Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

[Valka D'Ur]

Would you mention it to them, please?

 

[ori]

Of course (plus this thread is monitored by admins as well)

 

[Catharsis]

Shouldn't be. It's just a thing every user has to go through once, I believe.

Yep, once I typed 'OK' and gave some names to the CFC Un-Human Activities Committee (sorry Valka & schmiddi - but as they say, nothing to hide, nothing to fear right? ) the message disappeared and I was allowed to get on with my day without further intimidation.

Thanks

 

[JollyRoger]

So that message is intended to be read by bots and not humans?

 

[ainwood]

I cannot turn it off for existing users. It is intended to be read by humans, as we get a number of humans who register an initial account and populate the details to have spam bots register later. There is probably there is a spammers database out there that has details of what needs to be entered in that box, to automate it.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

So every single time we change anything at all, we have to go through that annoyance?

 

[Heretic_Cata]

Yea, this is basically worse than Hitler.
Also, while you're at it, you should also remove the captcha from the new user registration. It makes me mildly anoyed.

 

[Camikaze]

So every single time we change anything at all, we have to go through that annoyance?

No, as I said (with bolding):

Shouldn't be. It's just a thing every user has to go through once, I believe.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

The reason I asked is because ainwood just said it can't be turned off for existing users.

 

[Camikaze]

Yes, so existing users also have to go through the process. Once.

 

[Takhisis]

If you use the password reset feature then you don't go through that. Is that intended to be?

 

[plastiqe]

Bethesda Softworks Forums have a captcha that requires you to drag and drop puzzle pieces into an image and afterwards still requires e-mail confirmation. Since there are still advertising bots that get through CFC's filters (I've seen quite a few in Civ4 section alone). I think upgrading the initial account creation requirements could be something to look into. Been a long time since I registered here so I dunno what it's like now.

Testing people to see if they are human after X posts seems pointless because if it's an advertising bot account you're gonna know right away, but doing it once isn't a big deal.

 

[Double A]

Wait, why would anyone use official forums as a model for anything ever? Official forums are terrible in every aspect.

 

[ori]

Actually the current spam prevention at sign up works reasonably well - while we are seeing some more coming through, its nothing compared to what happened prior to these filters being put in place. That this particular "are you human?" test cannot be disabled selectively for established accounts is unfortunate, but should really only be a minor inconvenience.

 

[Double A]

How come every time I try to search for something, the site launches a second query immediately after the first one so makes me wait 15 seconds before I can actually search?

 

[sophie]

How come every time I try to search for something, the site launches a second query immediately after the first one so makes me wait 15 seconds before I can actually search?

Yeah, searching through a thread by user's posts is especially irritating for this reason.

 

[NickyJ]

So, back to the confirmation form... What happens if I type "Okay"? Should I expect the government's finest rappelling teams to be coming down my chimney while their snipers keep my windows covered? Should I be diving behind the kitchen cabinets right about now before an M60 rakes my computer desk?

 

[Loppan Torkel]

How anonymous are the 'anonymous polls' (they're called private, I think) really? Is there a history that could be checked? Do the mods have access to it?

 

[Camikaze]

Admins (or at least super-admins) can see who voted for what in an anonymous poll, mods cannot.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Is there a rule on whether or not Mods are allowed to use hidden mode when they are logged in?

I suggest that there should be - that they shouldn't be allowed to log in under hidden mode. Aside from handing down the almighty ban hammer, a mods job is to field questions and complaints. When a mod logs on under hidden mode we have no idea which mods are actually logged on and available to talk to. Given the fact that there is already a problem of not enough mods on staff, the use of hidden mode really unnecessarily exacerbates the problem.