New e-mail policy

Recently I have found that spam arriving in my inbox has started to increase. Many members will note that I have posted my e-mail address numerous times to allow them to send photos they'd like included in their comments and for other reasons.

Whilst there is a mechanism in place to assist with blocking spam robots syphoning e-mail addresses on this website there was a period prior to this feature being included that I still posted the same address.

Have any of you noticed an increase in spam? If so then please let me know by replying to this thread below.

Because my own intake of spam is starting to eat into time I could be doing other things with I've decided that it is time to add an extra layer of protection for members who want others to be able to contact them. I am hoping this doesn't take too long to set up and roll out.

Part of the new policy will include the following:-

1. All e-mail addresses included in posts will become invisible to non-members and also members who are not signed in. E-mail addresses will be disguised with e-mail address hidden to anyone not registered and logged in. This will completely block any further attempts at syphoning addresses by hostile spam robots.

2. Members will soon get the ability to either show or hide their e-mail address in their profiles. The default setting will remain as 'hidden'. Even when a member enables their e-mail address to become public it will only be available to members who are signed in. Anyone not registered and logged in will continue to receive the message that appears now.

3. A third option will be available, again, settable on/off by members. This option will allow members to keep their e-mail address hidden but enable an e-mail form to appear in their member profile. This will allow messages to be sent to that member by other members but a sender will have to be a registered member and logged in before they can use the form. It will be a strict condition of membership of this website that members do not abuse any of these features for any reason.

I am sure that we are all of one voice regarding spam. It's rude, annoying and always against the receiving party's wishes. Hopefully this new feature set will make it too unproductive and time-consuming for any potential spammer to exploit.

Again, your thoughts on these features, ideas on better ways to roll them out or your thoughts on spamming in general are most welcome. Just reply in this thread in the usual way.

Update: Please see Special Announcements on the Forums home page for further news on these features.

Written at 22:18 on 20 April 2010 by Brad.

Member	Comment
Duconbuster   Member #: 526 7 August 2009. Posts: 269. Loc: Not supplied, VIC. Loc: Australia.	Posted at 22:29 on 7 May 2010.
	Email address at hidden sounds like a good idea. I've forgotten to remove or alter the symbol when making posts, logging in requirement is excellent idea as well as option three.
Brad Administrator   Member #: 1 15 November 2005. Posts: 831. Loc: Hill End, NSW.	Posted at 22:33 on 7 May 2010.
	The symbol is replaced with an image by the forum's rendering engine so the address can only be seen by a real person. My next task is to make e-mail addresses in posts visible only to members as per Point 1 above. I've prepared the code but implementat   ------------------------------------------------------ Regards, Brad. You get more from valves.

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