# Anyone else Google the newest members? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 7, 2007, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-google-the-newest-members/429152 "2007-12-07T14:21:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-google-the-newest-members/429152/1 "2007-12-07T14:21:16Z")
With a dated version of vBulletin and no captcha, the SDMB is quite vulnerable to spambots. From time to time, I’ll see a username that looks fishy. Google it, and it will appear as a new user on hundreds of message boards; a sure sign of a spambot. Sometimes, the username is obvious, for instance I just saw: > [@](#): > > Welcome to our newest member, bvoviagra Anyone else here Google the names of new users for shits and giggles? ---
**Author:** ![ChattyChattyBingBing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@ChattyChattyBingBing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChattyChattyBingBing)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-google-the-newest-members/429152/2 "2007-12-07T21:53:14Z")
I don’t, but as a tangent, what are those wavy text boxes thingies meant to defeat bots called? Does that SDMB use them? ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-google-the-newest-members/429152/3 "2007-12-07T21:55:28Z")
[QUOTE=ChattyChattyBingBing] I don’t, but as a tangent, what are those wavy text boxes thingies meant to defeat bots called? Does that SDMB use them? [/QUOTE] Captchas. And as the OP mentioned, no we don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-google-the-newest-members/429152/4 "2007-12-07T21:59:52Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] Anyone else here Google the names of new users for shits and giggles? [/QUOTE] Not exactly, but I did report our newst member “clickforfreestuff” a few months ago. Banned before he/she/it made a post 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-google-the-newest-members/429152/5 "2007-12-07T22:01:29Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] Captchas. And as the OP mentioned, no we don’t. [/QUOTE] Thank Og. It usually takes me two or three tries to figure out the letters they’re expecting. ---
**Author:** ![ChattyChattyBingBing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@ChattyChattyBingBing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChattyChattyBingBing)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-google-the-newest-members/429152/6 "2007-12-07T22:02:18Z")
Captcha? Since I didn’t know the term, I didn’t recognize it in the OP. I swear I’ve heard some other term to describe them. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-google-the-newest-members/429152/7 "2007-12-07T22:08:07Z")
[QUOTE=ChattyChattyBingBing] Captcha? Since I didn’t know the term, I didn’t recognize it in the OP. I swear I’ve heard some other term to describe them. [/QUOTE] [I promise, they’re called captchas.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captcha) **Risha** - Me too. I hate the damned things and I’ve given up on some things after three or four tries. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-google-the-newest-members/429152/8 "2007-12-07T23:14:49Z")
[QUOTE=Tapioca Dextrin] Not exactly, but I did report our newst member “clickforfreestuff” a few months ago. Banned before he/she/it made a post 😃 [/QUOTE] …Wow, sometimes a user name is just mildly witty and now (or not) very well thought out… 😉 ThisSpaceForRent ---
**Author:** ![Pixilated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aeb1de/32.png) [@Pixilated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixilated)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2007, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-google-the-newest-members/429152/9 "2007-12-08T00:52:06Z")
The only thing I get is my definition =) Oooo baby, google me some more! lol ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2007, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-google-the-newest-members/429152/10 "2007-12-08T00:53:50Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] Anyone else here Google the names of new users for shits and giggles? [/QUOTE] I do it for a more useful purpose. To see if the new registrant needs banning. And I know at least three other mods do it on a regular basis. The best news for the board is the relative lack of sophisticated bots. I’d estimate only 1/50 get through the registration process and post. Probably even fewer than that, now that I think about it.