Has this thread been moved from this forum? 
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Posted 12/19/2024.
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I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?
So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.
But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.
Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.
I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.
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Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.
And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
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Responding to email notices you receive.
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In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.
Where's the "hacker" thread?
- Thread starter The BoidSmith
- Start date
yes, rich/webslave probably removed it to keep any users from being worried about something that most likely won't happen. i know he locked it, and just noticed it's gone now since i saw this thread.
Maybe the hacker, not wanting the unsuspecting people here to be alerted to his nefarious scheme, and having full access to the server, slipped in while we weren't looking and deleted it hoping we wouldn't remember. 
Maybe the hacker, not wanting the unsuspecting people here to be alerted to his nefarious scheme, and having full access to the server, slipped in while we weren't looking and deleted it hoping we wouldn't remember.
that's always a possibility.
Has this thread been moved from this forum?
Yes......
While it was being dismissed as a prank or even something funny no one was worried. But the question most of us with passwords and/or sensible information on this site have is why? Should we be concerned? Personally it was more reassuring to have this question and answer uncensored as I'm not a computer guru by any stretch and I'm not sure the extent or danger of this threat.
Anyone seriously concerned about security can take some VERY easy steps to protect themselves:
1. change your password here
2. make sure your fauna pw is not the same as any financial or e-mail accounts
3. make sure the e-mail you registered with fauna does not have the same pw as your fauna account and is not somehow physically attached to your finances
Those are simple, basic personal security practices that Rich isn't responsible for in the first place.
I was advised that it is just not a very good policy to discuss security issues in public. This thread is in danger of being removed as well. The REASON that thread was started in a public forum instead of in a private conversation with me was obviously not designed to be helpful at all. It was the equivalent of someone posting a sign on your front lawn saying something like:
ATTENTION!
Your back door can be opened if you jiggle the door knob while lifting up on the door. Just to prove to you that this can be done, I have removed all your silverware.
Have a nice day!
Your back door can be opened if you jiggle the door knob while lifting up on the door. Just to prove to you that this can be done, I have removed all your silverware.
Have a nice day!
So tell me, how long would you keep that sign on your front lawn?
And if someone else then put a sign on your font lawn asking about the earlier sign concerning your back door, how long would you keep THAT one there?
So you're saying it was a legitimate threat, then?
Any threat of a hack should be taken seriously. Any prudent person would do so.
Any server can be hacked into by a sufficiently motivated and talented hacker. The only secure method of preventing this is to not have your network attached to an external network.
Anyone who believes that there is any sort of absolute security on the internet is just being naive. Anyone asking me to provide that here, is being unrealistic.
My vBulletin programmer (Logician) is considered to be the best in the business when it comes to vBulletin, and he says flat out that the passwords cannot be hacked.
Here's a few threads about hacking the password from the database..
http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/show...rd-decryption-Example-of-possible-way-to-hack.
http://www.rohitab.com/discuss/topic/31160-hacking-vbulletin-forum/
http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=137897