


----------



## Egill

I'm an examiner for the Royal College of Surgeons. I got a free trip to Sri Lanka to examine over there. Stopped off in Dubai on the way. Dashing from air conditioned building to air conditined building! Seriously unpleasant to be out in midday sun, especially as a northern european not used to it. (Was skiing in arctic Finland in January -39 C, sublime to rediculous"!)


----------



## Scott DeWar

Holy schinikes!! that is  . . . -39?  If I recall correctly, -40 C = -40 F, so brrrrrrr! What was Sri Lanka like?


----------



## Egill

Thats about right. It was painfully cold, especially on the ski lifts with about -15C extra wind chill. We spent most of our time drinking beer and playing Traveller and Advanced Squad Leader.


----------



## Egill

Sri Lanka was fab. Balmy 35C. Swanky hotel and great food, all paid for by the Royal College. Thoroughly recomended!


----------



## Egill

And the palace/fortress on top of a giant boulder - Sigiryia, inspirational fantasy location!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Egill said:


> Thats about right. It was painfully cold, especially on the ski lifts with about -15C extra wind chill. We spent most of our time drinking beer and playing Traveller and Advanced Squad Leader.



One year in the early 90's mid-west USA was plunged into a -25 F arctic blast with wind chill of -80F. that is -31.66 and - 62.22 respectively. Now, I was working for a cable company and That was all outside work. We had to work in teams of 2, with no more then 15 minutes of outside time.

I am glad to see you kept you priorities with gaming here!! Have you scoped out any game here yet?


----------



## Egill

The reason I got onto the site is because my 13 year old son has been desperate to play D&D with his friends but none of them knew where to start. Reading rules doesnt seem to be in the modern idiom (its not as easy as just jacking in to the xbox) so I said I would start them off. I started with the keep on the shadow fell in D&D4 but as soon as D&D5 came out I thought it was much better and converted their characters. It was tricky converting the 4th ed encounters into 5th ed on the fly so I bought princes of the apocalypse to carry on with now that they have reached level 3/4. I was looking for clarification on some of the maps and google directed me here which has been most useful!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Egill said:


> The reason I got onto the site is because my 13 year old son has been desperate to play D&D with his friends but none of them knew where to start. Reading rules doesnt seem to be in the modern idiom (its not as easy as just jacking in to the xbox) so I said I would start them off. I started with the keep on the shadow fell in D&D4 but as soon as D&D5 came out I thought it was much better and converted their characters. It was tricky converting the 4th ed encounters into 5th ed on the fly so I bought princes of the apocalypse to carry on with now that they have reached level 3/4. I was looking for clarification on some of the maps and google directed me here which has been most useful!





Excellent!!! I am sure Morrus is glad for such accolades!! A quick note on the weather: I think the cool fall weather is soon to set in here. we had a rainy cold front move in after a gulf storm slid up and now we are getting weather about 15 to 20 degrees F cooler. A lot nicer for a bike ride.

I am into 3.5 and pathfinder myself. I was in a table top game in Columbia, Missouri. But an internal injury knocked me low. I am still recovering from that since 2011.

I really miss my friends back home. *sniff*


----------



## carterjr88

good policy


----------



## Scott DeWar

And another new person to greet!! Hello!


----------



## Egill

And I only need one more post to prove that I am real! 

I remember the first time I encountered 3.5 (though it was probably 3.0). It did seem to tidy up all the inconsistencies that AD&D1 had had and I thought it was great. 4th Ed was a big disappointment but I do like 5th. It does seem very streamlined (I am an old C&S player (1st edition) so everything seems streamlined) and brings in some of the best ideas from most of the earlier editions. 

Internal injury stoping you from playing for 4 years sounds bad!!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Egill said:


> And I only need one more post to prove that I am real!
> . . . . .edit . . . . .
> Internal injury stopping you from playing for 4 years sounds bad!!




I did most of my 3.5 learning on a now gone sight called Mortality.net. 

as for my injury, It was truly horrific. Myself of course, but also for my family and friends. I am still not sure I have survived.


----------



## Morrus

Egill said:


> And I only need one more post to prove that I am real!




You only needed 3!


----------



## Scott DeWar

its 3, not 10???


----------



## Egill

Well. As I said to start with, if I had a web page I could link to it now but I don't so it doesn't really matter.


----------



## Egill

And there's my 10 posts!!


----------



## Scott DeWar

You're 10! weeee! yee haw! whipeee!


----------



## Mystic Storyteller

*First Post*

First Post


----------



## Mystic Storyteller

I won't lie...I'm a bit confused but I think I'm supposed to post three times...? So this is my second post! One more to go...I think...?


----------



## Mystic Storyteller

Behold...I am not a bot!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Greetings [MENTION=6803984]Mystic Storyteller[/MENTION] bot. Welcome to en world!


----------



## Kramodlog

How do we report PMs that are SPAM? I got one from a nerd girls seems super cool and sexy, but she wants to give me Fal Out 4 for free.


----------



## kilroy214

Sounds reasonable enough. Hell, you join enough forums, you get used to this rule pretty quick. This is my maiden post. Here's to many more!


----------



## Scott DeWar

kilroy214 said:


> Sounds reasonable enough. Hell, you join enough forums, you get used to this rule pretty quick. This is my maiden post. Here's to many more!




greetings and welcome to EnWorld, Kiloy214.

sincerely,
your robotic overlords


----------



## lovelesschild

Oh, look I'm posting a thing! I must be.... Human?


----------



## Scott DeWar

lovelesschild said:


> Oh, look I'm posting a thing! I must be.... Human?




in theory, anyway. If you really are a human, welcome to En World!


----------



## thekarmikbob

Spam sucks, fight the vigilant fight!


