I had to register accounts three times before I got one that was usable!

[CoconutColonel]

I had to register accounts three times before I got one that was usable! The previous accounts, as soon as I made them: I was unable to even view the forum. There was no way to contact a moderator to fix the problem.

Edit: I know, this is lacking in detail. But after finally getting an account that works with this form: I wanted to quickly get this messaged out, in case this account got auto-banned too because your systems mistook it for a bot.

 

[jnjroach]

I had to register accounts three times before I got one that was usable! The previous accounts, as soon as I made them: I was unable to even view the forum. There was no way to contact a moderator to fix the problem.

Edit: I know, this is lacking in detail. But after finally getting an account that works with this form: I wanted to quickly get this messaged out, in case this account got auto-banned too because your systems mistook it for a bot.

It is because your service provider IP Address is listed as a SPAM Domain by the SPAM Blocking Systems -

 

[CoconutColonel]

I did make the mistake of not turning off my VPN when I first signed up for this forum.

 

[CoconutColonel]

As I said, I forgot to turn off my VPN when I first signed up. These things happen: People forget about their VPNs (or simply don't know that a VPN can cause such problems). People have an IP address which was once used by a spammer. The system simply messed up. Whatever.

It's not good when there's no way to contact a moderator to correct the problem! Especially considering how common VPNs are becoming. There should be an easy way to contact a moderator to fix problems such as this, along with ways to sort out humans from spambots so that moderators are not flooded with messages from bots. Here are some ideas:

#1: A video-call. A moderator and the new user can have a short video-call, and talk for a bit.

#2: Phone number. A new user can link his account on the forum to his phone number.

#3: Using the new user's CPU. Eating up the user's CPU for a few seconds would be a speed bump for a legitimate user, but a serious obstacle for a spambot making hundreds of accounts on hundreds of forums.

 

[jnjroach]

All the moderators are volunteers, we get hundreds of people a day signing up, 99% without issue. We have to use automation to function.

 

[CoconutColonel]

All the moderators are volunteers, we get hundreds of people a day signing up

Hundreds of people? I find that difficult to believe (unless it's people who sign up but never post), as this forum should be far more active if that many people are joining per day.

99% without issue.

How would you know? As I said: There was no way to contact an administrator when my first two accounts were mistaken for bots. If the legitimate users can't contact you to let you know that there's a problem: How can you tell the difference between an actual bot, and a legitimate user the automation mistook for a bot? How can you know how many legitimate users got mistaken for bots?

We have to use automation to function.

No arguments there! I'm not suggesting the removal of automation; merely a failsafe for when the automation fails.