Bots.

[zuhane]

Whow- whow- whow- whow! What exactly happened to make these penis enlargement ads come
up? I've noticed there's effing millions!

[Dragonium]

1) Better forum security, which will prevent the bots from registering and thus will keep the forums free of spam and everyone's stress levels down. We'll have to talk to Osmose before this can be done.

2) More mods, who will remove the bot threads from the forum, but only after they've been made, and only when said mods are online, and the lack of security means the bots will keep coming. We'll have to talk to Osmose before this can be done.

Which is the better option?

[Grandy]

I'd say more mods, because the forum security would eventually be bypassed, and hell would break loose again until we fixed it. Mods, on the other hand, don't need to be updated as long as they are in a good number.

Also, I don't see why can we choose only one.

[Cerebus]

Better forum security seems better in my opinion. Better simply prevent them from coming instead of deleting each threads they make.
Lots of "better" there.

More mods could help, but are not really necessary, unless Bots manage to pass through the filters.

[fruckert]

I vote both

#1 In a large amount, as we really really need better security

#2 in a slight moderation, because 3-4 mods is pitifully small for a community as large as Charas...but we don't really need that much more as the Mods we have are very good at their jobs

[Dragonium]

If the security is good enough, it'll stop all bots for a comfortable period of time. I don't see why some bots would magically be impervious to blocking. Once they come back, security can be updated to block everything once again, whereas mods have a habit of gradually declining in activity. And then there are complaints of WE NEED MORE MODS.

Hiring mods to fix a temporary problem which can be solved much more efficiently by better security is a bad idea.

[X_marks_the_ed]

We need bots

Of course! We should attack the bots with MORE bots! :O

Genius!

[Grandy]

Let's start immediatelly! Red, Lucas, you go find scrap metal! Ed, Archem, make some bot blueprints! Anyone who knows about eletronics or blowing **** up come with me!

 Today we turn the tide of this war!

 Are you with me?!

[Moosetroop11]

Well I'm gonna be more active until the bot problem clears up so you have one more mod on board. We seem to be doing a good job of it at the moment, too. Bot threads are disappearing quite fast.

On the other hand, I've always liked to think of charas as being at least part democracy, and people like Bluhman seem to have become kinda absent. If you really want it, we could think about electing another mod. We wouldn't need more than one, though.

[Drace]

Let's start immediatelly! Red, Lucas, you go find scrap metal! Ed, Archem, make some bot blueprints! Anyone who knows about eletronics or blowing **** up come with me!

 Today we turn the tide of this war!

 Are you with me?!

Sergeant Grandy, my order please sir.

[Grandy]

Sergeant Grandy, my order please sir.

 Corporal Drace, we need to fortify our defences! The bots wont just sit and wait for us to finish our bots!
 You and Almeida grab every men you can find, and perhaps Mid too, go and buy a wall around the perimeter, I want Mods on patrol on three shifts. Go!

 *looks at sunset, cape fulttering at the wind* Tomorrow will be a long day.

[Drace]

Corporal Drace, we need to fortify our defences! The bots wont just sit and wait for us to finish our bots!
 You and Almeida grab every men you can find, and perhaps Mid too, go and buy a wall around the perimeter, I want Mods on patrol on three shifts. Go!

 *looks at sunset, cape fulttering at the wind* Tomorrow will be a long day.

I'll take Mid on a nice romantic walk down the beach's perimeter. On my sir!

[Grandy]

 Good lad, we never know where they'll attack from. Watch out those "Viagra ads" bots, though, you know how they act near Corporal Midnight.

[Grandy]

Haha, não. >:C

MSN me odeia, eu não to mais conseguindo entrar.

[X_marks_the_ed]

After some searching, I came across this: http://forumspamscanner.com/multi-pronged-approach-to-smf-spam-prevention

Think it may be our solution? A lot of SMF owners seem to regard this as the best method.