Sometimes Redirecting to spam/gamble site when accessing msfn.org/board

[EliraFriesnan]

2 hours ago, Ben Markson said:

kind of a useless hack really.

Wrong. Earlier people arrived here following and seeing their search results from all over the globe, and now - not!

No one knows that language, the language is called Siamese, btw.

https://autolingual.com/thai-language-name/

And even if someone did, it's only crap written there. Just translate yourself.

Edited May 25 by EliraFriesnan
link

[EliraFriesnan]

2 hours ago, Ben Markson said:

If I do a Google site search with msfn.org then I get a bunch of adulterated search results.

Consider yourself lucky! And others don't get any results at all. Don't mind the misspelling for the "spelt". It's from a US member. US dialect.

 

[AstroSkipper]

Any server or forum can be hacked. But the fact that Google has de-indexed a renowned technology forum and consigned it to the digital gulag is the ultimate admission of failure, the definitive proof that Google is no longer in control of its own mess and blindly trusts its algorithms and AI. Nevertheless, the operator of MSFN, @xper, also has a responsibility to carry out regular malware scans and install important security updates. In any case, Brave and Mojeek prove that, with the right filters, the problem can also be brought under control on the part of search engine operators.
I have been a member of this forum since 2010, and even before that, as a non-member, I kept an eye on the MSFN forum. I have never before experienced or witnessed anything like what is happening now. It is a disgrace. The operator @xper, the administrator @Tripredacus and all members of MSFN must stand up to counter this undesirable development.

Edited May 25 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[NotHereToPlayGames]

Another Devil's Advocate way of looking at this is that this has been happening for THREE MONTHS.
And we have all been continuing to visit at our normal rate!  ie, NONE OF US HAVE LEFT (I actually think we "should", but yet I'm still here also!).
I've always been skeptic of the effectiveness of "boycotts", but are not *all of us* telling the owner that this "issue" is a *non-issue* for the CURRENT MEMBERS ???
We are all still here, afterall.

BUT...
Now the flipside.  Look at the MEMBERS LIST and sort it by "Joined".
This website *always* has had (past tense!) "NEW" members each and every month spanning DECADES.
Yeah, many of these aren't really "real" people, but I still request you to look at that LIST.
We haven't had any "new" members since JANUARY.  And NONE from January have a "post count" higher than ZERO.

Look deeper.
None of our DECEMBER 2025 "new" members have a "post count" higher than ZERO.

Keep going.
NOVEMBER 2025's "new" members only has FOUR members (out of 82 !!!) with an actual "post count".

 

You can read into this what you want.  TO ME, this all says that MSFN is ***DEAD*** and the *only* people that still visit/post kind of do so more out of "habit" than anything.
Myself included.  MSFN hasn't really been what we all knew it to be *ALL OF THIS YEAR*.
It has been reduced to a very small number of members, NO NEW MEMBERS, that just keep "talking to ourselves".

I really do think that the "owner" is just content with "as-is" and DOESN'T CARE that we technically don't have NEW MEMBERS that CONTRIBUTE.
Not since last NOVEMBER.  How can the owner not have NOTICED THAT?  It can't be JUST ME that has noticed that!

Don't believe me?
Take a look for yourself  --  https://msfn.org/board/search/?type=core_members&sortby=joined&sortdirection=desc
And look through the first several "pages" of that "new members" sorted by "joined date".

MSFN IS *DEAD* !!!

Edited May 25 by NotHereToPlayGames

[NotHereToPlayGames]

To further that Devil's Advocate take on things, if I were a "globally reknown" search engine, WHY WOULD I INCLUDE SUCH A LOW-TRAFFIC RESULT ???

The "algorithm" seems to be DOING ITS JOB, if you ask me.

MSFN is *NOT* a "high traffic" website, it really is just a bunch of OLD MEMBERS that just TALK TO THEMSELVES.

We haven't had any NEW MEMBERS for **SIX MONTHS** !!!

So yeah, if I ran a "search engine", I would have been demoting MSFN each and every month for the past SIX MONTHS.

And at month SIX, yeah, I'd remove it from the "list of results" ENTIRELY.

 

Again, MSFN is *dead*.  It really is!  No new members for six months, just a CRAPLOAD of *FAKE* members with ZERO "posts".

The "algorithm" is basically doing what I myself would do if I "owned" that algorithm.

Edited May 25 by NotHereToPlayGames

[EliraFriesnan]

2 hours ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

Look deeper.
None of our DECEMBER 2025 "new" members have a "post count" higher than ZERO.

Keep going.
NOVEMBER 2025's "new" members only has FOUR members (out of 82 !!!) with an actual "post count".

All searches worked fine during that days, no "redirects". So it's closely related to @D.Draker's absence. MSFN lost its juice and spiciness without @D.Draker.

People from my Uni came here in thousands just to read him!

Don't get me wrong, I love @AstroSkipper, I also read @Dave-H, love their language and manners.... but without D.D. it just isn't what it used to be!

To me, it looks like someone forced him out of the forum, thus killing off MSFN. 

My opinion, do what you want with it. BTW, a lot of people think this way, read the memeorandum at his account.

Edited May 25 by EliraFriesnan
My opinion, do what you want with it. BTW, a lot of people think this way, read the memeorandum at his account.

[AstroSkipper]

Accounts with zero posts should be deleted after a pre-determined and clearly communicated timeframe. But this forum is still home to many creative and clever minds who produce technical content of, in some cases, outstanding quality. Furthermore, MSFN is a virtually inexhaustible source of knowledge, particularly when it comes to Windows. A search engine operator cannot and must not ignore this. Google makes huge profits every year, but it also has a responsibility as a search engine operator that it has long since failed to fulfil.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

No disagreement here!  I *agree*.

Just saying, I kind of think that the algorithm is doing what it is "designed to do".

Everything else (like have a member list that MEANS SOMETHING, none of those "fake accounts" cluttering the 'statistics') is nothing more than a "the buck stops here" philosophy.

That buck lands squarely on the forum OWNER.  Not Google.  I don't place ANY "blame" in all of this on Google.  The buck stops at the forum OWNER.

The "donations" section of MSFN isn't as clear as the Members List, but it kind of looks like ZERO DONATIONS since January.

 

I am *NOT* saying that Google (and the like) are "innocent" in all of this.

But I also really do think that the algorithm is doing EXACTLY what it was DESIGNED to do.

NO NEW MEMBERS IN SIX MONTHS.  That really does tell me everything I need to know.

 

Me personally, I don't want those Siamese results!  And if I *owned* the algorithm, INCLUDING them cuts into the "brand reputation".

"I'm not going to use Google anymore, all it ever does is feed me fake Siamese results."

So yeah, Google all but *HAS TO* fine tune the "algorithm" to PREVENT that "loss of client base".

I'm not on Google's side here !!!  But I also have to look at it UNBIASED from the view of "I love MSFN, I hate any search engine that doesn't share that love!"

[AstroSkipper]

I do not agree.  The main culprit behind this dilemma is Google, as I have explained deeply in my article:

 

[NotHereToPlayGames]

My last word on this:  Apologies, we are all entitled to our own World View, THIS ALL FALLS SQUARELY ON THE FORUM OWNER.

At the stage we are at now, I kind of "fully support" the NON-EXISTENCE of MSFN.

The OWNER is running a FAILED BUSINESS MODEL.

 

You have your view, I have mine.  AGREE TO DISAGREE.

BUT...  That is NOT me taking Google's "side".  That is me "wanting" a forum owner HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO HIS SHORTCOMINGS in this matter.

 

edit:  that said, *IF* there was evidence of Google doing this to another site similar to MSFN, then (and only then) would I jump onto your bandwagon.

But from what I have seen throughout my history of being an MSFN member, this all is a "failed business model", a model that *DID* work in the past.

But business models must evolve when the industry that the business resides within evolves.

Edited May 25 by NotHereToPlayGames

[AstroSkipper]

What’s really going completely wrong at the moment is the lack of an official statement from the forum owner or administrator regarding this whole mess. You can’t just sit this out or ignore it.

[AstroSkipper]

5 hours ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

edit:  that said, *IF* there was evidence of Google doing this to another site similar to MSFN, then (and only then) would I jump onto your bandwagon.

In recent years, Google has de-indexed a large part of our collective knowledge, effectively erasing it. It’s all about profit maximisation, deals and power. Just like the way your government is currently operating. No conscience, no sense of responsibility. And I’m not talking about Google in general. I wouldn’t care about that at all. I’m talking about Google Search, which, as a monopoly, bears an immense responsibility when it comes to the knowledge of our civilisations and its preservation. It has long since failed to live up to this responsibility and has nothing to do with MSFN. It’s just a tragic victim.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

31 minutes ago, AstroSkipper said:

What’s really going completely wrong at the moment is the lack of an official statement from the forum owner or administrator regarding this whole mess. You can’t just sit this out or ignore it.

Bingo!

[NotHereToPlayGames]

12 minutes ago, AstroSkipper said:

It’s just a tragic victim.

BUT...  as far as I can tell, it's the **ONLY** victim!  Which (until proven otherwise) is why I *FULLY* blame the forum OWNER.

I have NEVER witnessed this type of "Siamese results" since being brought up on computers in the early EIGHTIES.

So I've basically been on the internet "since day one".  What we have happening here, to the best of my knowledge, has NEVER happened to any other forum.

I kind of do not like to "divide" blame.  I don't see it as 20% to the Siamese hacker, 10% to all members not seeking "better management" by the OWNER, 10% to all members just sitting idly by, 29% to Google Search, and 31% to the forum owner.  I myself place all 100% on the forum owner.

I would totally flip blame from forum owner to Google Search *IF* (and only if) somebody provides a screencap of those types of results (Siamese) for *ANY* other forum.

But since (to the best of my knowledge) this has hit ***OO NN LL YY*** MSFN, then I cannot (in good faith) blame Google Search (they are PROTECTING their "BRAND", as *any* business SHOULD).

[Tripredacus]

On 5/22/2026 at 6:43 PM, AstroSkipper said:

You are completely wrong. MSFN members won't search threads of their forum via Google, of course. But that’s only logical and isn’t the issue at all.

False

Google search is better than IPS, especially due to dorks.