A day in the life of a forum administrator

So you ask, "What exactly does a forum administrator do?" I'll share a typical day with you.

I awaken very early (how early? it's still dark). Then I brew a cup of coffee and turn on the computer. First, I read all the emails from potential forum members to weed through the spammers. I read and post the comments to the blogs. Then I tackle the potential members list.

I remind myself that it truly is the World Wide Web. While I've been sleeping for a few hours, the other side of the world is awake and many of them want to be part of RVTravel.com or FreeCampgrounds.com. Name a country and I've received email from someone there. Most of the foreign emails other than from Canada, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand are spam. How do I know they're spam? I won't share all my secrets or my cyberspace buddies will throw things. Usually, logic works.

For example, I received an application email from someone in Gibraltar. Go ahead--look it up on a map. Not much in the way of roads. Probably doesn't have an RV and since the island is rather small, doesn't have much in the way of campgrounds either. It's likely that the person just picked Gibraltar out of a hat. I look at the website listed and notice that it links to an overseas pharmacy selling Viagra, Cialis and other drugs. The email address is from Russia so the person is deleted. On to the next potential member.

Every morning, I receive 30-40 emails from potential members and perhaps one or two is legitimate. The others must each be read and deleted. Throughout the day, I receive 20-30 more from this side of the planet. Again, one or two will be legitimate; the rest are spam. I try to stay ahead of the posters because some of the user names they choose are rather raunchy. I'd rather read them and delete them before the other forum members see them.

The spam usually falls into five categories: pills, porn, poker, phone ringtones and personals. And I have to admit that three times in the last three years, I have approved someone who turned out to be--well, let's just say, a jerk. But out of almost 7000 legitimate folks and at least ten times that amount in spammers, that's not too bad.

Sometimes while I'm online, I will receive an email and can immediately go to a special back section of the forum where I can actually see that poster's IP address while s/he's online. I have the ability to track the person's location, and if s/he is from another country that is known for its spammers, I can delete them at the server level. If you saw the movie "The Matrix," remember the scene where Neo is looking over the operator's shoulder at the computer screen with the rows of binary numbers moving down the screen, and is told that the operator no longer sees the numbers, just people. That's pretty much what I do too. I see an IP address and can tell you in which country that person is located. In the U.S., I can tell you which state your server is in and how many paths your login took to reach RVTravel.com or FreeCampgrounds.com.

I also answer questions from forum members about what is permissible to post and every single post is touched by me. I may not change anything or I may correct spelling or grammar. Sometimes I have to retype the message because the poster forgot and posted in all caps. I don't delete a post unless it's so inflammatory that it breaks the forum rules or it's trying to sell something.

At the end of the day (yes, it's late and dark again), I check the forums once more and put them to bed. Then I lay me down to sleep and start the process again in the morning.

In case any potential spammers are reading this, I just thought I would let you know that I work every day. This year, 366 of those days. Thank you for playing but no lovely parting gifts from me.

Top of the to-do list

In 1972, my husband and I took a six-day, 180-mile raft trip down the Colorado River. We drove to Temple Bar Marina on Lake Mead to meet the other rafters and were driven by bus to the Grand Canyon. Then we hiked down Bright Angel Trail (7.5 miles almost straight down) to the Navajo Bridge, crossed the river and boarded the ten-ton J-rig rafts. It was not an easy hike and I was never so glad to see a raft in my life. I lost my hat the first day, got sun poisoning, ate and drank way too much, and fell under the spell of the mighty Colorado.

Two years later, we went again, this time wisely choosing the eight-day trip. The bus dropped us off at the foot of Parker Dam. No hiking and we just stepped onto the rafts. Oh--and at least one of us tied our hat on tightly.

If I have the money and time, repeating this trip is at the top of my to-do list and I recommend it highly. I believe the picture below is Crystal Rapids and if I were on the raft, I would be straddling the second pontoon in the very front hanging onto a rope for dear life, screaming and laughing. What a ride!

Tech check

Yes, it's time for another tech check and I'm going to give you a website to use that will open your eyes. It was started by a man named Steve Gibson. It's now the Gibson Research Center and the testing is free. Go to http://www.grc.com. Read the home page and the pertinent information it contains. Then go to "Probe My Ports." I know. It sounds pretty funny but while you're smiling, allow his company to look for your computer.

I first did this several years ago and not only did he see me, he looked right into my net BIOS for my name and pertinent computer information. Technically, he could access and manipulate anything on my computer. "OK," I thought, "I'm a believer, Steve. What do I do now?"

He gave me more information about how to hide my location by putting the ports into "stealth" mode. Once I did that, my computer was invisible. I didn't exist.

