New member category -- Pending Member

If they can't make posts, how will we know what colour they are?

Once approved though, are these spammers then able to spam members anyway - how does the Admin team determine if a potential member is a spammer ?

I have seen for myself the havoc and extra work these people can cause in just a few minutes. We have been lucky so far, as Martin says probably due to our low profile on the internet but it can't last forever and what Marin has done goes a long way to preventing it happening.

One of the fora I inhabit regularly is VicSig .  It is generally fairly quiet as the owner, Chris Gordon, keeps a fairly close eye on posts and membership and it tends to be inhabited by professionals and seasoned enthusiasts.  Earlier this year it was subjected to relentless spamming posts requiring significant work for the moderators.  For a few weeks something like 75% of new posts were spammed links.  The software has been altered to reduce the risk of this recurring again.

If we can have a filter such as Pending Member to reduce the risk of that happening here then I am in favour of it.  I take it the general protocol of not welcoming a new member until they have replied to their initial greeting (usually from Bob) still also applies.

So, as I have a hotmail account, I'd best watch my step … !

Thanks for the explanation. Good to read what is being done in the various tweaks to ( and no disrespect to Bob) improve the forum technically.
Stu

Yes Rick that still applies.

Yep, just the ticket Martin. Thanks very much.

OK, they reflect a few changes but the one I see as a big change is the one month posting rule - I thought it was a three month limit?

[user=95]Sol[/user] wrote:

OK, they reflect a few changes but the one I see as a big change is the one month posting rule - I thought it was a three month limit?

Your right Sol it is 3 months limit.

Phill

If you read it again you will see that the one month limit is for posting a model railway topic of some kind. This shows whether or not the new member really does have an interest in the hobby. The three month rule is pretty obvious, no posts of any kind in three months. Come to think of it the one month rule has never been applied.

This thread may need to be updated as well
http://yourmodelrailway.net/view_topic.php?id=7&forum_id=2

Prospective new members get all the do's and don't's before they actually register Sol.

Just so I'm clear on this lads,

New members have 7 days to post something once they are welcomed.

They must start a thread within one month of joining.

They must post something; anything, at least every three months.

Is that right?

[user=510]martin_wynne[/user] wrote:

I think #3 applies to all members, for ever – not just new ones. However, I can't actually find this rule written down anywhere. :???:

Martin.

 

Martin, I now have that feeling in my water,  ***  so to speak, that the 3 month rule is in the welcome e-mail that Bob sends out to new members.

 

**** if my memory is good, that notification of the 3 months was used when Brian/Henryparrot & I used for new members when Bob was ill.

The three month rule applies to everyone for ever unless Admin has been notified in advance of a prolonged absence and in that case the membership is held open. I think there is one exception, and that is for the benefit of the forum, David from Holland is on permanent standby in case a member has a query about his layout software.

I have been looking at the one month rule also and am thinking of applying it as we have a lot of members who reply to topics but never start a modelling topic of their own. The rule is there and I can't think how I have overlooked it. I have been checking up on some of the members that the one month rule would apply to and they have actually contributed nothing to the forum except the odd 'happy birthday' or sympathy post.

The photo gallery insertions do not count as posts in themselves but of course they almost always are put there to be inserted into a post.

Bob, I would think not only David from Holland but our other retailers like Bromsgrove Models & Scalescenes are exceptions.

OK.  Take two . . .

New members have 7 days to post something once they are welcomed.

They must start a thread within one month of joining.

All members must post something; anything, at least every three months - unless they are given leave of absence by Bob.

How did I go?

[user=269]MaxSouthOz[/user] wrote:

OK.  Take two . . .

New members have 7 days to post something once they are welcomed.

They must start a thread within one month of joining.

All members must post something; anything, at least every three months - unless they are given leave of absence by Bob.

How did I go?

As I was one of the prime suspects in drawing up those rules, Max, I can confirm that those rules are the official ones put in place before and during the time Bob was in hospital.

The one month for a new thread rule was drawn up after a lot of discussion amongst the moderators and put into force whilst Bob was actually absent ill and I was the only active administrator.

At the time we had opened the front door to new memberships because we did not want to appear a closed shop whilst advertising a major show in Cornwall. There were quite a few new registrations who joined, asked a question about the show and then took no further part in the forum. As the rules stood, one show question every three months would have allowed them to remain a member indefinitely, volunteer as a show steward and get in free for both days with a meal thrown in.
Not exactly the sort of commitment we were looking for exclam: 

As far as I am aware, the three month rule is written into the welcome email that all new members get, but I must admit that I thought it was also in the conditions of membership that anyone can see before joining.

Thanks, Jeff.  It's clear to me now.  :thumbs

[user=95]Sol[/user] wrote:

Bob, I would think not only David from Holland but our other retailers like Bromsgrove Models & Scalescenes are exceptions.

While I don't keep track of every post these members do make occasional posts in the normal course of events and may not be foul of the three-month rule anyway.