# SMF Hacked??



## driedstick (Jun 26, 2015)

Just looked under new posts and a lot of foreign language in posts??

DS


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## driedstick (Jun 26, 2015)

Well that was weird now they are all gone?? And no I have not started drinking but I might LOL 

DS


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## mummel (Jun 26, 2015)

Spam everywhere,  WTF is going on?


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## daveomak (Jun 26, 2015)

The SPAM attack has been going on for months....   Admin has been clearing and banning folks as fast as they can....


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## thomas phillips (Jun 26, 2015)

Been noticing this too, especially late at night.... All those foreign spam ads, getting very annoying!!!


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## bluewhisper (Jun 26, 2015)

The fact that they vanish shows that the admins are on the job. But DANG what an assault! Give them five minutes and they'll fill five pages of selling ... what? Can anyone on this board read Korean and say what it is they're selling?

Funny thing is, there's some great Korean grilling. You have to respect a culture that features a lit grill in the center of the table that everyone is sitting around.


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## jcollins (Jun 26, 2015)

Im glad i seen this because i had no idea what those were. (i never opened one)


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## bluewhisper (Jun 26, 2015)

The grill in the table - who on this board wouldn't love a setup like this?













1Koreaneatsmain_4.jpg



__ bluewhisper
__ Jun 26, 2015


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## mummel (Jun 26, 2015)

Why would anyone want to target the site?  Whats the point.  Unless its a competitor, what a waste of life to spend time spamming people (even if its just time taken to set up the bot).  Im at a loss.


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## BGKYSmoker (Jun 26, 2015)

We have been working to ban and delete these spammers who are posting.


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## jcollins (Jun 26, 2015)

Dont get me wrong i understand you guys are doing what you can. im sure i am not the only one that appriciates that.


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## tropics (Jun 26, 2015)

nepas said:


> We have been working to ban and delete these spammers who are posting.


Rick you guys are doing a fantastic job.


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## driedstick (Jun 26, 2015)

You guys and gals taking care of this site ROCK!! Kudos to all of you!!!

DS


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## bluewhisper (Jun 26, 2015)

I've been banning spammers on the Outback board but the attack there is nothing like here. That board gets maybe one or two new IP addresses posting ads or streaming video links per day, but nothing like the multiple-page spew that's directed at SMF.


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## pineywoods (Jun 26, 2015)

It's crazy we only thought the ones from India were bad these new morons have taken it to a knew level. Many evenings Brian and I check registrations almost every minute and ban 20-50 an evening before they even get a chance to post I also do the same thing in the morning before I have to start working. All the Mods and Admins are doing all they can and yet we still can't stop all of them. Adam, Rick, Joe, and Bob have been spending a lot of time banning and cleaning too. Huddler is working on a solution but it takes time


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## mummel (Jun 26, 2015)

You guys should maybe get some better authentication.  Ask a logical question that most people can answer or something.


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## joe black (Jun 26, 2015)

I'm definitely not a computer whiz by any means, but isn't there some type of filter or other means to stop this mess?


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## bobbobbbq (Jun 26, 2015)

Iv not been on the forum for weeks because of the hackers. Every time I signed in I was diverted to a gambling site!! Bloody annoying.


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## letthemeatrest (Jun 26, 2015)

if it is a bot and not a real person doing the spamming, a "captcha" type device should help prevent bots from signing up and posting.

a captcha is something that stops robots from signing up by asking a question that a robot can't figure out, and only an actual human can. such as reading words on a skewed graphic or answering an simple question.

this does get annoying for real users though, because they have to go to an extra step to submit a post or sign up for an account depending where the captcha is placed..


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## areallynicegirl (Jun 26, 2015)

BlueWhisper said:


> The grill in the table - who on this board wouldn't love a setup like this?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


thats the most amazing thing i have every seen.  If it was mine, it would be my christmas card photo.


