Originally posted by parabellum:
I screen every application for membership to this forum. Using a VPN to submit your application for membership to this forum- denied, automatically. I send them a message saying "Feel free to re-register when not using a VPN to connect to us."
India, Pakistan- denied, automatically, because that is the land of scammers, in a big, big way. Hell, I get registrations from freaking Bejing. Denied, automatically. Vietnam- denied, usually. Africa with the exception of South Africa- denied, automatically. Russia? Not a freakin' chance. They keep trying over and over. Some are bots, but some are real people trying to get in.
South Korea, I have and will probably continue to approve these registrations, assuming a VPN is not used during the process. The Philippines is iffy but usually gets in.
Selling in Classifieds- if I see anyone using a VPN in Classifieds, I take a look at their posting history. If all their posts are in Classifieds, goodbye. If they appear to be a legitimate member, I'll tell them to cease using a VPN for commerce in this forum. If they keep doing it, boom.
Randomly, I search user IP addresses for duplicate IPs. If I find evidence someone is actively using more than one account in Classifieds, all those accounts are nuked.
For every well-meaning person registering for this forum, there are roughly four suspicious registrations, mostly from India and Pakistan. Usually, I simply delete the registration, then block the IP address up to the last octet. IOW, if they come in on, say, 44.127.66.23 I block 44.127.66. . Some of you who know what I'm talking about will ask why I do it this way. I have my reasons. Everytime I block the IP, here they come again from another direction but I've got foreign access screwed down so tight now, I'm beginning to slow their attempts. I've actually emailed some of these jerks and said, look, you can keep trying from now until the sun burns out, but you are not getting in.
What gets you in is not disguising your location with a VPN, and registering from a location in any of the 50 states and Puerto Rico. Great Britain and the European continent gets in as well, except Germany seems to be a problem these days. Central and South America gets in.
Oh, and Canada.
I tell you all this so you can get a glimpse off what it's like guarding the gateway to a discussion forum. Each time someone registers, you must approach it with scepticism.
Feel free to use SIGforum and my name as a reference if you contact them to appeal your banishment, although, depending upon the forum in question, that may get you banned for eternity.
**edit**
I just went through the registrations submitted overnight. I approved two of them, and denied seven. That's typical.
I'm missing.
