[sv1cec]

Folks,

A few words about Version 2.0, to open your appetite.

As it is running on my forums now, it is catching words, which are in the censored words list of vBulletin, and it issues automatic warnings to the poster. The censored words are trapped in the following instances:

1. When you create a new thread.
2. When you reply to a post in a thread.
3. When you edit a post you have submitted before.
4. When you send a Private Message.

This is done for both the titles and the text of the posts.

All this is fine and nice, but there are some issues. For example, let's suppose you implement that system and a member posts some nusty words in one of his posts. The warning is issued, however, the original text, before being censored is nowhere to be found, vBulletin does not store it. It just replaces the letters in the bad words with a predefined character, so you end up with a post like "You are an *******". So? If the poster protests, how do you prove him he has actually typed a censored word?

The things get worst in Private Messages. The PMs are stored in the database, and the admin can read them, but again, they are stored with *****. Now, if it's not easy to tell a member that he was warned because he posted a public post, with obsceneties, how will you convince him that his PM (which goes from one member to the other) was obscene?

So, I am thinking if this feature should be released at all. I can always add one option for post-related automatic warnings, and another for PM-related ones, so the admin can select which one he would implement. Would that be satisfactory?

Also shall I add this automatic warning thing, in e-mails (the Contact Us form)?

Your opinion will be greatly appreciated, so please do not hesitate to comment.

As for the suggestion to warn users who post in old threads, I think this is a ... whole project by itself. My original idea, was that an admin would be able to select from a list of automatic warnings, which one he want to use. However, the changes required in the code, make such an effort totally impossible. Imagine that different code is required to trap the censored words in the edit post, than in the new post and totally different in the PM. So, I guess this is not something you will see in the immediate future.

However, keep those ideas coming, something good (and relatively easy) could come up.

And now the funny thing, yesterday evening my system warned several members of my forum, with no reason. Why? Because in the code, the routine which traps the censored words, is sometimes combined with other routines. In my infinite wisdom, when I was comparing the original message with the final one, I didn't do that at the censor routine only, so almost all the PMs that were send last night, got a warning. Say frustrated users again??? LoL

I am listening folks, keep those ideas coming.

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John