I'd like you all to go here (mailing list ) and add your e-mails to a list. This will allow me to have an up to date list of current addresses in case I ever need to contact you all.

The form asks you for a name and an e-mail address. I have the option ot delete names at any time. Most of you I will recognise, and even the lurkers I have seen e-mail addresses for. If you don't seem like a regular then I'll e-mail you off line for further identification.

I'll republish this link every once in a while to remind people to check it is still valid.

Thanks for this

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Answers

Softie you're sad !!!

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Done

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

I can't argue with that :-)

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

...no problems macbeth BUT, I use a different email addy to log on with, courtesy of wor Kegsy?

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Bud you've given me the one I was after, it's in case I wish to change a password and let everyone know, so it's a valid contact I'm after

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Done! is it possible to make it so that you can't post on here without a valid email address? This would discourage some of the unwantables posting offensive stuff, plus, it would help me with my throwing toys out of the pram syndrome

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Syme that wouldn't really help as anyone wanting to cause trouble could set up a free e-mail address so they'd still be unnacountable for their actions.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Done Mac, been offline for 4 weeks now , Houston calling , or not responding in my case, manage to get a rocket into space but damm if they can reconnect Buff`s email account.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

....however, if we collectively took the decision that anyone not using a 'verifiable' e-mail address would be denied access (ie subject to deletion - this would be rather balls-aching, but IS feasible) that might improve our security.
Personally, I feel that's an entirely reasonable position for us to take to protect the integrity of the site, although I accept that others may well disagree.

Naturally, the gallowgate.com users would need to take action - something they should be doing anyway imo.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

for the other one try:

graham.moffitt@talk21.com

or work:

graham.x.moffitt@bankofamerica.com

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

I don't see how/why anyone would have an objection bearing in mind the events of the last week. Does anyone really enjoy having virus' sent to them?? Security has to be a number 1 priority.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

good on yer roly, might be working for the same bank in the not too distant future. Imagine that...yikes

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Syme

If you want any info or owt just shout....

Which bit/where are you going into (possibly!!)?

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Ah just a little bank then ;))

I'm still not convinced about the censorship/restricting access lark...even in view of todays events....

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

I'm not a censorship person either, but I do need your e-mail addresses just in case i need to get you all.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Looks like you're all a bunch of bankers to me

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

cheers roly, much appreciated!!! Dunno yet, my discipline is going to be finance, due to sit the first part of the CFA in may. Just looking to get my foot in the door right now.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

OK, I realise I'm fighting a losing battle, but I simply don't relish the continuing deterioration of this site because we aren't prepared to take any positive action that might prevent it.

I'm not advocating censorship for the sake of it - I'm talking about giving the Site Administrator the freedom (only) to delete posts from people who are not complying with the only stated requirement for 'entry'to the site - ie. that a e-mail address is provided. Is it that unreasonable to require the e-mail address to be a valid one?

I'm telling you again that these problems will NOT just disappear - imo that is 'cloud cuckoo-land'. They are a direct result of the structural weaknesses in the software we are utilising.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Having to provide MacBeth with a valid e-mail address won't stop anything either, since the software seemingly can't even ban ip addresses (even that isn't a very good method as Ken proved on RTG) then we're stuck with these people...we have no choice but to ignore the stuff we don't like....

What posts will we be deleting? imo a lot of the stuff said by Barbarian and earlier in his career on here Superkev wasn't that bad! i'm dead against deletion of swear words etc because one or two of you can't handle them....

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

..... Gav,
If you really believe my concerns over the integrity and survival of this bbs relate purely to my personal tolerance to a few swear words then I'm clearly wasting my friggin time. I give up.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

No need to get like that....I just wanted to be certain that wasn't where we were heading!

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

oooooohhhh Hark at Her....!!!!!

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Looks like the subject of censorship will continue to be a contentious one. I`ve already made my views on it clear.

