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Time for a software upgrade

 
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Angus McCoatup



Joined: 22 Nov 2007
Posts: 221
Location: , Location, Location

PostPosted: Sat Apr 27, 2013 9:40 pm    Post subject: Time for a software upgrade Reply with quote

Just an observation.....don't get here much these days but when I do.....

Is it just me or does this forum look extremely dated now? It serves a purpose that's true but it's almost as if John W has just let it go to ruin.

From member 239 onwards not one registration is from the UK and they've all got website addresses tagged to their profiles, most likely to improve their SEO's but more worryingly there could be viruses contained in these URL's.

It is possible to get a backup of the forum database so that no posts and no member details are lost and get it all integrated into a new forum software such as myBB which has a whole host of useful plugins that are easily installed, not to mention very powerful anti spam plugins.

As I said, I rarely visit here these days so I'm not sure why I should even be concerned...
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R2Icon



Joined: 10 Sep 2009
Posts: 1444

PostPosted: Sun Apr 28, 2013 4:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

With most R2 shows and presenters resident on just about every social network, most people interact directly with R2/presenters in that way. Why talk about Simon Mayo or Alex Lester or whomever with a bunch of (often angry/rude) strangers on here when you talk to Simon Mayo or Alex Lester etc one on one, anytime you like. As a society this place doesn't have a great deal of fabric.
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John W



Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 3367
Location: Warwickshire, UK

PostPosted: Sun Apr 28, 2013 7:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Angus, thanks for reminder to do the maintenance job on those bogus registrations. I must make it a weekly job

As Icon says there are other ways of interfacing with R2 listeners on blogs and Facebook etc which will surely appeal to many more R2 listeners.
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John W
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Angus McCoatup



Joined: 22 Nov 2007
Posts: 221
Location: , Location, Location

PostPosted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

John W wrote:
Angus, thanks for reminder to do the maintenance job on those bogus registrations. I must make it a weekly job



Not done it yet John? Shame on you.... Wink
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John W



Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 3367
Location: Warwickshire, UK

PostPosted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 8:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Laughing oh it's a real pain!

maybe next week ......
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Colin



Joined: 26 Sep 2013
Posts: 916

PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 9:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Picking up on a several-months-old thread, it should be noted that phpBB (the server-side application that drives this forum) uses open-source code that can be infiltrated by anyone and that's why it's easy for third-party spam robots ("spambots") to circumvent the barriers to registration by anything other than humans. That's what the strange registrations are. The spambots can bypass the reg process altogether and directly inject data into the back-end database, but without admin approval they can't actually post in the forums themselves.

However, John has rightly set the process to be Admin-approved only; if he hadn't then the forums themselves would be littered with spam posts. I know - I've been there and have had to cope with a whole raft of posts containing links to drugs, porn.... and worse. Once I had some very, very explicit videos embedded into the posts themselves and it took me two days to clear it all out and improve security.

As for upgrading the system powering the forum, it's actually hosted and operated by an Indian outfit (probably a spare-bedroom job, to be honest) and it's not possible for anybody but BizHat to upgrade the software even though there have been many implementations and security-improvements in the years since it was first installed. If John had control of the hosting then measures could be installed which would would eradicate this, but obviously the person who is BizHat doesn't care.

There are alternatives to this set-up but the question that John has obviously contemplated on more than one occasion is "is it worth the bother?" because the virtual footfall here is now so low and inconsequential. Perhaps the main reason for the lack of interest on the part of members and would-be members is that, for a lot of us, Radio 2 has lost its appeal; successive managements have meddled around with it for too long to the point where there's little purpose in complaining or even offering practical suggestions.

As for Radio 2's use of Facebook, I think that's a become a joke. It's heavily moderated (much more so than even the old R2MB) and any negative comments are removed very quickly. I recently posted a comment which read "OK, I've think we've heard the latest Olly Murs single a few times too many now so can you please stop playing it?" (knowing full well that there would no plans to do so) and my comment was removed within 5 minutes! Good fun - but a waste of time. A bit like the station itself for much of the day/week/month, really.
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becky sharp



Joined: 01 Dec 2008
Posts: 6845

PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 1:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Colin wrote:


As for Radio 2's use of Facebook, I think that's a become a joke. It's heavily moderated (much more so than even the old R2MB)

Good grief!....didn't think that was possible...what happened to free speech??? Evil or Very Mad

You'd think they would want to hear all comments, good and bad.

(The words in your signature,Colin, are from one of my favourite Nick Drake songs.

Those opening words made me stop and think the first time I heard it!!)
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