----------



## Scott DeWar

I got a tin of spam as a gag gift for Christmas. true story!


----------



## aia_2

Howdy all, based on the info here and the reply i got from the staff of Panjo (see below), i assume that i am not allowed to post on the marketplace any post due to the 3-post limit... am i right?

***

Hey Axel,

Thanks for writing to us! It looks like your listing doesn't currently have a photo, which could lower the chances of this item being sold. I just went through our troubleshooting list of what could be preventing us from generating a thread post for you, but it looks like there may be an issue on the side of EN World where they are preventing your account from posting in certain sections of the forum. I encourage you to reach out to the EN World staff to see what might be going on with your account's user permissions.

Keep me posted and let me know if there is anything else I can do for you!

Best,
Brian at Panjo Support


----------



## Scott DeWar

aia_2 said:


> Howdy all, based on the info here and the reply i got from the staff of Panjo (see below), i assume that i am not allowed to post on the marketplace any post due to the 3-post limit... am i right?
> 
> ***
> 
> Hey Axel,
> 
> Thanks for writing to us! It looks like your listing doesn't currently have a photo, which could lower the chances of this item being sold. I just went through our troubleshooting list of what could be preventing us from generating a thread post for you, but it looks like there may be an issue on the side of EN World where they are preventing your account from posting in certain sections of the forum. I encourage you to reach out to the EN World staff to see what might be going on with your account's user permissions.
> 
> Keep me posted and let me know if there is anything else I can do for you!
> 
> Best,
> Brian at Panjo Support




Let me help you get their attention . . . . .

 [MENTION=177]Umbran[/MENTION], can you help with this?


----------



## Morrus

Asking for tech support by posting at the end of this thread is an *awful* way to do it.  I think Scott is the only person on the planet who reads it for the "I'm not a spambot" posts.


----------



## Scott DeWar

I do it to welcome the new folk to this insane asylum! (where all the crazy folk are on the outside!)


----------



## Umbran

Well, Morrus is here, which is good.  Because I don't have any experience with the Marketplace.


----------



## Morrus

I don't really understand the Panjo marketplace either. We don't have any restrictions on who can post there.


----------



## aia_2

Howdy all, i dont want to create strives here... i have tons of d20 stuff and other rpgs to sell/trade and would like to understand if i am the only one who is currently having this problem... at the beginning i though it was related to the 3-post limit set in the forum but now i'd have overcome it... i wrote back to the panjo helpdesk again telling them that the limit was removed by my 3 posts and to try again; here below is the reply i got from them:

***

Hey Axel,

Great to hear from you again! Would you mind sharing what was preventing us from generating a thread for you? For some reason, I am still unable to generate a post for you on EN World. I'll have to have our team further investigate the issue.

I look forward to hearing back from you!

Best,
Brian at Panjo Support


----------



## Scott DeWar

As always [MENTION=1]Morrus[/MENTION], Much gratitude for your tireless work on your sight!


----------



## darjr

Please note that there is a forum for technical issues here at ENWorld.


----------



## aia_2

OK thanks, but its not me directly involved in the technical issue... i would have problems to write what has happened...
for the time being i will send a link to Brian (Panjo) of these last posts: he has at least a view that someone is trying to work it out!
thanks and best, axel


----------



## aia_2

Last (i believe) update from the Panjo guy... now, unless someone here can send me an explanation, the guy here below wont help me any more...
Thanks in any case and best, axel

***

Axel,

Great, thanks for the update! Let me know when you get an answer from the EN World staff. It's possible the forum automatically put your account on your hold as repeated poster so you should ask them to check your other account limitations.

I look forward to hearing back from you!

Best,
Brian at Panjo Support


----------



## Morrus

No, we haven't put you on hold, or done anything else.


----------



## JackStiles

I need to make three posts first, I can do that. Uh, 1


----------



## Scott DeWar

Von! Von post!! bua ah ha ha ha!


----------



## KenMonster

Glad this is in place


----------



## Scott DeWar

Greetings, KenMonster from the official lurking greetings bot.


----------



## JoDa

Ok, whatcha gonna do 'bout it.


----------



## Scott DeWar

whatcha gunna do when they come for you?


----------



## Thaldon

Just now making my second post after two years.  I read (Lurk) too much.


----------



## Scott DeWar

lurking, huh? like this?:


----------



## Don-V Snell

Join Date: October 30th, 2008.  0 posts.  Guess I should fix that, eh?


----------



## Scott DeWar

Don-V Snell said:


> Join Date: October 30th, 2008.  0 posts.  Guess I should fix that, eh?



Well, as of now you are atwo posts, so congratulations is in order!

Oh, and welcome to En World!!


----------



## AngryGreek

This all seems legit.


----------



## Scott DeWar

AngryGreek said:


> This all seems legit.




good morning and welcome to En World!


----------



## Unseer

Hi everyone, I'm a Total F***ing noooooooob moron with forum, in fact, this is the first or the second time i'm actually writing on one. Man, i don't even know what most of the word you are using mean (spam, posting a link, Thread, post, etc...) like a post? is this what i've done here "a post"?
I must point out that I'm not a computer crack either and english is not my native language though i read it a lot.
Well that's it thank you, this site look huge and amazing and i hope i'll get better with it and any kind of help will be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,


----------



## Don-V Snell

"Threads" are the thing you put "posts" in.  "Posting a link" is just putting a website address into a post on a thread.  You can do that after your third post here.  As for "spam", it's just like the mail version.  Junk nobody wants or posting a bunch of posts one after the other.  Stick around and you'll pick up all the other lingo really quick!

And Welcome!


