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What exactly does a new poster have to do to get permission to post images? RRS feed

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    Recently there was a forum update that disabled new posters to add images (AND links?) Supposedly this was to reduce spam. So far so good.

    Not surprisingly, immediately after the update we have numerous posts in the Forums Issues forum complaining about this feature and no doubt plenty of users just submitting to this policy in silence.

    This whole feature is a SEVERE (that's right. bold AND in caps) hindrance. I don't have the stats, but I'm sure a considerable percentage of (non spam) original posts are from new users with no previous forum activity. Pictures are especially important in the Chart Control forum as visualization is what charting is all about. (This is the forum I frequent. So yes, I'm biased.)

    Ofcourse, I'm sure the forum developers have weighed the pros and cons and studied the stats and then decided what to do after serious consideration...

    The question is: What exactly does a new poster have to do to get permission to post images? Wait for how long? Reply to a confirmation email? "Participate" more? (Say it ain't so.) How much more?

    If there really is a workaround by adding an image tag with the edit html button, I don't want to hear it. It's as silly a way to add images as in the before times, the long long ago. (Also, if this is possible, this whole restriction feature is actually worse than useless. Spammers will exploit this sooner than later. (A very good point made by our dear friend Quincy in a post that has since been deleted it seems.))

    • Edited by sipla Thursday, October 18, 2012 10:30 AM
    Thursday, October 18, 2012 9:55 AM
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    Well apparently if you complain about it enough, someone does something about it.

    http://yhayta.bn1.livefilestore.com/y1pIUKWY1MKv5UH2ey3gjY_5YnxUZs77CBJZAV9vdkJ6dPVWCSgn3XlqRg22ztlW404h0WdbJfA5Gc2AGIPoMrYFSfC2MLjy7o6/StillBlocke-5-DaysLater.png


    Wednesday, October 31, 2012 1:21 PM
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    I believe answering that question defeats the purpose of having the "feature".

    I suspected as much.

    I was hoping to add some explanation to the chart forum FAQ, I guess "Body text cannot contain images or links until we are able to verify your account." (if this really is the only message new posters get) will have to do.

    I still feel this is more of a hindrance to the quality of the forums than not. As confirmed it seems by Naomi, spammers already have a workaround.

    Sipla, it sounds like we should add this FAQ to this article: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/7359.forums-help-faq-en-us.aspx

    What do you suggest?

    What does the message say to the user who cannot post links and images yet? We should map to that language.

    Thanks!

    Ed Price (a.k.a User Ed), SQL Server Customer Program Manager (Blog, Twitter, Wiki)

    It says "Body text cannot contain images or links until we are able to verify your account."

    If this means you will get a verify email, then you should get a verify email.  The message infers that either action will be taken by the forum mods that will be apparent to the user or that the user needs to take some sort of action.  If this is not the case, the wording needs to be changed; it should not mislead you.  This is an incredibly vague status message.

    I do not have any record of a verify email in my inbox history.  All I have is an email this morning from MSDN Site Support (I also posted a request yesterday in MSDN Site Feedback) asking me which account I needed verified.  I only have one account.  Almost immediately after I replied, I was able to post links and photos.  Honestly I do not know which came first though, the "verification" or my reply to the email or someone noticing the thread about compaining about it a month after signing up.
    Wednesday, October 31, 2012 6:08 PM
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    What do you suggest?

    I don't know what the message should say. That's part of the reason I created the post. It should probably at least give a reason for this restriction. As you said, if it was any less vague, people would just work around it I guess.

