Sup everyone. We have been undergoing 24/7 bot traffic. As a result we have considered a myriad of antispam mechanics, finally settling on something we could quickly deploy, that being a account system.
We're not changing our rules, and you don't need to fill any conditions. Just ask (see contact information at our FAQ) and we'll grant you an account.
If you have any questions, they are likely covered in the rest of this announcement:
Essentially what we did was make use of a check in BidenFlare which ignores mod accounts from going through the check. Meaning that once you pass your IP address through BidenFlare you don't really need to stay logged in. This is why some people are still able to post despite currently not having accounts, but as IP addresses change, the people using these IPs will eventually need accounts as well.1
There are other antispam measures we'd like to implement, but they won't be ready within any reasonable timeframe; we do not wish to keep everyone from posting any longer--as I mentioned, this was obviously a very easy fix to get working.2
Whether this change will be temporary, this will last for at least as long as we don't have new, effective antispam measures. I want to emphasize that I want this to be temporary, but as I already mentioned, we won't have any better measures for the time being, until there is further notice.
This change may concern your anonymity. We will attempt to make the application process (explained after) not sacrifice your anonymity. As for how the change reflects in anonymity within site functionality, only administrator accounts have the permission of viewing which accounts are logged in to their respective IPs. Administrators can also view IP addresses, while moderators and managers view cloaks. Additionally, usernames and passwords are randomly generated; in further interest of your anonymity, we do not wish to tie this system to any username you personally employ. Hence, as a whole, this change will--I hope--not signify a detriment to anonymity.
With all that being said, I will attempt to make the process of getting an account fairly unambiguous. The channel through which you may contact us to request one won't be fixed over time, we'll try to employ ones with simultaneous low barrier of entry and high flood resistance. You don't need to include much in your request, simply say you want an account and we will provide you with one, given you (obviously) don't do so with the intent of ban evasion. This change furthermore does not directly imply any modifications in our rules, we do not wish to impose any additional strictures simply because we are now employing accounts.
You may find current potential contact methods on our FAQ page.
Finally we'd like to encourage you to evaluate this change through your own judgement. Needless to say we are doing this in the interest of our (human) posters. I attempted to proactively consider any concerns, but in spite of that, if you have any doubts or suspicions about this change please don't hesitate to vocalize it so that we may approach them with reason.
The Shemmy Administration
October 8, 2024
The accounts themselves don't whitelist you. You have to get in a post while logged in—make your IP have post history—for your IP address to get past BidenFlare. It is your IP address that is approved by BidenFlare, not the account. ↩
You may ask, "but have you tried or considered x"? Most likely, we have, with the given solution being ineffective or once again too complex to implement in a short amount of time. ↩