Author Topic: Website access problems redux  (Read 1596 times)

perfCheese

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Website access problems redux
« on: September 22, 2014, 11:35:37 PM »
No, I'm not a new member (same old John@PC that I always was) but I was FINALLY able to register under a different email address, receive an activation email and log in as my alter ego, perfCheez  :).   Reason for posting was that I got another email from a frustrated member-trying-to-register but never received an activation email (thanks Soj).  I know this may be under the radar of CF members but there are many people out there wanting to join and can't.  I say many because I've gotten 6 emails from different people over the last 3 months (and several other forum members have gotten them as well) so there has to be a lot of others out there trying to get in.

Apparently there is some kind of blocking going on with gmail, hotmail, yahoo, etc.  I was able to register just now with my company email address but not with gmail (which I registered with successfully a year ago).  One of my "deep cover" informants reports that cheeseforum.org has been blacklisted :o but he/she wasn't able to confirm.  There does seem to be a lot of "new members" with, well, odd email addresses.

I've tried to contact the site administrator several times and never got an answer, much less a satisfactory one.  Excuse me but this is starting to get pretty damn frustrating.  What is it going to take to get an answer solution?  John in Qatar, any help would be appreciated... please?

Update:  I just saw this not on the access problems thread (h/t to awakephd):
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Could be a change in gmail; could also be a change in the software that runs the forum. However, there is another possibility -- some time back, the organization for which I work found itself unable to send any emails to gmail and hotmail accounts. The problem was that a virus caused spam to be sent from our IP addresses, which then caused us to be blacklisted by gmail and hotmail. It took quite a while to get off the black list.
The latter seems like a likely scenero to me.  I would suggest that anyone having trouble gaining access to cheeseforum to contact their email support and ask them if cheeseforum.org is being blocked (I will with gmail). 

If anyone can figure this out you'll get back-to-back cheeses ;D.

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Re: Website access problems redux
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2014, 02:50:09 AM »
Morning John@PC / perfCheese from Doha, Qatar.

Sorry to hear the complaints, hopefully I can address:

1) Not sure why you registered again under a second User ID for your alter ego, I've stopped people in past doing that as they were using it to bait other members pretending to be different people. So after this thread I will close that account.

2) When you say Finally able to register with different email for this perfCheese UserID, forum software doesn't show when you applied for Membership, just shows that you registered on Sep 22, 2014 which matches with your login attempt problems which are listed as 6 for John@PC and 3 for perfCheese, no prior. Please let me know if other problems. I can PM you screenshot of forum records of you if like so you can check, don't want to attach here as has your IP address info etc.

3) Other New Members registration problems. On the registration screen I now have my personal email address as new people occasionally have registration problems, I've tried to address them in a timely fashion, maybe other's are going to my spam folder will check when have more time (have to go to work). Anytime you hear from a friend who I haven't answered please just email me or send PM to my "Webmaster" Admin account. In past I have tried to replicate new member applicants problems by setting up a new temp user ID for me from different common email servers and not had a problem.

4) New Registration applicants with common email servers (gmail, yahoo etc). You are possibly correct, maybe their servers algorithms are calling all Registration Confirmation emails from CFO as Spam, but as above I haven't experienced that. I don't know how to correct that, please let me know your outcome in contacting gmail.

5) Your inability to contact me or receive satisfactory answer: The only record I have of a PM is on this subject on Aug 30, 2014 (screenshot attached) to which I replied I thought adequately (no screenshot as I have Sent PM's recording switched off, I will change that). Sorry but I get tonnes of emails/day, please let me know of others.

6) CFO Forum software being corrupted with virus sending spam emails: Possible, when I run all software Maintenance options don't get a problem, I will reserve a weekend to upgrade the software, may take me a month to get to it as going on holiday first week of Oct.

Hope helps, have to go to work now, John / Webmaster-Admin.

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Re: Website access problems redux
« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2014, 03:00:54 AM »
PS: Your inability to register your new perfCheese account with a gmail email account and had to use alternate is possibly because you used the same gmail email address? I have forum software set to block that to reduce spammers.

Also, there are many new registrants almost everyday, witness the recent stream of spam posts which I keep deleting and banning their registration details and IP addresses. You can see them listed by going to Menu > Members. Screenshot attached.

qdog1955

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Re: Website access problems redux
« Reply #3 on: September 23, 2014, 10:56:23 AM »
John,
  The problem with reg. may be bigger than you think---it took me two months and 4 different email accounts---not until a member said they had success with GMX .com did I finally get registered----plus no answers to any emails sent to admin.
  Many thanks to K. Bateman for her help in finally having succeeded
  QDOG.

John@PC

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Re: Website access problems redux
« Reply #4 on: September 23, 2014, 12:52:47 PM »
Morning John@PC / perfCheese from Doha, Qatar.
1) Not sure why you registered again under a second User ID for your alter ego, I've stopped people in past doing that as they were using it to bait other members pretending to be different people. So after this thread I will close that account.
Good morning John as well.  The "alter ego" thing was tongue-in-cheek (thus the eyes-rolling emotacon).  The reason I registered under a second user ID was that I've been trying to figure out what the problem was with gmail, aol, hotmail and yahoo users not getting their activation. 
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2) When you say Finally able to register with different email for this perfCheese UserID, forum software doesn't show when you applied for Membership, just shows that you registered on Sep 22, 2014 which matches with your login attempt problems which are listed as 6 for John@PC and 3 for perfCheese, no prior.
Over the last three months I tried to register using gmail, yahoo, mail.com, and reagan.com and never received activation.  All of these were efforts to help others having problems and no desire on my part to have a sock-puppet, troll or whatever nefarious spammers-and-villains do >:D
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3) Other New Members registration problems.... Anytime you hear from a friend who I haven't answered please just email me or send PM to my "Webmaster" Admin account.
I have saved all of the emails I've gotten about access problems and will forward to you.
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Also, there are many new registrants almost everyday, witness the recent stream of spam posts which I keep deleting and banning their registration details and IP addresses. You can see them listed by going to Menu > Members. Screenshot attached.
  I have been to Menu > Members many times so I don't need a screenshot >:(.  Just spent some time on there this morning and found something interesting.  I had to go back to July 14 to find someone registering with gmail, yahoo, etc.  This is the 6th page on the members link, and if you check jdRay's email at the bottom you will see it's gmail, but none above (and up to this day) are from the major email services (whole lot of yandex.com and sino.com, and even more like this: .....@suplementytabletkiodchudzanie.pl).

Thanks for your detailed response and sorry for my lengthy reply, but I think we both will agree it needs attention.  You deserve all the credit in the world for doing what you do as CF has become a priceless resource for all of us wanting to learn from others.

John@PC

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Re: Website access problems redux
« Reply #5 on: September 23, 2014, 01:47:10 PM »
John, I checked gmail forum and found this and this.  I've got a feeling that it may take a while to clear things up, so in the meantime if someone can provide a email-provider recommendation for those having problems (yandex.com perhaps, at least for those that like vodka ^-^?).