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## letthemeatrest (Jun 26, 2015)

mummel said:


> Why would anyone want to target the site?  Whats the point.  Unless its a competitor, what a waste of life to spend time spamming people (even if its just time taken to set up the bot).  Im at a loss.


most bots are set up to simply scour the internet for any site that is vulnerable.... if it can go thru it will try; if it doesn't go thru it will still try... it doesn't care what kind of site it is, it doesn't even care to know, it just does it. it can go through millions of sites as well very quickly


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## dward51 (Jun 26, 2015)

What they need to do is block an IP range for whatever country the spam IP is from.  At least force them into a moderated status for x number of posts, then give them full access.  Might a pain for those from where ever the spam is coming from (new members anyway), but it should work.

We had so much trouble with stuff like this at my office, they finally subscribed to a list of USA IP addresses that was updated daily.  If it's not in the USA, it don't get past the front door.


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## bobbobbbq (Jun 27, 2015)

dward51 said:


> What they need to do is block an IP range for whatever country the spam IP is from.  At least force them into a moderated status for x number of posts, then give them full access.  Might a pain for those from where ever the spam is coming from (new members anyway), but it should work.
> 
> We had so much trouble with stuff like this at my office, they finally subscribed to a list of USA IP addresses that was updated daily.  If it's not in the USA, it don't get past the front door.


That's great but me and a lots of other folks on here are in the U.K buddy.


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## bregent (Jun 27, 2015)

LetTheMeatRest said:


> if it is a bot and not a real person doing the spamming, a "captcha" type device should help prevent bots from signing up and posting.
> 
> a captcha is something that stops robots from signing up by asking a question that a robot can't figure out, and only an actual human can. such as reading words on a skewed graphic or answering an simple question.
> 
> this does get annoying for real users though, because they have to go to an extra step to submit a post or sign up for an account depending where the captcha is placed..


bots are sophisticated enough to defeat many captcha implementations. This site uses captcha for registration, but may need to be strengthened - it may be too easy for a bot to read. Heck, I could read it without squinting :)


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## dward51 (Jun 28, 2015)

BOBBOBBBQ said:


> That's great but me and a lots of other folks on here are in the U.K buddy.


Which is why foreign IP's could be moderated until it's determined its legit.  Then give full access.   May not be the solution, but it was a thought.


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## bluewhisper (Jun 28, 2015)

It's probably a question of the capabilities of the board software, and what level of control our admins have. Or maybe there's a filter like "If Subject contains __ then delete" where the blanks could be filled with characters from Asian languages.


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## bobbobbbq (Jun 28, 2015)

I hope they sort it soon as there's been a huge amount of that Korean garbage all over the site today.


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## eman (Jun 28, 2015)

We are banning them as fast as we can. I banned 3 yesterday while they were posting. All hands are working to figure out how to get rid of them but until then all we can do is delete and ban. Please have patience as we are doing everything we can.


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## bluewhisper (Jun 28, 2015)

I had a strange new wrinkle come up on the Outback board. We had another streaming-video spammer (94 of those so far) but this time the reported spam was on a reddit page that featured the thread on our board.


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## letthemeatrest (Jun 28, 2015)

these are all really good techniques to block spamming and can be used together for extra strong security. setup filters that put any questionable post into a moderate/need approval state


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## daveomak (Jun 29, 2015)

38 pages at 10:28 PM


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## wade (Jun 29, 2015)

It is 8:45am here in the UK and we are already up at over 10 pages of spam. This is becoming a common occurrence and to be frank has made me check the forum far less often than I used to. It is making the forum almost unusable for us for a great chunk of the day in the UK. I have offered to help block the spam from here (a non-US time zone) but have not heard anything back.

I hope you can get the problem sorted soon - let me know if you need any help.

Wade


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## wade (Jun 29, 2015)

10:29 am here and already up to 14 pages of spam


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## bobbobbbq (Jun 29, 2015)

It's 1300hrs here in the U.K and we've had 42 pages of spam in the last hour!! 
It's getting way out of control. I'm going to sign out and come back to the forum in a few weeks hopefully by then it should all be fixed.


