| Last Version | Hosted (October 21, 2009). | Released under | Proprietary License. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resources |
 Lefora Website
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 Host your Forum...
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| Company | CrowdGather. | ||
| Price | Free. | ||
| No available accounts. |
Lefora Team was fed up to see that major message boards, like vBulletin and PhpBB (to not quote them) were lacking important features, even if they are used everyday, for so much reasons. To avoid creating another new classic forum software, they decided it was time to improve the global way of managing communities, and the created Lefora, one of the first free forum hosting service, if you do not count the old BulletinBoards.
Lefora Free Forum statistics are quite impressive: more than >14 millions posts, >130,000 forums, >2,000,000 visits per month. This forum hosting is really reliable, and as you can see from these metrics, people trust them.
| Browser & Client Requirements | ||||||||||||||
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Compatible Browsers
List of Compatible Browsers.
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Required Plugins/Technologies
Additional or Basic Requirements from Client Side.
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Javascript, AJAX. | |||||||||||||
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Localization
Languages supported by Lefora.
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Yes.
Supported Languages:
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The hosted architecture does not force us to know and consider the technologies used behind the scene. This is an advantage for beginners.
| Compatibility with Smartphones | |
|---|---|
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Compatible SmartPhones
Compatible Cellphone Brands and Manufacturers.
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No. |
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Application Distribution / Type
How it is distributed / App Store Availability
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No. |
| Forum Threads / Topics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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Forum Style
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Flat |
Forum Organization
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Thread Icons
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No |
Topic Tags
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- |
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Hot Topics
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- |
Unread Topics
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Yes |
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Hidden Topics
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No |
Sticky Threads
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Yes |
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Related Threads
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- |
Detect Duplicate Threads
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No |
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Announcements
|
- | ||
| Posting Messages / Answers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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Message Editing Form
How to Post Messages.
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Post Editing Format
Supported Markup Language (HTML, Wiki, BBCode,...).
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Spell Checker
Checks typos on posts and topics.
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- | ||
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Image Attachment
How Images can be Attached and Displayed in Message Posts.
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No. | ||
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Embedded Videos
Videos and Media Websites Supported in Message Posts.
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No. | ||
| Posting Features | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Reply Box | Yes |
Smileys
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Yes |
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Attachments
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Yes |
Syntax Highlighting
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- |
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Message Rating
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Yes |
Message Quoting
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Yes |
| Additional Forum Features | |
|---|---|
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Poll Creation
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Yes |
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Private Messages
Users Can Communicate using an Internal Messaging System.
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Yes |
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Instant Messaging
Discuss with Visitors and Members in a Chat Window.
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Yes |
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Calendar
Topic, Member Birthdays, Events are available from the perspective of a calendar.
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Plugin |
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Online Users List
Connected User List (Often Found in the Forum Footer).
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Yes |
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Members List
Search and Consult the List of Members.
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Yes |
| Technical Features | |
|---|---|
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Bundled Software
Additional Software Available with the Forum.
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No. |
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RSS/Atom Syndication
Posts and Threads Exported to Feeds Aggregators
 .
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No. |
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Friendly URLs
URLs are clear and contain information about the topic (title, message,...).
Highly recommended for SEO purposes.
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Yes |
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Post by Email
Post Directly From your Email Box.
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- |
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Remote Control
Remote Control from External Software/Websites.
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No. |
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Cache System
Cache pages to optimize bandwidth and load times.
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- |
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Template Engine
It is easier to theme a forum using a known template engine (more docs & examples,...).
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No. |
Please note that all posts could also be displayed on the same page, to follow on a global page the general activity of the forum.
| Member Options & Features | |
|---|---|
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Bookmark Threads
User Profiles Keep a List of Followed Posts and Topics.
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Yes |
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Email Notifications
Receive Emails When New Messages are Posted in Followed Threads.
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Yes |
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Export private messages
Private Messages can be Downloaded by Users.
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No |
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Payment Subscriptions
Paying Membership Subscription.
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Yes |
| User Profiles | |
|---|---|
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User Profile
User Information and Settings.
