3 log-on attempts and you're out?

November 22, 2006 1:38 PM

I noticed that if you attempt 3 Mefi logins you're shut out for the day. It seems that this is a good way for misbehaving visitors to shut out any user they don't like, unless the user has a computer logged in already. Am I right?
posted by hodyoaten to Etiquette/Policy at 1:38 PM (36 comments total)

Isn't that 3 MeFi logins from the same IP?
posted by grouse at 1:40 PM on November 22, 2006

::locks out hodyoaten::

Kidding! Kidding.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:43 PM on November 22, 2006 [1 favorite]

Maybe it would have better to email the admins on this one?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:45 PM on November 22, 2006

I'm spending waaay too much time here. *shuts self out*
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 1:46 PM on November 22, 2006

I think this has been common knowledge for some time. And yet, I've never heard of someone being locked out by another person.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:47 PM on November 22, 2006 [1 favorite]

News to me. Can I try and lock ya out Pink? :)
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:48 PM on November 22, 2006

It's actually five login attempts a day, thanks to some hackers that bombarded the server with login attempts until they got some right.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 1:48 PM on November 22, 2006

And it only blocks your access to the login form. If you're logged in, you stay logged in and would operate the site normally.

So in essence, it's fairly pointless because you'd lock out someone you didn't like and then hope they just don't stay logged in (the default behavior) and manually logout and in every day.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 1:50 PM on November 22, 2006

Isn't that 3 MeFi logins from the same IP?

I don't think so. I just tried to get around it using Tor, and I still couldn't log in.
posted by Time Is Tight at 1:53 PM on November 22, 2006

...fattening up our tapeworms...
(Sorry, username distracted from content)
posted by klangklangston at 2:02 PM on November 22, 2006

* tosses a loonie at klang *
posted by D.C. at 2:06 PM on November 22, 2006

I think this has been common knowledge for some time. And yet, I've never heard of someone being locked out by another person.

And, were someone to do so and not take careful pains to disguise their IP, it'd likely be trivial for Matt to identify and ban the culprit. Unlocking the victim probably not a problem either—but then it's only a day anyway.

Yeah, only a day. No biggie. Just one day. That's all. One little day.

*gets the shakes*
posted by cortex at 2:15 PM on November 22, 2006

Relax cortex, you'd still be able to read on that day. It's not like JRun all over again.
posted by grouse at 2:27 PM on November 22, 2006

yes but then I'd read something that I wanted to respond to and I wouldn't be able to respond and so I'd just go back to reading but then there'd be something else and I wouldn't be able to respond to that and it'd be so upsetting and distracting that I'd go over to Metatalk to post an incoherent complaint but I wouldn't be able to do that either and I'm pretty sure they'd find me with my head in the oven and look I don't have a problem I can quit any time I like just give it to me giveittome gimmegimmegimme
posted by cortex at 2:33 PM on November 22, 2006

*traces cortex's IP to service block, dials customer service number, cancels service*
posted by loquacious at 2:39 PM on November 22, 2006

Fifty years ago, cortex, we'd have had you hanging upside-down with a a fucking fork in your ass.
posted by orthogonality at 2:48 PM on November 22, 2006

So you're saying that if we want to keep our accounts REALLY secure, instead of just logging out, we should log-out and then do 5 bad log-in attempts. Then no one will be able to log in as me and steal my fans.
posted by blue_beetle at 3:27 PM on November 22, 2006

Fifty years ago, cortex, we'd have had you hanging upside-down with a a fucking fork in your ass.

Hey, man, that was uncalled for.
posted by cortex at 3:33 PM on November 22, 2006 [3 favorites]

Why a fork? Why not a spoon or a knife?
posted by loquacious at 3:34 PM on November 22, 2006

motherf*****g cracker
posted by cortex at 3:42 PM on November 22, 2006

What sort of fork? Salad? Oyster? Hume's?
posted by TwelveTwo at 3:43 PM on November 22, 2006

Tuning?
posted by diddlegnome at 3:48 PM on November 22, 2006

"Why a fork? Why not a spoon or a knife?"

"Why a spoon, cousin? Why not a sword, or a knife?"

"Because it's dull, you twit. It'll hurt more."
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:00 PM on November 22, 2006

What are those IPs that all AOL users go through?
posted by Kickstart70 at 4:03 PM on November 22, 2006

thanks to some hackers that bombarded the server with login attempts until they got some right.

Which was just about a year ago today, iirc.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:34 PM on November 22, 2006

"Because it's dull, you twit. It'll hurt more."

I can't believe I just saw a "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" set-spike.
posted by Cyrano at 5:39 PM on November 22, 2006

thanks to some hackers that bombarded the server with login attempts until they got some right.

stupid question: why did they do that? that's a lot of trouble to go through just to vandalize the site, isn't it?
posted by matteo at 5:45 PM on November 22, 2006

not if they've got some kind of automated script to do it for them ...
posted by pyramid termite at 5:49 PM on November 22, 2006

They hate our freedom, matteo!
posted by yhbc at 6:17 PM on November 22, 2006

pyramid termite writes "not if they've got some kind of automated script to do it for them ..."

E.g., a one-liner using a common linux program and a ubiquitous linux utility to parse the first program's output.
posted by orthogonality at 6:18 PM on November 22, 2006

*sticks that in his pipe and smokes it*
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 6:32 PM on November 22, 2006

They were brute forcing old accounts.
posted by bob sarabia at 6:34 PM on November 22, 2006

Thing about pain, you get used to it. The only thing that keeps things lubed is the constant threat of it. With out threat pain is jack. So.. slip 'n' slide. I say meet babylon. Slip 'n' slide it's in my hand and at you. Here it is babylon. Meet it. Harder than you are soft... but better.. oh wait.. it's against your throat. Piss yourself a little or alot, I don't care, i is at you i bitch.

The next silly poo bum that hijacks my account to write silly things gets a smack! OK daddy?
posted by econous at 6:51 PM on November 22, 2006

I can't believe I just saw a "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" set-spike.

I come for the links, but I stay for the RH: PoT references. God, that movie should've just been Alan Rickman and Michael Wincott.
Nicely done, boys.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 6:59 PM on November 22, 2006

matteo writes "why did they do that? that's a lot of trouble to go through just to vandalize the site, isn't it?"

To gain accounts when sign ups were closed.
posted by Mitheral at 8:40 AM on November 23, 2006

To gain accounts when sign ups were closed.

Actually the most recent time, to gain accounts for members who had been banned.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:12 AM on November 23, 2006