The Gang of Five
Beyond the Mysterious Beyond => The Fridge => Topic started by: ImpracticalDino on January 19, 2020, 06:09:11 PM
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Hi everyone. I am concerned about the site's health. Nothing is being done about the spam bot situation, and there are advertisements being posted constantly, in increments of fives minutes it seems like. I wouldn't post about this if I already knew for sure that the site was abandoned, so I'm going to try and get some answers here.
@landbeforetimelover?
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I actually used to post on that forum. :yes Before the spammers took over, that is. :cry
Alas, I don't think there's much that can be done about the issue at the moment. I had talked to a couple of the other site members about the spammers previously, but neither of them seemed to have admin/mod access themselves, or any way to combat the problem. They both said that we'd have to wait for landbeforetimelover to return before something could be done, but he seems to be missing in action.
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Ah that is a bummer. Did you already try the Contact Us (https://thelandbeforetime.org/contact-us/) page? If Austin doesn't get back to you in a week or so, I can try to contact him by email. Let me know!
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Alright guys, thanks for the feedback. I kinda knew this would be the best answers I’d get, but I’ll see if he responds.
And to let you guys know, @PteranoTheChosenOne posted there recently two days ago, expressing his concern to about the site to take over as admin or mod and clean up the place. @StardustSoldier and @Mumbling, have you talked to him as well?
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I saw the topic - but I have not talked to him. I believe I had an account on the site, but I wouldn't know the login or password and I very much doubt I have admin/mod powers on there.
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Alrighty. Thanks for the help anyway Mumbling. Let’s wait a week and see what happens.
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And to let you guys know, @PteranoTheChosenOne posted there recently two days ago, expressing his concern to about the site to take over as admin or mod and clean up the place. @StardustSoldier and @Mumbling, have you talked to him as well?
I hadn't talked to Pterano myself. But I do hope either Austin comes back, or else if Pterano or someone else takes over as admin there. I'd resume posting there if someone was able to clean up the spam problem. :yes
Please do let us know if you have any further updates on the situation.
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I don't frequent this site, but I concur that spam bots are often very difficult to handle without assistance from existing administration members. I also find it very repulsive. Hopefully this issue will be resolved soon. :(
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This spam problem on the forum has most likely been going for at least a year now, correct? If so, I fear that with the amount of spam posts with advertisements have accumulated to a point where it’ll probably take a very long time to clean up.
Any thoughts on this?
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That would seem plausible. Issues of this scale are not often resolved in a heartbeat. Still, I pray for the best.
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Any updates? Did anyone ever hear back from Austin or PteranoTheChosenOne?
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No reply yet, so unfortunately the case is still cold. Even if PteranoTheChosenOne or any of us wanted to clean up the site, there’s nothing much we can do unless Austin comes back.
Edit: Is it possible on that website to check on someone’s profile page when they were last active? I can’t seem to find it.
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clean up of spam posts is pretty easy, once you ban the offending accounts. then its just a matter of cleanup. not fun, but part of the job.
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The only other active member there seems to be ChomperHugger, or @LittlefootAndAliTogether. Other then the occasional fan art upload, there’s nothing much else really.
@StardustSoldier: I believe you have interacted with him at least once there. Have you talked to him yet recently?
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@StardustSoldier: I believe you have interacted with him at least once there. Have you talked to him yet recently?
ChomperHugger, you mean? Yes, I did interact with him. He was one of the people I PMd regarding the spam issue, but he told me that we'd just have to wait for Austin to return.
As for LittlefootAndAliTogether, he is actually a banned member here. :oops
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@StardustSoldier: I believe you have interacted with him at least once there. Have you talked to him yet recently?
ChomperHugger, you mean? Yes, I did interact with him. He was one of the people I PMd regarding the spam issue, but he told me that we'd just have to wait for Austin to return.
As for LittlefootAndAliTogether, he is actually a banned member here. :oops
Well...they’re both the same person. MongooseLover is also the same person, and he’s an admin on the LBT wiki.
How to know for sure? Well, just check the fanart. :p
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Ohhh, okay. I always thought they were two separate members.
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Ah that is a bummer. Did you already try the Contact Us (https://thelandbeforetime.org/contact-us/) page? If Austin doesn't get back to you in a week or so, I can try to contact him by email. Let me know!
Atlas, one week has elapsed with no response.
