A Question for Admin

[AlanHo]

I am a member of a motoring club forum associated with my car - it keeps me updated on the activities of other owners of the car model and any problems they have met.

Recently I lost access to that forum and was not able log on from any of the 3 computers we have at home. I therefore concluded they had server problems (like this forum did a few months ago) and that I would get an Email from their admin to advise what was happening (which they have done in the past). However this was not forthcoming and a week later I was still unable to access the forum.

A couple of days ago I received an Email confirming a PM from their admin asking about my whereabouts - members there had noticed my absence. I was not able to reply to this Email because it was sent from an unmonitored address and I could not access the site to respond to a PM - I was thus in limbo and totally stumped.

Yesterday I did a bit of googling and found a different forum for my Hyundai car and upon browsing it noticed posts from a member with a distinctive name that I had seen on the other forum. I sent him a PM asking him if he was indeed the chap from my other forum - if so - could he contact their admin on my behalf to explain my difficulty. It was him - and he got onto the case.

It was found that my IP address had been blacklisted due to the tightened controls now in place on the Apache-driven server on which their forum runs.

Without being too technical about it, there is a WAF in place which inspects everything we all type in posts, PMs and forum emails. This WAF (Web Application Firewall) uses preordained event monitoring to make sure that nobody tries to "inject" harmful stuff into the forum, which could potentially disrupt its operation. Harmful stuff might include database-type statements which could destroy the club. They claim that the WAF has protected them from thousands of Far Eastern based attacks and a number of swipes from Russia.

It would seem the event monitoring used on the server is particularly susceptible to the word "select" when used near other words like "from", "member" or "id". Creating or replying to a post using these words in close proximity may result in the poster receiving a blank screen (no acknowledgement from the server); repeating the post within a minute or two will put you on the blacklist. The forum itself cannot do anything about this - it is a feature of the server they subscribe to.

My dilemma exposed the fact that members need another way of contacting their admin if faced with a situation where they are shut out of the forum and cannot contact them to let them know. They have as a consequence decided to give all members the means of contacting them via a Facebook address which they have urged members to record in their favourites

*******************************

My questions to WF admin are :-

Do we have a similar WAF in place here which could blacklist a member without their knowledge?

We know from recent events that admin here do not contact members (even subscribers) when the forum is down - hence a member not able to access the forum would have no idea whether the forum has died a death or whether access is denied for other reasons. We have undoubtedly lost members recently because of this - I was almost one of them.

What should a member do who is unable to access the forum to determine the reason and get it sorted? If I get blacklisted here - I have no means of contacting admin to get the problem clarified/resolved. I assume this applies to other members too.

I await admin's response with interest.

[Craig]

Evening,

As far as I'm aware, the technology you've mentioned isn't in use on the server Windows Forum is hosted on, however IP black lists are. The chances of you being blacklisted on the later method after accessing the forum are slim, but may still happen. You have brought up a valid point regarding being unable to contact site admins during events such as the outage that occurred last year, with this in mind, I'll setup a method by which all users of the forum can make contact with administrators external to the forum when required. More details to follow regarding this method.

Craig

[bludgard]

Thanks for the reply,Craig.

I must say that after everyone was looking for answers to pertinant questions and not getting a response,I was wary about subscribing.

I had faith in the members of this forum and threw in anyway.My instincts proved correct once again.I hope.

This is the most promising forum for Windows that I have found and would hate to see it fail for lack of maintenance.

Please keep your loyal fans posted....

One

[Matan Schatzman]

Removed - see AlanHo below

[AlanHo]

Complaint regarding any feature of the forums, post it in this topic.

This is not correct and the instruction should removed by moderators.

This thread addresses a particular problem with the forum that has now been actioned by Admin.

Any complaints about the forum should be the subject of a separate thread within the appropriate forum.

[MANEMAN]

Bludgard Said: - This is the most promising forum for Windows that I have found and would hate to see it fail for lack of maintenance.

The forum will not fall for lack of maintenance.

The forum however may fail due to "Apathy" from lack of input from some of the members and staff who have been entrenched from the "start" and feel that their original attempts at setting up a forum originally will suffice to keep it going without any input from them personally.

Even the most outrageous, and insulting remarks from myself have hardly made them poke their heads out of their shells .

And believe me, I have tried pretty darn hard to be abusive to reach that level !

We are dealing not only with "Spam" but also with a small crew who see this forum as "Boring Old Farts" who they think we are "Fair game" to take the piss out of. -

-It then becomes a constant Fight-back to prove otherwise.

As far as I can see, anyone can walk in off of the road, start to take over the forum, and nobody really cares.

- As near as damn it, I've almost done that without anyone trying to restrain me !

That's not my interest though. - Educating people is.

It is fast becoming a "Coffee Shop" where you can walk in and have a nice little chat, and then walk out again.

Many of the technically able have slipped through the net somehow.

There now needs to be some top level thinking and restructuring of "The Look" "The Administration" and the whole body of the forum. Period.

