spam spam spam spam

SED · Post by **SED** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 9:45 pm

Hey Emily (Sparkle),

Could you please explain why BMORG has apparently cast eplaya to the wolves, spam-wise?

In plain terms, can you tell us the precise reason the BMORG has apparently decided to put almost no resources into improving the eplaya for its users and for the dozens of others who might become users?

I've never complained about this before but you must agree that the spamming is getting way out of hand. What does it take to get problems fixed?

SED

emily sparkle · Post by **emily sparkle** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 8:15 am

Hey SED,

Thanks for writing. I wish I had better answers for you, but here are a few things that I know of that are currently standing in the way of progress. I don't know any more details than this, so I hope you will feel like you are informed. SB has already provided most of this information elsewhere (many times), so I'm just letting you know the answer doesn't change if you direct posts at me.

- the org IT person who maintained the machines and installed mods in the past has left their burning man employ.
- the new org IT person is still coming up to speed and may not even have full access to the eplaya servers as far as i know.
- the spamming issue, although growing largely out of hand now, has been happening for years. at one point the alpha/num scrambler mod was installed, but there were issues when it was tested, so the mods were were removed.
- i have unfortunately had a catastrophic failure with my laptop. the admin account password is trapped on it along with my burningman mail access. i've asked the new IT to provide me the admin password so I can get access from another machine to delete the spammers and block IPs, but she needs to get it from the old IT person.

So... we're all trapped in the same uncomfortable cycle. it sucks. I get it.

And YES I agree the spamming has gotten out of control. I could (and have) spend 5 hours a day cleaning out the cruft and still not make a dent. That doesn't even factor in the time the mods spend cleaning up the boards. But i don't have server access or php skills to fix the problem. I've researched mods and other options and handed them up the chain with the "please please please" implied. I'm psyched that dork is volunteering, and i hope he can be patient while he gets access. We've lost or alienated plenty of volunteers in the past because things just don't move quickly enough once a volunteer raises their hand.

So no, I can't give you precise answers.

Remember, I am not an org member, just a 7+ year volunteer on the east coast who has faithfully given back to the burning man community for the joy she experiences in black rock city each year she goes. Despite not being able to go in 06 or 07, I still want to contribute as I can as I intend to be back in 08 with my new baby.

Just like you, I'm waiting for a miracle here and just hoping the board doesn't get hacked again before the miracle shows up.

Any more questions for me SED?

Box Burner · Post by **Box Burner** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:09 pm

emily sparkle wrote: Remember, I am not an org member, just a 7+ year volunteer on the east coast who has faithfully given back to the burning man community for the joy she experiences in black rock city each year she goes.

Hooray for emily sparkle!

Thank you , thank you , thank you.

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 2:56 am

May Emily be blessed for all she does for eplaya. I wish I could help her out here but I don't know squat about PHP