What happened to the search?

[jeff_lindqvist]

You can always search the forum in Google, e.g. site:https://forum.language-learners.org cantonese

[kundalini]

it effectively will limit the number of people who want to become members and write things here. And if the block also hits new computers and phones then we're toast (especially since you risk being logged out unless you remembered to mark 'remember me'!). When potential contributors are blocked from using the system at all until they already have an account then they won't make one, and then we will end up as poor old HTLAL - alive, but devoid of activity. We can already see that the number of posts per day has fallen, and below a certain treshold even existing members will stop checking in. As for the problem with spam we can discuss methods to fight it, but the question is what will do most harm in the long run - spam or death by suffocation.

I agree with this. It seems that there's been a substantial drop in the level of activity on the forum, and I think it makes sense to weigh the benefits of anti-spam measures against the drawbacks that Iversen mentions.