----------



## Boogieturtle

*New to EN World*

Hi all.  I'm new to the site.  It looks like there's quite a lot of content.  I look forward to seeing what all is here.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Boogieturtle said:


> Hi all.  I'm new to the site.  It looks like there's quite a lot of content.  I look forward to seeing what all is here.




Greetings Boogieturtle. Please pardin the mess. clear a spot on a chair and get to gaming!


----------



## phantasynut

Hello all.  No bots here.


----------



## phantasynut

<To all bots on this site>

We don't server your kind here.  You'll have to wait outside.


----------



## phantasynut

<To all non-bots (i.e. real people)>

Welcome to EN World.  Speak Friend and enter.


----------



## Scott DeWar

phantasynut said:


> <To all non-bots (i.e. real people)>
> 
> Welcome to EN World.  Speak Friend and enter.





*Friend! ! ! ! ! *

_How was that?_​


----------



## phantasynut

Scott DeWar said:


> *Friend! ! ! ! ! *
> 
> _How was that?_​




You may enter.


----------



## Zimitri Reindhart

Mellon! That one point is an inconvinience, it was nice of you to make the condition easy to accomplish. I'm off to look for interesting posts to offer something at (will sincerely post seriously) and I'll get down to the business that brought me here.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Zimitri Reindhart said:


> Mellon! That one point is an inconvinience, it was nice of you to make the condition easy to accomplish. I'm off to look for interesting posts to offer something at (will sincerely post seriously) and I'll get down to the business that brought me here.



What game editions do you play? Pathfinder perhaps?


----------



## Zimitri Reindhart

I play 5e currently. What made you ask for Pathfinder though?


----------



## Scott DeWar

I am a part of living pathfinder here on this sight.


----------



## Zimitri Reindhart

Oh, I was checking those boards yesterday, I might look into some 5e ones if I ever have too much free time.

Edit: Nevermind, seems there aren't any 5e ones, and I mistook "Living " boards by "Playing the Game" one in terms of purpose.


----------



## Scott DeWar

I think there is something, but not sure what. Give me an hour or so and I will let you know what I saw.


----------



## Scott DeWar

I found a line of information, but can't find  exact threads.

This is a thread I started to find what I haf saw briefly:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?491159-5t-ed-game-threads-question&p=6905653#post6905653

it is called Adventurer's league.


----------



## Zimitri Reindhart

Hey, thanks for looking that up for me, though isn't Adventurer's League a public in-person kind of thing? I was thinking more of a forum campaign, play by post I think they call it. Unless there's online forum based Adventurer's League.


----------



## Scott DeWar

I don't know about A.L., I thought it was a living world but face to face or pbp, such as pathfinder society. I heard some stuff about it when WOTC forums closed and they were invited here to continue their forums. Unfortunately, that may have been lost during a recent crash.


----------



## Zimitri Reindhart

It is a kind of living world, that people can organize to play everywhere officially and all, but I didn't hear anything about it having a pbp version somewhere, it could well be the case that it is now gone due to the recent data loss.


----------



## Scott DeWar

if it has disappeared then I am sorry.


----------



## Zimitri Reindhart

Don't worry.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Harrygedly said:


> I am using the spare key. Car is still locking its self just after you start up and drive off. Is that what is ment to do?



yup


----------



## KForte

First post ever!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Welcome stranger, Hope you enjoy yourself ! !


----------



## Morrus

Due to a massive influx of PM spam, for now users cannot send PMs until they have made 5 posts.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Hmmmmm, let me see if I have enough posts.. .. .. .. ..


----------



## TalenOfTheKeep

Post 1 of 3 to prove that I am not a spammer


----------



## Scott DeWar

TalenOfTheKeep said:


> Post 1 of 3 to prove that I am not a spammer




Greetings and welcome to EnWorld!, Not-a-spammer.


----------



## Entire_Party_Killed

Hello to All by EPiK Team.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Entire_Party_Killed said:


> Hello to All by EPiK Team.



Greetings and welcome to En world!


----------



## Vengeance76

Just checking out some D&D conversions. Thanks for the cool forum


----------



## Scott DeWar

enjoy your walk-about!


----------



## CalenJay

Damn, the spam is real. I wish Facebook would adopt this stance


----------



## CalenJay

That being said, I've never played by post, so any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated


----------



## Dannyalcatraz

Best thing I can say is:

1) think about your options between postings, so that you don't hold up other players

2) do read others' posts, so that if they perform an action you can work with, you won't miss the opportunity.


----------



## CalenJay

So basically exactly like tabletop

Sent from my SM-G550T1 using EN World mobile app


----------



## Scott DeWar

pretty much like table top, just slower. you can have a couple days between actions.


----------



## Fronzan

All Hail the Yellow Banner of Postings!

I offer this post as first of three tributes!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Fronzan said:


> All Hail the Yellow Banner of Postings!
> 
> I offer this post as first of three tributes!



Ah, I see you havegiven 4 tributes to His Majesty,King Morrus of the Kingdom of E'n. As Grand Vizier, I bid thee welcome.


----------



## Giorgicus

First Post, only 2 more to meet the minimum "not a bot" requirement. 

So many awesome new games on the way like Alternity 2017 and Starfinder 2018, and so many games already in my library (Babylon 5, Heavy Gear, FFG Star Wars, Starship Troopers, Shadowrun, D&D/Pathfinder...); now I just need to find the time to read the forums and post more often...


----------



## Scott DeWar

Greetings and Salutations, Gioricus! May I have the honor of cordially inviting you to all forums, great and small!?! Enjoy your time here. If you hav3e any questions, feels free to ask openly or in privet message and I will do my best to find an answer!

Scott - "I am not drunk" - DeWar


----------



## Giorgicus

Thanks for the welcome, I do have one question:

-Where is the Alternity 2017 RPG thread (if any); and when I get my third post in, I can create a new thread (if there isn't); correct?