    What I suggest is

    • using a captcha for new posters
    • prevent custom css altogether (to prevent hiding links among other things) (there are only so many styling tags one needs to make a point)
    • only allow img tags from http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/getfile (uploaded images, no linking to just any domain)
    • add nofollow attributes to links (to prevent SEO spammers) (I believe this feature disappeared a year ago with the big editor update)
    • remove the feature discussed here.
    • Proposed as answer by Naomi N Thursday, November 1, 2012 11:47 AM
    • Marked as answer by Naomi N Tuesday, December 4, 2012 3:56 PM
    Thursday, November 1, 2012 10:40 AM
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    I believe answering that question defeats the purpose of having the "feature". By leaving the requirements vague but easy enough for a contributor to achieve, it is less likely to result in people just trying to work the system to continue to spam. That's the idea, anyway.

    Thanks!

    Edit: Apparently I wasn't clear enough. "That's the idea" means that it isn't my idea. That was merely the thinking around creating this feature. Spamming had gotten out of control and the team needed a big way to stop it. This solution will be difficult for anyone who constantly creates new accounts to post. I believe the team is tweaking the requirements and refining the "feature". Thanks!

    Ed Price (a.k.a User Ed), SQL Server Customer Program Manager (Blog, Twitter, Wiki)


    Wednesday, October 31, 2012 8:11 AM
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    And this post just a few posts bellow yours shows that not all SPAM is filtered anyway

    http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/reportabug/thread/c67d4b3d-5e16-443a-b11e-db78d8f40a86

    I will keep this post a bit longer before deleting just as a demonstration.

    For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert. - Becker's Law


    My blog

    Friday, October 19, 2012 1:48 AM
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    I believe answering that question defeats the purpose of having the "feature". By leaving the requirements vague but easy enough for a contributor to achieve, it is less likely to result in people just trying to work the system to continue to spam. That's the idea, anyway.

    Thanks!

    Edit: Apparently I wasn't clear enough. "That's the idea" means that it isn't my idea. That was merely the thinking around creating this feature. Spamming had gotten out of control and the team needed a big way to stop it. This solution will be difficult for anyone who constantly creates new accounts to post. I believe the team is tweaking the requirements and refining the "feature". Thanks!

    Ed Price (a.k.a User Ed), SQL Server Customer Program Manager (Blog, Twitter, Wiki)


    Wednesday, October 31, 2012 8:11 AM
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    I believe answering that question defeats the purpose of having the "feature".

    I suspected as much.

    I was hoping to add some explanation to the chart forum FAQ, I guess "Body text cannot contain images or links until we are able to verify your account." (if this really is the only message new posters get) will have to do.

    I still feel this is more of a hindrance to the quality of the forums than not. As confirmed it seems by Naomi, spammers already have a workaround.

    Wednesday, October 31, 2012 10:38 AM
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    Well apparently if you complain about it enough, someone does something about it.

    http://yhayta.bn1.livefilestore.com/y1pIUKWY1MKv5UH2ey3gjY_5YnxUZs77CBJZAV9vdkJ6dPVWCSgn3XlqRg22ztlW404h0WdbJfA5Gc2AGIPoMrYFSfC2MLjy7o6/StillBlocke-5-DaysLater.png


    Wednesday, October 31, 2012 1:21 PM
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    Try using a short image URL.  I had to fool with your link in order to get it to work (I think because is was so long):

    http://www.colorwiki.com/images/5/5a/CM1.jpg

    Wednesday, October 31, 2012 3:58 PM
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    I believe answering that question defeats the purpose of having the "feature".

    I suspected as much.

    I was hoping to add some explanation to the chart forum FAQ, I guess "Body text cannot contain images or links until we are able to verify your account." (if this really is the only message new posters get) will have to do.

    I still feel this is more of a hindrance to the quality of the forums than not. As confirmed it seems by Naomi, spammers already have a workaround.

    Sipla, it sounds like we should add this FAQ to this article: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/7359.forums-help-faq-en-us.aspx

    What do you suggest?

    What does the message say to the user who cannot post links and images yet? We should map to that language.

    Thanks!

    Ed Price (a.k.a User Ed), SQL Server Customer Program Manager (Blog, Twitter, Wiki)

    Wednesday, October 31, 2012 6:03 PM
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    I believe answering that question defeats the purpose of having the "feature".

