It's a good time to register
Ivan | Sat, 2005-06-11 18:40
I had to disable commenting for unregistered users. Sorry from those readers who were using this service and I'm hoping you will sign up, so that we can continue to read your valuable comments. But why did I do that?
There were two reasons for this decision.
First, we were receiving way too much spam through anonymous comments. I'm talking not hundreds, but thousands of spams. Not one of them got through the sophisticated spam filters of Drupal, but fine tuning and adjusting the filter, so that it doesn't delete your comments was becoming unbearable. I don't want to name any company, but on-line poker and diet pills are now my enemy.
Secondly, I didn't hesitate to go through with this idea because we had a decision about this some time ago in a poll where I asked readers to vote on the commenting policy and the option Only registered users allowed won by 9%, so was due to put this rule into place for some time.
Why sign-up? It's not only helping us, it also gives you a better user experience:
Personalized tracking
You will have personalized tracking of recent posts from your perspective. So, at any time you will be able to see if there are any new comments on any particular blog post, forum topic or critique that you haven't read yet. It may seem to be an overkill, but once you start using it, you will wonder why other blogs don't have it.
Customizable blocks
You can decide what you want to see in the sidebars and what not. There are many different blocks available and more are coming. Hey, you can even disable the advertising in the sidebar. (Not the one on the top yet, but working on it.)
Alternative light theme
Tired of the dark side? The best reason to register is to change the theme permanently for your account to a light theme.
Your username can be used on any Drupal site
If you are a member on Spreadfirefox.com or any other of the hundreds of Drupal sites, you can log-in with that member name in this form: username@domain.com. And vice versa, if you decide to register at creativebits, you will be able to log-in to any other Drupal site as username@creativebits.org.
Avatar
You can have your cool little avatar that will make your comments and topics instantly recognizable as yours for everybody.
It's fast and easy
You only need an email address and username to register. It takes 30 seconds literally. I can assure you that your email address is safe with us and you will never receive any spam and nobody will have access to it ever. However if you're still reluctant to give your email I can offer you a free Gmail invitation that you can use to set-up your account or you can email me directly and I can set-up an account for you manually without giving any email at all.
What's with the iPod shuffle?
When we reach 1000 unique registered users we will have a draw for an iPod Shuffle and every time we reach a round number, such as 2K or 3K we will do another one for every user. I wish I could give you all one without a draw as an appreciation for your contribution, but for that I would need at least a hundred clicks on that google ad every single day.
Thank you for your cooperation in fighting spam and hope to see you comment as a newly registered member!
Commenting on this Blog entry is closed.
Hi Ivan
i want to thank you for all the amazing tips'n'trick you spread everyday on my NNW!
s.
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www.codexcoop.it
Great site and worth the sign up anyday!
Hope this helps you get rid of the spammers...
Voted against the change - at least I think I did - but was convinced by your comment about being able to switch the view from the gloom. Enjoyed your article the other day about Middle Eastern ads - more of the same would be fascinating.
www.beardsworth.co.uk
Avatars ;)
So every time I come to CB2 I will click both Google ads. Does that help? Now send me an iPod!
Oh, Ivan, you forced me to register.....I have been here from the begining, just never got to registering.
Ivan, Thanks for your work on the site. Always a good read and usually helpful to boot.
I'm registered too! :c)
my blog: http://blog.one-waymedia.com
my work: http://www.one-waymedia.com
Good job Ivan & associates. Bravo,
Even though your Apple heads :)
... we such suckers for freebies :)
But, Ivan, that wasnt the only reason I registered on this amazingly useful site. I guess it just kicked my lazy ass... i mean fingers... into gear.
I sometimes forget, but I try to help you out by clicking on a few ads. I know you go through a lot to update and maintain this site, so I want to help in the only way I know how. Keep up the awesome work.
No really I would've registered anyway to post my oh so wise insights. Self importance would be my motivation if I wanted to post but was locked out haha.
Who do I have to sleep with to get this?! Would that be Ivan? ... hmmm ... oooo ... eee ... Ivan~ sweet sweeeet babeeEEEeee commere pinkybuns ...
(oh I'm a man btw)
(seriouly just kidding :p )
Been a long time reader, but maybe now I can contribute.
http://www.1lotus.com/ - business
http://www.jamesmathias.com/ - personal
Good job Ivan. It's not on having to deal with a lot of spam.
Hope to see the member count rise soon, well to 1000 anyway. :p
Your support feels great. 50 new registered members in 24 hours. The count is at 724.
Now, we just need to figure out a transparent way for the draw, because you not gonna believe me if I just spit out a number, do you? :)
So here is how we gonna make sure everyone has the same chance of winning. I created a 40columns x 40rows table of random numbers between 1 and 1000 at http://random.org. These are true random numbers that are generated using atmospheric noise. I took a screenshot of the table and zipped it with a password that I will only reveal when the 1000th person has registered. You can download that zip file here.
Now, how do we find the winner from these 1600 random numbers? After the 1000th member registered, the next Saturday there will be a lottery in New Zealand and we gonna take the first two winning numbers (taken from the strike order) as the column and row in this order. http://www.lottoresults.co.nz/
So, for example if the 1000th registration was on the 10th of June this month, we would take the 11th of June first two lottery number by strike order, which are 24 and 5 and take the 24th column and 5th row and look at who the lucky winner in the table is.
Sorry if it's too complicated, I tried to hold myself back. (The original plan was 5 times more complicated.) I guess I've read too much of Dan Brown. :)
ha ha ha.... I love it!
I think I manganed to take that in. The file's locked? Is it supposed to be?
It's always good to register, some sites even insist on real names in the registration.. A couple of questions:
- Will those registered and stopped visiting/participating be included too?
- Will users with higher numbers of subjects/posts be rewarded with points? (The higher the points, the better the odds)
:-)
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http://twitter.com/waleedalzuhair
1. Yes, but the winner will be announced on the site and the winner will not be notified in email. Therefore if one just registers and never comes back, he will not know that he has won. A little incentive to come back at least once a week. :)
2. No. Everybody has equal rights. :)
Headline Story: A pedestrian won the prize of "Greatest Architect" today, as he/she were walking near the new 400 meter high tower.
;-)
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http://twitter.com/waleedalzuhair
It's high time to register. :) Thanks for sharing. I find so many gems here in creativebits.
The system of the draw is hilarious and so typical of Ivan :) Geeks of the world; unite! :) Love you guys.