It seems to me that we should start using a new-user registration process which requires bureaucrat approval. It'll still be some work for us admins, but definitely less than combatting the constant stream of spam. There's an extension at [1] which supports this.
The only downside to this approach is that it is prohibitive for the occasional new user who just wants to make a quick edit. Perhaps this can be used in conjunction with the extension at [2] to open up anonymous edits, but require them to be approved.
While we're talking about bikecollective.org changes, how about making the wiki the default landing page for the site? The most recent post is ~3 years old, and most of the links (directory, about, contact, bikebike) can be supported by the wiki. If this happens, maybe we can think about a logo on the wiki as well?
Best, D.
[1] http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:ConfirmAccount [2] http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Approved_Revs
On Mon, Apr 25, 2011 at 3:08 PM, Godwin ! goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
http://www.allspammedup.com/2011/01/google-recaptcha-cracked/ I would suggest moving to a different type of captcha or another type of authentication altogether. Computers are getting smarter, any system will be cracked someday but Wikipedia is still using a basic captcha and doesn't seem to be having any major problems (at least that I've heard of). .g
From: michael.john.kirk@gmail.com Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:54:39 -0700 To: thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike Collective Wiki is under attack and we need your help.
Unfortunately, Captcha, or any similarly themed 'human check', breaks down when labor is so cheap in some parts of the world that it become economical to pay human beings to type in captchas all day. :(
We have this on our internal wiki:
==== What?! You don't have an account!? Don't worry! Any existing user can create an account for you. Just ask them to log in and fill out [[this user registration form]] for you. If you're shy, you can ask it@bicyclekitchen.com ====
This takes some of the burden off of the moderators, but might be prohibitively non-inclusive for the think tank.
M
On Mon, Apr 25, 2011 at 11:18 AM, Jonathan Morrison jonathan.morrison@gmail.com wrote:
Rich Points at Community Cycles (Boulder, CO, USA) has complete control of the bikecollectives.org and bikebike.org domain names and hosting. However, the wiki has been under serious attacks from spammers
(http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&am...), so he needs your help to come up with solutions. Specifically? We need a MediaWiki security solution that still keeps the wiki easy to contribute, but keeps most of the spammers at bay and doesn't burn out the moderators. So far we have implemented ReCaptcha and email validation requirements on user creation, but it appears even those are being thwarted. Sincerely,
Jonathan Morrison c: 801-688-0183
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