[Gotta Know] Enable HTML in Post

ELiTE · Post by **ELiTE** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 12:06 pm

Being a noob at web pages, can somebody explain the HTML enable/disable in our profile settings to me and what it does and the advantages/disadvantages to using HTML and tags etc in our posts. Thanks....

Post by **5eraph** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 4:06 pm

I believe HTML has been disabled in Ryan's administrator panel; the HTML user profile setting has no effect.

BBCode can accomplish much of what raw HTML could do in posts. Using it sparingly can help emphasize what you want people to notice and make a post more interesting.

Using it unwisely or too much can turn a post into an unreadable eyesore.

tomasz86 · Post by **tomasz86** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 4:18 pm

Is there any FAQ / detailed information on the BBCode supported on the RyanVM board?

For example, recently I've found out that lists work:

abc
def
ghi

but on the other hand tags like [spoiler] do not:

[spoiler]abc[/spoiler].

Post by **5eraph** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 4:27 pm

This link can be found in the "Post a reply" panel under Options.

Options
HTML is OFF
BBCode is ON
Smilies are ON

ELiTE · Post by **ELiTE** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 4:49 pm

Thanks. Now the million dollar question. Why don't our posts show up on Google? On another unrelated subject matter site I frequent, when you post a topic it will show up in a Google search.
What exactly, is blocking Google etc from being able to do the same here.

The reason I ask is that downloads from ELiTES APPS are almost non existant anymore and I've also noticed that we have maybe a dozen or so visitors at any given time here whereas other related sites (Wincert.net etc) have many many more.

IMHO I'm thinking a little worldwide exposure may be a good thing before RyanVM.net slips into obscurity.

Just a thought with no disrespect intended. I'm in for the long haul....

Post by **5eraph** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 5:57 pm

Ryan's robots.txt specifically disallows search engines from indexing his site.

ELiTE · Post by **ELiTE** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 6:18 pm

5eraph wrote:Ryan's robots.txt specifically disallows search engines from indexing his site.

Well, 'nuff said. Thanks.....

Post by **RyanVM** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 8:47 am

Though I suppose that's a bit silly. I'll take the forum off the list.

Post by **RyanVM** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 9:04 am

Wow, the volume of new spam account registrations has skyrocketed since I made this change.

keloo05 · Post by **keloo05** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 9:38 am

RyanVM wrote:Wow, the volume of new spam account registrations has skyrocketed since I made this change.

I think that you should revert the change. Indexing this forum by search engines may bring a lot of problems.

adric · Post by **adric** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 9:44 am

Well, 'nuff said.

Al

ELiTE · Post by **ELiTE** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 10:22 am

RyanVM wrote:Wow, the volume of new spam account registrations has skyrocketed since I made this change.

I think it's a coincidence. It may be due to the fact that IPv6 was launched June 6 2012 and the addition of new domain extensions to the world wide web. The bots are out hunting these new web addresses.

There must be a currently accepted viable way to deal with spam user registration. Some sites have over 200,000 members and the smaller sites have 30,000 plus with over 1000 visitors online at any given time.

IMHO These days it's all about getting the site info out there to make it a viable destination for folks to visit. There is no point in having a great site if nobody comes to visit.
Keeping it current with fresh ideas, new forum sections eg: Windows 8, hardware issues, site news etc. can only benefit and vastly increase daily visitor usage. More forums = more user input.

Also, Members need to be able to discuss site related topics that concern them without fear of negative judgemental responses from any fellow members.

We need to promote an atmosphere of free thinking, open minded discussion here at RVM. We need to welcome new members and their ideas with open arms. They are the future of this site.

Anyhoo, a Google search quickly turned up a variety of discussion regarding spam user registration.....

ELiTE · Post by **ELiTE** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 10:26 am

keloo05 wrote: I think that you should revert the change. Indexing this forum by search engines may bring a lot of problems.

IMHO Hiding in a closet is not the solution. All the hard work and research done by members here should not be hidden from the world. We don't live in the Dark Ages......

bphlpt · Post by **bphlpt** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 12:58 pm

ELiTE wrote:Also, Members need to be able to discuss site related topics that concern them without fear of negative judgemental responses from any fellow members.

LOL I'm glad you have changed, ELiTE. There were times in the past when you were not accepting of criticism yourself.

Cheers and Regards

Post by **mooms** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 2:29 pm

A solution against spamming: manual validation by a moderator of the first two posts of a new member.

bphlpt · Post by **bphlpt** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 2:37 pm

You could also change the Captcha tests, if you use that, I don't remember, to a Q&A. That helped us quite a bit at a different site I'm on. You can also add ZB block and StopForumSpam addons to phpBB, they also help automate things tremendously.

Cheers and Regards

Post by **RyanVM** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 6:52 pm

One thing hurting the cause is that I'm still on phpBB2, which isn't exactly getting a lot of updates these days

. I do have a custom math question as part of the registration process, but obviously that's been broken. I suppose I could come up with something better in that respect.

I've also been manually activating all accounts for a long time (and requiring the new member to respond to their new member email to confirm that they are a real person), which has kept the spammer from being able to post, anyway. But I do worry about how many legit people are not getting their accounts activated due to not noticing or understanding that requirement.

Post by **RyanVM** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 7:01 pm

I just made the logic question trickier, so that may help overcome any basic logic for it.

ELiTE · Post by **ELiTE** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 7:12 pm

RyanVM wrote:(and requiring the new member to respond to their new member email to confirm that they are a real person),

From my experience, all major sites require responding to an activation email link to confirm a live email address and complete the reg process.

Also, some have a simple question "can cows fly?" or "are you human?" while others use Captcha and others use the math question you mentioned.

One site Admin told me that failure to respond to the EMail activation link would result in the original member registration username/info being deleted from the database after xx number of hours/days etc. IMHO this might take care of the bot problem.

I don't think the above will confuse too many people.....

Post by **RyanVM** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 7:29 pm

I delete inactive accounts after a month.

Post by **RyanVM** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 9:25 pm

Well, I haven't had any new account registrations since I made the change. At the rate I was getting them before, that tells me that it's working.

bphlpt · Post by **bphlpt** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 9:29 pm

RyanVM wrote:One thing hurting the cause is that I'm still on phpBB2, which isn't exactly getting a lot of updates these days .

Is there some special reason you aren't using the latest version, 3.0.11? I'm on two other different forums that are using 3.0.11, along with the StopForumSpam and ZB block addons, so I'm just curious if there is a reason why we shouldn't be.

Cheers and Regards

Post by **RyanVM** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 4:04 pm

Mostly because I haven't taken the time to update it.