    I suspected as much.

    I was hoping to add some explanation to the chart forum FAQ, I guess "Body text cannot contain images or links until we are able to verify your account." (if this really is the only message new posters get) will have to do.

    I still feel this is more of a hindrance to the quality of the forums than not. As confirmed it seems by Naomi, spammers already have a workaround.

    Sipla, it sounds like we should add this FAQ to this article: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/7359.forums-help-faq-en-us.aspx

    What do you suggest?

    What does the message say to the user who cannot post links and images yet? We should map to that language.

    Thanks!

    Ed Price (a.k.a User Ed), SQL Server Customer Program Manager (Blog, Twitter, Wiki)

    It says "Body text cannot contain images or links until we are able to verify your account."

    If this means you will get a verify email, then you should get a verify email.  The message infers that either action will be taken by the forum mods that will be apparent to the user or that the user needs to take some sort of action.  If this is not the case, the wording needs to be changed; it should not mislead you.  This is an incredibly vague status message.

    I do not have any record of a verify email in my inbox history.  All I have is an email this morning from MSDN Site Support (I also posted a request yesterday in MSDN Site Feedback) asking me which account I needed verified.  I only have one account.  Almost immediately after I replied, I was able to post links and photos.  Honestly I do not know which came first though, the "verification" or my reply to the email or someone noticing the thread about compaining about it a month after signing up.
    Wednesday, October 31, 2012 6:08 PM
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    I just stumbled across this thread after having the same problem. its incredibly frustrating that I cant solve my problem. I have a VERY complex network layout that I am trying to get assistance in capacity planning, and there is no way I can possibly narrate exactly how its laid out so that someone could assist.I already had one person completely miss the mark after reading my narrative. Now I still have no way to allow him to understand what I mean.

    Its even MORE frustrating to see the vague answer above.I understand not wanting to give away the keys to the castle, but come on. there has to be a better way.

    So I am expected to float around the forums playing hunt the wumpus doing god only knows what before I magically stumble into the verified category? Maybe it will take a day, maybe a month. I guess its just how "lucky" I am, huh?

    Whats even more frustrating, is my company just dropped 6 figures on an EA with Microsoft.  My email address I used to sign in here is one of the accounts associated with that licensing portal account. You would think that being a fairly significant paying customer might actually NOT be considered a spammer... (e.g. the email address to sign in here also signs into the licensing service center)

    Thursday, November 1, 2012 2:19 AM
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    What do you suggest?

    I don't know what the message should say. That's part of the reason I created the post. It should probably at least give a reason for this restriction. As you said, if it was any less vague, people would just work around it I guess.

    What I suggest is

    • using a captcha for new posters
    • prevent custom css altogether (to prevent hiding links among other things) (there are only so many styling tags one needs to make a point)
    • only allow img tags from http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/getfile (uploaded images, no linking to just any domain)
    • add nofollow attributes to links (to prevent SEO spammers) (I believe this feature disappeared a year ago with the big editor update)
    • remove the feature discussed here.
    • Proposed as answer by Naomi N Thursday, November 1, 2012 11:47 AM
    • Marked as answer by Naomi N Tuesday, December 4, 2012 3:56 PM
    Thursday, November 1, 2012 10:40 AM
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    Hi Sipla !

    Let me check the Image Posting procedure and will update you the steps;

    Post Test Image Here;

    Test Image

    Edit 1: Test Image has been posted successfully without any verification message.

    Edit 2: Test Image has been edited successfully without any verification message.

    Thanks, Hasham Niaz



    • Edited by Hasham Niaz Thursday, November 1, 2012 11:03 AM Adding Content
    Thursday, November 1, 2012 10:59 AM
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    Apparently my being able to post images and links was not related to my post in the MSDN Site Feedback area.  They replied to my email this morning asking me for my screen name so they could change my status to "Trusted".  So...who knows what triggered my status change.
    Thursday, November 1, 2012 3:38 PM
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    Any chance I could get my account verified also?

    I'm trying to add images to better explain my question to the following thread:

    Team Foundation Server - Administration> WIT Editor - How to add a Team field to a Work Item?

    http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/tfsadmin/thread/7c3ad0dc-392f-44a6-a43b-b6a9f950d20c

    Thank you,

    Daniel Silion

    Thursday, November 15, 2012 12:49 PM
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    I need to post an image of some font contrast issues I'm having with dyanmics crm 2011, but unable to post pics.

    Can I please have my account verified?

    Tuesday, December 4, 2012 3:03 PM
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    I would like to post an image of an MTM Acceptance Test screen to the appropriate forum.

    Can I please have my account verified?

    Wednesday, December 5, 2012 2:50 PM
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    Try sending an email to fissues at microsoft dot com 

    For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert. - Becker's Law


    My blog

    Wednesday, December 5, 2012 3:56 PM
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    ... it sounds like we should add this FAQ to this article: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/7359.forums-help-faq-en-us.aspx

    What do you suggest?

    What does the message say to the user who cannot post links and images yet? We should map to that language.

    While I was disappointed not to be able to add an image to my post, I understand the motivation for this feature. I even like the gamification aspect, and that it incentivizes participation. 

    I agree with adding something to the FAQ regarding this feature, although I understand the need to avoid details.  Maybe something to the effect that "Users will earn access to posting features, such as adding images and links, by actively participating in the community"?  Possibly even adding a word or two about this policy being a spam deterrent would assuage disappointed users.  

    Adding a link to the FAQ entry in the error message would be a way to quickly deliver those answers at a time when they're most wanted while keeping the error message short. 

    Also, if those features could be disabled or removed in the editor interface rather than (or in combination with) managing control in verification, then users would never go through the trouble of trying to add images and links only to be disappointed and confused by an error at submission time.

    Thanks! =)

    • Proposed as answer by Naomi N Sunday, December 9, 2012 7:10 PM
    Sunday, December 9, 2012 4:30 PM
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    Marked As Answer by Naomi N Microsoft Community Contributor, Moderator Tuesday, December 04, 2012 3:56 PM

    Didn't get points or activity for this answer btw... I'm blaming the infamous unexpected error.

    Monday, December 10, 2012 10:13 AM
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    Are you sure you didn't get the points for that? Since there is a history, it should have been worked. I don't get points only when there is no history.

    BTW, I got 'Unexpected error' now. I get it every morning when I start replying.

    For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert. - Becker's Law


    My blog

    Monday, December 10, 2012 1:01 PM
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    Are you sure you didn't get the points for that? Since there is a history, it should have been worked. I don't get points only when there is no history.

    Quite sure. I would think my activity list is more closely related to my points than the activity list of a single post... Who knows though... The only thing I'm absolutely certain about is that there is no entry in my activity list of me answering this thread.

    Edit. Also, I'm not sure whether I should even get points for someone else marking my post as an answer on a thread I started. I'm pretty sure the activity should be there.

    • Edited by sipla Monday, December 10, 2012 1:38 PM
    Monday, December 10, 2012 1:35 PM
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    Good point! You will not get points for the thread you started even if the answer was marked by someone else.

    For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert. - Becker's Law


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    Monday, December 10, 2012 2:17 PM
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    I still have no idea after reading the whole thread, should a new comer just keep posting? or should one just keep participating? Keep participating is kind of difficult for a new comer though.
    Monday, December 24, 2012 12:16 AM
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    Just keep posting.

    For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert. - Becker's Law


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    Monday, December 24, 2012 1:06 AM
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    I am trying to post a question to this site and i get the message

    Body text cannot contain images or links until we are able to verify your account."

    I came across this thread and am completely shocked that this is a deliberate site policy.