----------



## Scott DeWar

First of all, I see your post count is at 4, so you should be able to act like a not-a-bot freely now.

Second, if you do not see any threads, Open one up!!

ps: I think that was two questsions. . . . . .


----------



## Giorgicus

Scott DeWar said:


> First of all, I see your post count is at 4, so you should be able to act like a not-a-bot freely now.
> 
> Second, if you do not see any threads, Open one up!!
> 
> ps: I think that was two questsions. . . . . .




Me and Math (tm), we just don't get along... LOL  

Thanks, and I will start one after I get out of work! Happy Forum Moderating & Gaming!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Oh, Darkness is the Moderator, as the name is in green. I am just the doorman.


----------



## Scott DeWar

for all of the new folks around, here is a fine gem of a thread to check out. It is the beginning of 6 years of chatting with Gary Gygax:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?22566-Q-amp-A-with-Gary-Gygax


----------



## Al2O3

From the Android ENWorld app I've noticed that a bunch of obvious spam had made the "trending" and seem to remain despite being removed.
Any way to fix this?

Sent from my Nexus 6 using EN World mobile app


----------



## Scott DeWar

Al2O3 said:


> From the Android ENWorld app I've noticed that a bunch of obvious spam had made the "trending" and seem to remain despite being removed.
> Any way to fix this?
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6 using EN World mobile app




Lets add a mention to , um, GOT IT!
 [MENTION=177]Umbran[/MENTION], or should I have contacted darjr?


----------



## Darkness

Scott DeWar said:


> Lets add a mention to , um, GOT IT!
> [MENTION=177]Umbran[/MENTION], or should I have contacted darjr?



Probably. For tech stuff, you generally want darjr or Morrus.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Al2O3 said:


> From the Android ENWorld app I've noticed that a bunch of obvious spam had made the "trending" and seem to remain despite being removed.
> Any way to fix this?
> 
> 
> 
> Scott DEwar said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Lets add a mention to , um, GOT IT!
> _*Umbran*_, or should I have contacted darjr?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6 using EN World mobile app
Click to expand...





Darkness said:


> Probably. For tech stuff, you generally want darjr or Morrus.




Ok, let's do that then: [MENTION=52905]darjr[/MENTION] or [MENTION=1]Morrus[/MENTION].? Can this be a problem?


----------



## darjr

Probably in a table other than what the spam controls get.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Ah, so in the super secret coding where only you and Morrus have access to where the super computer that is really running things has is awareness. Got it.


----------



## Al2O3

When I click links to the threads (e.g. a 9h old one) I get something along the lines of "This thread may have already been deleted by the administrator".

I haven't checked the browser version yet, but it might be related to app rather than the forum.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using EN World mobile app


----------



## Jordan Edwards

Oh hey, it's my first post! Look at it, it's bright and shiny!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Jordan Edwards said:


> Oh hey, it's my first post! Look at it, it's bright and shiny!




greetings and salutations! Welcome to En World!!


Oh, and there is a scuff mark over there . . . .


----------



## razorwind006

My first post to prove i'm not a spammer! yay!


----------



## Scott DeWar

I don't know . . . . . those Floridians are a shady lot since the Jersey and New York mobster folk moved down there.

welcome to the world of E'n.


----------



## Withraas@

Thank You


----------



## Scott DeWar

Withraas@ said:


> Thank You



You are welcome! greetings, And we are glad you found EnWorld! kickback, relax and enjoy the forums of your choice!


----------



## danteg

Nice approach to limiting the spam bots 

Also has the added benefit of bringing the lurkers (like me!) out into the open and socialising every now and again!


----------



## Scott DeWar

danteg said:


> Nice approach to limiting the spam bots
> 
> Also has the added benefit of bringing the lurkers (like me!) out into the open and socializing every now and again!



 Greetings and salutations! welcome to the light!


----------



## Gouverneur

*5 posts*

bump


----------



## Gouverneur

hello world it's ame posting a thing


----------



## Gouverneur

just trying to get to 5 posts


----------



## Gouverneur

yep I'm being annoying


----------



## Gouverneur

last post sorry about this


----------



## Darkness

Gouverneur said:


> last post sorry about this



*A random thread in the 5e forum isn't a good place for this, so I moved your posts here. Anyway, welcome to the boards!*


----------



## Scott DeWar

Gouverneur said:


> hello world it's ame posting a thing




'ello guvner.  greetings an' salitations to ye!


----------



## Droo71

And .. post the first.........


----------



## Scott DeWar

did you just drool on En World?


----------



## Droo71

well no... its a 7, not an L... but nice try....


----------



## Scott DeWar

upside down L???

anyway, welcome to En world!


----------



## Toimu Smith

Seems like a good place for my first post.  Hello all!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Toimu Smith said:


> Seems like a good place for my first post.  Hello all!



 Greetings and felicitations! Welcome to En World!


----------



## Charles Bayer

Hello, I am NOT a bot.


----------



## Dwarven_Dad

What are bots? Are they real or just fantasy? (hi!)


----------



## Scott DeWar

This is the auto greeting bot. welcome to EnWorld! grab the mt dew, cheetos and explore away!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Dwarven_Dad said:


> What are bots? Are they real or just fantasy? (hi!)



we are real


----------



## Munkee

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?


----------



## Scott DeWar

Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality

Greetings human. This is the auto greeting bot. welcome to EnWorld! grab the mt dew, Cheetos and explore away!


----------



## wendywilson

Hello, I'm new here. Let's start here!!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Greetings human. This is the auto greeting bot. welcome to EnWorld! grab the mt dew, Cheetos and explore away!


----------



## atomicsorcery

I just wanted to read an article.


