I still cannot update my story

[Guest dschinny]

I still cannot update my story

https://games.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600091728

I went to the story manager via the green squares, clicked “add chapter” the editor opened, I c&p my chapter, hit sent.

I got the sucess notice: “Your new chapter has been posted, feelfree to return to the archive story manager.” But the story was not updated. The new chapter is missing. In the archive it reads “Updated : September 12, 2022 5:20 am”

At the same time, the archive shows new reviews and dragon prints on my story.

It seems that the problem is located on my side. So far, I tried to fix it by emptying the cache and a re-login.

Any other ideas what I can do?

[BronxWench]

The archive is back in read-only mode at the moment. Our attacker has been quite persistent, and our coder and tech admin are working as quickly as possible to close off all vulnerabilities so we can once again operate normally. Unfortunately, our coder has had to use back-up data to restore the archive even in the read-only mode, which may be why the new chapter is lost despite your having gotten reviews on the story.

Bear with us, please. Our coder and admin are working on this as fast as they can, given the time constraints of their actual employment and other obligations. 

[Guest dschinny]

Thanks for your hard work! *presses thumbs*

[Desiderius Price]

Anybody considered talking to the feds on this hacker?  This hacker is suppressing *OUR* free speech rights, and it’s technically a federal crime.

(Sorry, had to vent here, cause it’s frustrating especially to the authors unable to post, unable to get feedback on what they posted.)

Edited October 13, 2022 by Desiderius Price

[BronxWench]

1 hour ago, Desiderius Price said:

Anybody considered talking to the feds on this hacker?  This hacker is suppressing *OUR* free speech rights, and it’s technically a federal crime.

(Sorry, had to vent here, cause it’s frustrating especially to the authors unable to post, unable to get feedback on what they posted.)

It will depend on what kind of documentation we can put together, but I’d be more than happy to deal with IC₃ and their endless bureaucracy. I’m used to Federal agencies and paperwork.

[DemonGoddess]

I’m actually getting data together to find the times and other things.  But, the question here, is if we do that, does that open us up to possible closure due to the nature of the content?

[Desiderius Price]

AFAICT, the content here is legal, even if it’s of dubious quality/morals, and would thus be protected by the first amendment.  I don’t know if we have any agents amongst us willing to take up the cause.

I guess I’m frustrated, because this hacker appears determined to hijack our website for their own dubious means, and it’s mean/rude and denies us the ability to post/publish/review.  While Manta’s doing her level best to overhaul/patch, we’re not Google or Microsoft or Facebook with an army of coders, so I fear this cycle may repeat itself, ad nauseum.

[BronxWench]

55 minutes ago, DemonGoddess said:

I’m actually getting data together to find the times and other things.  But, the question here, is if we do that, does that open us up to possible closure due to the nature of the content?

Argh. Maybe we need to enlist that fellow on YouTube who hacks phone spammers…  

[DemonGoddess]

1 hour ago, Desiderius Price said:

AFAICT, the content here is legal, even if it’s of dubious quality/morals, and would thus be protected by the first amendment.  I don’t know if we have any agents amongst us willing to take up the cause.

I guess I’m frustrated, because this hacker appears determined to hijack our website for their own dubious means, and it’s mean/rude and denies us the ability to post/publish/review.  While Manta’s doing her level best to overhaul/patch, we’re not Google or Microsoft or Facebook with an army of coders, so I fear this cycle may repeat itself, ad nauseum.

Actually working on finding the what, the why, and how right now, the both of us.  Manta is taking a break while I do my part of the deep dive.

[Krulos]

9 hours ago, Desiderius Price said:

Anybody considered talking to the feds on this hacker?  This hacker is suppressing *OUR* free speech rights, and it’s technically a federal crime.

(Sorry, had to vent here, cause it’s frustrating especially to the authors unable to post, unable to get feedback on what they posted.)

You are spot on; and even *that* is simply on the matter of the content here being the *arguments* of the people who write here in the first place- and yes, that does make the attacker a criminal to begin with, due to what they’re doing breaking USA Federal Law, not to mention the USA Constitution- which this site has been set up under.

