For the new site, in part of my ever-increasing vigilance (and violence) against spambots, I will be implementing a new Captcha for all registering new users. Because we're all creative here, the captcha should likewise be creative. Come up with a question I should ask newly registering users which they must answer correctly to become a member, and I'll give you a silver tortoise. Hell, send me as many as you want, whose to say I can't change the Captcha around every now and then? Cheers!
What is Batman's only weakness? :P
I've registered at another site that put a phrase in one of the forum descriptions that must be used to answer the question for registration. You could do something similar, and put the phrase or such in your profile comments or your sig. Or a randomly generated question that comes from the FAQ.
You can cycle through these:
Who provided the bbcode tutorial?
What does the CBG stand for?
What is the fourth word in the Divset entry?
Who started the Campaign Builder's Guild?
Who started thecbg.org?
Q:What is the average airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
A:African or European?
Q:What, is your name? What, is your Quest? What, is your FAVORITE COLOR?!
Quote from: Stargate525Q:What is the average airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
A:African or European?
Q:What, is your name? What, is your Quest? What, is your FAVORITE COLOR?!
Damn... beat me to it...
The questions can be very simple, as long as they require a human to parse a sentence and answer. Other than that, they should be easy. Even forcing people to read a FAQ or something is probably a little too irritating.
Things like "What is the acronym for the Campaign Builders' Guild?" probably work best. Of course, they don't even have to have anything to do with the site, questions like "What number comes after four?" will stump a spambot too.
Quote from: sparkletwistThe questions can be very simple, as long as they require a human to parse a sentence and answer. Other than that, they should be easy. Even forcing people to read a FAQ or something is probably a little too irritating.
Things like "What is the acronym for the Campaign Builders' Guild?" probably work best. Of course, they don't even have to have anything to do with the site, questions like "What number comes after four?" will stump a spambot too.
but what's the fun in THAT?
While it may not be as fun, I'm with sparkletwist. It should be simple and easy and not require too much thought.
Or, as an alternative: http://xkcd.com/233/
Maybe a series of tests to determine if they are worthy for the CBG? Like a forum scavanger hunt. Or howabout:
Q: Cabbage
A: Batman
Quote from: Higgs BosonMaybe a series of tests to determine if they are worthy for the CBG? Like a forum scavanger hunt. Or howabout:
Q: Cabbage
A: Batman
I agree. Everybody should know that one. It's common knowledge by now.
Quote from: sparkletwist"what number comes after four?"
Seven!
Never mind what I said about the questions being easy... :hammer:
or how about 'to what number must thou count?'
THREE
What about people who are actual humans interested in joining the site, but who haven't seen any Monty Python films? I'm sure they probably exist somewhere.
I propose a multiple choice captcha: "an elf among dwarves." We get a big bank of stereotypical dwarfy names and a big bank of stereotypical elfy names, show our new account-makers a group of them, and ask them to distinguish between them.
So, a new registering member might see:
[ic=An Elf Among Dwarves!]Hiding in the dwarven stronghold is one elf. Identify it!
- Axebeard Beardaxe
- Unther Ironspleen
- Llewella Faérieflower
- Steelyhelm Goblinsmasher[/ic]
If you want to reduce the (currently 25%) chance of a bot guessing correctly at random, use a grid of nine names with three elves to find. Rather than text, the names can be little .gifs, to foil bots even further.
Unlike asking new applicants a question whose answer you must personally evaluate, a "choose these" captcha has the additional advantage of being fully automatible. I imagine it would be pretty easy to write a script that knows 25 dwarf names, 25 elf names, how to arrange them in a grid, and how to grade this little quiz-- all without any human guidance.
Edit: Really, the only thing I dislike about this idea is that in order to work, we're going to have to pander hard to some generic fantasy stereotypes, but I figure we can get away with it if we do so with our tongues firmly in our cheeks.
:yumm:
Actually LC, most captchas can automate single-answer questions; you just have to program the various options into the captcha. Therefore, you could have something where the new member must "type the name of the elf amongst dwarves," and as long as all possible elven names are programmed in, it will work fine without me having to do extra work! :) But I like your elf amongst dwarves ideas.
Here are a few guidelines.
No captchas that would require the new member to first read the FAQ, any parts of the forums, or know any specific knowledge of something that isn't generally known.
No quotes, trivia, etc that has absolutely nothing to do with RPG, fantasy, theCBG, etc.
Quote from: Luminous CrayonWhat about people who are actual humans interested in joining the site, but who haven't seen any Monty Python films? I'm sure they probably exist somewhere.
First of all, that's heresy.
Next, I like your idea. Axebeard Beardaxe indeed...
