Forum Ban?

[StatCounterJen]

IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE ACCESSING THE FORUM, PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU READ THIS POST BEFORE SUBMITTING A TICKET TO SUPPORT!!

Hi folks,

In recent days we have received a large amount of support tickets from members in relation to difficulties accessing the StatCounter forum. Some people are having trouble with their IP/Email/Username being banned in the forum. We have a full explanation in this regard in our knowledge base, and we are posting the relevant information in this thread also.

Why is my username/IP address/email banned from the StatCounter forum?

Introduction
Firstly, let us apologize.

We are very sorry for any confusion or upset caused by your finding yourself banned in our forum, however, please let us explain.

The forum is provided by StatCounter as a venue where members and potential members can offer help and assistance to each other, discuss ideas, get to know one another and interact in a positive way.

Unfortunately, large numbers of people have been joining the StatCounter forum simply and solely to post spam messages and links and promote certain sites (e.g. p0rn, drugs, counterfeit goods etc). These people are not StatCounter members and are not interested in contributing positively to the forum in any way.

Types of Ban and Suggested Resolutions
In order to combat this kind of activity and maintain the integrity of the StatCounter forum we have found it necessary to implement a number of measures such as IP and email address banning.

IP address banning:
Specific IP addresses or IP address ranges are banned when it is established that the specific IP address or range is being used for spamming purposes. Typically a range is blocked when more than 5 spammers from that address or range sign up to the forum within 1 hour.

If you find that your IP is banned you should reset your internet connection and try to log into the forum again. If the problem persists you should contact the StatCounter Support Team. Note that if your ISP is allowing spammers access to their network of IP addresses, then it may not be possible to lift the ban. In this case you should complain about the IP blacklisting to your ISP. The more people that complain, the less likely it is that ISPs will engage in this practice.

Note also that if you are using an open proxy server (e.g. for anonymous browsing) then there is a high degree of probability that you will not be able to use this IP address to sign up with the forum. This is because these kind of proxy servers are very popular with spammers and are therefore banned from our forum to safeguard it from floods of undesirable posts. In this case, the ban on your IP address cannot be lifted as to do so would allow many spammers access to our forum.

Email address banning:
Certain email addresses which are commonly and frequently used by spammers are also banned in our forum.

If your email is banned, you should consider registering at the forum using an alternative email address.

Username banning:
Certain usernames are banned in our forum e.g. anything associated with drugs or p0rn.

In this case, you should simply sign up with an alternative username.

Conclusion
While we do regret any inconvenience caused to our members, please remember our actions are taken for the good of all Statcounter users.

[Arne]

Bumping up so it will be seen!