thanks spook for input
i upgraded to 2.9
and I still cant use the 'contact us' form
I turned it off for now
but Im scared of the robots!!!
ive had to be vigilant in the past and deny IPs on a regular basis (using an unsecured guestbook)
'register' works fine
but I now also have characters going off page and non alphanumeric as well
http://hoss.com.au/catalog/