I would like to say, though, that I am not comfortable with people hiding behind multiple e mail addresses. It is confidence in the integrity of the people on here which allows you to open up a bit and be your own, in my case `dappy` self. It is this `safe` atmosphere which makes the BBS such a breath of fresh air. Whether you are having a full blown row, or discussing the receipe for stotty cake, it`s nice to `know` who you are talking to.

I would never want to discourage fresh faces on here (whatever club they support), but I don`t think that wanting them to be honest enough to be accountable for their postings is really censorship. As I am so totally non-techie, I don`t have the faintest idea what the limitations of this BBS are - but I suspect that trying to combat the current problems by vetting/deleting/censoring/whatever, will create a huge amount of work for the administrator, and also be like a red rag to a bull to anyone intent on causing havoc.

Oh, and Clarky, Gav, you both have the best interests of this BBS at heart, so please don`t fall out!(:o)

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

posted, and changed from thegallowgate :)

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Gal,
The techies are incapable of solving the problems we are facing, and yet the only suggestions we have are to "do nothing".

For (perhaps!) the last time I'm telling you - and anyone else prepared to listen and avoid responding with abuse - these problems will not go away, and some agreed positive action is needed to protect this place for those who truly value it - as distinct from those who wish to trash it, and those who don't really care one way or the other.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Clarky, I was agreeing with you about the valid e mail thing! My only reservation is the amount of work it could cause Macbeth.(:o)

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

.......secondary problem, and addressable. First we need the will to do something - right now it's not there.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Right then! since I have all me toys back in me pram I am ready to be objective, I by no means am an angel, however this board is really important to me since it is the only place this side of the atlantic that I call home. So, lets do something together, all of us. We must agree not to bite and fall into a cycle of tit for tat postings, other boards cater to that taste, and we need to establish som sort of etiquette on here which we all adhere to.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Perhaps in my dotage I'm missing a lot of the subtleties in all this security stuff. What other security do we need on here than simply to ignore completely any stuff that we find offensive ?

At the first sign of a thread going down the pan, just stay completely off it. You can still look, but don't touch. It'll die the death soon enough.

I don't think you'll ever be able to prevent morons having a go. Most of the time it's only the reaction they're after and if we don't react, they'll soon get peed off.

Not sure how you can handle deliberate passing on of viruses, though. I'd say err on the side of caution and delete any e-mail about which you're not sure. Most of the time, the message is probably ok, it'll be the attachment that does the business.

If the e-mail was in fact genuine, somebody will query why it hasn't been acknowledged or whatever, as happened with the one about the alternative bbs, when we were down, and it didn't cause that much inconvenience.

We've had a clown on making waves. So what ? The same thing will probably happen when we play them at the Toilet Seat of Light (look at an arial photo of the place), but it'll all die down again.

I think Macbeth has his work cut out as it is, and setting up an adequate security system would be a task I wouldn't envy him, or whoever, even if it was possible. I'd rather see this latest fracas as a storm in a teacup.

There are enough sensible folk on here that these occasional hiccups should easily be taken in our stride.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

There, that's done.

I don't think there is any real need for censorship to be honest. I think we can all recognise a wind up and a genuine insult and hopefully ignore the latter. If an intruder gets no response they are going to bugger off eventually.

I haven't checked my email yet, but I'll keep a look out for a virus just in case.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Still catching up on all these threads between the bbs being down and my own internet access problems the last few days. Re attachments, my rule of thumb is never to download an attachment from someone I don't know very well(as in someone who I know has an up-to-date virus checker and scans things before they send/forward them). I never download executables of any kind, nor do I download anything with an extension I don't recognize.

Re censorship of the bbs. Generally I don't like censorship, but if Macbeth, and others whom he feels fit to appoint, wish to take on the task of removing postings that break the general ettiquette of this board, then I don't mind it in this case. I think once the children intent on causing trouble find themselves continually thwarted in their efforts, they will give up and find a new playground. I think it's unrealistic to expect everyone to 'just ignore' posts. In general I think most of us do ignore most of that stuff already, but there's always going to be someone who responds either through lack of restraint, or just plain boredom when things are slow, or whatever.