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## mummel (Jun 29, 2015)

Ok today its out of control


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## jcollins (Jun 29, 2015)

mummel said:


> Ok today its out of control


Agreed.


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## jp61 (Jun 29, 2015)




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## jp61 (Jun 29, 2015)

Cfarmer..... you better go look. They're at it again!


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## pc farmer (Jun 29, 2015)

I am on it.


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## jcollins (Jun 29, 2015)

Y​ou guys are the best.


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## jp61 (Jun 29, 2015)

Is the resolution for this problem a cost issue or what?

If it is, maybe the membership can help?


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## pc farmer (Jun 29, 2015)

JP61 said:


> Is the resolution for this problem a cost issue or what?
> 
> If it is, maybe the membership can help?


I don't know that is between the Admins and Huddler.


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## jp61 (Jun 29, 2015)

jcollins said:


> Y​ou guys are the best.


Nothing personal....... Yes, when they're signed in and paying attention. Which is not always the case.


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## pc farmer (Jun 29, 2015)

JP61 said:


> Nothing personal....... Yes, when they're signed in and paying attention. Which is not always the case.


You have to remember most of us have full time jobs.  

I am working right now.

I am on all day just I have to do some work.


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## jp61 (Jun 29, 2015)

c farmer said:


> You have to remember most of us have full time jobs.
> 
> I am working right now.
> 
> I am on all day just I have to do some work.


Like I said c farmer...... nothing personal, I know you mods are doing your best.

But, IMO, as a premier member of this site, that is not good enough. Maybe there is nothing that can be done to stop it, I don't know. More mods?

There has to be a better way!


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## jcollins (Jun 29, 2015)

Dang guys unless you have ever ran a site like this ( i doubt you have ) or have been a part of the staff for a site like this, why dont you stop bashing the mods and admins its highly unlikely that they can watch everything at the same time. and like c farmer said most of them have FULL-TIME jobs and i would also say that they have a family and other responsibilities to attend to as well..


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## jp61 (Jun 29, 2015)

jcollins said:


> Dang guys unless you have ever ran a site like this ( i doubt you have ) or have been a part of the staff for a site like this, why dont you stop bashing the mods and admins its highly unlikely that they can watch everything at the same time. and like c farmer said most of them have FULL-TIME jobs and i would also say that they have a family and other responsibilities to attend to as well..


No need for you to get on your high horse Mr.Collins, there's no one bashing anyone.

We are, I am, complaining in regards to this ongoing problem, and it is a problem for the owner of the site, who is a great guy. I'm sure there are many members who are tired of the ongoing BS, just don't want to stick their necks out, sort of speak. So please don't start.


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## bluewhisper (Jun 29, 2015)

Yes I am an admin for a site like this, and I have some idea of what it takes to be vigilant against spam attacks - but that board gets maybe one or two spammers per day. There's a machine-gun attack against this site and frankly SMF needs more defensive snipers.


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## BGKYSmoker (Jun 29, 2015)

I try to get as many as i can. I did notice this morning that as soon as this one person logs in we are spammed heavy? I just not got him yet.

I'm sure Jeff and the Admins are working fast to get this spamming resolved. Like said most Admins, Mods have jobs, I'm retired but cant always be in the forum to get em all.

Be patient Grasshoppers


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## bluewhisper (Jun 29, 2015)

This is a weird situation and I don't know why the spammers are so persistent on this site. Usually when spammers attack the Outback board I can Google those usernames and find dozens of other boards they've hit. Not sure but I think that's some kind of search engine optimization where their messages mentioning whatever's being sold will come up in search results for that subject. It was that way with the Bangladeshi tantric black magic love astrologer stuff SMF was getting up to a while ago.

Now it has changed to Korean and Chinese spam with waves of new usernames who will post six messages per minute over half an hour, or until nuked.


