Lucien's Desk - a thread for moderators and Even More Helpful Helpers

scorchascorcha
edited July 2014 in Sandman Book Club
I thought a mod/helpful thread might be helpful, both so we can introduce ourselves to each other and alert each other to any ongoing issues. Feel free to post below!

My introduction is here, and I'm planning on stopping by Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, during that period where I inevitably find myself unable to concentrate and messing around on the internet anyway.
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Comments

  • Joi_the_ArtistJoi_the_Artist
    Hello! My introduction is here. I just have this board open in a tab on my browser at all times (I'm one of those 20-tab people) and stop by a couple of times a day. What can I say? I'm unemployed, and this is interesting. :)
  • DanielDaniel
    You can find me here . I'm more like Joi_the_Artist, although I may be interrupted to actually do work at time. Hopefully, we won't ever need to actually use this space, but it is good to know what time-tables everyone's going to be on.
  • GordMcLeodGordMcLeod
    Heya guys. This is my introduction. This tab is permanently open in my browser, and I'll be combing through the forums at random intervals a couple of times per day, give or take. So far I expect the moderation workload to be pretty light; we have a very encouragingly friendly crowd, it seems!
  • MarianCallMarianCall
    Hello all!  I'm supposed to be working on writing a grant today, so I'll be brief, but I think you all know me anyhow.

    I'll probably be in once a day or every other day, and I feel SO grateful to have more eyes on the forums.  I hate the thought of going 48 hours without noticing an issue, I can relax a lot more knowing you are here!

    And I'm delighted to check in today and see a ton of discussion.  Hey, this little tweet really turned into something!
  • MattTroedsonMattTroedson
    HI all,

    I'm writing on an old computer setup at the mo' so not sure how to grab a link for my intro, but there's one posted in its proper space.  Mebbe when I get back on my own computer I'll edit this.  

    Just wanted to say hi and I'll keep an eye on the board when I'm on my computer which is almost daily.


  • AK_BeckyAK_Becky
    Hello everyone! I'm Becky, my intro is here. Not currently working regularly, so I'll be checking back daily, most likely at least once mid-morning through early afternoon, then again later in the evening (Alaska time) most days.  Excited to see where this will all go! It's been pretty great so far.  :)
  • mjperljammjperljam
    How are you getting the URL for an individual post?
  • Joi_the_ArtistJoi_the_Artist
    Right-click on the the timestamp for the post you want to link to, and choose "copy link address." 
  • ejr_loejr_lo
    Hi everyone, I'm Ed and my intro is here.

    As I'm in a different timezone from most of you (as a result of being in England and all), I'd imagine that I'll be logging on at slightly de-conflicted times from you all but I'll still be trying to check in most days.
  • mjperljammjperljam
    I am Michael and my intro info is here (@Joi - thx for the tip for getting individual post URLs. I never thought to try the timestamp.) I am very technical - I have managed many Websites and maintained computers/networks for work and fun. I try and check these Forums a few times a day. If I can be of any assistance, just ask.
  • numindannumindan
    Hi all. I'm Sheelagh and I'm late (oh noes!). My intro is here and I'm going to do my best to pop-in as much as possible. Once a day may not be feasible but I'll most definitely be in the forums a few times a week.  
  • GingerGinger
    Hi, all! I'm Ginger, and I'm 'later' than Sheelagh. Here's my intro. My job means I keep odd hours, but I'm generally online at some point every day or so.
  • twodogs9twodogs9
    Hi everyone! I'm Jay Korman & my intro is here. I work odd hours & sleep even odder so I'll be checking in several times during the day. I'm keeping the tab open on the home desktop, like several others here, and will soon have it open on the office 'puter.
  • clockworkratclockworkrat
    edited March 2014
    Hello all! I'm Reuben, aka clockworkrat. I tend to use my iPhone to view the website, usually once or twice an evening mon-wed and frequently throughout thurs-sun.
  • Joi_the_ArtistJoi_the_Artist
    So, um, interesting thing. After 2.5 years of unemployment, I got a job yesterday. I start training on Tuesday (probably). Therefore, my time here will be more limited. I'll still be around in evenings (Pacific time), but less so during the day.
  • MarianCallMarianCall
    Congrats Joi!
  • DanielDaniel
    Unacceptable, Joi. There are far too many problems and too much chaos on here for you to get a job and leave us.

    And by that, I mean congratulations! Hope the new job goes well.
  • jonsagerjonsager
    Hi, I'm Jon Sager. I'm on vacation right now. This was one of my short internet jaunts. I'll be back Tuesday full force though. Glad to see so many stepping up to help.
  • GingerGinger
    Congrats, Joi!
  • twodogs9twodogs9
    Joi, Congratulations and felicitous times in your new endeavor.
  • ejr_loejr_lo
    Congratulations, Joi! Best of luck with the new job.
  • clockworkratclockworkrat
    Is it possible to have Lucida Sans Unicode as a font option? 

    its the default font on this forum but sometimes in my html heavy posts sometimes the font changes into another font. I am able to fix this manually, but i'm not sure if most would.
  • MattTroedsonMattTroedson
    Congrats Joi!
  • numindannumindan
    Congrats Joi!  May your new job bring you *ahem* Joy.

    Sorry, just could not help myself. I blame the crazy winter everyone in the world is having this year...
  • scorchascorcha
    Congrats Joi!
  • Joi_the_ArtistJoi_the_Artist
    Oh man, thanks for the well-wishes, all! I truly didn't mean to derail this forum. :)
  • MarianCallMarianCall
    No worries! We have some potentially spammy accounts but otherwise not much for people to do as of yet, so we moderators may keep occupied with being happy to one another.  :)
  • MarianCallMarianCall
    I will say this: we've had a lot more spammy-looking signups in the last two days. I haven't seen any spam in our discussions, but some does occasionally appear in the Activity feed (not sure if you guys can see it, but normal members cannot).

