user_ban [-l] [-p] <expire> <login>|<phone_no>
user_ban bans a phone number or group of phone numbers.
-l - List all banned numbers.
-p - Prefix ban. All numbers beginning with the specified prefix will be banned.
<expire> - An expiry date for the ban. The same syntax and rules apply to here as in user_addrec and others.
<login> - Ban a specific user. The specified user will be kicked off of the system immediately (if they are on), their account deleted, and their phone number banned. Extreme prejudice!
<phone_no> - Ban a phone number. No new user will be permitted to use this number when creating an account with user_verify.
The first thing you should do if you plan to use call-back verification is to ban local phone numbers with a series of commands such as:
user_ban -p 0 (don't bother telco operators)
user_ban -p 1 (prevent long distance calls)
user_ban -p 911 (definitely don't bother 9-1-1 operators)
user_ban <police dept. #>
user_ban <fire dept. #>
Of course, you won't be able to get them all... This is the draw-back of call-back verification -- there is no way to totally prevent malicious people from abusing it.
Adam McKee
Last modified: Sun Jun 22 12:38:57 CST 1997