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Brian F.
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Registration Required

Post by Brian F. »

I apologize but due to the amount of spam that the moderators have had to remove in the last day, I have decided to temporarily require registration to post new subjects and reply. Posting messages or replying as a "guest" is not possible.

This has not been discussed or decided upon by the ORCA Board but my own action which I and the other moderators felt was necessary. Please email me if you have any concerns. I know some of us are regulars here but have not registered and I would be more than happy to help you register so don't hesitate to contact me.

To clarify, if you have already registered and have a user name/password, no need to do anything else.
Last edited by Brian F. on Tue Dec 29, 2009 10:21 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Dale Noll
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Post by Dale Noll »

Is everyone supposed to register? If so, what do we do? Thank you.
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john elder
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Post by john elder »

I think you just answered your question, Dale...you have a name, not guest..and you posted...I think you are good to go, eh?
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drexelantiques
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Post by drexelantiques »

Brian, I have a few concerns with this. I sometimes have folks ask reel questions of me that I just cannot answer, or folks who have reels I am not interested in. I have always referred them to the ORCA boards for info, or to sell the reels.

I have always thought that Orca boards were an open information source for folks that may not be ORCA members. I also thought ORCA members would like to be offered items even if they were not from Orca members.

I don't send folks here with junk, but when a person contacted me wanting to sell a 4/0 EVH that I already had, I told them this would be a good place to sell it.

Since this was just a couple of days ago, I expect they were blocked.

Is this the best course for the orca boards?
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Brian F.
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Post by Brian F. »

Jeff, Thanks, and you have a good point. The same concern that you have was brought up when Reel Talk was established by Reelgeezer a few years ago and the consensus was exactly the way you feel. However, since then, the amount of spam postings has grown significantly to the point that between three of us watching the board for most of the hours throughout the day we were removing 2-3 and up to a doz. spam posts a day. The turning point came a couple of days ago when Reelman and I removed 2 dozen posts within 20 minutes. That wasn't so bad but it did not appear to be slowing down so the decision was made. I honestly believe that if this was not done we would have pulled up the sight yesterday and seen nothing but ads for ...well, everything.

I monitor the traffic on the message board and you would be surprised at how much it gets (and this may not be particularly human traffic either). If you look down at the bottom under 'Who is Online', the record number of "users" ever on this board at any one time was 86. I'll bet you that ginormous Hardy of yours :shock: that they were not all reel collectors :wink:

I don't believe anyone that uses the board has the time or would care to sit in front of the computer to monitor the board as such.

I really think if someone wanted the information or wished to sell to a well informed group, it would be worth the minimal time it takes to sign up. We are not asking them to join ORCA, only to register their email and establish an identity to prevent spamming like many other message boards similar to this require. There are many legitimate users signing up all the time - just take a look at the member list. Although I have some ideas and maybe there are ways to get around doing this, I and the other moderators are not experts so this will have to do for now.
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Tony Malatesta
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Post by Tony Malatesta »

Sounds reasonable. If you are legite, than you you shouldn'd have any reasons not to show your name. keep up the good work. :bow: usa canadian
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Steve
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Post by Steve »

I've sent a gazillion emailers to Reel Talk, too. It's easy enough to register, and if such a requirement prevents or at least minimizes robotic posts, it's well worth having it. The folks who email questions have already gone to the trouble of hunting down our individual web sites and emailing. Many of them have probably sent the same question to several of us. A few seconds' worth of registration to post on Reel Talk shouldn't deter them.
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Harvey
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Post by Harvey »

I second the idea of having to register. I know I am guilty of this but I also think REAL names should also be used just out of respect. If making one register doesn't work, maybe proof of Rabies and Distemper shots should be included!
Harvey
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Robin Sayler
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Post by Robin Sayler »

I have to agree with brian and the rest of you who are in favor of registering it takes less than 5 minutes and it doesn't cost you anything. If someone finds that perfect reel and wants to sell it for how ever many hundreds or thousands of dollars they can take time to register if its that important they will do it.
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drexelantiques
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Post by drexelantiques »

I moderate a couple of boards myself, so understand the problems. But if it is just a couple of posts, or even a couple of dozen posts, I can't see the justification to require registration. Now if it is hundreds I can.

I do realize the problems, but I also realize the things that stand in someone's way when they are trying to get information.


I Orca membership required for registration to the boards? What does registration accomplish? How is the information given at registration crosschecked?
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Brian F.
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Post by Brian F. »

The way we saw it, posts were coming in at a very high frequency that day and it easily could have run into the hundreds. We're lucky we caught it early. I was watching some other message boards that use this same software and they were experiencing the same type of problem.

To clarify, we are not requiring that users of this board join ORCA. Registration would only require that someone provide an email address and user name - It has nothing to do with ORCA membership.

We feel that registratioin may help reduce the amount of automated spam posts.
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drexelantiques
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Fewer posts?

Post by drexelantiques »

It seems to me that the ORCA boards are moving slower now since registration has been required. Anyone else noticing this? Posts are not receiving a reply for days, instead of the hours they used to be between replies.
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Steve
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Post by Steve »

Anyone else noticing this?
Replying as fast as I can! Question posed after I went to bed.

Maybe as the weather improves, folks spend less time hovering over this board. But where are the statistics that demonstrate slower replies? And don't confuse slower replies with lacks of response to questions that no one happens to be able to answer.

Please also notice the decrease in spam posts.
Reel Geezer
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Post by Reel Geezer »

The registration has worked wonders. Before that requirement I removed at least one spam post every time I logged on this board. That was after Merv and Brian had removed dozens each day.

The only reason there would be fewer posts would be due to people unwilling to register, and I don't think most of them would be answering questions - they'd be posting them.
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drexelantiques
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Post by drexelantiques »

Is it still just me, or has anyone else noticed that threads are no longer updating daily, that it is now taking days for anything new to be added to many threads?

I can't help but think this is due to the registration requirement.

I also can't help but think this was a case of tossing the baby out with the bathwater.

From what I have heard the moderators were dealing with dozens of posts a day that needed to be removed, and that was the cause for the required registration.

How many moderators are there, a half dozen?

I've moderated boards, by myself, that required the removal of entire threads, and hundreds of posts.

Or was the situation worse than has been indicated?

I can't help but think this may have been an overreaction that is preventing new blood from posting, rather than a cure for a major problem, unless the problem is worse than has been indicated.
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Reelman
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Post by Reelman »

It was that bad. It was getting to were I could not leave the computer. With out more spam when I came back a few minutes later. And the other moderators were busy two deleting them to. I am very happy to help keep the board clean but when you a stuck clicking reload all day long and barely keeping up with even the help from the other moderators something need to change. It had reach a point when it was coming in at a couple or more every few minutes continuous all though the day.
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Brian F.
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Post by Brian F. »

drexelantiques wrote:...I can't help but think this may have been an overreaction that is preventing new blood from posting, rather than a cure for a major problem, unless the problem is worse than has been indicated.
I don't think it's an overreaction and I think we indicated accurately how bad the problem was - it was a major problem. Even with all of the half dozen moderators, as Merv points out, we couldn't leave the computer.

On the contrary, I see a lot of new people posting and asking questions, maybe more so even before we went to registration. But at the same time, I also see less of the familiar people posting. That's probably why threads don't get updated as quickly - because club members for whatever reason, don't respond as fast. I'll point out also that there are phoney user names being registered often but they are deleted before you see them.
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Post by piscesman »

Registering to get on this or any other quality board shouldn't be a big deal. If there is or was a problem then it has to be fixed, no questions asked. I my self can't be on the computer on a daily basis. The moderators that do have the time should be commended! They do their best to help keep this board running smooth. We will unfortunately have a few bad apples for whatever reasons try and screw it up for the rest of us. Let me ask you this. Would you rather the site go down or slow to a crawl versus being registered? I for one have nothing to hide and welcome any questions that are asked.(few and far between, but you get my point) MODERATORS, keep up the good work and THANK YOU! cool-thumb cool-thumb :bow: :bow: :type: :type: usa
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Robin Sayler
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Post by Robin Sayler »

Yes i agree registration isn't a big deal for anyone who has a serious intrest in the board. Could it be that the lag in posting is due to the fact that it is warming up and the fish are biteing?
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drexelantiques
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Post by drexelantiques »

You have managed to kill the activity on this board. It used to be a vibrant board with many new posters. Now it is limited to just a few regular posters.

