https://www.facebook.com/groups/AOTTORC ... 9734764763
"What's with the RYPN website? I forgot my password and there is no option to create a new password or even to register for a new account."
There is still also a problem with Flimsies, and the log-in page is a bit different.

There were a few days where page loading was really slow, too. I can't tell you what's going on though the last major software update was 10 years ago. Keep in mind that the servers side software (PHP) has had major updates six times since then with some older functions replaced by newer and some of the older totally deprecated. Frankly, I'm surprised this BB still runs.

It is true, you can no longer sign up.

We may have been the target of some sort of phishing campaign, and this is a precaution.

I wondered if it was a DoS issue, although I couldn’t imagine why. I noticed that during the slow page loading times there were up to 400 users, which seems like a larger than normal number.

I just logged in.

In total there are 358 users online :: 3 registered, 0 hidden and 355 guests
Most users ever online was 2220 on Sun Mar 02, 2025 10:48 am

The issue is we were being overloaded with bot acounts, each time a bot tries to register the system generates an email and it was just too much. David Collison shut down the registration until he figures out a fix. If you know of someone who needs assistance send me a PM with their info and I will do my best to fix it.

Tom Gears
Moderator

Hi
I read the above post about having trouble logging in,, I just logged in with no problem,, Pat.

The issue is NOT with logging in, it is with signing up initially or trying to reset your password.

One other note to pay attention to:

In Firefox, RyPN has been randomly disappearing of late from my drop-down menu of recently-visited websites that you get when you click over the address bar.

I've consulted with a top-notch web programmer I used to work with. He tells me that when that happens, it's typically because a site's security certificate has lapsed, or there have been issues reported or tracked with such things as malware, DoS issues, etc. In a few cases, it's also perceived that action had/has been taken by Mozilla (and most likely also Google, Microsoft, Big, etc.) related to bias against the content of the site. I've been told this more typically happens with extremely controversial sites that would register high on the "fake news" or "conspiracy theory" end of things--sites like Alex Jones' Infowars, the-Apocalypse-is-coming-any-day-now sites, etc.

From the Facebook comment why is the topic subscribe button gone?

Probably TL;DR:

I've used Firefox for many years on my WinX machines and never had a problem. My first suggestion is always to clear your website history - cached pages and cookies. If you surf a lot, you're probably holding a lot of junk in your browser.

The subscribe feature is probably tied to the email module so if that's turned off....

I did note that the RyPN domain does now have a SSL certificate (notice that you no longer get the security warning when you're logging in) so unless the site or server gets blacklisted somehow, Firefox or any browser is unlikely to give you any warnings.

Other things: A DoS attack on RyPN would just keep you from connecting to the server. True DoS attacks are dealt with by the hosting provider. Parental controls can stop you from connecting to certain websites. Trying to access known malicious sites may give you a warning popup. Other than those, your browser doesn't care what sites you visit.

The easiest way to block most spam bots from trying to sign up is to incorporate Google recaptcha into your forms but that requires some coding knowledge.

Time for a railway preservation themed "captcha" type challenge.

Some themed ideas:

Click on all the squares showing steam locomotives that don't steam

Click on all the condemnable wheel defects

Show a yard ladder layout with double slip switches, and click on the track that you'd wind up on

Love it. Or, which locomotive has a North American-style coupler system.

Webmasters of other railfan sites have reported a virtual tsunami of page inquiries with the rise of AI and insane increases in traffic of AI bot trolls harvesting information. That will only get worse.

A move to member-only viewing seems sensible. That's why god invented password autofill. If it stabilizes the ship bring it on.