Outbreak of spambots

[TheOgreTyrant]

So, apparently these annoying little creatures have invaded bartertown. They repeatedly post or reply in threads with strange messages, some of them in English, some of them characters. They seem to be popping up everywhere, including in the sections of the site which many of us don't regularly go in. I've warned a couple admins but figured I'd let everyone here know (if somehow you didn't notice it everywhere). The three usernames I have noticed "spamming" these strange posts are:

MeetratBicGat

bfd46co02

Unfiweencex

Hope this helps and sorry if this is in the wrong place!

[TheOgreTyrant]

I've noticed two more usernames being used as spambots;

feallpsycle

proograkguh

[jason1977]

I reported 2 already. I sent Pork a PM rather than report each one.

EDIT-

I found these names:

ARoorebooria

Scoumbabs

hizchectort

Yollireq

Aalsialets**

**foriegn launage postings.

[pretre]

I went ahead and reported all of the ones that had been posted since I was last on, which was a lot. I apologize for not picking the appropriate drop down after the first bunch since I was just trying to get them all flagged.

[porkuslime]

turns out that evidently due to some maintenance the approval process got dropped, IIRC.

Plarz is sticking his finger in the dike and trying to stem the flow, and I am mopping up the trade areas..

[MagickalMemories]

For the longest time, you guys weren't seeing them because only staff was. A new user had to have their first post approved before it would show. So, only we had to deal with the gross amount of spam coming in.
I haven't spoken to Plarz since last night, but I'm sure he is working on it or will, as soon as he can.
In the mean time, just keep hitting that "Report" button, guys. Thanks.

Don't bother PMing anyone about it specifically, though. By the time we get the PM, a staffer will likely have removed it.


Eric

[Plarz]

Oops?

This is totally on me guys, sorry. 100% my fault. I apologize.

What happened:
The forum software's not very intuitive in how to set up requiring approval of posts before allowing full access, and when I was making a change MM and I had discussed trying out, I accidentally let open the flood gates. Of course, I didn't know it when I made the change before going to bed last night.

What I did to fix it:
I've changed what new accounts can see, and I've put the "must have your first post approved" system back into place. All new accounts now get funneled into a specially designed forum that is only visible to new, unapproved users and the moderators. This forum isn't visible, but believe me, it's there. This should contain any future spam outbreaks to just the one thread. Once we get done cleaning out the bots that got through last night, it should be back to business as usual.

As MM said, just keep reporting any spam you find, and we'll eventually get all of it cleared out.

Anyway, that's what happened, and what I've done to fix it. I appreciate your understanding, and your help in cleaning up what is ultimately, my mess.

[pretre]

Thanks for the update and the fix, Plarz!