We've just finished installing the Mollom* spam filtering module on the Connect Production server. Here's how it works:

1. If a user submits legitimate content, it is scanned by the Mollom service and is allowed to post as normal.
2. If a user submits content with a questionable word or phrase that the Mollom service is unsure of, the user is presented with a captcha challenge before content can be submitted.
3. If a user submits content that the Mollom service flags as spam, the content is saved for an editor to review.

Here are a few things I like about this module:

• Content submitted by users like Trusted Advisors and Employees is exempted and bypasses the Mollom scan.
• Mollom catches spam *before* it's published and sent out via our notifications system.
• It works with all languages.
• If you can't read the visual captcha, you can listen to an audio version.
• We can add our own words or phrases to...

• Added a tool that gives Trusted Advisors the ability to block spammer accounts.
• Added a tool that gives Trusted Advisors the ability to unpublish a targeted user's spam content in bulk.
• Enabled the "move this comment to a discussion of its own" to content types other than forum discussions. Now, if a user posts a support question to a blog post, the comment can be moved to the appropriate support forum.
• Removed the "Recently Updated" sort option from forum list pages.
• Added a "Recent Activity" sort option (as the default) to forum list pages. This option displays both new discussions and new comments to existing discussions sorted by date and time.
• Fixed "Product(s)" info on Known Issues to display product tags instead of community tag.
• Fixed an issue where the list of "Can you solve these" forum discussions was truncated and did not show a complete list of unsolved...

• Refactored the forum list pages to load faster.
• Fixed caching issue with forums that caused them to periodically malfunction.
• Added a "Recently Updated" filter on list pages.
• Modified the code that displays the "posted on" label to read "updated on" when an item has been updated.
• Added the ability to force a flush of targeted pages cached by Akamai.
• Fixed an issue with Omniture title tags that were being translated.
• Migrated Verisign blogs from their former home at http://blogs.verisign.com/ to: /connect/symantec-blogs/authentication-business /connect/symantec-blogs/authentication-user
• Implemented an admin tool that allows us to move misplaced groups from one classification/location to another.
• Moved Brightmail Confidential group to "Products" section.
• Moved Las Vegas Vision 2010...

Through the years we've listened as Connect users have asked for the ability to personalize the Connect experience to fit their specific needs.

In response to those requests, we're experimenting with a Connect "Dashboard" where users will be able to manage blocks of content that are selected by them and targeted to their interests.

In iGoogle and my.yahoo.com fashion, Connect users could add widgets to their dashboard and arrange them through the use of a drag and drop interface.

We need some help with ideas for page widgets that would be useful to our users.

Here are a few that the Editors came up with:

• My unanswered forum posts.
• My answered forum posts.
• A feed of Connect posts by my "friends".
• A list of my favorite "bookmarked" pages on Connect.
• All of my posts.
• My private messages.
• A river of news from my community of interest.
• A river of...