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Yes |
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Avatars
Pictures of Members, Useful to Easily Identify their Posts.
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Yes |
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Signature
Signatures Added at the Bottom of Each Message.
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Yes |
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Ranks
Tags and Labels Identifying the Members, based on specific criteria (Total Posts Count, Credits, Moderation Level...)
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Yes |
Please note that the Anonymous posting is not enabled by default, and you just need to activate it through the Administration panel.
The Captcha security is considered as true, but spam bots fighting is done by a Bayesian filter (like in any modern mail client), on server side. It uses more server power, but it is easier and more comfortable for users.
Leaderboards and support for video inside topics have been added to the base of the forum software.
| Moderation & Threads Management | ||
|---|---|---|
| Moderation | No. | |
| Moderator per section | No | |
| Global Moderator | No | |
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Move Threads
Move Threads from Topics
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Yes | |
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Shadow Topics
When a thread is moved, the previous position is kept in order to inform users of this modification.
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No | |
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Close/Lock Threads
Close/Lock Problematic Threads
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Yes | |
| Users Management | |
|---|---|
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User Groups
Organize and define groups of users, and apply different actions and settings on them.
Common Groups: Guests, Members, Moderators, Administrators,... |
Yes |
| User Registration | No. |
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Limit Features For New Users
Features are limited if a user has created a small number of posts.
|
- |
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Guest Posting
|
Yes |
| Multiple Administrators | Yes |
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Send Warnings to Users
Inform users by email or PM that they infringe the board rules, and could be excluded for such behavior.
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Yes |
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Forum/Section Restricted Access
ACL could be use to determine if a user or a group of users can access (in read only, post message) to some sections
and topics.
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Yes |
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User Banishment
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Yes |
| Database Management | |
|---|---|
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Backup Database
Backup forum datas that you could store somewhere else.
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Yes |
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Prune Database
Remove old and unused datas from your forum.
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No |
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Restore Database
Restore a backup of your database if the previous install crashed.
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No |
| Administration Tools | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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Statistics
Statistics about posts count, users, traffic...
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Yes |
Error/Notice Log Viewer
Forum Logs could be consulted.
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- |
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Tasks Scheduler
Maintenance tasks are regularly launched and could be scheduled.
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- |
Mass Mailing
Send an email (newsletters, advertisements, information,...) to all users.
|
Yes |
| Installation & Upgrading | |
|---|---|
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Installation Method
How this forum software could be installed.
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Installation Wizard |
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Upgrading Method
How this forum software could be upgraded.
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Upgrade Wizard |
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Updates Notifications
The Admin Panel informs you when a new version is released.
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Yes |
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Forum Migration
Convert an existing forum to Lefora.
|
-. |
| Security & Spam Protection | ||
|---|---|---|
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CAPTCHA
Captcha protects your forum against spam bots.
e.g.,
|
Yes
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Abnormal Behavior Detection
Detect users or request strange behaviors, and try to process proactive actions.
|
- | |
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Words Filtering
Offensing Words are automatically replaced.
|
No | |
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User Blacklist
Prevent specific user accounts to register (based on email address, name,...) and disable potentially harmful members.
|
No | |
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IP Blocking
Prevent access to spam robots and other scripts that could attempt
DDOS or Brute Force attacks on your forum.
|
Yes | |
| Customization | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Plugins
Add new features to your forum installation.
|
Yes.
|
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Themes
Modify the style of your forum easily.
|
Yes. | ||
| Custom BBCodes | No | Smiley Packs | No |
|
Custom Thread Icons |
No |
Additional User Profile Fields
Ask more about your members with custom fields.
|
No |
| Integration with Applications, Social Networks, Intranet... | |
|---|---|
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Social Networks
Users can share information from their social network account...
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CMS / Blog Bridges
Integration with existing Web publishing tools.
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No. |
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User Accounts Integration
Do users be able to log in with their corporate, Google, Facebook,... accounts?
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No. |
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Content Aggregation
Forum allows to integrate news and content from other website,
using an aggregation protocol (RSS, RDF, Atom,...).
|
No. |
The free service provides a 2GB upload limits, which is quite huge to start a forum.