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## Dutch (Jun 29, 2015)

We as Admins are aware of the large amounts of SPAM that we're receiving. I understand the frustration some of the members are experiencing. Our Mod staff is doing a great job of catching and deleting what they see. We have a spammer that must type a mile a munute because they load us up with SPAM real fast. Once we get them banned they move to another IP address and start all over again. Be assured that Jeff and Brian are working with Huddler to get this resolved. We've survived SPAM assults before and we'll get through this one as well.

Keep the smoke Thin and Blue-
Dutch


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## bluewhisper (Jun 29, 2015)

It must be some kind of bot attacking a vulnerability in Huddler, and the answer lies with their design team. Meanwhile I still suggest that more people here should be empowered to nuke these spammers as they show up at our board level.


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## humdinger (Jun 29, 2015)

Thanks Mods. Keep fighting the good fight!


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## jp61 (Jun 29, 2015)

...... and they're at it again!!!

I may blow a fuse but I'm sure I'll live through it.

Edit: thank you, to whom ever took care of this latest knucklehead!


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## ak1 (Jun 29, 2015)

JP61 said:


> Like I said c farmer...... nothing personal, I know you mods are doing your best.
> 
> But, IMO, as a premier member of this site, that is not good enough. Maybe there is nothing that can be done to stop it, I don't know. More mods?
> 
> There has to be a better way!


As a "premier member" what is good enough in your opinion? Perhaps you could become a mod & spend 24/7 just following posts on the site?!!!!

Ya know, over the past 15 yrs or so, I've been a member of many forums & have been a mod on several. It's not always easy.


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## demosthenes9 (Jun 30, 2015)

FWIW, no one is blaming the mods, they are doing the best they can given the situation.  That said, when "doing the best they can given the situation" sometimes has as much effect as trying to close a screen door to prevent the water from coming in.   It's understandable that people will still be frustrated.

The problem lies with the developers of the forum software/platform, i.e. Huddler.    Other sites using the Huddler platform are having the same types of problems right now.  Until Huddler does something about it, the best that can be done is for the mods to continue to try ban users/delete posts as quickly as they can.


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## demosthenes9 (Jun 30, 2015)

Dutch said:


> We as Admins are aware of the large amounts of SPAM that we're receiving. I understand the frustration some of the members are experiencing. Our Mod staff is doing a great job of catching and deleting what they see. We have a spammer that must type a mile a munute because they load us up with SPAM real fast. Once we get them banned they move to another IP address and start all over again. Be assured that Jeff and Brian are working with Huddler to get this resolved. We've survived SPAM assults before and we'll get through this one as well.
> 
> Keep the smoke Thin and Blue-
> Dutch


Dutch, one of the problems is that you aren't dealing with individuals sitting on the other end of the keyboard per se.   These are dedicated script bots.  I suspect that they are accessing the site through Facebook accts.   They have basically an unlimited number of accts at their disposal and they know how to exploit the system.    Once they know that a site is vulnerable, they target it and it's just going to keep on coming.


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## pineywoods (Jun 30, 2015)

Some changes have been made and we'll see how it works. I'm sure it won't catch every single spam post but it should help a great deal.


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## DanMcG (Jun 30, 2015)

Pineywoods said:


> Some changes have been made and we'll see how it works. I'm sure it won't catch every single spam post but it should help a great deal.


'

:thumb1:


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## daveomak (Jun 30, 2015)

Piney, morning......  I've been waiting, or perhaps missed, pictures of your garden this year....   


Dave


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## jp61 (Jun 30, 2015)

Pineywoods said:


> Some changes have been made and we'll see how it works. I'm sure it won't catch every single spam post but it should help a great deal.


Thank you!


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## BGKYSmoker (Jun 30, 2015)

I been zapping as many as i can.


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## daveomak (Jun 30, 2015)

nepas said:


> I been zapping as many as i can.




OK..... are you mods making a game out of shooting down spammers...    :Gunner:


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## jp61 (Jun 30, 2015)

AK1 said:


> As a "premier member" what is good enough in your opinion? Perhaps you could become a mod & spend 24/7 just following posts on the site?!!!!
> 
> Ya know, over the past 15 yrs or so, I've been a member of many forums & have been a mod on several. It's not always easy.


Hopefully the changes that were made will be helpful.

Not sure if you as a "master of the pit" are aware of how one becomes a lifetime "premier member" or not, my guess is not.

Perhaps you too could become one by "put your money where your mouth is" in order to help this great site. My guess is not in that regard as well.

Ya know, back in the day I use to walk to school barefooted, uphill in both directions and cleaned the chalk board too. It wasn't always easy.
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






  

....and yes I'd be more than happy to help if needed.


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## daveomak (Jun 30, 2015)

JP61 said:


> AK1 said:
> 
> 
> > As a "premier member" what is good enough in your opinion? Perhaps you could become a mod
> ...




JP......  find something useful to do....  your constant bickering is becoming nauseating...   put a cork in it.....


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## mummel (Jun 30, 2015)

Looking good this morning.  Thanks guys.


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## jp61 (Jun 30, 2015)

DaveOmak said:


> JP...... find something useful to do.... your constant bickering is becoming nauseating... put a cork in it.....


You know what, sir?

DON'T READ IT, I wasn't communicating with you!


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## daveomak (Jun 30, 2015)

JP.....   You should re-read all of your post, to find out just how obnoxious you sound...   At least my posts get "LIKES"....


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## jp61 (Jun 30, 2015)

DaveOmak said:


> JP..... You should re-read all of your post, to find out just how obnoxious you sound... At least my posts get "LIKES"....


Good for you Dave! You're on your way to becoming an SMF legend, good for you.

I have opinions as well and will reply to posts directed at me the way I see fit, hopefully without breaking any rules.


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## BGKYSmoker (Jun 30, 2015)

mummel said:


> Looking good this morning.  Thanks guys.


There were a couple get by this morning, I think Piney, Brian, myself and a couple others got em fast.

Thinking are they using some sort of program to spam so quickly? I'm really not up on the bot stuff.


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## jp61 (Jun 30, 2015)

nepas said:


> There were a couple get by this morning, I think Piney, Brian, myself and a couple others got em fast.
> 
> Thinking are they using some sort of program to spam so quickly? I'm really not up on the bot stuff.


Must have been before I signed in this morning.







  I didn't see any all day so far.


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## wade (Jul 1, 2015)

We have got about 3/4 of a page of them so far today. At least that is better than it used to be.


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## wade (Jul 1, 2015)

10:40am and about 1 3/4 pages. I think whatever has been done has slowed them down quite a lot. The main problem with the new ones though is that you cannot tell what they are advertising. I was so tempted to take up one or two of the fantastic offers from the previous ones


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## jp61 (Jul 1, 2015)

DaveOmak said:


> JP...... find something useful to do.... your constant bickering is becoming nauseating... put a cork in it.....


@ Humdinger, jcollins, and nepas.... I really don't care what you think!

DaveOmak, I have a suggestion for you also.... a bit different than the one you suggested for me.


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## driedstick (Jul 1, 2015)

Mods are doing a super job!!!! 

DS


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## jp61 (Jul 1, 2015)

driedstick said:


> Mods are doing a super job!!!!
> 
> DS


I totally agree!


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## JckDanls 07 (Jul 1, 2015)

JP61 said:


> DaveOmak said:
> 
> 
> > JP...... find something useful to do.... your constant bickering is becoming nauseating... put a cork in it.....
> ...




:icon_eek:


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## jp61 (Jul 1, 2015)

JckDanls 07 said:


>


They happen to LIKE the idea of me putting a cork in it....... LOL


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## jp61 (Jul 1, 2015)

if I could only get my........ I'll be back later when the spam storm is over.


