Someone's GONE MISSING

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

We will work on this.

[David Lee]

Thanks for posting his Email , Anne .

I just sent him a note asking him to come back . Mistakes happen sometimes .....

David

[David Lee]

I got a note from Mark last night .

He says he'll be back pretty quick .... after being mistakenly deleted , his 'puter went up in flames and he's working the bugs out at the moment .

David

[Gregg Machel]

I hate spammers. I really appologize to all of the people that I caught by mistake. I've got to find a way to slow these spammers down so it's not so difficult to get rid of them. My next go around, I am definately going to slow down and do some more checking. It just takes forever to sift through accounts when there are about 1000 spammers with all kinds of junk in their profile.

I can restore a database, but the problem is, every post since the time that I restore it will be lost. In other words, if I restore from January 1, 2007, all posts made since them will be lost. Probably not a good idea. I suppose it is "possible" to get his posts back, I only deleted the usernames, not any actual messages, but it won't be easy. Does anyone have any sample text from any of his posts? Maybe from something you printed? Once he creates a new account, I can try to link his old reports to it with his new username. The "username" may be the same, but the number associated with the username will be different, and that is what the database uses to link the message to the user.

Just to give you an idea, click on memberlist at the top of the page here and then do a search using the following options:
Select Sort Method: Joined Date (Default option)
Order: Descending (you need to change this)

Just on that page alone, I only see 3 accounts, out of 50 that look legit. Most of the spam accounts have a URL linking so some site relating to online dating, marketing some useless product, "prescription" drugs or porn sites. Most all the usernames are gibberish, and they always list a state or country as a location. emails are almost always ending in .ru, .info, or some other country extension. Sometimes they use the free mail accounts, like yahoo or google.

In going through these, I look at all these aspects in a list of about 50 at a time, check the ones that look like spammers, and then remove them directly from the database. If I was to go through the admin panel, It would take me about an hour to remove 50 accounts vs. about 3-5 minutes on the database.

All this being said, I just wanted to give all of you more information on what this is all about. Spammers don't read this anyway, so I'm not giving up any secrets. In my next round, I will make sure to double check the names and try to search the database for some additional fields that will give me an indication as to who is legit and who isn't. That info I will not post here just in case they are watching!

Again, my appologies to all for my recent errors. I will try and re-link the posts that are missing once a new account has been created. Just let me know when this happens and I will do my best.

[Katz]

You have a tough job with this Gregg.

We feel you pain.

Thanks for all the hard work you put into making this site so great.

Katz

[Matt Frey]

Thanks Gregg. I know it must be tough dealing with all the spam.

I know that a fly he liked to use and wrote about was called the "dingleberry". I just ran a search for that term and came up with 4 results and none of them were accessible. Maybe you can use that term to find his posts.

Thanks again for all your hard work.

[Hairstacker]

Thanks again Gregg!!

It's gotta be pure drudgery keeping up with all the spammers out there. I also know it takes more effort than deleting spammers to guard this board against all the hackers out there. I'm aware of boards that have been effectively shut down by spammers and others that have been compromised in other ways that make them very risky to visit. The fact this board is so clean and runs so well is a real testament to your quiet but determined efforts behind the scenes. I feel very lucky and grateful that you and Eugene keep this place so friendly and safe.

[k.hanley]

Say hey Gregg,
Thanks for taking on the mondo effort to keep Bill's site running free from garbage. Mistakes will happen.

Hey folks lets not make Gregg's job any tougher. I know Mark very well. He will be happy to post anything he's done in the past. In fact, he has a record of much of what he's done in the field (pics, posts, etc).

I understand his computer needed extra work. Be patient and Mark will no doubt be back in his usual prolific posting manner.
Cheers, Ken

[Mr. Noodle Rod]

Hi Folks,

Sorry for not getting back to you all sooner. Murphy really did a fine number on my computer last week, but I was able to occasionally follow up & keep in touch with some of you through my old (& slight antiquated) laptop. Anyway, I think I've got things back in order, thanks to the tremendous help I got from the folks from Apple (sorry for the commerical promo here).

For a while, I though I must've written something really boneheaded or depressed a hidden "SELF-DESTRUCT" button on the forum during my last post. I was really at a loss as to what happened. I truly appreciate the kind words & warm support expressed on the board by all of you who contributed to this thread. I can't adequately say how deeply moved I am to read the comments & exchanges made by Bill's on-line community over the last week or so. It's more than I deserve, IMHO.

Gregg, a big thanks for all your hard work in trying to resurrect my old posts. I don't know how you can keep up with all the spam & other malicious activities that inflict damage to other websites & related media. Keep up the great job! It's OK with me if my previous material is unrecoverable. The many board members who I've met or conversed with are still here & that's more than good enough for me! I can always re-post photos & other information from the past, but it's the people who author the various topics or exchange ideas on fishing-related subjects that really make it interesting & worthwhile to participate.

Anyway, I'm kinda pooped from this week. I'm looking forward to doing some fishing this holiday weekend around Drake's Beach. Maybe I'll run into some of you? If you see a guy in a yellow jacket flailing away with a noodle rod in the surf, come on over & say howdy!


TL's,

- Mark

(aka "Myflyzdown")

[JerryInLodi]

Gregg, what about the entry key window that some BB's take you to. You have to enter the code in proper case to have your message posted. Seems to work although sometimes I can't figure out the swirley letters and numbers and have to make second attempts.