The content here is shady in its nature; but the question is *why* do we write what we do? I don’t know about anyone else, but *I* write to pose sound arguments on what the natural fruits of actions chosen are, and why we must choose the moral actions- by showing how the immoral actions harm those who employ them.

Plus, there’s really nothing to be gained by these attacks, so motive appears to be nonexistent… and he does appear to be competent, as well as persistence does indicate it appears quite personal… I’d say he is someone who lost out on something regarding this site some time ago therefore. Think of it: if you’re out for money, you’ll attack not a website such as this, but a major bank, like a Federal Credit Union with some form of a spam attack- not some site that doesn’t have much funds behind it at all. No, this seems more petty than thought out or out to commit some act of internet piracy- which’d be redundant at best.

Think about it critically, folks: the data here is already backed up elsewhere, which means that who or whatever is up to these attacks is really being more mean than economically competent, as well as backing up the details that he will inevitably wind up in prison, even if he’s got some form of immunity: then he is *guaranteed* to be imprisoned.

No, I’d say he’s petty, rich, and bored, due to the investment he must’ve made, plus he’s got some serious immaturity to work through, as well as is really downright pathetic.

Edited October 14, 2022 by Krulos
I thought of more to this and a practical way to use this for the project in question.

[Krulos]

5 hours ago, Desiderius Price said:

AFAICT, the content here is legal, even if it’s of dubious quality/morals, and would thus be protected by the first amendment.  I don’t know if we have any agents amongst us willing to take up the cause.

I guess I’m frustrated, because this hacker appears determined to hijack our website for their own dubious means, and it’s mean/rude and denies us the ability to post/publish/review.  While Manta’s doing her level best to overhaul/patch, we’re not Google or Microsoft or Facebook with an army of coders, so I fear this cycle may repeat itself, ad nauseum.

And not only is it of dubious quality of morals in addendum; but the whole question is what is the person getting at? I know that sometimes we write what we do to criticize works; I am far from the only one who’s seen the television show “Supergirl” and observed that in one episode Sara Lance’s question to Alex Danvers where she asks her “How’s your butt?” caused some impressions on their night together that makes you really wonder what they got up to in the first place… to this date there’re at least two different works dealing with exactly that night, and I’d say in a candid review of the behavior of the ladies in question that neither of them depicts them as behaving properly. So the logical question is “Why do you write this?” I can first-hand say that I write what I do to confront the evils in society, by showing the natural fruits of such vices- and *sometimes* to demonstrate *something else* using that kind of thing to slander people who’ve fallen into its custody.

I wrote one story about the morning after that completely cuckoo date; and another person here wrote another- given how people are; I do not doubt for a nanosecond that there’re other works on that particular event as well.

[Krulos]

I don’t know about the rest of you; but I do not support filthy stories at all- nor filthy works at all. But I sure do not want the *government* to discern what is filth and what is not. Needless to say, folks; this criminal has become a serious problem that needs to be rooted out from any and all ability to work- ever. He also clearly knows of this site, and has to have some intimate knowledge of this site’s workings to be able to do that and do it well enough for his attacks to have worked *at all* in the first place.

My solution: if you do not approve of the reading materials you run across: do as I did as soon as possible and remove them from your reading selections; it will not remove them, but censorship is always going to backfire badly on all those who do employ it- ever.

*If* you take the lens of Mon-El/Mike Matthews in the latter parts of his chronological life in the show “Supergirl”; you would see a man who, while he *could* easily censor anything in his own nation, due to his place therein, he would likely refuse to employ that means; the reason: it’d be to open a can of tapeworms that there’s no way to fix once done. That is, of course, *POST* his emotional growing up; one reason I do think that this megalomaniac who’s been attacking here is really yet to grow up, mentally-speaking, so we’re probably dealing with someone who’s profoundly immature, character-wise. That would go a long way to explaining why the person is doing what they’re doing… but you’re right, what the person’s doing is illegal and they need to be stopped, heedless of ability.