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## jp61 (Jul 1, 2015)

Ok, this time it wasn't too bad. Damn internet!

I'm done bitchin'

Edit:

Jeff and Staff

You guys probably hate this spam 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  bologna more than most of us that brought it to your attention or complained about it. Hope none of you took it personally. I really appreciate and enjoy this site, that's why I'm still here (even though some wish I would disappear). I had spam coming out my eyeballs that evening and just couldn't take it any longer without "filing a complaint". From now on if it keeps happening, when I feel my fuse warming up I'll just sign off and check back later.

Thanks

Good luck, hope you guys can take care of it soon.


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## joe black (Jul 2, 2015)

JP61 said:


> Ok, this time it wasn't too bad. Damn internet!
> 
> 
> I'm done bitchin'
> ...




Thank God..... I'm tired of all the BS.  I have been here only 6 months or so, but I have made some really great friends and have gotten some wonderful tips that have made my cooking improve significantly.  That's a great feeling.  I have really enjoyed the site and am thankful for all of the staff, moderators, admin and everyone that takes their time to make it what it is.  As far as a "Premium Member" is concerned, if it only takes money to get recognition, I'm not interested.  If I can be helpful to anyone or have a tip for anyone, their thanks is all I need.  If someone thinks that I have done a good cook or have a good idea, that's all I need.  The recognition of my peers is what I appreciate, not a "Premium Member" tag that I have paid for.    Joe


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## jp61 (Jul 2, 2015)

Joe Black said:


> Thank God..... I'm tired of all the BS. I have been here only 6 months or so, but I have made some really great friends and have gotten some wonderful tips that have made my cooking improve significantly. That's a great feeling. I have really enjoyed the site and am thankful for all of the staff, moderators, admin and everyone that takes their time to make it what it is. As far as a "Premium Member" is concerned, if it only takes money to get recognition, I'm not interested. If I can be helpful to anyone or have a tip for anyone, their thanks is all I need. If someone thinks that I have done a good cook or have a good idea, that's all I need. The recognition of my peers is what I appreciate, not a "Premium Member" tag that I have paid for. Joe


How nice of you to also pile on. Hope you feel better now. 

*  *

*Recognition......really? What the hell are you talking about? For your information I decided to become a premier member for the reasons listed below, my decision didn't have a damn thing to do with recognition. The "label" or whatever the hell you want to call it is automatic. Recognition from your peers wouldn't be possible without SMF, so get off my ass for supporting this site financially, Joe Black!*

My complaint was about the boatload of spam advertising to the point that, that was all I could see, pages of it. Kind of hard to enjoy the site when it keeps happening over and over again. Premier member or not at the time I felt I had a good reason to complain about it, so I did. If it doesn't bother you any, that's good for you.

The free memberships are still available however, with a premier membership, you are not only supporting this forum but there are PERKS involved too.

You get to turn off the Ads
Post a link to your website, facebook, etc. in your signature area
Place custom text under your username that shows up in all of your posts
Satisfaction of knowing that you are supporting the forum that you love


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## joe black (Jul 2, 2015)

I guess the bold type is to signify that you're a loud mouth.  And the content of your never-ending diatribe indicates that you have absolutely nothing of substance to say.

Have a nice day.


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## jp61 (Jul 2, 2015)

Joe Black said:


> I guess the bold type is to signify that you're a loud mouth. And the content of your never-ending diatribe indicates that you have absolutely nothing of substance to say.
> 
> Have a nice day.


lol...... OK, you win. I'm not going down this road.


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## BGKYSmoker (Jul 2, 2015)

We are all on the same side. Yeah we all have our opinions on this and that, likes and dis likes yada yada.

It looks like the Owner and Admins working together with Huddler have gotten the spamming down to just a few here and there.

SO

For reasons within my control. I am locking this thread down so we as FORUM MEMBERS paid or non paid dont beat each other up, If the Admins wish to re open this thread then thats what they do.

TYAIA

Smoke on


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