reversing "spam" designations on WangGuard

  • Resolved Wolfgang Hoeschele

    (@wolfgang-hoeschele)


    11 years, 12 months ago

    Hello,
    On our WordPress/Buddypress website (https://commonsabundance.net) we have installed WangGuard to protect ourselves from sploggers. However, it also designates some legitimate users (most of whom I know personally) as potential spammers, by marking their field on the users list as pink. I have reversed this designation using the “not spam” button, whereupon the pink color disappeared, but users were still unable to log on to our site. It is possible that the users did not go through the correct steps in order to log on, so I need to know answers to the following questions:

    1) Out of what reasons can legitimate users be marked as spammers? Is it possible that they get marked if they do not follow through soon enough on the confirmation email sent by the website after they have gone through the first step of the registration procedure? If so, how quickly do they need to respond? Are there other reasons why an innocent user may be marked as suspicious?

    2) Once a site administrator has corrected a false spam designation, what does the user have to do in order to successfully get onto the website?

    I would be very grateful for clarification on these issues; I didn’t see these precise questions answered in any of the older posts.

    https://www.ads-software.com/extend/plugins/wangguard/

Viewing 14 replies - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
  • Plugin Author Jose Conti

    (@jconti)

    Hi Wolfgang,

    Were user flagged as Sploggers?

    You are using Buddypress, so if the users were listed as pink, that’s not mean that are Sploggers.

    On BuddyPress, when a user are listed as pink means different things.

    – That user was flagged as spam.
    – That user was flagged as splogger

    And the last one, that user didn’t activate his account.

    I think the last one is the problem.

    Marking the not active accounts as not spam, you eliminate the pink color, but the account continuous not active.

    Kind regards

    Thread Starter Wolfgang Hoeschele

    (@wolfgang-hoeschele)

    Thanks for the reply, Jose.

    I do realize those were not marked as sploggers, but as (potential) spammers.

    Can you give me details about

    1) How much time is given for a user to activate their account before they are marked as pink?

    2) If the admin marks the user as “not spam,” what must the user then do in order to successfully activate the account? Must he/she respond to the confirmation email that was sent before, or is a new email automatically sent as a reminder? I need to be able to tell such users what they are supposed to do.

    3) What happens if the user tries to activate his/her account while being marked pink?

    All the best,
    Wolfgang

    Plugin Author Jose Conti

    (@jconti)

    That is not a WangGuard functionality, this are WordPress and BuddyPress functionality.

    I think, the user has 48h for activate his accounts, but I’m not sure at all.

    When some one register in a website, BuddyPress sent an email with activation link. The user has to follow that link for activate his account.

    I think there are some plugins for resent from administration the activation link, but I’m not sure about it.

    Kind regards

    Thread Starter Wolfgang Hoeschele

    (@wolfgang-hoeschele)

    Who knows the answers to these questions?

    There must be something in the WangGuard code that says exactly how long the user has in order to respond! My impression is that it’s a lot shorter than 48 hours; I didn’t do any timing, but I think they were flagged pink much sooner than that.

    I am not a software developer so I can’t read the code; but isn’t there somebody on this site who knows the code, who helped develop it?

    And I still don’t follow what I am supposed to tell the users what they are supposed to do after I reverse the pink designation.

    I am getting REALLY frustrated about this because I am not getting any straight answers.

    Who actually wrote this software so I can ask them?

    Plugin Author Jose Conti

    (@jconti)

    Hi Wolfgang,

    How I said, it is not WangGuard, is WordPress/BuddyPress.

    WangGuard are not controlling times ones the user is registered. WangGuard only works on registration form.

    Kind regards

    Thread Starter Wolfgang Hoeschele

    (@wolfgang-hoeschele)

    If that is the case, please label this issue as “permanently not resolved.” It’s NOT resolved.
    I am trying to get answers elsewhere, but this exchange up till now has not been useful for me at all.

    Plugin Author Jose Conti

    (@jconti)

    I can leave it open, but it is not a WangGuard “problem” and you will not find answers in this thread …

    How I said, it is not WangGuard, is WordPress/BuddyPress.

    Pretty sure it’s BuddyPress. There’s no time limitation in WordPress core as far as I am aware.

    @wolfgang Hoeschele; As the plugin developer has pointed out a few times, this is beyond the control of his plugin. You’re complaining to the wrong person.

    @wolfgang-hoeschele I have not seen this behavior in BuddyPress installations which do not use WangGuard nor using commons in a box – a fully customized BuddyPress installation with a specialized theming engine https://commonsinabox.org/

    To check if this is a plugin conflict, deactivate WangGuard and check if issue remains or is resolved. Clear cache. If it is not resolved contact the devs at https://commonsinabox.org/

    Thread Starter Wolfgang Hoeschele

    (@wolfgang-hoeschele)

    Thanks mercime,
    The issue didn’t arise before we installed WangGuard. Anyway, I hope to get answers at Commons in a Box where I have already submitted a query.
    It seems to me that this is an issue involving the interaction between WangGuard and Buddypress, which WangGuard should have an interest in resolving.

    Anyway, I hope to get answers at Commons in a Box where I have already submitted a query.

    @wolfgang-hoeschele There’s a possibility that the conflict is between Commons in a Box with WangGuard and not WangGuard and BuddyPress. I do not recall seeing an issue like you posted above at the BuddyPress support forums.

    Plugin Author Jose Conti

    (@jconti)

    Yes, @mercine that’s true.

    You only will see the pink users on WangGuard users.

    WangGuard users show activated and no activated users. That’s “the problem” and the difference to use or not to use WangGuard.

    With WangGuard you have 2 users screens, standard WordPress users, and WangGuard users.

    Plugin Author Jose Conti

    (@jconti)

    Hi @wolfgang Hoeschele,

    Please, make a try.

    1.- Register on your website, but you dont have to activate the account.
    2.- Try to login with that new user name. (you will be advised that your account needs to be activated).
    3.- Login with admin credentials.
    4.- Go to WordPress users.
    5.- Look for the user. You will find the user, but in white color. Remember that that user cannot login to BuddyPress because he dont activated the account.
    6.- Go to WangGuard users.
    7.- Look for the user. You will find the user with pink color.
    8.- Activate the new account.
    9.- Go again to WangGuard users. You will find the user with white color.

    The pink color is not a bug, problem, error… thats nothing to worry. On WangGuard users you will see the inactive user in pink color. That’s all

    If you want to moderate the inactive users, you can use a plugin like this:

    https://www.ads-software.com/extend/plugins/unconfirmed/

    Kind regards

    Plugin Author Jose Conti

    (@jconti)

    I mark this topic as resolved, because how I explained, that’s not a bug or problem.

    Kind regards

Viewing 14 replies - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
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