Yes I saw a very few posts intended to disrupt, but you decided to toss the baby out with the bathwater, and make it easy on yourselves.

Now this board is only for the core Orca members.


I may be considered a newcomer, but I have 15 years experience on the internet, and have moderated many boards myself. I see what has been done, and it isn't good.
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Rubber Reel Lady
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Registration Required

Post by Rubber Reel Lady »

I guess I must be reading a different message board. I read a lot of interesting threads from people I am unfamiliar with. There are currently 786 people registered on this board. 80 of them have registered since the board was changed to require registration. This is 10% of the total number registered. I don't know how to do it, but if it were possible to compare registrants with the membership roster, I would be surprised if 50% of the people registered were members of ORCA. The ORCA members are paying for the web site, but there are NO benefits available to members only. Non members have the same access as members without paying anything.
I have my own message board and I "clean" it every day. I have posts that are so full of filth that I have never read beyond the first few words. I have people post links to *18 and older content* sites. Do you want your kids or grandkids to see this stuff on the message board?
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Reelman
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Post by Reelman »

drexelantiques wrote:Yes I saw a very few posts intended to disrupt, but you decided to toss the baby out with the bathwater, and make it easy on yourselves. .
How often did you look at the board before registration. Were you on the board for over 14 hours + a day. Deleting spam post. How much Simpson's *18 and older content* can anybody take. Or did the couple times you logged on and you said you seen a few posts. Well maybe you only saw a few post was because somebody else was stuck deleting all the spam and crap post for over 14+ hours a day plus all the other Moderators doing what then can to keep the board clean on their own free time. The only time anybody else complained was when we were not quick enough deleting the spam. Nobody pays anybody to Moderator this board. Maybe it would be different if we had paid Moderators. If you are willing to pay the Moderators to keep the board clean and to watch it 24/7. You can start by sending me $15.95 a hour and I will sit on this board and watch it till another Moderator logs on to take over. The board is offered free and paid for by ORCA for everybody that wants to post and ask questions about old fishing reels and tackle. This board has always had slow days. And then there are days when there is a lot of posts. The number of post that made fun of what somebody else had posted has stopped since then can not hide behind the guests handle anymore. If all you want to do is the read other peoples post. You do not need to. It is not to much to ask people register to post. Look at http://classicflyrodforum.com/forum/ you need to register to post on that forum and they are going strong. The boards that I have seen that you did not need to register. When somebody new to the board would ask a question often were made fun of for asking question that they considered stupid. While hiding behind the guests handle.
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Steve
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Post by Steve »

Now this board is only for the core Orca members.
Who are they? Is the board restricted to a select group of ORCAns? No.
Is it restricted to ORCAns only? No, even though the membership pays to maintain the site and ORCAns volunteer to moderate.

RRL hit the nail on the head by pointing out the increase in registrations since the requirement was established. Nothing like statistics to support an argument now and then.

Almost every message board, blog, etc., I've encountered requires registration. Maybe those who got into this stuff in those halcyon days of unrestricted communication via the Internet are insulted by having to register, but with the huge increase in the number of scum who prey on the rest of us, registration is a tiny price to pay as part of an increasingly difficult, expensive defense.
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Drexell Antiques

Post by Jack Bright »

You know Iv`e E-mailed you via this board 4 or 5 times and never once
have you had the courtesy to answer me, perhaps you get personal gain
by monitoring our site? If not why are you so perturbed ?
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Reelman
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drexelantiques

Post by Reelman »

What other boards do you moderated.
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