I tried to join another forum - & after posting my introduction...

[leashedForLife]

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... discovered i couldn't edit my profile, post an avatar, attach a signature, or even POST ASKING FOR HELP on the "tech" thread for assistance with forum problems.  :blink:

So after appending those problems to my 'introduction' post, apparently the only forum i was allowed to post on, I stripped my original intro-post, edited it to explain that there was little point in posting personal details where i clearly was not wanted, & the Admin of the forum banned me, LOL.

here's their pop-up window -
____________________________________________________________

You have been banned for the following reason:
Posting unwanted spam

Date the ban will be lifted:
Never
________________________________________________________________
 

So ... how come i couldn't edit my profile, upload an avatar, or even post on any thread but Introductions? ... // Nobody's saying.

 

[arealhuman]

Some forums have different controls to others which can be set by the forum owner(s).  So for example, you might not be able to post in certain sections or carry out certain activities until a real person has reviewed your data, whether it's the information you've provided or the posts you've made.  It may be that your activities were detected as spam, but if a forum is that hard to use you're better off not using it.  Your only other option is to re-register using a different IP address and details if you really want to use it, and not add any of the stuff you mentioned.

 

[leashedForLife]

It was very odd, indeed - 'cuz a box popped up after i registered, reminding me to edit my profile, etc. :blink:
So when i tried to do just that, & another pop-up told me that  i "didn't have the right to access that content" or words to that effect, i was *really* confused - & irritated.  :huh:

I won't be returning - not worth the hassle, frankly. //  If i can't post anywhere other than 'Intros' for however long i'm in Limbo, & Admin lacks the  brains  to tell new members that they're dead in the water for ___[enter time frame]____ , however long it takes for someone to confirm they're humans not bots or otherwise clear them as legit, then i can't be arsed.
*shrug* .   Lesson learned.
 - terry

 

[leashedForLife]

BTW, i didn't write the epic that i wrote here, LOL - 
my intro post there was short & simple, "i'm a crossover trainer living in Boston, & my specialty is B-Mod"...  sums it up.  

 

[arealhuman]

Sounds as though they haven't set it up very well.

 

[leashedForLife]

either that, or there was some sort of 'trial period'???  -
 but i was hanged if i'd wait a week or whatever just to make a profile, that's silly, & if the intent was delayed full access so that 'bots & spammers couldn't post, then the pop-up prompting me to edit my profile was asinine, so yeah... in any case, badly set up.     Very much agree.

 

[JenSTL]

I encountered something similar - I tried to join another forum, activated my account, and the next day when I went to post I discovered I had been banned forever for a missing intro post. I hadn't been an official member for 24 hours! So I'm hoping this forum is more welcoming.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Hi JenSTL

I think you will find this forum very friendly and welcoming.

 

[excuseme]

Hello,

Most definitely a friendly forum, we try to help too. 

 

[arealhuman]

I encountered something similar - I tried to join another forum, activated my account, and the next day when I went to post I discovered I had been banned forever for a missing intro post. I hadn't been an official member for 24 hours! So I'm hoping this forum is more welcoming.

It is!  Welcome here, I've not been here that long and everyone is friendly and helpful  

 

[eingana]

I know a whole selection of forums which ban users who post anything that looks like a cut and paste piece as spammers, because that's a trick used by spammers that need to get up to a certain post count before they can post links.

I can't believe that there's anywhere daft enough to ban you for not editing your profile or introducing yourself.  That surely is shooting yourself in the foot as a forum owner.  On the other forum I manage we look closely at those who DO introduce themselves as that's often a way to spot those who are arriving with an agenda because they've already been banned under another ID.

Have you tried using their Helpdesk or Contact Us link to ask the relevant admin team what is going on?

 

[leashedForLife]

@eingana - 

* i did introduce myself - then discovered it was the only sub-forum i had posting privileges on. :blink:
* i didn't CUT & PASTE anything; my intro was my childhood experience of training my 1st pup via 4-H.
* i sent help requests twice via their contact form - i got no answers.

That's when i gave up, put up my 2nd post (on my intro thread)  re the block on editing my profile, posting an avatar, etc, then *deleted* my ALL ORIGINAL COMPOSITION initial intro post, & went to bed.
Next morning, i found that i'd been "banned for life" for "spamming" - their words.  :lol:   //  If their Admin thinks complaining 'cuz i can't set up a profile, etc, NOR post on any sub-forum other than "introductions" is spamming, i don't want to register there, anyway.
It certainly explained why 80% of the membership had no avatar - just a generic human-torso / head icon. 

 - terry

 

[eingana]

Well that doesn't sound like the sort of forum I'd want to be a member of anyway! 

Any good forum has a policy of answering all helpdesk tickets (with the possible exception of duplicate tickets and just outright abuse) and any site that doesn't believe in making their forum a nice place to be doesn't deserve to have forum users.

 

[leashedForLife]

 I was just clearing my spam-box, & found a 'private message' - an autobot e-mail, sent from the XYZ Forum. 
Herewith a pasted copy, sans identifiers - BOLD added for emphasis.

'

"  **Please make sure you post ONE TIME in our 'Attention All New Members' forum area ( __link___ )  FIRST. 
This will fully activate the permissions on your account to use the rest of our site.
When you make this post, it will take the site software about 90 minutes to update your status so please be patient with us."
________________________________

It would be nice if i'd seen this that evening - however, it was over 2-hours, & i was still restricted to Intro and dead in the water. *shrug*
I guess their software can't tell time.    No great loss.
- t 

 

[eingana]

Well, every forum has their own ways to reduce the impact that spam has on their forum, but it's a shame to impose such specific rules on to new users when you cannot guarantee that they have seen the emailed instructions.

 

[arealhuman]

You did to them what they did to you - detected potential spam   Always keep an eye on your spam/junk folder!

 

[leashedForLife]

not really,   -
in their case, the Admin / site owner personally wrote a post on my Intro thread, accusing me of spamming, & i was too frustrated to bother replying.
I went to bed. // The next time the page refreshed, a pop-up box announced my doom. 

in contrast, their robo-message went into my spam-box courtesy of the software; i didn't send it there myself. // I check my spam-file any time there are more than a couple of messages, which is no more than twice weekly... i STILL get 'Candian Pharmacy' offers for cut-rate Viagra & other junk, but it's a bare trickle.

The rare spam i get in my in-box i always tag, i don't simply delete it, as then i'm not educating the software, & spam-sources are very persistent. 

 - t