TEDEX
TEDEX Forum Phoenix
UPDATE 4/26/14 Registration Fixed (see comments)
Here I go again… (enter TEDEX in the search key word box)
I like some forums. I like the ones that feel more like a club membership than a forum that wants to dominate my life. Well, actually being the administrator or a moderator of a forum can dominate one’s life, if you let it.
The forums I am attracted to are the ones that stand alone and are not associated with one of the big mega forum providers. The big boys fill their forums with advertising and sell my viewing habits to product vendors in order to pay and make a profit from providing the service. That’s bad Karma for me.
I don’t run any of my websites to make money from views. Maybe I am foolish but it is the way I like it.
Once again I have resurrected the (hobbyist) TEDEX forum from the ashes of cold storage. All the old files are still intact. I left the door open for 24 hours and almost immediately it was attacked by a swarm of Botflies pumping commercial spam into my forum in various forms, mostly pill pushers, with about 25 new posts.
I immediately tightened up the registration and it is still open, but registration now needs more effort. New members need Admin permission and must wait for it. Posts are limited for the newbie to prevent flooding. The latest update of the forum software added some nice tools for spam blocking. Unfortunately spam is a fact of life in today’s reality. If a request looks like spam, I won’t even open the door. Post spam in my house and I will knock you out. I have the can of RAID at the ready! Ha!
I am considering several options for adding… Continue reading
The Keys to TEDEX
I re-enabled TEDEX for open self-registration about a week ago. It has been closed for over a year. Note, this registration does not include automatic approval.
After several hours of being open the registrations started coming in again. There must be some sort of search engine discovering new open registration on line.
Approximately 99.99524 percent are from the Ukraine, Russia, China and other non English countries half way around the globe from the USA. Yes, I can trace every IP address. I allowed the first dozen access to the BBS to see what would happen. It only took a day for the first garbage post to be placed.
I blew away those first “dirty dozen” and have rejected hundreds of applications since. Some one failed the test and spoiled it for everyone.
All of them choose some mambo-jumbo user name mostly just a series of random looking letters. I don’t know who they are but I imagine they are kiddies playing with their computers and like to see if they can pass the “entrance examine”. Some are real spammers.
Mostly they just join, but the spam is what sets up the security fence. If they all look like a duck, walk like a duck, quack like a duck, swim like a duck and smell like a duck… well guess what… I am a firm believer in profiling.
I welcome real interested on-topic members from any country/nationality to join. However, I am not providing a blank wall for any internet hoodlum anywhere to display graffiti. There is no internet “right” for anyone to post whatever they please, only the opportunity. I control that opportunity.
There is a way into TEDEX and I provide keys in the welcome message, but it will remain difficult for the ducks. So if you wonder… Continue reading
TEDEX Forum
This blog is only a few short of 1000 members as of this writing. I believe many signed in to exploit the BLOG. It is a dead end if that was the purpose.
I am the only author in this site, but members are permitted to comment as they see fit. The first comment is held for me to determine who you are and if the comment is on topic. The spam filters work very well and I delete a lot of known spam. If I let you through the first time, I don’t moderate after that. But I can shut down anyone who is not pure in heart (intent) at any time.
I also run a Bulletin Board called TEDEX. I shut it down from (open) new memberships about a year ago. Same reasons. It is a nasty world out there. I trimmed it down from hundreds to just 43 contributing members.
TEDEX has more user features. Lots of folks like the BBS format better than the BLOG. On TEDEX you can start your own threads, post pictures and have a whole lot more interaction.
I just did something with TEDEX I said I wasn’t going to do. I unlocked the registration again. I’ll see how it goes. If you have an ugly email address or ugly user name, don’t expect to get in. I respect real people with real names. Reasonable “handles” are OK but be sincere in who you are.
I am willing to host a blog with many author contributors. I am thinking about a new challenge R&D project I am looking into I call RoboBoat. There is a post in TEDEX about the subject. The blog would be a society or forum for developing this topic… or it could just live in… Continue reading
Where’s the Beef!
The “beef” is in the bun. Some of my readers sort of ask me that question.
I have received a number of emails wondering what my latest project might be of if I still like or use such and such a tool that I published in my now aging website. I think it is mainly because I have not made any major updates in the old style web pages for awhile.
The truth is I still report rather actively but not in the same way as I have in the past. I started my THMS web page before there were such things as dynamic web site Blogs and CMS (Content Management Systems) like Joomla. There is actually quite a bit of work building a pure static HTML web site.
I still like the old format when I want to publish a full article with lots of pictures. The total control is awesome. But I am finding more of a liking with the high level presentation format available in dynamic publishing.
Most of my web pages now have both a URL identified server where the management code is stored and lives but also requires the services of an SQL database server to hold and provide the dynamic data. It sounds complex and it is. My several blogs (WordPress), one Bulletin Board (TEDEX), and multiple Joomla sites all require two remote computer servers to provide the viewer the content you see, like this very page.
The result is that publishing content is 10 times easier once the website is set up. I love the design complexities and that creative exercise, but when I want to post something like this, it only takes five minutes or less, just the time to log in and upload, and the world can read it fully… Continue reading
Traveling in a Different Style
I am in awe every time I go exploring the Internet to see what other home machinist are publishing. I am humbled by the effort and quality work that many machinists are willing to share. What a wonderful experience to sit in your own private space and see in detail what others have built or are doing. It is the ultimate resource for inspiration or just armchair voyaging into things mechanical. (Note! This is nothing to do with voyeur!)
I think the style I present is a bit different. I produce a lot more talk or writing… I suppose.
In Ramblin’ Dan I call it “Random Musings and Obscure Observations”. I figure a blog is intended for that sort of rather disjointed presentation, just thoughts of the moment. There is a date in the corner of the post of when posted. The topic can help the reader of a blog to follow the thread much easier than scanning through everything. Topics are listed in the right column.
The THMS web site is more old school formal presentation. I intend to maintain that presentation form for large projects and user reports. It is the place to put a lot of pictures with text. I mentioned awhile back I plan to do more video too.
I built TEDEX to be more of a readers share place. A registered user has free access to post their own projects, ask questions, or do most anything on topic. Even create new topics. It is a free communication resource for hobbyists who don’t want or have the time to produce their own space. I have been forced to make it hard to access (you have to ask) but once in, more things will work. No strings, just be real. I am sharing the ride.