This forum registration problem - attracting spam email

[sfnch]

I recently posted a question in this forum about a mechanical problem.

However, I have also noticed recently that my spam email has increased significantly and after doing a Google search on my email address I get 8 replies, one of them being this forum where my email address is in full view for anyone to see, including internet spam crawling bots...

I cannot see anywhere to access my details to remove this email address from view. Indeed, the email address is given as my 'nick' in the forum but when I try to log in under that nick with my usual forum password I get "You have not entered an email address that we recognize. Please try again or contact the administrator." So, where is the Administrator..?

I have just now registered as 'sfnch' but cannot see anywhere in the profile that mentions email address visibility. I certainly have not given permission to display my email address and I'm wondering just what I have to do to get my email address out of the public domain where I certainly have not willingly put it.

Many Thanks

[Pugslyyy]

hmm, you are not giving us a lot to go on here. Just a vague description of something that you think might be happening because of a correlation with no evidence of causation, and not telling us your name, the name you posted under, a munged version of the email address in question.

okay, I just tried doing a google search for my email, and it doesn't come up on trianglecycling.com at all. Regardless, if your is coming up in several sites then unless you can get all of them and the cached pages then there a probably better things you could be doing with your time.

I get maybe two dozen spam emails a day to my gmail account, but the spam filter catches them all and I think that is a pretty normail 'junk mail' noise level.

[skiffrun]

first, when you joined the forum, you had to give your e-mail address as a verifcation tool. I have NEVER seen anyone's e-mail address from this forum unless they sent me an e-mail message, or

second, I have seen a few people use what looks to be an e-mail address as their handle. That seems less than best practices.

third, some people have posted their actual e-mail addrress in the middle of a post. Spamming bots can pick that up pretty easy I would imagine. The more usual way to "post" your e-mail address (if you feel you just HAVE to) would be similar to "address at company dot com". But even that is unnecessary. Just tell people to contact you via PM (personal message) or to send you an e-mail through the forum functions.

Ditto on publishing your home or office or cell phone number on an open forum. If you think someone might need your phone number, tell them to PM you. Then only you and them, instead of the entire world, can see the message.

Another ditto. Visitor messages can be seen by anyone that takes the time to "enroll" in the forum. Don't put anything in a visitor message that you don't want the whole world to see.

Finally, I am NOT a forum administrator, nor am I all that computer / forum knowledgeable. But common sense and risk assessment should suggest to everyone that using a handle other than their real name or e-mail address is the sensible thing to do.

[RickF]

One thing to check under your UserCP is that you have not enabled the "Allow vCard Download" option. The default (at least when I regestered) is that this function is not active, but to be sure, click on "UserCP" at the top of the forum, then click on "Edit Options" under "Settings and Options" in the sidebar on the left. If there is a check in the box next to "Allow vCard Download", then remove that check and click on "Save changes" at the bottom of that page.

I have been a member of this forum since January 15, 2007, and I have not noticed any unusual increase in spam.

[JayC]

I dont see where you registered under another username so I have no idea what youre talking about. Your email address is not publicly displayed and no user information is shared with anyone here.

P.S. I am the administrator so if you have questions, feel free to direct them to me.

[Erica]

did you perhaps register as a user under a different name from a different physical location? if so, that might be why jay can't link your two accounts. or maybe you've changed nics from your email address to the one you have now? hm, no, if that was the case, jay'd know your old nic.

in any case, you might want to shoot him a PM with more specifics.