Web crawler will navigate to your forum software easily (url rewriting, good HTML semantics).
Of course, integration with Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter is also available for each users.
Badges, which could be compared to user ranks, can be embedded on other sites or forums to show your status and ranking within your forum.
| Norms & Accessibility | |
|---|---|
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HTML / XHTML Markup
See W3C HTML Definition.
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XHTML 1.1 Transitional.
Click to see if it respects HTML norms.
|
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CSS Stylesheets
See W3C CSS Definition.
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CSS 2. 
Click to see if it respects CSS norms.
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Accessibility (WAI)
Web Accessibility ensures that the forum is usable by people of all abilities and disabilities.
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Conformance to A level.
|
|
UTF-8 Support
Default encoding used to support all locales and countries.
|
Yes |
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Conformance to W3C Norms
Does Lefora correctly follow (X)HTML and CSS norms?
|
Yes. |
Key points and major differences that make Lefora unique:
That's right, the solution provided by Lefora is extremely efficient, simple and inventive.
This is a perfect way for new users or beginners to create a forum without the need to find a web server, have knowledge in web and database,...
The only point that could be discussed is the fact that your forum totally depends on an external provider, and if in the first months of your community, this has strictly no problems, it could be a little bit annoying later.
In any case, the Forum Software Reviews team has really been interested and is quite sure that Lefora, and hosted forums solution are the future.
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Top
Comments (9)
The forum is full of
The forum is full of potential.
But, there are too many bugs currently.
Better go for more established free forum players and check back in 2 years time.
this was also some crazy nut
this was also some crazy nut for my teeth. if you are looking for a convinient fprum platform try somewhere else
Somebody from lefora
Somebody from lefora here...
Hi androi and psych, i'm one of the guys behind Lefora, sorry to hear you had problems. Since March we've have made a number of releases fixing issues we were made aware of and adding tons of new options, like automatic badges that your members can embed on their own website. We also just had a major release, Lefora 2.0 a few weeks ago and we have big plans for 2010!
Feel free to contact me personally or check out our active support forum - http://support.lefora.com
Best wishes to you and your forum, wherever they may be hosted.
my blog.
Hi. I was wondering if you
Hi. I was wondering if you cared to checkout the UFBB by ionisis.com ( http://ufbb.ionisis.com ) and give it a review on your next round. It’s new, but it’s got simplicity going for it
Lefora forums are just about
Lefora forums are just about as bad as it can get. For several months pictures have failed to upload, which is a problem in my sport. We have complained DOZENS of times and are told "someone is looking into it." BS. They collect our subscription money and do nothing whatsoever. HORRIBLE. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!
Well, it's blocked in China
Well, it's blocked in China and not fast for my proxy.
Spent a lot of time setting
Spent a lot of time setting up this site only to have it shut down w/no warning or notification because (and I have to assume as no reason was ever given) it was business related. I was trying to get my company hooked on the idea of better internal communication through this medium but I think with this kind of service (just shutting it off w/o any warning or notification) that it's better off to just host your own. Stay far away...these guys are a new start up and apparently they have NO investment in customer service.
Lefora is a joke. Now for
Lefora is a joke. Now for the last few months, they've been using a VERY INTRUSIve Captcha checking at sign in. I do not want to listen to a damned video advertisement, and then have to type in an advertizing slogan to log in. Are they that fricking cheap that they have to make money that way? I am about to pull my several forums off Lefora.
All day today, it says that a Captcha sign-in match is needed, but there is no such Captcha window. if you click, it continues to tell you it is a Captcha mismatch, but still doesn't provide a Captcha window.
This is bullshit.
That's exactly why I will
That's exactly why I will never switch to Lefora. I can understand them making users fill in captcha during registration.
But registered member and forum admins should not have to fill in captcha. I made a test forum on Lefora but I can tell you,Lefora is not very customizable or user friendly. I don't see why an admin should have to fill out captcha on their own forum that they created.
Andrea Borman.