Solution to the external linking issue.
 

To be quite honest, it is pretty damn tedious having to PM one (of the two) super moderators to get a link cleared just so you can post it. I'm sick of hearing about people getting infractions, posts being flat out removed and other over the top criticisms for some harmless off site linking. You never see this on any other forum (or website for that matter) and why is that? Because these websites that are concerned about external links use better ways of handling the situation.

Sites such as MySpace and the World of Warcraft forums with vulnerable user bases now have "Remote Links Interceptors" which bring up a warning screen before the site is opened from their pages. Today I found a free forum product that allows the easy installation of one of these filters, and installed it on Zodiac Forums -- attached is a screenshot of the filter in action. Obviously links would still need to be visited and moderated, but this way there is no need what-so-ever to be this hounding over external linking. It took me literally 5 minutes to download, customize the XML file, upload and use.

Link to forum mod on Vbulletin site: http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=128113

It's more of a matter of GraalOnline not wanting people to see other game advertisements on other websites so they try to prevent people from visiting those sites if at all possible. That's why I had to change my signature because the website a button pointed to contained advertisement for another MMORPG.

I do think it's extremely silly that links are only allowed in The Lounge. I guess your idea could work, but really, like Tig said, it is more a deal with advertising other things than malicious software (as forums, to my knowledge, can't be held responsible for people who post and link to sites with malicious software, so long as they respond and delete it).

So long as we don't advertise anything about other games, why can't we be allowed to post links (e.g. a link to a news article about the Kentucky Derby -- just an example)

I disagree, because that rule of off-site linking to other MMORG sites has existed for a long time now -- the link approval "rule" is quite recent compared to it. Not every site that is posted without approval and has been removed has been linking to MMORG sites, in fact most do not.

It's an ignorant idea to think that members of these forums and the game in general haven't got a clue about other games, or can use Google. I'm not campaigning for the approval of linking to other MMORPGs though, I'm just trying to get external linking allowed without the unnecessary excess.

I got in trouble once for linking to Google. I mean, seriously ... Google doesn't need any advertising help from us ;)

Solution? Stop being so damn paranoid.

The idea that preventing links to placing having MMORPG advertisements will keep people from leaving Graal is ridiculous and a bit insulting.

I agree, it's not like no one advertises these in Graal as in (Oh, I was playing x and x happened .. wanna play? go to x.com)

Yea, Graal is a lot like a chat. You chat with your friends what games you've been playing recently and all that stuff.

I fail to see what you think making a thread is going to solve.
The linking rule is from unixmad, and unixmad alone, and I havent seen him in months. The linking rule is something he was adamant about, and is the reason he created the lounge.
The general public can do nothing, and none of the staff can do anything either.
It is what it is...

I think it's a good idea to have. It shows Graalonline isn't responsible for what you are doing after leaving the site and when someone posts a bad link on the forums it can still be deleted by - active - mods. It's just a suggestion Rufus made, worth discussing with Unixmad sometime.

Us active mods do not live on the boards. I have actually had my account stolen by a forums link, so I dont find the rule a bad one. So it is a little annoying, and you have to take a couple of minutes out of your busy lives to ask for permission to post a link. It is not such a big deal....

You know, even links that dont seem bad, can have bad links associated with them, or not be what they seem themselves.....been there, done that.... and unixmad simply does not want links that advertise other games, so there ya go.
I hate clinking on links people send me for approval even...because you just never know. Yea, I am paranoid with good reason.

Ahh the old session var stealing external links problem.

Way to fix and protect yourself:

1. Remove all shortcuts to Internet Explorer
2. Download Firefox
3. Close Internet Explorer never to open it again
4. Download Safari using Firefox
5. Never use / personalise Safari
6. Use Firefox for normal browsing
7. When someone sends you a link for approval, paste it into Safari
8. If it's safe, make sure there is no HTTP GET vars, if there is, generally better to avoid it
9. Check the owner of the domain name with the WHOIS Service, Does it belong to a member of "Those who would not be named"?
10. If yes, don't approve.
11. If no, approve.

You've just said yourself that you and Sam do not live on the forums, so what is going to stop someone from just posting a few illegal links with how the forums currently are? I mean, it's not as though we're forced to go through you, and if you're not online then there's going to be an issue with reaching people.

That said, there's hardly anyone here anyway. It's just a little off putting to users, especially new ones, that there's all these silly processes that we've got to go through for something so simple -- hardly anyone reads rules as soon as they come to a forum, but most of the communities I've been to have just been common sense based rules, not iron fist.

If there's a way to steal accounts by links, there should be a way to get this fixed and make everybody happy :)

:pluffy:

And yes, I've never had trouble with Firefox... can open anything without having my computer messed up.

They're searching for http:// in the Search bar ^^

If you take Rufus' suggestion and also, in the warning, add the url you're linking to it would solve a lot of problems. Just don't go to links you're not sure about. This is the same kind of knowledge that can keep you from getting a virus or spyware... apply a little common sense and use Firefox.