    I had to delete about 10 fake users today and 10 yesterday.  If this does keep up, I may give you privileges to delete users like I have -- on the strict understanding they will only be used to delete accounts that are clearly spam.
  • MarianCallMarianCall
    Never mind that, change of policy -- from now on I'll approve new members directly, since the bulk of our membership has already signed up.  That should stop the fake signups.  I'll make a note in the welcome letter and on the Twitters.

    If you see anyone complain anywhere online, just refer them to me and/or let them know why the policy change.  Cuz spambots-in-waiting.
  • GordMcLeodGordMcLeod
    Understood. That's a good policy to have now. It was only a matter of time before the spambot army found our little retreat.
  • DanielDaniel
    Is there a way for mods to see that someone was already spoken too, or passed up the system? I wouldn't want someone to feel 'ganged up on'. Some type of ticket system, or should it be posted here? 
  • MarianCallMarianCall
    ******IMPORTANT NOTE FOR ALL MODERATORS: 

    I ask that you email me if you plan to talk to somebody, I'd like to know if it's going to happen.  And I will probably make a note here about it, without mentioning user names.  I'll just state that we had a situation in such and such a thread, and that it has been / needs to be dealt with.

    Not ganging up on people = very good idea.
  • DanielDaniel
    Hi Marian, one more procedural question. When contacting you on such matters, should we use your Marian@ address, the Bookclub@ address or both? Not saying that there's a current problem, but I like to sort these questions out ahead of time.

    Thanks for all the work you put and are further putting into this. Been having a blast.
  • MarianCallMarianCall
    They both come to the same place, so it doesn't matter at all which you use.  Thanks!
  • MattTroedsonMattTroedson
    Hi all,

    I'm going to be away from the internet most of this coming week due to travel and job interviews.  I'll try to drop in as I can, but I wanted to let you know my status. 

    My cat, Annie, is insistently pawing my elbow so obviously she wants to say hello to Marian.

    Cheers,
    Matt
  • MarianCallMarianCall
    *waves* Hi Annie! Be merciful to us in your dreams!
  • MarianCallMarianCall
    We're having our first medium-serious spammy account signup attack, about 4-5 fake accounts trying to sign up per minute.  We're on it from this end, and thankfully none of the fake accounts have been able to post anything yet (since all members have to be manually approved by me).

    We'll fix what we can tonight, I think we can manage it OK with some fixes to the signup process and a database edit, but I'll have to sleep in a couple hours...and y'know, I worry just in case.  So if you guys are able to keep a weather eye out for spammy posts overnight and tomorrow, deleting any you see, I would appreciate it!

    Marian
  • DanielDaniel
    Ok, thanks for letting us know
  • MarianCallMarianCall
    Deleted all the users from the database and reinstituted the Captcha, and that seems to have solved it so far.  Still...
  • AK_BeckyAK_Becky
    I just wanted to let everyone know that I will suddenly (unexpectedly) be out of town for about a week, starting tomorrow evening, and going through the following Wednesday. (It's for good reasons, no need to worry, we're surprising Grandma for her bday). I may be able to check in some during the following week, but chances are my involvement will be very...limited. And I likely won't be checking every day anymore. Have fun, everyone, and I will be excited to catch up with you when I get back.  :)
  • DanielDaniel
    Marian, are you sure it's not just Puck trying to join? He can be a pain.
  • ejr_loejr_lo
    There appears to be a new spam thread (and post) in the "Call Center: Marian Call Discussions" section, entitled "Louis Vuitton Superior heel boot isn't suited footwear for official occasions l" (here) but it won't let me delete it (it's the only post which doesn't have the normal 'Edit' & 'Delete'  moderator buttons.

    Do one of you want to have ago whilst I email Marian?  Thank you.
  • DanielDaniel
    I'm seeing what I can do about it
  • DanielDaniel
    I deleted the user "

    ngkwpvqj


    and I had the option to delete all content posted by that user
  • DanielDaniel
    And I forgot to write down his ip. I think it was in the 116.x.x.x range. If this happens again, I'll do a better report, but I was a little too focused on getting it down this time.
  • MarianCallMarianCall
    Thanks guys, I was asleep -- very much appreciate it!
  • DanielDaniel
    Something I noticed after this issue - this thread is currently open to all readers, even those unsubscribed. I don't know if that was intentional or not, but I had actually thought this was private. Not saying that it needs to be, just making sure everything is the way it's supposed to be
  • MarianCallMarianCall
    I'm ok with this being open, as this is not the space to talk about specific user issues anyway -- that would be email.  Thankfully none have emerged yet!
  • MarianCallMarianCall
    ONE LAST REQUEST that I forgot to put in the letter I sent you today!  This is important, and will be easy with lots of eyeballs.  Just do it occasionally when you remember:
    1. When you login, before you go to the discussions, go to Dashboard > Users.
    2. Sort by "First Visit." New users and folks trying to register will be at the top.
    3. This is where our occasional spammy folks collect at the rate of 1-3 per day.  Mostly they get caught at the "confirm email" stage.  Their handles are obviously fake, and usually from hotmail or outlook accounts.  Just delete them, and remove all their content.
    4. The newest legitimate member to join us is from March 10th with a gmail address. Don't delete her please, or anyone before her unless they get spammy.

    There! How could I forget that?  It was my main reason for emailing you all in the first place.

  • MarianCallMarianCall
    By the way, has anyone else been having SUPER weird dreams since starting this whole exercise?  Because I definitely have.  Last night there were curious and seemingly friendly (but deeply sinister) roomba robots and a tiger.
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