[Desiderius Price]

4 hours ago, Krulos said:

I don’t know about the rest of you; but I do not support filthy stories at all- nor filthy works at all.

IMO, the “filth” label is derogatory and something a “crusader” might use to try to stir up sentiment to ban what gets posted on the archives here.  I’m trying to avoid it TBH.   I’m basically okay with people writing whatever here (so long as it’s not planning an autobiography).  My comment about “dubious moral/quality” is acknowledging that it’s not religously “pure” and authors are at different stages of writing proficiency.  It all deserves protection.

 

[Desiderius Price]

4 hours ago, Krulos said:

Plus, there’s really nothing to be gained by these attacks, so motive appears to be nonexistent… and he does appear to be competent, as well as persistence does indicate it appears quite personal… I’d say he is someone who lost out on something regarding this site some time ago therefore.

It is persistent, I give you that.  It could be a moral crusader, or somebody pissed off, or somebody who feels “entitled to destroy our website”…. I’ve watched enough youtube videos about entitled neighbors/people to realize that trying to understand them can be a lost cause.

Should we batten down the hatches, check the windows, and lock the doors?  Sure.  However, at a certain point, one needs stronger measures, like firearms and/or police to deal with a persistent burglar.

[BronxWench]

2 hours ago, Desiderius Price said:

It is persistent, I give you that.  It could be a moral crusader, or somebody pissed off, or somebody who feels “entitled to destroy our website”…. I’ve watched enough youtube videos about entitled neighbors/people to realize that trying to understand them can be a lost cause.

Should we batten down the hatches, check the windows, and lock the doors?  Sure.  However, at a certain point, one needs stronger measures, like firearms and/or police to deal with a persistent burglar.

I don’t think we need to escalate to the point of firearms. 

However, we are not the only site that hosts adult fiction, and I don’t think the attack is because of our content. I do think we need to secure the site as much as is possible against this sort of incursion, and I do think we need to, at the very least, report the attacker to his/her ISP if not to the Federal authorities who investigate cybercrimes. There’s no financial gain to be had from attacking us, and the attacks appear to be intended to disrupt the normal operations of the site. The attacks redirect our members to sites of dubious provenance and probable malware, which is my concern. We value our members, and don’t want to have our site used to harm them.

So, once again, NEVER CLICK ON LINKS THAT YOU DON’T KNOW and make sure your antivirus/malware protections are up to date. Secure yourself with two-factor authentication, and change your passwords regularly if you’re not using two-factor authentication. This is something we all need to do to protect ourselves.

[Desiderius Price]

39 minutes ago, BronxWench said:

I don’t think we need to escalate to the point of firearms. 

Sorry, I should’ve mentioned that was hyperbole on my part, not trying to imply that we need to resort to firearms.

Edited October 14, 2022 by Desiderius Price

[WillowDarkling]

The Wicker Man is way more fun anyway…. 

[Krulos]

7 hours ago, Desiderius Price said:

IMO, the “filth” label is derogatory and something a “crusader” might use to try to stir up sentiment to ban what gets posted on the archives here.  I’m trying to avoid it TBH.   I’m basically okay with people writing whatever here (so long as it’s not planning an autobiography).  My comment about “dubious moral/quality” is acknowledging that it’s not religously “pure” and authors are at different stages of writing proficiency.  It all deserves protection.

 

Well, lets see: I too hold to strong moral standards; but in terms of adult-content, that’d fit “R” rated stuff easily; and guess what: so is the film “The Patriot” about the American war for Independence; hence I’d be far more worried about what *I* as an individual post and produce than what I find here.

I would never recommend that we allow the *government* to have a say in what is here; in part: precisely because that opens up, as I observed, a can of tapeworms that once opened up, cannot be closed; and government is prone to horrible corruption. They might be out to remove all pornography (a sound goal; I share it too come to think of it- even though I, if even remotely capable would only be able to catch a small percentage, so odds of success are low; and detection is the practical problem therein), but eventually they’ll classify criticism of the government or its policies/friends as a federal crime, and suddenly we’re right back at the Declaration of Independence, or just before. See my practical problem? Once you let the government in, you really cannot practically remove them.