I have kept in mind that Austin owns a computer repair business, so he has almost no free time as far as I’m concerned. It’s still weird to see the website left unsupervised however without any sort of update to address the absence.
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I'll check in with him :yes
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I'll check in with him :yes
Thanks. :)
When was the last time you contacted him and he responded back to you? Were you ever aware of the spam that has been on his website for a long time?
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Last time I was in touch with him was about a year ago when we were having some issues with our domain name. No, I don't really go to his website.
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His site never had much to offer in comparison to our forum so I never bothered to be active there. Same for the wiki or any other places. They just divert theh fandom from gathering in one place. Right here :)
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His site never had much to offer in comparison to our forum so I never bothered to be active there. Same for the wiki or any other places. They just divert theh fandom from gathering in one place. Right here
I'm sorry, but that's like saying we don't need the Gang of Five Discord server as it ''divides'' attention from one place, that ultimately is the forum itself. And by claiming that other sites never had much to offer is just plain rude, if you ask me. All of these sites have always something to offer to the fanbase, no matter how small it may be. By dividing the attention to other websites, that way new members could be attracted to join. I probably wouldn't have joined if I didn't find an ounce of interest in the fanfiction section that ultimately lead me here from FF.
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Last time I was in touch with him was about a year ago when we were having some issues with our domain name. No, I don't really go to his website.
Were you and Austin ever good friends? If so, then why did the communication end abruptly? :(
His site never had much to offer in comparison to our forum so I never bothered to be active there. Same for the wiki or any other places. They just divert theh fandom from gathering in one place. Right here :)
While I don't have any incentive to join his site myself, I still think it's a good because it attracts LBT newcomers as Anagnos already mentioned.
I wouldn't have found the GOF if it weren't for the LBT wiki, so at least some credit should be given to those other LBT sites. Wouldn't you agree?
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I received a reply from Austin:
Sorry I just saw your email now. Yes, I haven’t been managing the website for quite some time and it looks like spambots have taken over. It’s a constant battle trying to stay one step ahead of them and it looks like they broke through all my defenses! At this point there are so many garbage accounts it’s going to be a big job to get rid of them. I’ll work on it.
Thanks,
Austin
He's a busy man, so it'll probably be a while before everything is back to normal again, but he is at least aware of the issue and will be working on it when he can :yes
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@Mumbling: Thanks for the update. At least we can all be assured that the spambot problem will eventually be resolved. But yes, I understand it will be awhile before the spam on the website is completely abolished. :yes
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@Anagnos the discord server is only for gang of five members so your point is invalid in that regard. Everyday chat doesn't really happen on the forum anyway (because off-topic conversations are frowned upon) so the discord is a huge innovation. It makes friendships and allows for better chats than any PM could ever offer.
LBT-related discussions are rare on the discord and on the forum nowadays so there probably isn't any influence here.
Discord improves the ability and speed of discussion for many things, may it be the prompt challenges, roleplays or projects so it is a huge gain for us.
I did not notice any significant decline in activity in the Beyond the Mysterious Beyond forums either except for threads like the "How are you feeling" thread. And as for the After Midnight... We all know it is a good place when there is not a lot of discussion there and the discord long since has gotten rid of it.
I find it a little hard to believe you saying that the discord server is taking attention from the forum because most things the discord server offers aren't really possible to do on the forum and vice versa. They complement each other and given your activity on both, I don't think you were 100% behind your statement.
It's true that other places can be a great advertising opportunity for a place like the gang of five but they shouldn't have enough features to be a rival for membership. The reason the GoF is going strong to this day (besides the amazing community) is the wide variety of things that you can do on here. It offers almost everything you need as a fan of the franchise.
I found the GoF through an inactive German forum so I know these places should not cease to exist, just not steal attention from us, the main LBT community. That's what I was trying to get across with my statement and not whatever rude statement you may have accidentally read into it.
Anyways, back on topic, I'm glad you were able to reach LBT lover. Time to purge the spam bots, I guess :lol
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@Ducky123 Correct me if I have misunderstood you, but it felt like you are claiming that I've said Discord is taking away attention from the forum?
I find it a little hard to believe you saying that the discord server is taking attention from the forum
This part truly feels like you're accusing me of something that I haven't done, but I would wish you clarify the topic a little, if you don't mind. I feel like what you're trying to convey here is that Discord is not taking attention away from the forum, is that right? The phrasing is enough to yield me a reason to believe so, but like I said, clarification would be most appreciated.
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^ I think might indeed be a misunderstanding here. Ducky doesn't think that the Discord server takes away attention from the forum, just like you (Anagnos) don't believe it takes away attention from the forum.
As for other Land Before Time related websites:
- I think the wiki is a whole different kind of place. A place of sharing knowledge, rather than a place for discussions on various topics. It contributes a lot to keeping the Land Before Time alive, and has probably attracted quite a few new members here.
- Places to share fanart and fanfiction are similarly used to attract new members here, and most of the time works of art are posted both here on the forum and on dedicated platforms, such as DA or Fanfiction.net.
I have yet to see another website or forum that people are more attracted to than the Gang of Five when it comes to discussing the Land Before Time. I don't want to claim that we are "the best", since that is rather egocentric, but I don't think there are many other discussion platforms for LBT out there. All other websites contribute to keeping the franchise alive in other ways, whether it is by sharing knowledge, memes, or art, and they all have a place next to us.
I have definitely seen the effect of Discord on this forum, but there is both a positive and negative effect. The negative is that certain discussions are only held on the Discord channel, which leads to anyone on the forum missing out on that discussion and that information. I cannot say if this has actually led to fewer posts or not. The very clear positive effect is that we finally have a live chat in place, something that people have been asking for throughout the entire existence of the GoF. It definitely helps with keeping people who prefer instant messaging over slow messaging around.
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Two cents here. :P
Mumbling is right, the initial misconception was that Anagnos suggested that Discord is taking attention away as a hypothetical scenario (hence the: that's like saying that) when actually his opinion is exactly the same as yours, Ducky - the server doesn't draw attention away from the forum. :p Probably the wording there.
And I concur with Mumbling's points. As someone who was part of another web forum that absolutely and positively went completely and utterly dead once all the members flocked to Discord because of live chat, the server hasn't led to the GoF's demise and instead it still thrives. This is because Discord compliments friendships rather well with more personal conversations conducted there compared to the public forum posts, but there is still incentive to go onto the forum. Some things and posts can only be made on the forum, and there are some members who aren't on the server.
On that note LBT is a bit rare in that as a niche fandom we have a few centralized communities, with GoF being the one of the ones that have subsisted. Typically in more modern fandoms, there is an individualistic and decentralized impact to it (ie. a creator/fan can get well-known by themselves on their own brand through Amino or something), or they can contact show creators direct or something, driving constant discussion. But Land Before Time is so niche and relatively old that every fresh blood counts. I understand the desire for a single centralized fansite to host all LBT fans ala Amino & Tumblr, but inevitably when the small fan wants to get their voices herd, they will be clustering to the sites which cater to their needs best, basically any place where they can interact with other fans, and that may include the wiki and other fan sites. My personal hope is that this will be GoF, but so long as they are LBT fans the door will be open for them one day if they open their horizons. :Mo
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Update!!
Austin has returned to the forum. (https://thelandbeforetime.org/forums/topic/it-looks-like-the-spammers-have-been-vaporized/) There's still a lot that needs to be done, but he's stated that he is aware of the problem and is taking steps to correct it.
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Update!!
Austin has returned to the forum. (https://thelandbeforetime.org/forums/topic/it-looks-like-the-spammers-have-been-vaporized/) There's still a lot that needs to be done, but he's stated that he is aware of the problem and is taking steps to correct it.
Great! That’s the first phase of the issue eliminated right there and then. It is a bit unfortunate that the registration system had to be disabled, but desperate times calls for desperate measures, especially with the automatic creation of spam accounts and a whopping total of 50,000 spam posts. I was worried that it may take a long time to get rid of all the extra posts, and Austin’s statement seems to confirm my suspicions. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to run your own business, but it’s sure very hectic and time consuming!
Thanks for the update, Stardust! :yes
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You are most welcome. :)
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Lol! Extremely late response, but still it's better late than never. :OhYou :lol
I assume account making is still disabled though?
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Alas, it is.
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it will take at least a few weeks to get rid of them all. for reference, i'm the most prolific poster on here and thats almost 9000 more posts than i have posted in the 16 years I've been on this forum. It took us 3 years , as an entire forum, to get to 50000 posts.
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That site has roots all the way back to 2004 (because it was mine, and I eventually gave all the stuff, code to Austin). At least its not stuck in 2004. :yum
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Spambots are like Aparoids, infecting all they tpuch. God speed to Austin quelling their siege.