OK - logging in for the first time in a while although I know all the issues with the spambot attacks over the last couple of weeks. Frankly, I'm too lazy to read back over 15 pages of posts so I'm going to make my point and if people have said the same before then s0d it.
With the best will in the world RW you are losing people from the forums and something needs to be done. It's not user friendly in the slightest - to be fair it only really works if you're logging in from a pc which is rare for people these days. You need to move with the times and work more on an app based approach that will fit with both android and apple devices.
There is also the issue of moderation. If people have purely been approached to delete spam then that is one thing, but if they are truly 'mods' in the full sense of the word then you need to follow the example of other highly successful and profligate sites where the board mods actually have to apply to have that responsibility.
When it comes to spam then get your tech people (who frankly on the basis of the last couple of weeks are not worth a whatever) to set up new user accounts so they can't post links until they've made a minimum of X number of posts and they have to have their email address verified as part of the process. To say I've been disappointed in the professionalism of this site over the last few weeks is a huge understatement.
At the end of the day, YOU - RW - are putting yourselves at risk. By not dealing with issues as and when they arise, or by not being willing to invest enough in protecting your forum users who are - at the end of the day - your bread and butter (after all, what would be the point in having advertising revenue if noone was actually there to view it, it would soon drop off - if I was in marketing and we were advertising on a dying website I'd be pulling my contract quick smart) then you jeopardise the whole future of the forums themselves let alone events like the Mudchute Support crew.
Why should we advertise RW at Mudchute if we don't agree with how you're operating? We are all people who volunteer to be there on the day - we get the square root of nothing back from RW for doing it in the first place, we are there becaue we enjoy it. You lot couldn't even be bothered to turn up this year, you relied on mine and Tickled Pinks photos to put on the website and neither of us even got a credit for it which is just rude as far as I'm concerned.
Even last year there were more photos from 2 miles up the road and then from the Fetchpoint than there were from here - talk about disrespecting your members.
It's an amazing facility to offer to runners, and there are people who rely on it. But I can guarantee you it won't happen (in RW name at least) going forwards if things don't change.
Pay more attention and give more respect and you may get the same in return.
