Nightscrawlers

Seems to be a lot of them recently, anything we can do to stop them from getting on the board?

Pleeeeease yes. Captchas, machine gun nests, napalm...anything?

Simple math equation over a Captcha would be appreciated, I hate those things.

...Except not all of us can do maths

So do I, but if it keeps them out ... also we're already members so we wouldn't need to worry about that

Who can't do (3+9-5= ) . You would think anyone who CAN'T do that equation would prove to be as popular on the boards as a bot.

It's 2 right?

hmm, I've never seen a math test for a forum, but it seems like a great idea. Indeed, somebody who can't, or isn't willing to do 3+9-5= probably has no place here. And captcha's...they are evil, but they work...Just make sure you get the good kind, because there are captcha's out there that are just nasty and unreadable.

[Edited on 22-4-2010 by Elwing]

I would love a CAPTCHA with unnecessary long words. Like degenerescence or odontonosology

Some people aren't capable of computing numbers due to sensoric or otherwise impairment. So keeping people like that out would be fairly discriminating. Use the captcha system where you have to type in words based on a picture, if we do it. Then, even if you are sight-impaired, you can let it be read out loud.

Given that the captcha system comes for free, that is.

Yes, you have a point there. Also, if English is not your first language captschas put you at a disadvantage. Short words with a clear meaning are good. Degenerescence is hilarious, but it would put me off, as an ESL'er with limited skills, but something to say every now and then... And we shouldn't put people off. We need new users hard.
Thank you!
Note to hoodie: if it costs money, I'm willing to help you a bit, as usual.



[Edited on 22-4-2010 by Elwing]

I'd be fine with a captcha It'd be a bit annoying but I could deal with it.

Captcha depends on the following:

Not color blind
Not deaf
Shpeaks Engrish

Mathematical Proof includes the following:
people who aren't capable of computing numbers due to sensoric or otherwise impairment
....
I'm not saying we should discriminate at all, but I'd go with the lesser of two evil's. This forum is hard enough to read for those who're Color-Blind LOL

there are captcha's that are adapted for the visually impaired...

Then we should totes use them.

..... Your avatar... those're the things from Princess Mononoke, right? ... is it Mononoke... or the other one? It's not Howl's.... or Spirited Away.... Totoro was dust bunnies (kitties).

Yeah, there's captcha that reads the letters out for you.

Unfortunately, no, there's not a lot we can do about them. If you attempt to register, you will find that we do, in fact, already use a CAPTCHA. An audio version of the CAPTCHA is not available, and it may be a relatively weak one, which is why I might be changing it to use reCAPTCHA sometime soon.

The spam that does get through the CAPTCHA tends to be relatively intelligible and based on the content of the other posts in the thread, which leaves me to believe that there are indeed either humans behind the spam, or the bots are using Markov chains. We've gotten spam from the Phillipines, India, and China (indeed, a large portion of the Phillipines is now blocked from registering on the forum).

What's not well-known is that humans solving CAPTCHAs in order to generate spam (or have someone else generate spam) is pretty much a thriving business. Some weak CAPTCHAs can also be automatically interpreted by a computer. We do the best we can; spammers tend to be quickly banned by an administrator once they hit the forum.

Thanks!

-HoodedMan
Technical Administrator

Well, I'd say this solves that then :3

Thanks for explaining it, HM.