Ask the Moderators

[Pitry]

less of a question, more a notification: someone's sending spam email probably through the contact info in people's profiles here in Gateworld, as I got a spam message which is Stargate related.

I assume there's nothing to do about it except remove my contact details, but anyway thought I'd let you guys know.

[TameFarrar]

less of a question, more a notification: someone's sending spam email probably through the contact info in people's profiles here in Gateworld, as I got a spam message which is Stargate related.

I assume there's nothing to do about it except remove my contact details, but anyway thought I'd let you guys know.

you are welcome to forward the email onto any of the Moderators so we can pinpoint where it is coming from. Normally only a member can see how to send you any email through GW and the email should state that *You have a message from *XYZ* from GateWorld

[Pitry]

you are welcome to forward the email onto any of the Moderators so we can pinpoint where it is coming from. Normally only a member can see how to send you any email through GW and the email should state that *You have a message from *XYZ* from GateWorld

I don't believe it's a real email address but I'll forward it anyway if it would help you guys...
the email wasn't sent through Gateworld though, it was sent by harvesting the contact info in my profile, in this case my msn address which is also a hotmail email address (and is now removed from my profile ), if this makes sense... I'm assuming the information was taken from Gateworld because the title is Stargate related - it's just too much of a coincidence - but not because of any indication it was sent through the forum...

[TameFarrar]

I don't believe it's a real email address but I'll forward it anyway if it would help you guys...
the email wasn't sent through Gateworld though, it was sent by harvesting the contact info in my profile, in this case my msn address which is also a hotmail email address (and is now removed from my profile ), if this makes sense... I'm assuming the information was taken from Gateworld because the title is Stargate related - it's just too much of a coincidence - but not because of any indication it was sent through the forum...

our information is safeguarded to my knowledge so they couldn't have *harvested* it from GW

However Darren or Greg can correct me if I am wrong. But they would have to be ON our server and have passworded privilege to get that information in order to *harvest* as you are implying.

[Pitry]

our information is safeguarded to my knowledge so they couldn't have *harvested* it from GW

However Darren or Greg can correct me if I am wrong. But they would have to be ON our server and have passworded privilege to get that information in order to *harvest* as you are implying.

Okay then, this might just be a weird coincidence... thanks anyway!

[jelgate]

Is a rep comment stretching my browser a good enough reason to ask a mod to delete said comment? If the answer is yes will you PM me so I can tell you who rep comment I would like deleted?

[Supreme Commander Sil]

You're welcome ,Sil.

Yep.To be honest ,it isn't just the word used,but the context it's used in,or the personal opinion of the beholder.

Less is more ,if that makes sense.Ideally Darren prefers us all to "keep it PG",so it's generally preferable to find a nicer euphemism in posts .

Thanks
Yeah, context has a huge impact. Sometimes a word isn't vulgar until it's used that way....
"Trash" is generally a good one

[Skydiver]

Is a rep comment stretching my browser a good enough reason to ask a mod to delete said comment? If the answer is yes will you PM me so I can tell you who rep comment I would like deleted?

yes, that can be sufficient reason

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

less of a question, more a notification: someone's sending spam email probably through the contact info in people's profiles here in Gateworld, as I got a spam message which is Stargate related.

I assume there's nothing to do about it except remove my contact details, but anyway thought I'd let you guys know.

I just checked my email in the hotmail account I use for GW.. I have one of these messages as well...

[Darren]

The vB forum software settings allow you to display your contact info on your profile to the public, or to restrict it to only your friends and contacts (or all registered members). You can change the setting here:

http://forum.gateworld.net/profile.php?do=privacy

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

I already had it set to registered members and have now changed it to friends only. But it doesn't seem to protect instant messaging icons displayed on posts, MSN at least, Pitry's ICQ address seems to be protected; when I click on the icon I get a privacy message..

[Jper]

I'm sorry to say this Darren, but that doesn't help. It's not the "real e-mail" address (the one we need to give up when registering) they (whoever they are) are after it's the info provide in the "Instant Messaging" part of "Edit your Details". The info which is then stored behind the icons (i.e. the MSN icon) that are then displayed on every post you make and they are apparently visible to non-registered members, guests. Apparently this is visible to everyone on every post you make regardless of your profile-privacy settings. No? Apparently those settings only apply to tab on your profile and options in "contact information" added over the forum.

I had the same problem as was explained here above, and I moved the message to spam, but new messages kept coming until I removed my MSN messenger address the other day. I did, at the same time (a couple of days earlier), restrict access to my profile and all. However, I tried, as a guest (before and after restricting access), to access my profile page and registered e-mail address, but that doesn't work. You get the "there's been a lot of trafic the last 48 hours" etc. error message. I tried this all out when I was experimenting with the privacy settings.

There definitely must be a problem somewhere there because restricting access to registered users (for everything) didn't help, the messages just kept coming, albeit in the spam folder between all the thousands of other spam mails I receive, but nonetheless, it did stop when I removed the MSN address. I just thought I was the only one having problems and I thought it was possible there was some other explanation, but now that other people collaborated the story it seems more likely.

Anyway, just my .02. Hope it's useful.

[Skydiver]

Just playing the devil's advocate here...when i used MSN messenger i got DELUGED with spam and 'see my webcam' invites, until i set my messenger to 'only allow those on my friends list to contact me' (dunno if they still allow that, i haven't logged onto messenger in years)

However, it is my firm belief that MSN and Hotmail sells their member addresses, because I once got an e-mail that i never gave to anyone, never used for any online thing, and i still got spam on it.

I'm not saying that there might not be something else going on, just relaying an experience that I had with MSN Messenger and spam

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

That does seem to be the case a lot of the time. On my main account most of the emails I get are spam. But I set up a new account just for GW to keep it separate from real life. And up until a week ago I had received no spam at all on that account. I checked with Pitry and Jper and we have all had Stargate related spam from the same email address.

[Skydiver]

pm me the e-mail address or the IP that the mail is coming from, maybe we can look and see if it ties into any of the spammers that we smack