As for criteria, I do think that having a consistent, valid email address should be a must. As Galaxy pointed out, it helps us feel comfortable in 'knowing' with whom we're conversing. It's also what's made this such a great community. Most folks on here allow their real personalities to come through their postings. If someone feels the need to post a funky name, that can be done in the name field, while email stays consistent. It's what most of us do already.

Yes, anyone can set up a free account with hotmail, et al under whatever name they want and keep setting up accounts, but that takes extra effort which, frankly, I don't think this abuser can be bothered with. From my experience on other lists, folks have made up alter-ego email accounts to go on the list and stir things up. But it usually doesn't last long for the reasons stated above. It's too much effort to keep creating accounts, and if they keep posting from the abusive account, they're banned or posts are deleted. They get bored quickly.

As for the interesting threads that folks don't feel they're seeing anymore....why not start some? If we have things to discuss and read, folks won't be bored enough to respond to the abusers. ;-)

I'll stop the rambling for now. Hope this makes some kind of sense. I think there's a point in there someplace. :-)

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Good to hear your views Ciara...and a relief to know that I`m not the only one who likes to know who`s who on our wonderful BBS. (:o)

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Back to the top of the pile.

I've received 65 names and addresses so far, including a pleasing amount from people I've never heard of who obviously lurk, hello to you all !

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001

It might take awhile to get everyone's...there's gonna be people who don't log on every day.....did you stick all of the ones from the stats page in? almost certainly they're legit....

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001

Am I being really thick here? Presumably MacB has a list of all the addresses of those who have ever posted. Some will be false but they will have their reasons for staying incognito. They also don't deserve to be contacted if the password changes. Many like myself have a dedicated NufcBBS address to avoid using work email. I rarely check my joymail account but certainly would if the BBs went down the pan.

So why send all the info again? Does MacB want "real" names and proper regular email addresses or is it just quicker than scanning through the list of all the postees? Am I being thick?

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001

I want people to keep the link they've added up to date. I can see all e-mail's ever used but some people, well like that nice Rik bloke, have dozens, and every variation comes across as a different name, so IAN@fergs.net would be different form ian@fergs.net for example. The list you have added your names to will only be added to once.

Every few months I will ask people to check that it's still valid and keep it up to date.

The details you've added are available to me as a file from which I can e-mail you all. I'll be trying this out in a couple of days time just to check it works. I can also keep all your addresses away from here so that if this site drops, as it has been known to, then I can e-mail you all to say I know.

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001

With two or three multiple entries we now have 80 names, keep it going !

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001

Shall I break the 100 barrier with all my nufc player friends?

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001

they aren't really your friends Rik, they only say they want to be to impress people

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001

and try and get the Basillicus the snake trading card

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001

Mac, as has been said on here a couple of times or so, some folks have a "non-work" address but others still use their work ones. When you are sending out e-mails to your list, will the addressees be visible? I would see that as a major exposure if some folks are still using their work ids.

I'm perfectly happy for any posting from an invalid id to be deleted. It's not censorship - just abiding by the rules. No valid e-mail address = no participation. Yes, folks can get real addresses that they don't use, but many, many are not valid and should be ignored.

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001

Thank goodness - I thought I was about the only one prepared to do anything positive. From recollection, I believe that Screach, ciara, Galaxy and me are generally in favour of some positive action, along the lines Screach has outlined.
Well, that's four (I think!) - any other takers?

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001

That's a bit strong. I don't particularly want to stick my real addy on here so I use this fake one. Doesn't make me a mischief-making tosspot. What it does do is prevent me getting a virus from mischief- making tosspots. Quite happy to submit my real addy to Mac, if there's really a problem using this fake one here I'll change it to a real-but-unused one.

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001

that's exactly what most of us do, Dan. Just sign up for something at hotmail or wherever. Doesn't mean you have to check it. ;-)

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001

Clarky,

I've been asking for positive action for months! (Mac can testify to the emails I've sent him) I usually get 100 reasons why it won't work, including, if memory serves me right, your good self telling us all to ignore them and they'll go away. :o))

Whatever it takes I'm for it. Do you know something, when I used to post as Diego Gavilan, I actually set up the email account so it wouldn't cause problems - stupid or what!

