What Does Validating Mean?

[Ben M]

hi, i have noticed on a few peoples profiles that instead of saying member or moderator it says validating. i was just wondering what it meant? sorry for asking a bit of a dumb question lol.

cheers

 

[doresy]

When you first join the ranks of this wonderful forum you are sent an email (which invariably ends up in the spam filter) which you have to reply to thus validating your membership. Until you do your membership allowance is limited.

 

[Ben M]

aah. i get it now.

notice to all new members: reply to the email lol.

cheers

 

[doresy]

We tell 'em all the time

 

[Ben M]

lol, i think i replied to mine straight away. must have been very eager.

cheers

 

[OldMan47]

I find that many forums use the same approach of sending out an e-mail to keep the spammers and similar groups to a minimum. If it takes actual actions on your part to respond to an e-mail, your computerized spamming doesn't know how to deal with it. Another common trick is to give you a series of letters or numbers that are not obvious that you need to fill into an empty box when registering. Both seem to be used in most places to keep the computer generated spam to a minimum. I will continue to appreciate that effort by the forum owners. I have seen what can happen to a forum that doesn't take the needed precautions and it isn't pretty. The old ALA site did not have enough safety precautions and it was getting at least 30 posts daily by a computer generated spam system. When they moved tyo a new system and put appropriate precautions in place, I seldom ever saw spamming on their site again. We also take enough precautions here that spammers are rare, but not totally unheard of. When we find them, we get rid of them fast and lock them out.

The label under your name changes as you post more and more. That is why it says Fish Addict under Pest control's name. It tries to give an indication of just how often you post in descriptive terms. It really has no meaning in terms of knowledge but does indicate activity levels. In some places the label on me is newbie, or something equally flattering, because I seldom post there. On others, I end up with a title that sounds like I am some kind of expert. Both labels are untrue, I am an experienced hobbyist with lots of years, but I am far from any kind of expert on fish.