Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19284
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on May 15 2014 06:59 PM
I thought I would start a thread about the actual website since I have some stuff I want to share with the community and get feedback on.
The first thing is you may have noticed spamming attacks on the rise. I think this is because after all these years someone figured out how to register automatically, and this information got shared amongst the spammers. We have been left off the hook because our site is running custom software, and most of the automated attacks target well known software packages like phpBB, VBulletin, and SMF.
So I decided to change the registration page, and ask a few more questions which would throw off spam bots. It does make signing up a little more inconvenient. I don't like CAPTCHAs, so at least I didn't include any of those.
If you'd like to check it out, you'll have to logout first, then visit this link.
http://surfguitar101.com/accounts/register/
Feedback is welcome.
I have no doubt this is a temporary measure and I'll have to tweak it again. It is like an arms race.
Several people have signed up since I turned it on, so I figure it is not impossible to register, lol.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19284
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on May 15 2014 07:02 PM
In my experience, most of the spammers are from overseas and English is not their first language. So it will take them a while to figure out the questions, and they might decide to move on to easier targets.
My fear is this might also discourage some well meaning surf fans that don't have English for a first language. They might decide to pass on signing up. So I'd especially appreciate feedback from our members who are not native English speakers.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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normj
Joined: Apr 26, 2010
Posts: 882
central Indiana
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Posted on May 16 2014 02:39 AM
Brian,
What about adding an explanation above those extra questions. Something to say bear with us, but we have this series of questions to try tp prevent spammers from getting in. Just a thought. Something to tell folks we are discouraging new members, but trying to keep the spammers out.
Norm
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crumble
Joined: Sep 09, 2008
Posts: 3158
Guildford England
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Posted on May 16 2014 05:21 AM
9:30am GMT SG101 is relatively sleepy and I see the spam messages arriving one by one. I don't know the first thing about automation bots but the feeling I get from the timing is that our spammer could be operating manually.
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19284
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on May 16 2014 07:40 AM
normj wrote:
Brian,
What about adding an explanation above those extra questions. Something to say bear with us, but we have this series of questions to try tp prevent spammers from getting in. Just a thought. Something to tell folks we are discouraging new members, but trying to keep the spammers out.
Norm
Well I do have that big apology in the yellow box above the form.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19284
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on May 16 2014 07:41 AM
crumble wrote:
9:30am GMT SG101 is relatively sleepy and I see the spam messages arriving one by one. I don't know the first thing about automation bots but the feeling I get from the timing is that our spammer could be operating manually.
Yes. The registration is done automatically. Then it gets handed over to some poor dope in India, Pakistan, or Indonesia who manually does the spamming.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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normj
Joined: Apr 26, 2010
Posts: 882
central Indiana
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Posted on May 17 2014 08:52 PM
Brian,
I did not even notice the warning when I looked at it.
Norm
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narciso
Joined: Mar 29, 2010
Posts: 324
Spain
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Posted on May 18 2014 06:15 PM
Brian wrote:
In my experience, most of the spammers are from overseas and English is not their first language. So it will take them a while to figure out the questions, and they might decide to move on to easier targets.
My fear is this might also discourage some well meaning surf fans that don't have English for a first language. They might decide to pass on signing up. So I'd especially appreciate feedback from our members who are not native English speakers.
I have been checking the new registration page and I do not find it discouraging. Maybe it is a little funny and it may require an extra effort to understand it depending on the level of English of the person because there are some idioms that might be not easily understood by some people, but the language should not be a great problem to sign up if the person really wants to do it.
— https://lospipelines.es/
Find us on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and all other music platforms.
https://www.youtube.com/@LosPipelines
https://www.instagram.com/los_pipelines/?next=%2F
Los Pipelines - Facebook
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19284
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on May 18 2014 06:43 PM
Thank you narciso!
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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togergo
Joined: Jan 23, 2012
Posts: 282
Budapest
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Posted on May 19 2014 06:59 AM
Some css hidden text inputs can be good too. If you write something into theese, you are a spambot.