*This* doesn’t even cut close to the issue of how we’re to protect ourselves. *I* strongly recommend that the site itself be scanned by both malwarebytes and also superantispyware; using the maximum scan possible, as well as reviewing the moderators- this’s not cruelty by any account, but the real primary weakness of any site is not the machinery nor the programs, but the staff: they have administrator or moderator “rights” over the site; and being human beings; are prone to the typical weaknesses thereof, such as corrupt friendships and/or financial weaknesses to be used in blackmail, or other means to get into the site. In short, Demongoddess: this’s not hostility at all, but voicing practical weaknesses. Would you let just anybody fiddle around with your noggin’s contents? I wouldn’t believe you, or anyone would; nor should you. This’s not hostility, but a voice of practical wisdom: there’re some doors you do not let anybody at all go through, no matter what credentials they may have.

I don’t think it is a moral crusader; for what they’re doing is in and of itself immoral, and you cannot do right by doing wrong in the process, ever, it doesn’t work that way, folks; it corrupts forever anything you’re up to doing. This seems far more petty and immature, character-wise, than rooted in ethics, by a long-shot.

I think, based on what just said, BronxWench; that who or whatever is up to this set of attacks is really out to do harm to the *members* of this site, rather than gain money or to advocate for morals- malware sites are *NOT* moral in their content, so no way is this person a moral crusader, not by any means.

[InvidiaRed]

3 hours ago, WillowDarkling said:

The Wicker Man is way more fun anyway…. 

I wonder if we could combine it with roman sentiments?

[BronxWench]

1 hour ago, Krulos said:

Well, lets see: I too hold to strong moral standards; but in terms of adult-content, that’d fit “R” rated stuff easily; and guess what: so is the film “The Patriot” about the American war for Independence; hence I’d be far more worried about what *I* as an individual post and produce than what I find here.

I would never recommend that we allow the *government* to have a say in what is here; in part: precisely because that opens up, as I observed, a can of tapeworms that once opened up, cannot be closed; and government is prone to horrible corruption. They might be out to remove all pornography (a sound goal; I share it too come to think of it- even though I, if even remotely capable would only be able to catch a small percentage, so odds of success are low; and detection is the practical problem therein), but eventually they’ll classify criticism of the government or its policies/friends as a federal crime, and suddenly we’re right back at the Declaration of Independence, or just before. See my practical problem? Once you let the government in, you really cannot practically remove them.

*This* doesn’t even cut close to the issue of how we’re to protect ourselves. *I* strongly recommend that the site itself be scanned by both malwarebytes and also superantispyware; using the maximum scan possible, as well as reviewing the moderators- this’s not cruelty by any account, but the real primary weakness of any site is not the machinery nor the programs, but the staff: they have administrator or moderator “rights” over the site; and being human beings; are prone to the typical weaknesses thereof, such as corrupt friendships and/or financial weaknesses to be used in blackmail, or other means to get into the site. In short, Demongoddess: this’s not hostility at all, but voicing practical weaknesses. Would you let just anybody fiddle around with your noggin’s contents? I wouldn’t believe you, or anyone would; nor should you. This’s not hostility, but a voice of practical wisdom: there’re some doors you do not let anybody at all go through, no matter what credentials they may have.

I don’t think it is a moral crusader; for what they’re doing is in and of itself immoral, and you cannot do right by doing wrong in the process, ever, it doesn’t work that way, folks; it corrupts forever anything you’re up to doing. This seems far more petty and immature, character-wise, than rooted in ethics, by a long-shot.

I think, based on what just said, BronxWench; that who or whatever is up to this set of attacks is really out to do harm to the *members* of this site, rather than gain money or to advocate for morals- malware sites are *NOT* moral in their content, so no way is this person a moral crusader, not by any means.

