Spam Prevention

The Roundtable has pretty good built-in securities to prevent automated spammers (aka "spambots) from infiltrating the site, but there's nothing really stopping an actual person from signing up and posting advertisements or solicitations—either in a discussion or as a comment on a legitimate member's profile.

It happens occasionally. Somebody will sign up and, for example, systematically go to each member's profile and post some inane comment about needing help or wanting to start a "relationship." What they're really after is your email address. Don't give it to them. Just delete these messages without giving them a second thought.

The good news is that we usually discover the spammers quickly, and when we delete their accounts, the system automatically deletes all their postings and all the comments they've left for other members. Unfortunately, any email messages trigged by those comments have already gone out, so people get the spam in their inboxes regardless.

However, you can change your privacy settings so that comments left on your profile do not trigger email messages. If you're a frequent visitor to the Roundtable, and check your profile regularly, you may not want/need the email notification. If you wish to turn it off, do the following:

1. Click the My Page tab above.
2. On the next page, in the box on the upper-right part of the screen (with your name in it), click the Settings link.
3. On the next page, in the left-hand menu, click the Email link.
4. On the next page, uncheck the box next to A comment on My Page under "Humanities Roundtable Messages."

If you have any questions about specific spam messages you've received via the Roundtable, you can contact Jason Neal, the site administrator, from his profile page.