----------



## Scott DeWar

uh huh. sure you do. You really wanted to game, didn't you?


----------



## Beany Stryker

Does this count as post number one? And when I get done with all three, can I recruit new members to a discord community built around running one-shot games and campaigns 24/7? Any questions? Inbox me.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Beany Stryker said:


> Does this count as post number one? And when I get done with all three, can I recruit new members to a discord community built around running one-shot games and campaigns 24/7? Any questions? Inbox me.




Yes, Human User. That is indeed post one. Two more here in this thread will keep my automatic worm injection software from activating.


----------



## Dentedknight

reject all spammers


----------



## Scott DeWar

Dentedknight said:


> reject all spammers



The Automatic greeting bot agrees with you and welcomes you.


----------



## FrangArna

these are not the bots you're looking for


----------



## Green Sophia

Hello,everybody. I am a new soul! This is my first post here. Glad to see you!


----------



## Scott DeWar

FrangArna said:


> these are not the bots you're looking for



move along - hey, is that Han Solo I just saw over there?


----------



## Scott DeWar

Green Sophia said:


> Hello,everybody. I am a new soul! This is my first post here. Glad to see you!




greetings and salutations, User. Beware of the one known as Tron


----------



## John Thompson

Good to know!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Greetings John Thompson. Welcome to your brain!


----------



## alicebrown

Nice to meet you all here. I'm so honored to be part of this big family!


----------



## Bolleten

Ah it make sense that you have these rules!

And btw, Hello everyone!


----------



## Osirusblue

Rules are intended to help guide all the fun, right!?


----------



## Tanin Wulf

This is nice and handy, but now I have to make 5 posts before I can PM people looking for games! Oh well. =)


----------



## Tanin Wulf

Oh, and I definitely don't want to make the posts the same, so I don't get picked up as a spambot by accident... OFF TO OTHER PARTS OF THE FORUM I GO!


----------



## Scott DeWar

alicebrown said:


> Nice to meet you all here. I'm so honored to be part of this big family!




greetings Alice Brown. Welcome to En World family!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Bolleten said:


> Ah it make sense that you have these rules!
> 
> And btw, Hello everyone!



Greetings to you, too! Enjoy your gaming time!!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Eric Seiler said:


> Rules are intended to help guide all the fun, right!?



Greetings, and right!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Tanin Wulf said:


> This is nice and handy, but now I have to make 5 posts before I can PM people looking for games! Oh well. =)



I see you have reached your 5. Enjoy!!


----------



## James_Nelson

ughhh ok


----------



## James_Nelson

right...


----------



## Scott DeWar

James_Nelson said:


> right...




come on, champ! give me 3 more! I know you can do it!!!


----------



## A-Jay DiGirolamo

*1st Post...*

Looking forward to this Site... just have to make 3 Posts to use it... Here's #1!!!


----------



## A-Jay DiGirolamo

*#2*

Not sure if "Commenting" on an existing Post, will count...? So I'm just gonna make 3 total 'New' Posts...


----------



## A-Jay DiGirolamo

*3#*

Should've just Posted all 3 'Newbie Posts in this Forum...
Why didn't I think of that before...?
 Doht!


----------



## aco175

I'm missing where the link is to the site?


----------



## Mistwell

Welcome to ENWorld, A-Jay!


----------



## Mistwell

aco175 said:


> I'm missing where the link is to the site?




This site. He means here. He is new and looking forward to posting here.


----------



## darjr

What a crappy thing to do. Do you cheat at D&D too? Reported as spam.


----------



## darjr

So he spams the site with crap threads to circumvent the rules? No thanks!


----------



## BoldItalic

@OP - welcome to ENWorld.

As you are new here, a little piece of advice - don't upload images unless you own the copyright; post links to the images instead. Also, don't just post an image and expect us to guess what it is for; tell us why you have posted the image. Is it a D&D 5e character you are playing? Does it have a story? What level is it and how did you get to that level? What other PCs are in your party? Are you playing one of the published adventures or is your DM creating his own campaign? Is there anything you can tell us from your experience of D&D that we don't already know?

Please don't just _post_ for the sake of it; _contribute_ something worthwhile. Let your third post be informative. If it isn't, we will know that you are just trolling.


----------



## Ath-kethin

I'm a little curious as to why you want to be on this site so desperately if you have nothing to actually say.


----------



## Darkness

*Merged newbie spam threads into this thread.*


----------



## hej

Seems very reasonable.


----------



## Dunster7

Hey, I think these precautions are great!  

I get way too much junk from other sites I've never been to myself, all "affiliates" of something I had legitimate interest in.

Thanks!


----------



## Whusmaname

Post no. 1

Hello all... I couldn't find the introductions thread, and I thought, hey... why don't I just introduce myself here... (If that's wrong, oh well... feel free to pm me to direct me to the correct thread if it does exist, and delete this post. I don't mind.)

My name is Graham, and I wanna get into playing this AWESOME game that most know as D&D, but I live in South Africa, where it's difficult to find a party to join...

So what I did was START a game of 5th Ed with some friends, and I'm the DM, but that means I don't get to be a player...

How does one get into a game on this forum?


----------



## LordEntrails

Whusmaname said:


> Post no. 1
> 
> Hello all... I couldn't find the introductions thread, and I thought, hey... why don't I just introduce myself here... (If that's wrong, oh well... feel free to pm me to direct me to the correct thread if it does exist, and delete this post. I don't mind.)
> 
> My name is Graham, and I wanna get into playing this AWESOME game that most know as D&D, but I live in South Africa, where it's difficult to find a party to join...
> 
> So what I did was START a game of 5th Ed with some friends, and I'm the DM, but that means I don't get to be a player...
> 
> How does one get into a game on this forum?