Access to the database itself is strictly controlled. Only DemonGoddess and manta2g have direct access. My moderating staff is exceedingly small, and doesn’t have the limited abilities that I have as lead moderator. I’ve met most of them in person, and I am entirely sure that none of my moderators are responsible for this series of attacks. Further, I myself run Malwarebytes Premium daily on my computer, and take every precaution when I have occasion to visit other sites in the course of my moderating duties. I know it’s easy to point a finger at human beings, and wonder if they are the proximate cause of the issues, but in this case, you’re way off base.

The idea of using immoral means to achieve what a person believes is a moral end is neither improbable or unheard of, in my experience. Hypocrisy is as much a common human trait as any other, and the same people who email me demanding that I remove a story they dislike would scream the loudest if I removed a story they did like. It’s naïve to think otherwise.

[Desiderius Price]

1 hour ago, BronxWench said:

The idea of using immoral means to achieve what a person believes is a moral end is neither improbable or unheard of, in my experience. Hypocrisy is as much a common human trait as any other, and the same people who email me demanding that I remove a story they dislike would scream the loudest if I removed a story they did like. It’s naïve to think otherwise.

I’m prone to speculation when trying to figure out the motivation behind our attacker, and the “crusader” crossed my mind as one possibility—somebody who thinks the ends justify the means.  Hypocrisy is great in fiction, not so wonderful in real life.

[Krulos]

Frankly, Bronx; I’m with you on the security emphasis: so now at least we know about limits and who to look at for security- useful to narrow down for sure… and necessary for securing the site in that regard; as you rightly referenced as a potential problem.

I don’t blame you for the running of the best rendition of Malwarebytes regularly; I’m more than with you; but it *might* be wise to run a scan *on the very site’s program* as there might be the problem, given how frequently this pervert who’s been trying to hijack the site hits it after it’s just been upgraded- that’s the thing that clues me in that something may have gotten onto the site itself that is a threat to security: plus the links? dead giveaway.

Though I *do* heartily agree with you, believe you me on the need to secure the site and your computer.

Desiderius:

Yes, using immoral means to get moral results is suspicious, same agreement with you, Bronx, but remember, the use of malware is a definite clue this’s not a moral crusader at all- character traits fall apart and fail miserably at the clues to back up the claim.

I don’t blame you for speculation, Desiderius, at all; not exactly a bad trait, but really: ends justifying means? that’s the hallmark of *immorality* in essence: that’s the same illogical logic that leads to the gulags and the death-camps for crying out loud, the worst evils in world history, ever! But you are *spot on* about hypocrisy being a great touch in fiction, not so good at all in real life; same with any sinful action at all, come to think of it. I myself am working on a few works involving fake marriage: something I’d want relegated to fiction only, not at all in real life- you are more than fully agreed with by me in those touches, folks!

[Krulos]

And I mean: the site’s basically a program running on a server: scan the site program with things like Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware, complete scans: and you can obtain those two marvelous security programs on ninite.com and download them from there- it is a secure site last time I used it; and it might help to secure the site.

I understand what you mean about restricting who’s able to access the very formula of the site’s makeup, Bronx. I get what you mean completely by that.

[BronxWench]

2 minutes ago, Krulos said:

And I mean: the site’s basically a program running on a server: scan the site program with things like Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware, complete scans: and you can obtain those two marvelous security programs on ninite.com and download them from there- it is a secure site last time I used it; and it might help to secure the site.

I understand what you mean about restricting who’s able to access the very formula of the site’s makeup, Bronx. I get what you mean completely by that.

I’m sure our server host runs scans regularly for the servers. It would only be sensible for them to do so, and since we’ve never had an issue with malware originating from the host servers, I can be confident they do an excellent job. We don’t have the access to the servers to run scans ourselves, since we basically buy space on another company’s physical hardware. That’s why I emphasize the need for running individuals scans on the hardware we each own and use to access the site.

[Krulos]

Actually; that works out quite well, Bronx; but I do, for the sake of peace between us, hope that you, if nothing else, understand the concern I had; and also the offers of help therein with that input.

Beyond that and the wishes for the site to work out well again, I have nothing but a thank you for that data to say at the present moment. It’s not you; I am tapped out of ideas.