What's up with the weird numbers and letters combo that people are using for their username when they sign up to the forum...they don't even make any posts or contribution to the forum??? Are they an autogenerated thing or WHAT??

I was wondering the same thing myself...

Yep — they're usually people testing out software that submits posts to forums. The usernames are autogenerated by the software.

Then they start posting lame excuses for posts like "I like this" or "Thanks for your great information" all over the forum.

Their aim is usually to post a signature file and in-post links to

• get visitors to their own sites
• get backlinks to boost their search engine rankings

Of course, Jamison's policies on linking and sig files stymies them. That's a Very Good Thing.

John Counsel

thanks John for the explanation...that's fascinating to learn about. where can i read more about it?

What specifically do you want to learn more about? Weird names? Forum posting software?

John Counsel

They sure seem to "clutter" up the forum. How do you stop them from doing it? They don't seem to be posting anywhere.

What do you think John?