Recently, just to be sure I was not vulnerable since I usually use wi-fi, I tested my computer again. He could see my IP address (location of the server I was using), but all my ports were hidden. In other words, there's something here but we're not sure where you are or what it is.

Please go to his site. He is trustworthy and this portion is free. While you're doing this tech check, be sure your virus program is up to date. As the forum administrator, I am bombarded with spam every day (most days I receive 400-500 spam emails to the RV Bookstore and personal email addresses). The programs I use are so effective that I never even see an email or post that could contain a virus. In fact, the last virus I received was in 1999, I believe. My antivirus program popped it up on the screen, named it, apologized because it hadn't uploaded the cure in the last 24 hours, and told me where to go on the internet to download the antidote. In two minutes, no more virus.

A friend came to me with her laptop and begged for help because her icons kept jumping around on her desktop. I did my best but because of two different viruses (she had no virus program at all since MacAfee had expired), some programs were lost or damaged. Thank goodness she had CD backup for her photos and documents.

I urge you to check your computer now and be sure everything is up to date. Then test it and rest secure in the knowledge that both of you are safe.

Life on Wheels Reminder

Next month, March 18-21, Life on Wheels will have the first of five gatherings in Tucson, Arizona at the downtown campus of Pima Community College. I'm very proud to say I will be part of that fine organization and am teaching four classes: "Convection Oven Cooking," "Basic Self-Protection," "Saving Space and Weight in Your RV," and "2008 Campground & RV Park Discount & Membership Systems."

Whether you're a wannabe RVer, new RVer or seasoned RVer, there are classes for everyone. Please check out http://www.lifeonwheels.com. There is still time to register.

If you can't make it to Tucson, you might try one of the other locations: Bowling Green, Kentucky; Ankeny (Des Moines), Iowa; Lewiston, Idaho; or Harrisburg, Penn. Following the completion of the classes in Harrisburg is a large RV show and admission is included.

I hope to meet some of you!

Winter R&R

While I wait for my trip to Tucson next month to teach at Life on Wheels (including maps, directions, stops along the way, visits with relatives and friends already scheduled), I realized I was suffering from hitch itch. Chuck Woodbury did not help by posting in his blog about his trip.

Usually during the winter months, I rest, relax, and take care of Lucy's needs. I also dream about places I'd like to go or go again. Today, I was looking at the National Park website http://www.nps.gov and checked out Glacier National Park in Montana. I remember my first trip there and how exciting it was when Going-to-the-Sun Road opened.
I was driving across Montana on my way from a visit to Yellowstone when the rangers told me the road was open. The Oklahoma Sooners had nothing on us as we made a beeline (or as much of a beeline as we could) for Montana.

I arrived and joined a queue of cars and RVs headed up the mountains, trying to decide if I should just aim the camera out the window with my left hand while steering with my right. I didn't take any pictures; I was too mesmerized by the view--one eye on the road and the other on the scenery--and breathing the crisp, clean air.

Going-to-the-Sun Road is an experience you should add to your travel plans. After you have seen Glacier National Park, head north to Waterton Glacier-International Peace Park across the Canadian border in Alberta. In 1932, Waterton-Lakes National Park was joined with Montana's Glacier National Park to form the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park - a world first. Our Canadian neighbors continue the tradition of spectacular scenery and welcoming friendship across the border. There is a link to the Parks Canada website from the Glacier National Park site.

There are other parks I could visit first, many others to visit now, but I will always remember the day the road opened.

FreeWheelers and a soggy weekend

For the first time in many months, I'm camping with the FreeWheelers, the northern CA/western NV chapter of the RVing Women. We're at Delta Shores in Isleton, CA on the Sacramento Delta. Most of us arrived on Friday and were very grateful we could hook up without the rain pouring down our necks. It rained yesterday and is supposed to rain tomorrow with clearing on Sunday.

One of our members with a rather large Alfa attempted to back onto a site with gravel on it. Not a good idea. She ended up stuck and a truck had to pull her out of the site. She's on the other side of the park and in a much better area.

Last month during our big storm, the FreeWheelers were in Tracy boondocking at the wildlife preserve. They have "Storm Survivor January 2008" tags hooked to their name badges. They certainly earned them.

The chili cookoff was a tasty success. I didn't win but a vegetarian version tied with the more traditional recipe and everyone enjoyed the entries.

I have sent a message to the weather goddess. Now that I am hooked up, level, dry and warm, and don't have too much mud on my shoes, I would like the early morning on Sunday to be dry when I pack to go. All the leveling blocks, hoses and cable need to be stacked and packed in their respective compartments. Then I'll drive the 30 miles back to Fairfield so I can go to work.