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Old February 1, 2014, 11:43 AM   #1
Jbar4Ranch
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Blocked IP?? I'm a spammer??

I tried to access TFL from my home PC a few minutes ago and got a popup message that says: The IP address you are currently using has been blocked due to its use by spammers in your area. Our staff will gladly attempt to open an address tunnel through with you can access thefiringline.com." It then continues on and asks me to email my IP to [email protected] this some kind of scam or has my IP really been spamming the site?
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Old February 1, 2014, 11:52 AM   #2
G_P
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Most likely a broad range of IP's was banned/blocked because some addresses in that range were used for spamming.

Sometimes resetting your modem will change your IP and solve the issue.
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Old February 1, 2014, 01:05 PM   #3
Jbar4Ranch
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What strikes me as odd is my IP is already logged, so why does someone want me to email it somewhere?
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Old February 1, 2014, 01:11 PM   #4
Brian Pfleuger
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Because the IP address you tried to use that's been blocked doesn't show in your IP history, because it's blocked, and...

In any case, many folks have access to or use only one computer for The Firing Line. If they're blocked, they can't log in somewhere else and ask us what's up. The only way they can contact us is through the webmaster account.
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Old February 1, 2014, 01:19 PM   #5
Jbar4Ranch
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I thought since the days of dialup are gone, a static IP was assigned...? At any rate, it appears to be a legitimate message then, so I'll follow the instructions.
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Old February 1, 2014, 01:24 PM   #6
Brian Pfleuger
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Well, you can just as easily take care of it here, if you'd like. PM me the IP and I'll pass it on to someone who can fix you.
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Old February 1, 2014, 01:29 PM   #7
Jbar4Ranch
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I just emailed the webmaster address provided.
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Old February 1, 2014, 01:56 PM   #8
Mal H
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The IP address you used is now unblocked. G_P got it right. We have had to block some fairly wide ranges of addresses to stop the onslaught of spammers. This is the first time you have used an address in a blocked range.

Quote:
I thought since the days of dialup are gone, a static IP was assigned...?
Not at all. Static IP addresses are certainly used, but the vast majority of users of the internet will be assigned a dynamic address each time they access the net using an ISP.

[Added]
I just checked your list of IP addresses. You have used more than 180 different addresses since becoming a member here. Not exactly static, eh?
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Old February 1, 2014, 02:13 PM   #9
Jbar4Ranch
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Thanks! After receiving a reply, I tried again with the same results, so restarted Firefox and tried again with the same results, then shutdown the PC and router and tried it again - this time it let me in.
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Old February 1, 2014, 09:54 PM   #10
Mike Irwin
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Hum...

If I'm right about this, I've had 880 separate IP addresses in my nearly 14 years here.
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Old February 11, 2014, 12:00 AM   #11
johnelmore
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Just out of curiosity, what happens if a spammer makes it through? Will we see a lot of viagra ads? Will the Syrian Electronic Army make an announcement? Will Glock try to convert the 1911 crowd?
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Old February 11, 2014, 12:25 AM   #12
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In general, you will see nothing.
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Old February 11, 2014, 07:17 AM   #13
Mike Irwin
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We've been very vigilant in rousting spammers from TFL over the past couple of years, and have been very proactive in keeping them from ever making it onto the forums.

Generally they would take several forms, from in your face ads (generally for cell phones) or blocks of text full of links (generally clothing or shoes) to quite sneaky attempts to blend in with the crowd using hidden links, spam links in the signature lines, or listing a spam site as their home page in their profile.

Over the past couple of years we've gone from search and destroy of finding and banning spammers who slipped through the cracks to preventing them from registering in the first place.

IP blocking is one of the many tools and that we use.

Some months ago we established a few new protocols that have been very successful in keeping spammers, particularly spambots, from breaching the forums.

Since a few months before Christmas, we're running at what we believe is effectively a 100% prevention rate.

With a little bit of luck, the only spam you're ever going to see at TFL is a picture of the canned meat product.
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