Do something about it.

I will continue in my own strange style to keep readership going until somebody else makes the neccessary changes.

John.

[Alan2273]

MANEMAN, your style of answering queries is about as subtle as a brick, but certainly makes for interesting reading.

[AlanHo]

MANEMAN, your style of answering queries is about as subtle as a brick, but certainly makes for interesting reading.

I have been banging on about the forum needing a blood transfusion for a few years. If you look back at 3 year and older threads you will find that most topics attracted a fair number of responses from a wide variety of people - even my boring old "Thoughts for today" used to provoke much comment. Nowadays responses are few and far between and I can predict with some accuracy who will add their four penn'orth to a thread from a congregation of about 4 regulars. Even andsome has gone off the boil and is no longer a prolific poster - the only plus side of this is that it has given the forum some breathing space to restock its smilies bank.

Perhaps all forums (or should the plural be fora?)have a certain life and this one may have reached a sad old age. I miss the contributions from some old members - including people such as catgate - who vanished after the outage occured late last year following the lack of any communication from Admin. THey may well have assumed the forum had closed for good - as I nearly did. Maneman is doing a valiant job to inspire a more active forum - I have met him in person and know that he has a genuine desire to see this forum flourish. But for how long will he retain his appetite when apathy reigns supreme.

Like all forums (fora) this one gets it fair share of spam and one night stand merchants who start a thread and then vanish into the ether. The mods here must be a hardy lot to have to put up with this. Talking of mods - is it my imagination or are moderators Expertec, Homecomputer Aid, Mark2, Scarecrow Man, Scuzzman (and dare I say it Chris) still dedicated to the cause. I cannot recall seeing some of them for a couple of years and others appear only once in a blue moon. Hence moderating this forum seems to be left to just a handful of dedicated guys who need to provide 24 hour cover. Such a lack of involvement - if true - at the top and in the engine room will surely reflect through the ranks of members.

For all its faults - this still remains my favourite forum. I have tried others - including IDF50 and The Chatty Bunch - but they do not suit my interests and lack the depth of computer knowledge that exists here. I contribute to a couple of other forums (fora) to do with our cars and motor racing - both are lively, informative, have a very active Admin and moderating team, and are constantly evolving their sites. I just wish the the same energy existed here.

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

It would seem the event monitoring used on the server is particularly susceptible to the word "select" when used near other words like "from", "member" or "id".

Thankfully this forum is not afflicted with the same defense mechanism, or I would have been blacklisted trying to post this.

[Irene]

Whilst I am a committed member of this forum, I have relatively recently joined another which addresses Windows 7 issues.

Windows Forum, appears to me to be 'behind the times' - I have absolutely no reason why...

Maybe too many are too interested in the 'Lounge' - surely that should be an incidental - I feel much more useful on the alternative, which I might add that, that it is where I spend much more time.

IDF50 is for people who are looking for the 'lounge' as a major activity.

[bludgard]

Windows Forum, appears to me to be 'behind the times' - I have absolutely no reason why...

Is it really behind the times, Irene?

SevenForums is a great place for Windows 7.

Windows Forum seems to me well rounded and has members who employ all manner of Windows as well as non - Windows OSs. It is not America based so may in fact appear to be a liitle different in it's apporoach as to giving advice. However, for those who wish to break from the norm and swim upstream - as myself, Windows Forum can be a safe haven. I have been here for less than a year and have gained knowledge about all manner of operating systems. I started with Windows 7 and now use several Windows OSs as well a Linux distros.

Each to his/her own as they say. I do hope this forum is around for quite some time to come.

Maybe I am seeing this forum through new eyes. I still love it and will consider it my home away from home. If it does fail, I for one will always be greatful to it's members. For it has led me down a path that will ultimately bring back security and well being to our lives - my and my wifes.

Thank you all and I hope all is well on the home front....

One

[bludgard]

It would seem the event monitoring used on the server is particularly susceptible to the word "select" when used near other words like "from", "member" or "id".

Thankfully this forum is not afflicted with the same defense mechanism, or I would have been blacklisted trying to post this.

You have made your case for sure.:lol:

That thread would cause a ruckus on some forums. I have been following as best I can. Maybe when I get some schoolin' in me, it will make more sense.

[Irene]

Bludgard, I suggest you read the first paragraph in Alan's post .

[-pops-]

My view is that any forum devoted to computer, specifically Windows, problems will suffer the same as this one as succeeding versions of the O/S have their intrinsic problems ironed out and eliminated - such that the number and variety of undesirable quirks and bugs reduce very rapidly.

Having glanced at several computer forums recently, I see a similar trend.

[andsome]

Back to Alan's original post. I too thought that the forum had disappeared for good, when I heard nothing for several days. I have learnt a lot from members of this forum in the past, and have also enjoyed the lighter side of the lounge and the jokes forum. those who condemn the lighter side should lighten up a bit themselves. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Here are a few smilies. They will no doubt annoy some folk.

:lol: ;)