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ANOTHER HACKER HITS TECH REPUBLIC!?

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12 replies

by syscokid

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

I'm posting publicly because when I try to send mail, I get Error 400, proxy did not return any data.

Look at these series of questions:

https://www.techrepublic.com/forumqa/thread_detail.jhtml?thread_id=19194

https://www.techrepublic.com/forumqa/thread_detail.jhtml?thread_id=19192

https://www.techrepublic.com/forumqa/thread_detail.jhtml?thread_id=19189

https://www.techrepublic.com/forumqa/thread_detail.jhtml?thread_id=19186

All posted by user Kazooka, all answered by user radarEberhardt, all for 9999 points. Kazooka has posted a total of 7 (so far) 9999 point questions.

I seriously question whether someone who has earned NO techpoints answering questions has 70,000 to give.

Further, look at this profile:

https://www.techrepublic.com/forumqa/user_stats.jhtml?alias=radarEberhardt&_DARGS=%2Fforum%2Fuser_link_content.jhtml.1_A&_DAV=8205824

This radarEberhardt apparently never participated before today.

Please join me in urging TR to take quick action!

12 replies

by syscokid

It appears Tech Republic has dealt with this situation becuase the three open questions are gone and radarEberhardt has been removed from the Top Scorers board.

If this is true, I salute your swift action, and suggest you delete the four closed questions from the Programming section as well, because they will be of no value to anyone in the future.

by syscokid

radarEberhardt is back on the Top Scorers section.

If you look at the questions, they were asked and answered immediately, so it was either one user with two accounts, or two users in collusion to subvert the system.

by tmaclennan

There is no way to keep anyone here from setting up a few accounts and passing points back and forth to rack up points. I agree, it reeks...and a newbie in TR might be impressed enough to take this person's advice without carefully checking. But other than the fact that you just went from #4 to #5, and that soulrider@msn.com--a good contributor with sound advice--just got knocked off the board, what difference does it really make. I still read your advice carefully.
Perhaps TR needs to find amore advanced way to set up the rankings...some way to show that my 10k icon comes mostly from reading articles and answering surveys over the past year, while yours comes from helping out a lot of people--and radarEberhardt's comes from a dubious set of transactions.

by tmaclennan

You know, I've been thinking about this some more. Perhaps TR should just remove the "Top 5 scorers" list. None of these 5 people has put in a peer listing, so I don't have any way of judging their answers, aside from the stats. Or maybe TR should only put up the top 5 scorers who have a peer listing.

by syscokid

It's true. I should be worrying about more important stuff.

And frankly, I pulled my profile while the last problem was going on. I didn't know who was doing what, with what. I'll repost soon.

Thanks for being a cool head.

by davidandgoliath

The points were not gained by a hack, but they were gained in an inappropriate manner. The points have been removed and the users will be notified. Further action may be taken.

Thanks for helping police this!

by syscokid

Feel free to delete this discussion. I only posted here because I couldn't get thru on email after several attempts.

by dmiles

To be of integrity in answering questions and to help a fellow techie out or to learn as I do is not the basis to notice that any wrong doing should be tolerated.I to have scored a lot of points by reading articles,yet they are not posted to scorerspoint value.I personally dontot participate in peer groups,for my own specific reasons.
So,if their are suggestions to be made to better or process new ideas to the forum should be channeled to the proper source.
If someone ego get's in the way tomanipulate the program and it could becopme detremental to the group as a hold,I thank asyscokid for pointing out this fact,as the last hacker came aboard and I to got personal.asyscokid,I thank you and come back,you are an asset to the forum that is really needed.Have A Good Day

by dmiles

Discussions are a place also to add comments about the forum and definetely how problems can be resolved.Solutions are not what I read and what does it matter if an Individual is not listed in the Peer Directory,it is not a requirement to do so.
When there is a problem and oppurtunity to get a solution,someone has to put there personal feelings about the top five scorers as though this would solve the issue,the points are rewarded as a gesture of help that is provided to others.Would the problem go away? I don't think so. If their was not a top 5 scorers list,its a incentive and each person that participates should uphold the integrity of the site,it is free and you are not paying a nickel to participate.Feeling are like the wind they will pass.

by gicu artistu'

This is not the first time and it's not a hack. From the inception of these forums (I've been here before Techrepublic announced how many subscribers were) there were people who did this. There's no point in changing the system, is going to be abused anyway. I see these techpoints just for the sake of having some reward. The most important thing in these forums is sharing. I usually look at the questions posted and if there is a sound solution posted I'm not posting anything else. And also by analyzing the postings one could see what problems could appear in a given situation and how these problems were addresed. This is a real gain.

Luck

by gunnar klevedal

Maybe a system is what it appears to be, and nothing more. Maybe if you consider the output in combination / as an answer to all possible combinations of input. This will give you a description / specification for the system.
The system will react as it reacts, and you don't have to worry about the inner details.
But some time some one gives an input you never thought of, and you might have to change your view of the system.

Tribute goes to John Socha, MS-DOS hero

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