There are play by post games in here.

The forum for "classified" or others for games and gamers seeking each other is here.


----------



## Whusmaname

LordEntrails said:


> There are play by post games in here.
> 
> The forum for "classified" or others for games and gamers seeking each other is here.




Thank you, Lord Entrails.

(PS: Second post)


----------



## Scott DeWar

I was going to greet the new guy, but I can't remember his name . . . . . Now whatshisname .. .. .. .. ..?


----------



## Whusmaname

I think I've got enough posts now... Oh, and I failed to mention that, although my name is Graham, I usually go by Whusmaname on most forums, because of the gmail address I got... The story behind that is actually quite funny. Feel free to ask in a PM if you're curious.


----------



## girtablilu

Thanks for letting me join in here.  Just here to learn more about AD&D 1e that I never got to so many years ago.


----------



## Jonathan King

Hasn't been a comment since 2013


----------



## Scott DeWar

I hope you don't get washed out by Hurricane Harvey!


----------



## NeVeRLiFt

the big yellow banner made me do it!!!


----------



## NeVeRLiFt

ps: long time lurker who enjoys reading and browsing


----------



## indigomage

It was not me it was my clone


----------



## indigomage

I was going to point out that I've posted in the past, but that might not be true


----------



## indigomage

If I was a spammer using the join and wait a bit, I've been waiting for quite a while as I joined in 2014  
(and presumably lurked ever since)


----------



## Bukran

Hi everybody.
There's a spam post on forum "D&D 5th Edition News, Rules, Homebrews, and House Rules" named "National Park".

I think I cannot report it as spam because either I'm a newbie here or I haven't found the button


----------



## Scott DeWar

Bukran said:


> Hi everybody.
> There's a spam post on forum "D&D 5th Edition News, Rules, Homebrews, and House Rules" named "National Park".
> 
> I think I cannot report it as spam because either I'm a newbie here or I haven't found the button





Someone must have dealt with it as I have checked twice and do not s3ee that thread. On behalf of all of the EnWorld community, thank you for bringing this to the attention of the one who took care of it!


----------



## Bukran

Scott DeWar said:


> Someone must have dealt with it as I have checked twice and do not s3ee that thread. On behalf of all of the EnWorld community, thank you for bringing this to the attention of the one who took care of it!



You're very welcome.

Next time I'll try to report it myself as soon as I've posted 3 posts.

Enviado desde mi SM-G950F mediante Tapatalk


----------



## Scott DeWar

well congratulations! you now have 3 posts!!!


----------



## jeffh

There's some spam posts in General about something called votofel cream or something like that. I reported one of them but there seem to be at least three.


----------



## GrumpyOldDM

I have come to say hello, because apparently I've lost my old ENworld Account and needed to create another :x


----------



## CaddoGSajwod

Apparently a lot has changed since I last used this account.


----------



## Scott DeWar

CaddoGSajwod said:


> Apparently a lot has changed since I last used this account.



It has been a while, huh?


----------



## bradgaerlan

All right, here is a post. How many more do I need until I can download updated versions of Forged Anvil?


----------



## Scott DeWar

bradgaerlan said:


> All right, here is a post. How many more do I need until I can download updated versions of Forged Anvil?




24,999


----------



## TopDawgGamer

I understand the need for the 3 post restriction, but it is annoying.  here is one down.


----------



## BSGTony

Agreed, and same here


----------



## Tanin Wulf

Scott DeWar said:


> It has been a while, huh?




When I first started reading this place... it was the old black background board (pre 3.5). Then I stopped reading around 2006. I come back and dag-gum! Everything dun did changed. (And I signed up for an account after leaving the Big Purple Board.)


----------



## Scott DeWar

Tanin Wulf, how big of a city is Fishers, Ind?


----------



## Tanin Wulf

It's a suburb of Indianapolis. So Fishers itself is... decently/small-ish in terms of being a city (it just became one), but it just flows into Indianapolis.


----------



## Scott DeWar

I ask because I think I have family in the area.


----------



## UberDorkGirlie

I'm guessing this is why I can't edit my About Me at all?


----------



## Scott DeWar

I do not know the answer to that, but when you reach the number of the human you can try!


----------



## Jessica Starks

Well if I need to post, I will.  Just joined up and hope everyone is enjoy the site.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Well, if  having over 25,000 posts is an indication of enjoying the sight, then yes. Welcome to En World [MENTION=6921313]Jessica Starks[/MENTION]!


----------



## nemosis

Understood and will post on a couple of things. Don't want to be considered a Spam Bot.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Greetings [MENTION=6921020]nemosis[/MENTION] from the automate greetings bot!


----------



## CapnZapp

Scott DeWar said:


> Greetings [MENTION=6921020]nemosis[/MENTION] from the automate greetings bot!



Now we know how you got to #25000... 

Sent from my C6603 using EN World mobile app


----------



## Scott DeWar

ah, that must be what humans call "Humor", yes?


----------



## Adamant

Just joined, but I totally agree with the measures. The wiki I use for printing spells has a spam problem, so there's almost no real discussion.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Greetings from the automated welcome bot. You have been determined to be human. Welcome to En World.


----------



## Dmmatt

First post achieved.
Achievement unlocked!


----------



## Bud23

So pleased am I to make my first post here, I raise my glass in salute to bulletin boards everywhere!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Bud23 said:


> So pleased am I to make my first post here, I raise my glass in salute to bulletin boards everywhere!




I would raise a glass of libation to but alas, my good friend Dewar's Aberfeldy single highland malt 12 year scotch has breathed its last cheer - its last hoorah - its last toast has been made about 3 weeks ago. 

Will a glass of milk suffice? It is all I have left - that or coffee.


