Registration problem

[ruskan]

There appears to be a problem with registration.

In admin>members>registration>settings, I have IMMEDIATE REGISTRATION selected. However, I just test registered and received an email from unspecified:

"Before you can login and start using the forum, your request will be reviewed and approved.  When this happens, you will receive another email from this address."

The system appears to be responding as if "member approval" was selected (?) Users have emailed me saying they never received authorization.

Many thanks

[Shambles]

Do you have any "stop bot", SFS or HTTBl mod installed (ie, are there any members queueing in the "awaiting approval" section, maybe marked as suspicious?)

[ruskan]

Yes! There are over 3000 listings awaiting approval. All of them are marked in red, as a spammer.  I see myself at the end of the list with my test registration, and also the user who emailed me. There are also probably many listed who are not spammers, who have been unable to register. What to do?

Does this mean all these users have been wrongly marked as spammers and been prevented from registering?

I did notice the accumulation several years ago, but I assumed they were spammers, and did not know how to handle it, so I just let it ride.

Thanks.

[ruskan]

PS: Not everyone is being trapped in this list, some people are able to post.

[Kindred]

yes....   you typically need to review the registrations DAILY (or at least weekly) and DELETE the ones that are flagged as and are actual spammers and validate/approve those who have been flagged, but are actual users.

doing it daily/weekly keeps the list from getting too big.

I assume that you are using "stop spammer " or "Stop Forum Spam" (both of which use the SFS database/list)
If so, then yes...   SFS is KNOWN for having hundreds of false positives.

[ruskan]

I see what's happened, but it would seem to make Stop Spammer unusable. I can't check everyday, or even once a week would be a chore.

But when checking registrations, how to tell a spammer from a non-spammer?

[Illori]

you cant always tell a spammer from a non-spammer.

[Shambles]

You can click the red warning sign which will take you to the SFS summary page for that name/email/IP. Real spammers usually appear with varying usernames and from various countries of origin, in a short space of time (as reported to SFS).

[Kindred]

if you can't check even weekly, then what the heck are you doing trying to run a forum?   seriously...   you need to be active as an admin, even with just the basic administrative activities...  it takes   5-10 mins, if you stay on top of it.

However, you are basically correct...   unless you are willing to accept all the false positives that SFS responds with or check them, it is basically useless.

[ruskan]

OK guys, thanks so much for the helpful candid feedback. I'll start by turning off Stop Spammer altogether and see if just the verification questions will be enough. If not, I'll go back to Stop Spammer with user names turned off and try that.