Hello staff,
As we all know, scrapers are a major issue. You're trying to prevent it by automatically disconnecting users after a certain period of time, but this isn't very effective if the timeout is around 30 minutes. I suggest reducing the timeout to 5 - 15 minutes. There's really no point in keeping the shoutbox open for that long if a user isn’t interacting with the shoutbox, in any way. Additionally, it's not difficult to send at least one message every 5–15 minutes. This change would also make it easier to detect scrapers, as they would need to type something more frequently to stay connected and/or if they disconnect and connect many times, at a certain point.
If you're concerned that this might be too strict for users who, for example are coding while keeping the shoutbox open etc., you could apply the shorter timeout only to non-upgraded users. Most people in the shoutbox nowadays are non-upgraded members, yet it's mostly upgraded members engaging in conversations. Therefore, reducing the timeout for non-upgraded users, seems reasonable, at least to me.
For instance if non-upgraded members are simply browsing the available sections on the front page, disconnecting them from the shoutbox wouldn't affect their experience. In conclusion, I see no strong reason for such a long timeout for non-upgraded members who are inactive for around 10 minutes.
(Edit 02-04-25 ( Idea from @Loki ) )
The staff of the new forum Leaky Pro have started advertising their site by creating threads that contain nothing but a random link to a thread on their own forum, sometimes leading to a non-existent page. Even when and if the thread exists, users must register on the website to view it. The issue is that they are using multiple accounts to do this without permission. There is no real benefit to such cross-linking.
Could we consider banning anyone who creates a thread containing the string; "https://leaky.pro/showthread.php"?
~~ Zixshore ~~
As we all know, scrapers are a major issue. You're trying to prevent it by automatically disconnecting users after a certain period of time, but this isn't very effective if the timeout is around 30 minutes. I suggest reducing the timeout to 5 - 15 minutes. There's really no point in keeping the shoutbox open for that long if a user isn’t interacting with the shoutbox, in any way. Additionally, it's not difficult to send at least one message every 5–15 minutes. This change would also make it easier to detect scrapers, as they would need to type something more frequently to stay connected and/or if they disconnect and connect many times, at a certain point.
If you're concerned that this might be too strict for users who, for example are coding while keeping the shoutbox open etc., you could apply the shorter timeout only to non-upgraded users. Most people in the shoutbox nowadays are non-upgraded members, yet it's mostly upgraded members engaging in conversations. Therefore, reducing the timeout for non-upgraded users, seems reasonable, at least to me.
For instance if non-upgraded members are simply browsing the available sections on the front page, disconnecting them from the shoutbox wouldn't affect their experience. In conclusion, I see no strong reason for such a long timeout for non-upgraded members who are inactive for around 10 minutes.
(Edit 02-04-25 ( Idea from @Loki ) )
The staff of the new forum Leaky Pro have started advertising their site by creating threads that contain nothing but a random link to a thread on their own forum, sometimes leading to a non-existent page. Even when and if the thread exists, users must register on the website to view it. The issue is that they are using multiple accounts to do this without permission. There is no real benefit to such cross-linking.
Could we consider banning anyone who creates a thread containing the string; "https://leaky.pro/showthread.php"?
~~ Zixshore ~~
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