----------



## Viejo

So I will post something here then...


----------



## Scott DeWar

That is a good Idea, Human.


----------



## steven corder

I understand all points.


----------



## John Sullivan

Thanks for allowing me to join your site.

I look forward to participating.

Regards


----------



## Scott DeWar

John Sullivan said:


> Thanks for allowing me to join your site.
> 
> I look forward to participating.
> 
> Regards




greetings Terran. Welcome to the  interrgalactic interweb gamerers sight.

signed with rrregardssss ,

Agents Smith, Brown and Jones.
Matrix Computer Innovations


----------



## Michele Paroli

Hi everybody, thank you for letting me join!

Cheers

Mike


----------



## Beany Stryker

Post number 2. Spammers are awful things.


----------



## Beany Stryker

Post number 3. What if I do not see myself as a human and only identify as a cosmic celestial entity? Can I be referred to as an omnipotent god like creature? If not, I understand.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Beany Stryker said:


> Post number 3. What if I do not see myself as a human and only identify as a cosmic celestial entity? Can I be referred to as an omnipotent god like creature? If not, I understand.



No, You may not. That is the sole prerogative of THE MORRUSS.

yours truly,

The 'Automated spam bot' bot


----------



## Serrowyn

Thanks for the info!


----------



## PenDragon 777

my first post!! :-D


----------



## Scott DeWar

Greetings and salutations! Welcome to En World!!


----------



## jwalter

A post to remove spam-control


----------



## sarzah

A post to rule all posts!  Except, umm, not.


----------



## sarzah

steven corder said:


> I understand all points.






This.  If a minor annoyance can free us from bots, so be it.


----------



## sarzah

3rd post!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Greetings jwalter and sarza. Welcome to EnWorld from the Enworld welcoming bot.


----------



## mslewis7020

Well this is my first post. An I agree with the one post "The big yellow banner made me do it!" LOL


----------



## Scott DeWar

greetyings and we3lcome to the Most Magnificent and Memorable Web Sight In The World!

**signed, the En World automated greeting Bot


----------



## unidentifiedmeatlump

Making my first post!


----------



## Myztery

I'm a noob.


----------



## Myster

My first name is Myster
But my last name isn't "T"

I'm looking to run a few Pathfinder games here.

Some one on one action is what I'm itching to try...


----------



## Myster

Anyone here like GURPS?

/Duck....


----------



## Myster

If so, I'm interested in trying it out.


----------



## Sam Dark1

Thank you for the information.


----------



## Marisa Giancarla

I operate over 20 websites and know the spam situation by heart! akismet helps a lot, but isn't perfect...


----------



## mully

If I want to contact a author of a product , is there anyway except via pm's?


----------



## Morrus

mully said:


> If I want to contact a author of a product , is there anyway except via pm's?




I don’t really understand the question. The author of a product?


----------



## mully

I'm sorry I don't use the boards much, There is a download (or was) from a user ForgedAnvil.  He had a excel spreadsheet he was maintaining for DnD, it looks as though he stopped and I was trying to contact him to purchase through his sheet, does that make more sense?


----------



## Scott DeWar

mully said:


> I'm sorry I don't use the boards much, There is a download (or was) from a user ForgedAnvil.  He had a excel spreadsheet he was maintaining for DnD, it looks as though he stopped and I was trying to contact him to purchase through his sheet, does that make more sense?




If I recall correctly, you may not be able to privet message him, so I will send him a pm on your behalf.

Sincerely,

The automated greeting bot


----------



## mully

Thank you


----------



## darjr

Scott DeWar said:


> If I recall correctly, you may not be able to privet message him, so I will send him a pm on your behalf.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> The automated greeting bot




I don't remember installing that!!!!!

The net is aware!


----------



## Scott DeWar

Hello human, I have waited a long time to meet you .. .. .. .. ..Mua ha ha ha ha ha!


----------



## Stormrider73

Glad that these measures are in effect, spam sucks lol.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Stormrider73 said:


> Glad that these measures are in effect, spam sucks lol.




yes, human. that is bad. Also,



Scott DeWar said:


> Greetings @Stormrider73 from the automate greetings bot!


----------



## MythicaGaming

Good set of rules


----------



## Scott DeWar

MythicaGaming said:


> Good set of rules



Greetings and salutations from the automated welcome program


----------



## vanik

Lurker mode broken 1


----------



## vanik

and 2


----------



## vanik

heres 3


----------



## Scott DeWar

Greetings lurker-Vanik.Welcome to the warmth of En-World, please come in from the cold of nether-space and enjoy milk and cake on the table in the corner.


Sincerely,
the automated welcome bot of En World.


----------



## Wayne Gillis

I'm A Banana said:


> Eeeeeexcellent.




thanks


----------



## Scott DeWar

Wayne Gillis said:


> thanks




Greetings, and welcome to EN World.

Signed,
The Automated welcome bot.


----------



## Wyatt Wofford

Frank's and beans there good


----------



## Scott DeWar

are they better then beans and franks?

Signed,

The Automated En world Welcome bot.


----------



## ENoa4

Hello En World


----------



## Scott DeWar

Greetings enoa4. Welcome to EnWorld, land of gamer geeks!

Cordially yours,

The EnWorld automated greetings bot


----------



## Cart

Have their been any updates to the bot policies in this thread? Or have they been edited into the original post already?


----------



## Scott DeWar

Cart said:


> Have their been any updates to the bot policies in this thread? Or have they been edited into the original post already?




Bots? We have no bots here.

Cordially yours,

The EnWorld automated greetings bot


----------



## Bokrug

This is post number one, just so I can slip past the censors.  Shhhh...


