I have had to temporarily close the Forum for new registrations because of the increasing number of spammers signing up. I started the Forum by allowing sign-ups with no verification except a “Captcha” image on the sign-up form.

For quite a few months there were no problems. Then forum spammers started to target the Community Forum. So I introduced an email verification system. That didn’t work. These evil people were still getting through.

Last week I switched to the system where I, as Admin, have to manually approve registrations. I did this by emailing all registrants and asking them a simple question which “Update” subscribers could answer, but possibly no-one else. That kept the spammers out, but it was a hugely time-consuming process for me. The number of spammer applications keeps on increasing - up to 40 to 50 per day.

I’m currently checking out on forums where Forum Administrators hang out, various automated anti-spam techniques, but until I find a solution, the Forum is closed to new members. If you are already a Member of the Community, you can still use the forum as usual. So, make me feel better about what I’ve had to do.. log on to the forum and have a rant against spammers!