FOSSVPS Abuse policy change and termination of NodeSeek accounts

msatt · May 10

Have sent and email to all FOSSVPS users.

enter image description here

Important.
Abuse policy change and termination of NodeSeek accounts

Because of abuse by a NodeSeek client on our mol1 node and as a result, the suspension by the provider. I have decided to introduce a Name And Shame policy. If we are notified of abuse your details WILL be published on the forums. You can read more details on LET.

This is a change which (for privacy reasons) some clients may not be happy with, however we must enforce the rules. Our clients are supposed to be Open Source Developers not abusers. So if you are not happy with this new policy, please contact [email protected] providing your node and vmid details (using your registered email address) and we will terminate your server and destroy all data.

If you do not contact us by Friday 29th of May 2026 we will assume you are happy with this change in conditions and your service will continue.

We have had multiple abuse issues and all have come from NodeSeek clients. At FOSSVPS we will not allow our donors or FOSSVPS reputation to be diminished. As a result (reluctantly) I have made the decision that from Friday the 29th ALL NodeSeek clients WILL have their VPS terminated and all data destroyed.. Please backup your data as a matter of urgency.

rpqu · May 10

First.
Also, I assume you differentiate between compiling and crypto mining

somik · May 10

@rpqu said:
First.
Also, I assume you differentiate between compiling and crypto mining

Unless you are compiling 24/7, I don't think anyone would mistake compiling with crypto mining.

rpqu · May 10

@somik said:

@rpqu said:
First.
Also, I assume you differentiate between compiling and crypto mining

Unless you are compiling 24/7, I don't think anyone would mistake compiling with crypto mining.

With enough claude/codex token you could do intensive CI.

somik · May 10

@rpqu said:

@somik said:

@rpqu said:
First.
Also, I assume you differentiate between compiling and crypto mining

Unless you are compiling 24/7, I don't think anyone would mistake compiling with crypto mining.

With enough claude/codex token you could do intensive CI.

If you are so rich to be able to afford those tokens, you can afford a full dedicated server and even donate 2 to FOSSVPS

rpqu · May 10

@somik said:

@rpqu said:

@somik said:

@rpqu said:
First.
Also, I assume you differentiate between compiling and crypto mining

Unless you are compiling 24/7, I don't think anyone would mistake compiling with crypto mining.

With enough claude/codex token you could do intensive CI.

If you are so rich to be able to afford those tokens, you can afford a full dedicated server and even donate 2 to FOSSVPS

Haha. There's bloated framework out there which pulls thousands upon thousands of dependencies with unoptimized setup. Also, github action are rated for like, 4 hours? 4GB images isn't that unusual.
Despite it took few lines to fix it (within a Dockerfile), people just don't bother to change it

msatt · May 10

Well the good news is the existing (none NS) clients will be getting a much less loaded server - to do compilation !!!
Must admit (I know it is free etc etc) abuse really does piss me off.
I can't change the world but I can control my own little part....

euronodes · May 10

Well, if the VPS is intended for open source developers, its quite easy to verify in the GitHub era.
I.e. add an empty file to a public repo

TigersWay · May 12

Happy user of another server of yours I totally agree with that new policy. Whenever, wherever, REALLY annoying people should be banned!

terrorgen · May 12

We hope we can ban annoying people irl

msatt · May 12

@TigersWay - thanks, glad things are going well with de1

N.A.S. is a possibility however going forward it is much more likely that stronger pre registration filters will be put in place with potentially country blocks. Another possibility I am considering is a vouch for / referral type scheme where a well respected LES (or LET) member can vouch for another member to join. If there is abuse both members lose their VPSs. I like this idea because it enhances the idea of benefits associated with being a member of a forum and peer respect etc.
Things are still 'up in the air' and I hate having to implement more and more conditions

Mike

jaden · May 12

@msatt said:
@TigersWay - thanks, glad things are going well with de1

N.A.S. is a possibility however going forward it is much more likely that stronger pre registration filters will be put in place with potentially country blocks. Another possibility I am considering is a vouch for / referral type scheme where a well respected LES (or LET) member can vouch for another member to join. If there is abuse both members lose their VPSs. I like this idea because it enhances the idea of benefits associated with being a member of a forum and peer respect etc.
Things are still 'up in the air' and I hate having to implement more and more conditions

I like the member vouch approach. You could also make the good reputation on the forum requirement more explicit. Something like provider polls or domain auctions might work: Registered for at least 30 days with at least 25 non-spammy posts.

terrorgen · May 14

How about a referral system where existing members can have a set amount of referrals per month/quarter/year and any bad actions by a member would somehow affect the person who referred them as well.

This is how some private torrent trackers work.

msatt · May 14

@terrorgen - agreed

@msatt said: If there is abuse both members lose their VPSs

I am still thinking through the logistics / referral process but feel that it makes being a 'reputable' member of the forum a good reason to participate in the forum. So in a way we are benefitting user, forum and donors (by promoting them) which I like the idea of.

MannDude · May 14

While I applaud the efforts, have you considered:

GeoIP restrictions? Just block CN.
ASN restrictions? Just block the major Chinese Telecoms, Datacamp, NetCup, Hetzner and other networks that may be popular or commonly used to bypass restrictions via VPN, Tor, etc.
Removing the Chinese translations files from your billing system.
Have a custom CAPTCHA with some offensive-in-China-only images that the user must pass. "Select the human rights violation", "This image contains 3 Winne The Poohs, locate them all", etc.

You can get creative with it.

msatt · May 14

@MannDude - thanks for the comments.
Yes I am adding maxmind to the registration page. Did look at using ipset but because of proxy use, it proved difficult.
There is no billing system - we are free
Already have reCAPTCHA but I certainly take your point about images
I hate kicking 'good' people off FOSSVPS but from what I can tell NS clients are not real developers (or at least not white hat).
Cest la vie.

terrorgen · May 15

@msatt said:
@terrorgen - agreed

@msatt said: If there is abuse both members lose their VPSs

I am still thinking through the logistics / referral process but feel that it makes being a 'reputable' member of the forum a good reason to participate in the forum. So in a way we are benefitting user, forum and donors (by promoting them) which I like the idea of.

We don't know why we didn't notice that.

Bad terrorgen

kako1talk · May 15

The 'Name and Shame' policy is long overdue. If someone is bold enough to get an entire node suspended, they should be bold enough to have their details posted on LET.

It's a shame it came to this, but protecting the reputation of the project and the relationship with sponsors has to come first. If NodeSeek clients are consistently the source of the headache, I can't really blame a provider for cutting the cord.

msatt · May 15

@kako1talk said: protecting the reputation of the project and the relationship with sponsors has to come first

Thanks - you nailed it
Registrations page is also now 'closed' to certain countries.

FOSSVPS Abuse policy change and termination of NodeSeek accounts

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