The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[FORMOMMY]

Point well taken Unca - after I agreed I was thinking about that and kind of felt like Lisa stated. You can usually tell if it is spam and then I just ignore it. We get spam in every aspect of internet life - guess we can deal with it here.

I withdraw my "agree" and say let's keep things as they are...and to all those spammers out there.............NANNER NANNER BOO BOO!!!!!

[MISSANNE]

Ok, Ok, I want Unca to have a life too!

I didn't think about the guest part of it!

This is actually the first spam I have clicked or responded too

I respectfully withdraw my vote

[mamabear]

Sometimes I don't know if it's spam until I actually get into it-like the one that said hair-geez I thought someone was posting about how great their hair is looking since starting MF! But I never click on the links and it it totally NOT a big deal for me to go and hit the back button and continue on my way. So I say leave things as is, it seems to be working very well. (thanks to Unca-who does such a wonderful job! )

[supermom]

I am with UNC on this one. I was a guest with my first couple of posts. I didn't want to register, because I didn't really know if MF was for me. I was afraid I would register and then start getting all kinds of email and phone calls from MF and then get mad at them for being too pushy and then just not go on the plan. I don't know what I would do without ya'll. I want guests to feel as welcome as I did.

[ascicles]

I don't really think that requiring people to register is a big deal. Almost every message board that I have posted at over the years requires this. If the question is important enough, they will register.

The only time I get annoyed with being forced to register is when you can't view the board until you do that.

You could make a big "How to register" thread that the user is linked to if they try to post without a registered name.

With that said, I don't really care either way. It takes a lot to offend me, and some profanity or porno isn't going to bother me.

[Jan]

I think it's important that Guests be able to post. After all sometimes I forget to log in and have posted as a guest Really though sometimes forums can be a little intimidating especially when you have to give your information before you have made a decision as to if it's for you. Many people would never be able to ask questions to help make that determination.
I also feel that the best way to deal with spam is to just ignore it til Unca can get to it. He will. When we don't reply it's no fun for the spammer.
I remember once when my mother-in-law received a very skanky phone call. She just said "What did you say" The guy repeated the whole thing. Then she said "What, I'm an old lady and I can't really hear you" At that he slammed down the phone and never called her back. It's no fun if you don't get a reaction. Let's just not react.
jan

[GucciGoo]

I checked online. AlexCoppas is a spam-robot program that makes automated forum memberships and posts the same message on 100's of forums. It is not a human, just created by one. For some reason, the programmer wanted everyone to go to Google. Normally they would direct people to some kind of pay or porn site.

[Diana]

You know, there is no such thing as a perfect system. I vote for the path of least resistance. It's not like we had to read through 4 or 5 paragraphs to figure out this.

Additionally, the added work of undoing a register -- Unca's glued to his monitor enough as it is. Astounds me since we have a cast of seemingly thousands at work and it takes a comparable eternity to get a response. (EVERY entry, Unca?!? My poor dyslexic brain just got a headache!! )

And let us consider the whole point of this website provided free for our use by the Pettits and Co (not sure if Unca's name is Pettit). For the very small percentage of spammers Unca DOESN'T catch before we do, this is the first time I've even STUMBLED upon a spammer here (in my sage 2 months of TSFL). So, I have to conclude that the fact that those guys are out there and, like mosquitos, we can't avoid them all, it really has no measurable impact on my enjoyment of this site.

One final thought. I used to be tech savvy back in the day when Basic was big. I've tried to keep up, but a lot of this is just plain not second nature to me. Ask my sister. Maybe it's adult development. Maybe it's the dyslexia and it just doesn't make visual sense first couple times around. And again maybe, if not like me, folks are just trying to decide if it's the program for them and the thought of registering is just too much of a commitment -- and that closes the door on their courage.

On the other hand, enjoy your eveing, all.

[Unca_Tim]

Thanks for everyone understanding what we're up against.

If we give in to the actions of a few, they win. It's best not to click on, or reply to any spam. All I ask, if it hangs around for a day or two, to "bump" it up in case i missed it.

Thanks for all your help and understanding for making this a great community.