— original compositions (low-level demo stuff /out of tune, etc) myStuff not my best, but i don't like to be in a musician community without anything to show
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19284
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on May 19 2014 07:59 AM
togergo wrote:
Some css hidden text inputs can be good too. If you write something into theese, you are a spambot.
Yup, already got one. 
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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ElMonstroPorFavor
Joined: Sep 01, 2006
Posts: 2721
New Orleans, LA
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Posted on May 19 2014 08:17 AM
I don't think it would discourage me. I thought it was pretty funny
— Storm Surge of Reverb: Surf & Instro Radio
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19284
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Jun 27 2014 01:07 PM
Hey everyone. I've been busy doing other stuff for a long time, but I want to start working on SG101 again soon. My long term road map for SG101 is to redesign the looks of the site to make it more responsive to smaller devices like phones and tablets. We talked about doing this last October in another thread. Rest assured, this is still in the plan.
A medium-term goal is to get the site on SSL. In other words, you'll access SG101 over https. It really does keep me awake at night that we are not doing this now. But it isn't easy to switch because of mixed content issues. I'll talk about more about this later and solicit some feedback about the best way to go forward on this. Your privacy and security are important to me. I just wish I had more time to devote to this site to implement it.
Near-term goals include refactoring the PM system and possibly creating a surf band map. The PM system with the pop-up window is clumsy to use on a small device and in hindsight was a mistake. I'll be ripping it out and going back to something similar to what we had before the pop-up.
Kahuna Kawentzmann's Surf Band map is awesome, no doubt. But I'd like to create one for SG101 primarily because KK hasn't been very active in the SG101 community lately and it might become harder to update it in the future. If you have ideas about how our band map should work please let me know. I want to make it so members can easily add bands to the map but I haven't thought about it further than that.
So stay tuned and thanks for your support.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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JakeDobner
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 12159
Seattle
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Posted on Jun 27 2014 01:32 PM
Brilliant!
Any thoughts on how the Surf Band map would interact with information about the bands? I am wondering if there is a chance to link to bandcamp pages or to embed bandcamp/spotify/etc. playlists in there...
You are, literally, the best.
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DaveF
Joined: May 10, 2009
Posts: 1115
Green Valley, AZ
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Posted on Jun 27 2014 05:59 PM
A lot of youtube videos won't attach.
Example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf0fRw__980
"Oops an error occurred, bad request" .
Never mind, I see you have to change "https" to "http"
Last edited: Jun 27, 2014 18:03:27
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19284
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Jun 27 2014 09:21 PM
JakeDobner wrote:
Any thoughts on how the Surf Band map would interact with information about the bands? I am wondering if there is a chance to link to bandcamp pages or to embed bandcamp/spotify/etc. playlists in there...
Yeah I dunno. A couple of thoughts come to mind.
- Make it simple just like the member map. You can put your band on a map with 1 link of your choice.
- We have 264 bands in our band link section. Seems a shame not to use that information somehow. Maybe add a location field? Then again collecting links like that seems so 1996. Few people add their bands there anymore. There are probably many dead links.
- Build some kind of band profile system where bands can add multiple links as well as a location for a map.
You are, literally, the best.
You are too kind Jake! Keep the ideas coming if you have any. I always appreciate your input.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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dboomer
Joined: Jan 05, 2009
Posts: 262
Port Hueneme, CA
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Posted on Jun 28 2014 09:19 AM
Wait! You mean "cat" isn't a color?
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crumble
Joined: Sep 09, 2008
Posts: 3158
Guildford England
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Posted on Jul 05 2014 04:03 PM
Brian. Something I'd really like to see on SG101 is photo enlargement. Best if I direct you HERE rather than try to explain. The way the picture blows up with a single click, the acceleration takes you by surprise. Very cool I think.
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JakeDobner
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 12159
Seattle
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Posted on Jul 05 2014 04:08 PM
Malc, you can also drag the photo into the area a new tab goes and it will open in a new tab at full size. That is my trick, anyways.
Or right-click and "open image in new tab"
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19284
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Jul 05 2014 04:09 PM
I spent a few hours hacking the contest system so that we can now have multiple winners. So stay tuned for our next give-away (coming very soon) in which 3 lucky people will win a CD from a Spanish band.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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