Can’t believe I fell for the phishing attack (yes I changed my password)
Brian
You would just blow up the ballot box.
Oh give me some credit. . . it would be an interesting fireworks show.
Tripler
Complete with the “1812 Overture.”
Henry Joseph is the owner of avolatech.com which is the domain of the fake payment link.
He appears to be a real guy and it is a real company so it was even more confusing as to what was going on.
Ditto here, got the email today, reupped on May 6th!
So…was it, or was it not something I need be concerned about? A phishing attempt? Or not? Do I need to change my password? Or is NOT clicking on the link enough?
Could a mod please answer these questions for people as confused as I am?
It’s not something you need to be concerned about. It was not a phishing attempt and we have not been hacked. You do not need to change your password.
It’s basically a test site that we use to test changes to the SDMB software. We have been testing some things, and since the renewal time for all of the charter members is coming around, our test copy with our modified SDMB decided to send out reminder messages, just like the real SDMB does. We are testing with an old stale copy of the SDMB, so if you have renewed your membership, the test copy isn’t aware of it, which is why it kept sending out notices with incorrect dates on them.
Sorry for the confusion.
OK, now I want to know more about what you’re testing. Do we have anything interesting to look forward to? And one reason we were given that management was unwilling to make changes to the board was that the server was underpowered and there wasn’t enough IT support to move to a better server. But for a while the board has been hosted by Amazon, so presumably it’s not a big deal to beef up the server or even have multiple servers. So, for example, can the search limitations be dropped?
Unfortunately, I don’t have permission to discuss what we’re testing. If/when the time comes, I assume Ed will make some sort of announcement.
I have absolutely no control over the servers. That said, since we still have occasional board performance issues, I wouldn’t expect the search limitation to be dropped any time soon. My general impression is that loading issues seem to be getting to be less frequent. If that trend continues, they might be agreeable to lowering the wait between searches. I doubt that they would eliminate it altogether, at least not initially. We’ll have to wait and see on that one.
I had another one in my inbox this morning.
Have no fear. Trump will reveal it in his twitterstorm tomorrow morning. And then deny it.
Me, too. It’s my third one.
Second for me.
My thanks to running coach for cross-posting this thread into my thread. VERY helpful.
" Henry Joseph " used to go by “Slug Signorino”, but you know…times being what they are…nobody appreciates fine illustrations like they did back in 1973… people change.
I tried to renew, but it doesn’t want to offer any payment method other than PayPal.
My time is running out, how or where do I go to pay up with a credit card?
Just go with the “Order Using PayPal” button.
There will be an option to check out as a guest.
More detailed version:
Got it done, thanks!
I would have forgotten, but I was reminded by one of the mods posting something on his FB page. That was the 18th, and my subscription would’ve ended the 20th. That was way too close. I never check my email.
I don’t want to lose my Charter Member title, or the reduced subscription fee.
Before I became a mod, I would always renew my membership a short(ish) time after the new year, either January or February. That way I never had to worry about forgetting about it or getting called out of town for work and missing the deadline or whatever.
The extra time just gets tacked on to the end of your current subscription whenever that is, so there’s no real down side to renewing early. You’ll end up with the same eventual expiration date whether you renew in January or May.
And like others, I’m still getting reminders to re-up:
This one arrived on the 16th (several days after I renewed):
Straight Dope Message Board <webmaster@straightdope.com> via sendgrid.me
(my email addy)
Tue, May 16, 2017 at 9:02 AM
Paid Subscription Expiry Notice
sendgrid.net
sendgrid.me
Standard (TLS) Learn more
Dear Mama Zappa,
Your access to the paid subscription “Straight Dope Board Charter Membership” is about to expire.
To renew this subscription you must visit http://tsdmb.avolatech.com/sdmb/payments.php
If you do not extend your subscription you will revert to Guest status. As a Guest you’ll be shown banner advertising and will lose some of the privileges of your current membership status.
All the best,
Straight Dope Message Board
I re-upped on May 5th. Got the email a few days ago that I was about to expire.
I replied with a copy of my paypal receipt (some info redacted). Hopefully I won’t be kicked off the board for a mere paypal mistake. If I’m removed from the SDMB, I want to go out in a blaze of glory with angry Pit threads, snarling mods, etc. 