News:

SMF 2.1.4 has been released! Take it for a spin! Read more.

Main Menu

Bridge version affecting spam bots

Started by Gantry, June 17, 2007, 09:18:21 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Gantry

The original push for my question was that I've been having some spam bot problems in my smf forum recently.  My setup is this:

Joomla! version 1.0.12 (updated frm 1.0.11 on Apr 2 2007)
SMF version is 1.1.2 (unwrapped)
Orstio's bridge is 1.1.7
I am using 1 database for both smf and joomla

When I set the entire site up, I did all three before opening the site fresh, ie there was no conversion of users needed. I recall reading somewhere that I needed to use the bridge registration, so that's what I've been using since day 1, although I can't find the source of that assumption.

The problem with the bridge registration is, no captcha.  So I did some research today and found THIS and THIS, two posts with the same problem, spammers and how to use captcha.  In both, Orstio says to use SMF registration.  Although for the life of me I can't find a source for where I thought I was supposed to use bridge registration only, why else would Orstio have written a bridge registration if a few other perfectly good ones existed?  Then I found this in the combined bridge readme:

QuoteREGISTRATION TAB
      3d) Choose what registration method you want to use:
            - The bridge registration looks like mambo's registration method...
            - The joomla registration uses Joomla's registration routine...
            - The SMF registration uses SMF's registration routine...
            - The Community Builder registration uses the CB registration component...
            - The MamboCharge registration uses the MamboChargeregistration component...
            but all options will still result in the users being added to both databases (eventually).

Eventually? So does that mean that I can now use the smf registration routine with its captcha to reduce spam, and new users will automatically be registered in both smf and joomla?  Orstio, why did you write a separate registration module anyway, just curious?

Also, one other question, when I ban a user in smf using the smf admin function, it still leaves the account in joomla enabled.  Should this be something that gets taken care of automatically?  I've just been manually disabling the joomla side for these spam bots.

thanks!

Orstio

This is a very good question.

I wrote a bridge registration because in the early days of the bridge, SMF 1.0.x did not have integration hooks, and Joomla (Mambo at that time) did not have a method of resending a missed activation email.  So, in those days, it was required for both registration and for the odd case where an activation email was lost.

Fast forward a few years, and SMF has integration hooks that take care of registrations, regardless of whether they occur in Joomla or SMF.

The "eventually" comment has to do with the choices of Joomla, CB, and MamboCharge registration.  If you use those forms of registration, the users will not be transferred into SMF until they login for the first time.

Now, I'm not certain whether or not Joomla has added anything for lost activations.  If they have, then the bridge registration is completely useless. 

Regardless, when Joomla 1.5 is stable, the bridge registration becomes completely obsolete, and I planned on having a poll to see how many users still preferred that method to see whether or not I still needed to keep it in the package.

Gantry

Interesting history lesson!   :)

So it is safe, then, to use smf's registration module, and joomla will pick up the account when the user logs in?

Orstio

Actually, using SMF registration will automatically enter the user in Joomla on registration.  The only ones that wait for the login are specific to Joomla.

Advertisement: