The spam I just saw when I checked Recent Changes is spambot material. This is common on sites that have zero to minimal security for verifying that new users are even actual humans. It occurs to me that our getting spammed has something in common with the discussion about the door control system, and even the Noisebridge Stalker: All of these are examples of exceptions to the ideology of "open." Fact is, we don't really want to be totally "open," because that sets us up for being a target for parasites and predators. It's like deciding that one doesn't need an immune system. What I'm suggesting here is that the use of language in an uncritical manner leads to contradictions, and that what we're really going for is a kind of selectivity. We want to be open to people who respect our community and our commons, and closed to those who don't. Recognizing the value of selectivity solves the contradiction. I'd suggest we have some kind of membership filtration that requires people to have some kind of direct interaction, in-person or via email or telephone, before they get authorized to get on the wiki or anything else that comes along with membership. If anyone objects to that, they're welcome to sign up for spam-cleaning duty, to scrub that shit off our site every day. -G. ===== On 13-03-25-Mon 12:49 AM, Naomi Most wrote: