Too much spam Gmail

[KevGoat]

My son is trying to register with the forum using his Gmail address but receives the message about "too much spam from Gmail" and he can not submit his registration. Need advice on how to submit his registration....

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[greenMachine]

Best advice - use another email provider. The site has a policy of not accepting them for the reason stated. It is an attempt by the Administrator to reduce the significant workload involved in keeping the site free of spam.

I have several emails including gmails, some of which redirect automatically to my primary (which is definitely not gmail), that could be an option for him (in reverse). But really, the redirect is optional and not needed if he only ticks the box to be contacted by PM.

[ManiacLachy]

Apparently you can't sign up with gmail. Not sure why Okibi enforces that rule, I guess it's the main gateway for spammers. But it's also the most common email tool, right? I guess your son could setup a burner with another web tool, like Outlook (aka hotmail), which is what I use for all forums.

[KevGoat]

Ok ... will let him know. I recently had to open a new separate email for a similar reason elsewhere.

I can fully understand the reasons and problems associated with this, but it also appears a bit of a disincentive to new members trying to join. Many might just give up at this stage of the registration.

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[greenMachine]

I take your point Kev. I have just tested the signup page and the message could be phrased a little differently, I'll talk to Dave about it.

[KevGoat]

Well... Craig has lodged his registration successfully tonight using a different email ... Just waiting for approval now ...

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[bruce]

I just realised; most spam comes from a Gmail address. Yet, my Gmail accounts never get any spam. They are good at stopping it coming in but not enough effort stopping the source, which is themselves!

[greenMachine]

I just realised; most spam comes from a Gmail address. Yet, my Gmail accounts never get any spam. They are good at stopping it coming in but not enough effort stopping the source, which is themselves!

same/same

[Okibi]

We get bots use all sorts of free email services such as proton mail.

I try and stay on top of them by banning them, but sometimes it's hard to see the legit users amongst all the bots.

I need time to change the way the registration works.

The problem is the forum software is so out of date it might just be easier to shut it down.

[greenMachine]

That would be a sad day Dave, if it came to that.

You have done a great job keeping the site alive, it has and continues to be a great resource for the community, even as the usage has declined, I hope that you can find a way continue work your magic!

[KevGoat]

The problem is the forum software is so out of date it might just be easier to shut it down.

So are most of us, Dave ... what's probably makes this forum the great place it is ...

GM, I agree with your comments and sentiment. It would be a very sad day indeed. Hopefully, there's a way through.



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[93_Clubman]

-Agree with okibi, clearly a better way of forum registration is required, but as he also points out that would be time consuming and the forum software is old, so the quickest solution is to shut down the forum.
-And agree with GM, while forum activity has declined significantly, the forum is a repository of information some of which is useful to the MX-5 community here & OS.
-Also agree with Kev, that a compromise is necessary to deal with forum registration, given the majority of it is by bots.

-Either cease new forum registrations, or make prospective new members manually email to a spelt out email address, ie 'AT' instead of '@' and 'DOT' instead of '.', as well as answering a question such as that currently used by okibi, ie Which F1 team did Dan Ricciardo drive for after Red Bull?

Ref ceasing new forum registrations, the number of new members and total new member posts for the last four years follows:
2023: 6 new members & 1 post;
2022: 7 new members & 5 posts;
2021: 5 new members & nil posts; &
2020: 148 new members & 68 posts (most of these posts occurred during lockdown).

[KevGoat]

Wow... those numbers are sad.

My son's registration hasn't been approved for some reason. Sent a pm to Dave.

Another reason for the lower numbers joining or attending the forum could be the indifferent attitudes of new owners of MX-5's I've come across these past few years. Part of the fun of owning and driving an MX was always the camaraderie when coming across another owner somewhere. There was always a friendly chat, an inspection of each other's car, and even a coffee sometimes. I can't recall ever saying hello to another owner and not getting a friendly reply. But of late, my wave or g'day is either ignored or I'm left in no doubt they aren't interested. There doesn't seem to be that same enthusiasm or emotion to their ownership that there used to be - to them, it's just a car gets them A to B that looks a bit different.

The Old Guard is a dying breed.

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[bruce]

Why? People are staring into their phones, even whilst driving. No time for talking or socialising (unless via their phone).

I tried to update my email address to another Yahoo account as I kinda forgot my password. Even the Yahoo account go the Too Much Spam message.