    I live and work in the real world, where  people need answers now, not vagueness.

    Wednesday, January 2, 2013 2:49 PM
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    I have this problem as well since I only recently signed up for the forums because of a Sharepoint issue I am having. Correct me if I'm wrong...

    What you're saying is that even after you've verified your email associated with your LiveID, set an email in forum alerts and verified this, the only way to be able to post pics and links is by posting more? That does not seem like a great policy.

    Wednesday, January 2, 2013 5:04 PM
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    Another way which you may try is to email to fissues at microsoft dot com and ask them to have your account verified. Otherwise you need to prove you're a real user and not a spammer and I guess it means you have to post certain amount of messages before your account will be verified.

    For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert. - Becker's Law


    My blog

    • Proposed as answer by dlanders1 Wednesday, January 2, 2013 9:40 PM
    Wednesday, January 2, 2013 5:11 PM
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    I cannot guarantee that this will work for anyone at all, but it may have been what worked for me. 

    https://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/mailform/contactus.aspx

    Again, this may or may not do anything.

    • Proposed as answer by Steph1049 Thursday, March 7, 2013 4:46 PM
    Wednesday, January 2, 2013 5:51 PM
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    This worked, I heard back quickly and it resolved the issue. Thanks!
    Wednesday, January 2, 2013 9:41 PM
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    Having multiple helpful posts works as well
    Thursday, May 9, 2013 12:20 AM
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    I would have quoted the link ... but it gave me the error message that i haven't verified my account. But i did use the above link ... they asked for my forum handle so now i wait to see if i get verified. thanks again for providing the link. it was very useful.

    Tuesday, June 11, 2013 3:09 PM
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    Look at the locked threads at the top of the page.  One of them will be labeled "Verify Your Account".

     

    One guess as to what is discussed in that thread.  :O)

    (I won't link to it now because it has over 250 posts and is due to be replaced with its next iteration soon...hopefully)

    Tuesday, June 11, 2013 3:37 PM
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    I cannot guarantee that this will work for anyone at all, but it may have been what worked for me. 

    had to delete the link!!!!!

    Again, this may or may not do anything.

     seems this verify my account thread has produced a lot of hot air and no clear cut answer, perhaps some folks are unaware its 2013.

    Any way have followed the above link and lets see if it works for me. 

    Tuesday, June 18, 2013 11:05 PM
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    2 days later.... no luck

    ok works ok I didnt follow the correct sticky....

    • Edited by jetgriff Thursday, June 20, 2013 9:13 PM edit text
    Thursday, June 20, 2013 12:46 AM
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    cheers I am happy... now to try and sort out those apps on win 8 failing...have a good one..

    Jetgriff

    Thursday, June 20, 2013 9:15 PM
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    Ditto.  Add me to the list of pissed participants.  How can I get a message "can't post links until you account is verified" if there is no communicated process for "how" to get verified. 

    Very weird.

    Wednesday, February 26, 2014 9:33 AM
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    Hi,

    Ditto.  Add me to the list of pissed participants.  How can I get a message "can't post links until you account is verified" if there is no communicated process for "how" to get verified. 

    Very weird.

    There's a sticky post at the top of the Forums Issues forum.

    All future people who find this thread - Click the link below and look for the current verification thread as a sticky:

    http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/home?forum=reportabug

    Don't retire TechNet! - (Don't give up yet - 12,700+ strong and growing)

    Wednesday, February 26, 2014 1:44 PM
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    Hi,

    Please verify my account

    Tuesday, September 9, 2014 4:02 PM
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    Hi,

    Hi,

    Please verify my account

    Read my last post.

    EDIT: I see you've already posted in the verification thread. An admin will verify your account when they next look through the thread.

    Don't retire TechNet! - (Don't give up yet - 13,085+ strong and growing)

    Tuesday, September 9, 2014 4:04 PM
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