I don't know the technology behind any of this stuff but we are seriously in need of some anti-spam measures (VERY cool smilie!)
or the mods may give up their full time jobs so that they can keep an eye on it here.

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Yes. I occasionally see some weird message as well. They're long and about some sort of meditation or some kind of BS. I thought about contacting Brendan, but I figured you VSGs are all over it anyway.

It’s more than just occasional, that’s the trouble. I’ve reported three or four spammers within the past ten hours—and the tendency is growing (as the forum ages and increases in popularity, spambots and crawlers will also become more and more numerous).

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Not a native speaker.

Always wait for at least three people to agree on a translation, especially if it’s for something permanent.

My translations are usually GU (Ulster Irish), unless CO (Standard Orthography) is requested.

There's a slew of them on the site now

We're being invaded.

Tá modhnóir/Laoch Frith-Spam ag teastáil uaibh. Duine a bheadh in ann an turscar a scriosadh istoíche.*

(*I mean someone who could remove spam during the Irish/GMT night time, of course.)

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Ag lorg cómhra as Gaeilge? Bígí linn - http://www.foramnagaeilge.com

Airím gur cuireadh cuid de na spammers amach cheana féin, ach nach féidir a gcuid scríbhinní a scriosadh san am céanna?

Geez, you go away for 36 hours and the place falls apart.

Mother-in-law is now on the plane back to Japan. Wife and kids are still here.

Am working on the spam as I speak. If you see spam please report the post (i.e., click the ! button in the spam post) to let the mods know there is some spam there.

Please don't reply to the spam or it will look like you are talking to yourself when we delete the spam.

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Spam? What spam?

There _is_ a captcha in place.

There is also a very good security question in place that must be answered in a way that makes sense. The question needs to be read by a mod to catch the spammers before they post. Normally, I do this while you are all asleep, but unfortunately I was off line for more than a day. I'll try changing the settings so that the quetion has to be checked before the spammers can post.

Unfortunately, that will result in delays for people posting for the first time. I was trying to avoid that if I could.

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Have you considered something like an Akismet phpBB plugin? That wouldn’t stop the spammers completely, of course, but it would reduce the numbers greatly.

Alternatively, having more mods in more time zones always helps, too. I agree that having to be manually confirmed before being able to post is a last resort—it’s counter-productive to the goal of the site. To be avoided if possible.

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Not a native speaker.

Always wait for at least three people to agree on a translation, especially if it’s for something permanent.

My translations are usually GU (Ulster Irish), unless CO (Standard Orthography) is requested.