Advice

[calumn]

Hello

I have a computer and web development forum here: www.computalk.net

It has been up and running for about 1 and 1/2 years with 15,000 posts now and getting more active daily.

Today I got the custom skin upgraded then upgraded the forum to 3.8

I have a few things that I am looking to get answered or get advice on. As you can tell I am not really running this forum for profit (I make a loss) and don't have a huge budget:

1. Spam - We got tonnes of spam like 50+ threads a day until I installed a modification that limits users with under 25 posts from posting links or images. This worked but we still get tonnes of spam bots every day who join. Recently we had 7000 members I deleted 2000 unactivated members, about 2000 non-post members that had joined and then using MySQL I deleted any members with words like sex, porn, viagra etc. in their name. This cleaned them up but they still join. I recently set up askiment as well as switching to ReCaptcha (did it today) and it seems to have dropped but I wonder if anyone has any other advice?
2. Hosting - I currently have a 512Mb VPS at WiredTree that I use to host computalk and a few other sites. However I very often hit the RAM limit and computalk uses quite a lot of memory. I have done some optimisation tips from vbsetup such as moving avatars, albums etc. to the filesystem and stuff. Any other things I can do to cut resource usage?
3. Revenue - Currently the site only earns maybe $0.50/day in adsense but this may go up a little now I switched to the built in vbulletin adsense that has a more prominent position. I have heard that adsense doesn't work well on forums. I could maybe use CPM ads in which cause what is the best network? I also heard about selling private ads. Would it work me actually contacting things like small software companies etc. asking if they are interested?
4. Fighting - whats the best way to deal with disruptive and stupid members who get banned for permanently trolling, flaming, fighting etc. but then keep coming back and ruining the forum with posts about free speach etc. etc.

Thanks
Calum

[King Kovifor]

1. You may want to turn on reCAPTCHA, it works wonders (and I reduced spam bots on my site by about 95% I believe).

4. You may want to think about an IP ban on these members.

[calumn]

Thanks for your help King Kovifor.

1. I did turn on reCaptcha early today and compared to most days it is definitely a lot less - maybe even 95% like you mentioned but I will keep an eye on it.

4. They just keep coming back - they have no real skills expect knowing how to use a proxy and how to be a troll on a forum.

[Lynne]

1. I use Is Bot and it's wonderful. I took out the code that sends an email to the admin everytime it stops a bot from registering because I was getting about 2 or 3 emails an hour. We also use One-Touch Clean and Ban so my Mods can quickly get rid of any spam they see. I'm also set up so with the click of a button I can moderate all first posts from users. That takes setting up your usergroups differently and using the promotion system. I have it off right now because the other two mods are so effective.

4. I PM with them and if they continue, I use Access Masks to stop them from being in certain forums. If they still continue, they get banned. And, One-Touch Clean and Ban is very easy for the mods to just ban them again if they continue to come. I will IP ban them (through htaccess) if they have a static IP or if their dynamic IP range is not in use by other users also.

[Digital Jedi]

Originally Posted by column

1. Spam - We got tonnes of spam like 50+ threads a day until I installed a modification that limits users with under 25 posts from posting links or images. This worked but we still get tonnes of spam bots every day who join. Recently we had 7000 members I deleted 2000 unactivated members, about 2000 non-post members that had joined and then using MySQL I deleted any members with words like sex, porn, viagra etc. in their name. This cleaned them up but they still join. I recently set up askiment as well as switching to ReCaptcha (did it today) and it seems to have dropped but I wonder if anyone has any other advice?

Try the NoSpam! modification for eliminating automatic registration. ReCAPTCHA and CAPTCHA in general is not as effective as a flexible Q/A system. This one is also more flexible then the built in human verification system and a lot easier to manage and expand upon.

2. Hosting - I currently have a 512Mb VPS at WiredTree that I use to host computalk and a few other sites. However I very often hit the RAM limit and computalk uses quite a lot of memory. I have done some optimisation tips from vbsetup such as moving avatars, albums etc. to the filesystem and stuff. Any other things I can do to cut resource usage?

Some settings in the ACP can be turned off, such as Viewing This Thread, etc. Scroll through your vBulletin Options settings and you'll find a number of settings along the way that indicate whether they are resource intensive or not.

3. Revenue - Currently the site only earns maybe $0.50/day in adsense but this may go up a little now I switched to the built in vbulletin adsense that has a more prominent position. I have heard that adsense doesn't work well on forums. I could maybe use CPM ads in which cause what is the best network? I also heard about selling private ads. Would it work me actually contacting things like small software companies etc. asking if they are interested?

I don't really don't use ads much, as I'm kind of against them from a strictly aesthetic point of view. So while I haven't made much, I do find that I've made more since I added an Amazon Affiliates store and every few weeks featuring new products which I make available in the store. Like I said, I've not made much, but it's not something I've put a great deal of effort into and yet I've still turned in just a wee bit of cash.

4. Fighting - whats the best way to deal with disruptive and stupid members who get banned for permanently trolling, flaming, fighting etc. but then keep coming back and ruining the forum with posts about free speech etc. etc.

For one, remind them free speech has nothing to do with forums. Your forum isn't America or Australia or Oz. It's your digital property, and if they can't abide by the rules laid out by you, they can go someplace else to vent their free speech. Free speech is not the same as unbridled, reckless, random speech, and they wouldn't get away with disrupting a public place in real life without getting arrested or thrown out, free speech or not.

Then when it's evident they fail to get it, ban them. If you don't take a no tolerance policy to members who think they're the administrator and your the visitor, they'll hog your forum's time and resources and chase other members away in no time, and in some cases for good. Don't wait till it's too late.

[calumn]

Thanks for the help.

Lynne where can I get this one touch ban as it would be a big help as right now I have to do quite a few clicks and takes a while?

Digital Jedi - The ads aren't really for profit just to recover my costs. I pay $49/month for the VPS, $5/month for bqbackup, $100/year for vbulletin and then there are other costs. Adsense makes maybe only $15 or $20 a month not even half the server costs.

[Lynne]

The search bar in the upper right will help you find mods. Just set it to search "all mods" and "titles only" and put in a single word for searching. I find that works best.

[Dismounted]

Originally Posted by calumn

Hosting - I currently have a 512Mb VPS at WiredTree that I use to host computalk and a few other sites. However I very often hit the RAM limit and computalk uses quite a lot of memory. I have done some optimisation tips from vbsetup such as moving avatars, albums etc. to the filesystem and stuff. Any other things I can do to cut resource usage?

On the vBulletin.com Server Configuration forum you can get suggestions by one of our Support Professionals.