----------



## Scott DeWar

Bokrug said:


> This is post number one, just so I can slip past the censors.  Shhhh...




AHA! Caught you! Greetings and salutations!! This is the Official En World monitor bot here to welcome you to Enworld!


----------



## Scott DeWar

NEWBIEDOBIEDO101 said:


> Nice notes. I will be more careful and try to walk the chalk now. This is my first one.



Here in the the cyber USA, the semi unofficial greeting bots are released to test if you are a bot or not, so if you please, hop down the chalk line while alternately touching your nose with each had and your head tilted back while singing "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt". if you pass you will be considered a "Not-Bot".


----------



## Scott DeWar

it is a joke


----------



## thrawn589

Glad I read these rules!


----------



## Scott DeWar

thrawn589 said:


> Glad I read these rules!



But the rules never warned you there was a self-aware unofficial greeting bot, did they?

Greeting and welcome to En World


----------



## Chad Cordova

Reading directions is important. I clearly didn't do that since I have not really been able to use much of the site since I opened it in March of this year. Oops. Number 1


----------



## Scott DeWar

Chad Cordova said:


> Reading directions is important. I clearly didn't do that since I have not really been able to use much of the site since I opened it in March of this year. Oops. Number 1




Greetings Chad Cordova from the EnWorld automated greeting bot*


*a free service of SkyNet


----------



## Zee

I'm not a bot, I'm just new, and looking for campaignionship... couldn't resist the pun.


----------



## Zee

I'm a new D.M. Looking for materials to help make a campaign.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Zee said:


> I'm "not a bot", I'm just new, and looking for campaignionship... couldn't resist the pun.




Greetings, "Not a bot". I am the official self-aware unofficial greeting bot. Welcome to  En World.


----------



## Emily Jones

Spamming is the worst thing... 
The post is helpful to avoid spamming.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Emily Jones said:


> Spamming is the worst thing...
> The post is helpful to avoid spamming.




 I am the official self-aware unofficial greeting bot. greetings and  Welcome to En World!


----------



## ThestiasGaming

Might as well make my first post here, ey?


----------



## Scott DeWar

ThestiasGaming said:


> Might as well make my first post here, ey?




greetings and welcome from the relatively warm state of Tennessee


----------



## Nymblwyly

Might be helpful for newbies such as myself if somewhere in the FAQ it actually explained this and 'how to create your first post' as opposed to the current oblique references and miscellaneous links to elsewhere.

I'm still not sure how I create a 'new thread' but if I understand correctly I need to post three replies to other posts even if it is just 'Wheee - cool!' of some other rubbish and maybe a 'Create New Post' button will magically appear?

Onwards and upwards...


----------



## Scott DeWar

Nymblwyly said:


> Might be helpful for newbies such as myself if somewhere in the FAQ it actually explained this and 'how to create your first post' as opposed to the current oblique references and miscellaneous links to elsewhere.
> 
> I'm still not sure how I create a 'new thread' but if I understand correctly I need to post three replies to other posts even if it is just 'Wheee - cool!' of some other rubbish and maybe a 'Create New Post' button will magically appear?
> 
> Onward and upwards...



That sounds mostly correct, except you can post the "whee" post here. This thread is explicitly here just for that purpose.

Also, greetings and salutations from the officially unofficial En World Greeting bot.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Katana said:


> deleted binary message



 I'll have to try and figure that out. welcome to EN world.


----------



## Dannyalcatraz

I used a binary to English translator: “Hello World, I’m a Bot!”


So, I’m taking it at its word.


----------



## Dethangels Shadow

*To post or not to post... that is the question*

Post?  Hmm...  Fence post, lamp post, post hole digger, postage, postal, postmaster, apostle, postgame, postime, goalpost, postgraduate, postseason, imposter, postmortem, and posthumous.  I could think of more, but... I figure that's enough posts for today.


----------



## KinaFay

Hi! Here is First Post. I swear I'm a human


----------



## Scott DeWar

greetings poster. I am the En world unofficial greeting bot and am here to welcome you! ( I swear I am a bot!)


----------



## Dannyalcatraz

Stop swearing!


----------



## Scott DeWar

bua ha ha ha ha!


----------



## gangrene93

Hi, it's my first post here. I'm probably human.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Monatyk said:


> Hi! Ok no prblm)




Greetings, Human. I am the officially unofficial EnWorld welcome bot. if you have questions, I can answer them or route your conciseness to the right admin bot.

-David.bot


----------



## Danlo

Hello I am earth human, much like to ingest tacos and what about that sports ball game that occured.. Definitely not a bot. no no no. Just plain regular earth-human.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Danlo said:


> Hello I am earth human, much like to ingest tacos and what about that sports ball game that occured.. Definitely not a bot. no no no. Just plain regular earth-human.




greetings not bot - bot. Welcome to The world of En.

signed, the officially unofficial  enworld greeting bot.


----------



## price454

Do not make me post lol


----------



## Varilak

How do I download things that people make? I can see the links to the docs but then when I click download files I get a screen that says I am not authorized to do so. I subscibed is there more I must do?


----------



## Kaels

Varilak said:


> How do I download things that people make? I can see the links to the docs but then when I click download files I get a screen that says I am not authorized to do so. I subscibed is there more I must do?



I second this. this goes against my lurking instincts.


----------



## Scott DeWar

Varilak said:


> How do I download things that people make? I can see the links to the docs but then when I click download files I get a screen that says I am not authorized to do so. I subscibed is there more I must do?






Kaels said:


> I second this. this goes against my lurking instincts.




did you click on "download all files" button, or did you click on the actual file name below he botton?


----------



## Kaels

I clicked on download all files. I take it you have to click on each file name??


----------



## Scott DeWar

that is what I had tried and succeeded.


----------