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001

Pilgrim,

I don't wish to be argumentative, but I see no inconsistency at all between my earlier plea to ignore the troublemakers, and my stated belief that we need to set about instituting some positive action to protect the bbs from their worst excesses.

The latter requires some general concensus that such action is i)necessary and ii) desirable.

I have felt I have been in a very small minority in favour of positive action, and unless I know you are sending e-mails to Macbeth to this effect then how can I be expected to know your view?

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001

Hey,

I wasn't getting at you Clarky! I actually find your arguments consistent. Don't ever stop being argumentative or I'll have to find another BBS :o))

Actually I didn't just email Macbeth; I've posted quite a bit in the past along the same theme. You're not alone.

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001

I'm fine with the idea of proper email addresses being required - not a hard thing to provide.

-- Anonymous, September 01, 2001

Back to the top of the pile, again

-- Anonymous, September 02, 2001

The email address I've posted is the one I read every day - this one is a bit more anonimous to deter idiots.

Save Mac time - ignore threads you don't agree with - the morons will go away.

-- Anonymous, September 02, 2001

hope you got mine Mac? let us know here if not ta

-- Anonymous, September 02, 2001

Thanks Paul - that's 6 of us now.

-- Anonymous, September 02, 2001

92 people so far, anyone else like to join in ?

-- Anonymous, September 03, 2001

Sorry to labour this, but it seems to me that since it's the easiest thing in the world to get a legit e-mail address by signing up on say Yahoo, like I and Clarky have done, I can't see how we'll be able to exclude anybody with any hope of permanence.

I'm not in the least against excluding morons, but I can't see how we can do it without somebody having to put in a great deal of hard and probably complicated graft.

It also seems to me it could take on hacker implications, so that even if we come up with a suitable system, just the fact that it's there will attract attention.

Just for the ease of doing it, I still think completely ignoring unwanted postings is probably going to be as good as it gets, unless there's a propellor heed in our ranks who knows differently. :-)

If there is a straightforward way to make the bbs secure then by all means add my name to your list Clarky, but I think we could be grabbing a tiger by the tail.

-- Anonymous, September 03, 2001

Agreed Pit Bill. Anyone can get and use a valid email address. ....like this...

Self regulation and self control....

-- Anonymous, September 03, 2001

...besides... some of the more amusing posts are when folk use fictitious names/emails

-- Anonymous, September 03, 2001

.... I assume your comments Geordie are based on the outstanding success of this approach to date?

-- Anonymous, September 03, 2001

Ah ha....I see that I now have 4 on my side...Me, PB, Geordie and Josh.....we're catching you Clarky!! ;)))

-- Anonymous, September 03, 2001

By the way I agree with you totally PB that trying to make it difficult to get on or get posted will just act as a challenge....

-- Anonymous, September 03, 2001

I know what you mean clarky.... it'll take a bit of time. I'm managing to ignore the crap... it aint too hard!

-- Anonymous, September 03, 2001

Actually Gav, seeing as how Macbeth has something like 92 e-mail addresses, I suspect you actually have ca.86 in your corner.

You see it's the tried and tested British way - do nothing, and hope the problem goes away! This was such an outstanding success in 1914 and 1945, that it's bound to succeed again in 2001. :o{)

-- Anonymous, September 03, 2001

94 to date, any more ?

-- Anonymous, September 03, 2001

24 hours since last new addition, everybody in ?

-- Anonymous, September 04, 2001

Thanks Wendy !!

-- Anonymous, September 04, 2001

Just a thought Macbeth - have you received Jonno's? He's conspicuous by his absence lately!

-- Anonymous, September 04, 2001

I haven't, nor the most popular home coming of modern times, but I'll add them, thanks

-- Anonymous, September 04, 2001

Just got back from my jollies! I have now added myself to the list Cheers Kats

-- Anonymous, September 10, 2001