Thought: Why should we have to deal with the uncertainty of the potential new member not know the answer to the question, no matter how simple the question may be? We have a EULA, don't we? Why not simply ask them to type in "I agree", instead of just clicking a button? In essence, the Captcha would be:
Q: "Type 'I agree'"
a: "I agree"
Better yet, write in klingon: Type friend and enter.
A: friend
I'm pretty certain that the great majority of us wouldn't have gotten in had that been the question.
Could do things like
Q: what is the best animal?
(picture of turtle)
A: turtle
I really like the Eula "I Agree" statement.... I may see if I can implement that somehow.
More than the "best animal"? :P
Quote from: Higgs BosonBetter yet, write in klingon: Type friend and enter.
A: friend
I like how it's a take off of Tolkein, and the joke is in the reference but not direct quote, but even using the original would be amusing, asking them to "Speak [type] friend and enter" and require them to say
mellon. or just "friend." I suppose it also presumes that people know LOTR though . . . *shrug*
What color is this sentence?
What color is this sentence?
Quote from: AcrimoneWhat color is this sentence?
What color is this sentence?
Robin's Egg Blue
Fuschia
I'm bluffing, though.
Q: Whose the better Captain: Kirk or Picard
A: Kirk
OR
A: Picard
It'd be cool if for the first few days after registration, the newbie's screen name could be colored Gold or Red, signifying their choice!
Quote from: Seraphine_HarmoniumQuote from: Higgs BosonBetter yet, write in klingon: Type friend and enter.
A: friend
I like how it's a take off of Tolkein, and the joke is in the reference but not direct quote, but even using the original would be amusing, asking them to "Speak [type] friend and enter" and require them to say mellon. or just "friend." I suppose it also presumes that people know LOTR though . . . *shrug*
Very cool idea, but I don't think everybody knows the proper response to "Lle tenga mellon tel."
... What?
How about
"How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?"
EDIT: Answer "Three"
I do like Elemental Elf's "Kirk vs. Picard" question, though I think more fantasy-related would work better. For instance, it could just be something like:
"Which race is better?"
1 - Elves
2 - Dwarves
And the answer could be either, as long as one is chosen and typed in.
Quote from: CaptchaAccount Creation Request Denied (Error 139: You Are a Filthy Robot)
"Are you a balrog?"
1 - yes
2 - no
On no: welcome to Rivendell young master.
On yes (or anything else): YOU SHALL NOT PASS!
How about, "Do you know the muffin man?"
Do... uh....
Balrogs have wings?
(ducks and runs for cover)
Quote from: AcrimoneDo... uh....
Balrogs have wings?
(ducks and runs for cover)
If this was any other forum devoted to nerds I would be jumping in the bomb shelter after that comment.
Heh... Balrogs and wings...
Like elder gods, balrogs have wings and drumsticks.
(http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/2893/cthulhuou8.jpg)
Quote from: Luminous CrayonLike elder gods, balrogs have wings and drumsticks.
(http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/2893/cthulhuou8.jpg)
LC, where is that from?
Quote from: AcrimoneDo... uh....
Balrogs have wings?
(ducks and runs for cover)
The whole "like a butterfly" thing is just a figure of speech.
(http://capcom-town.es/__oneclick_uploads/2008/04/5st010.jpg)
No wings here.
Quote from: Rose Of MontagueLC, where is that from?
It's from a no-longer-updated webcomic, which can be found at this URL (http://www.machall.com).
Quote from: Luminous CrayonQuote from: Rose Of MontagueLC, where is that from?
It's from a no-longer-updated webcomic, which can be found at this URL (http://www.machall.com).
Thanks.
As for the topic. I think a simple "picture of a word - type the word in the field" type entry would be best. For example a .gif of the words "Jade Stage" and a field, with instructions to enter the name of the campaign setting in the picture. Keep it simple and such.
Quote from: SDragonQuote from: AcrimoneDo... uh....
Balrogs have wings?
(ducks and runs for cover)
The whole "like a butterfly" thing is just a figure of speech.
(http://capcom-town.es/__oneclick_uploads/2008/04/5st010.jpg)
No wings here.
Wings here though...
(http://www.john-howe.com/portfolio/gallery/data/media/35/GlorfindelAndTheBalrog.jpg)
I wonder who would win though...
QuoteI think a simple "picture of a word - type the word in the field" type entry would be best. For example a .gif of the words "Jade Stage" and a field, with instructions to enter the name of the campaign setting in the picture. Keep it simple and such.
The "picture and word" style Captcha has been done and done to death. It suffers from a lot of problems:
- Machines have cracked most of them with OCR
- The ones they haven't cracked are egregiously ugly for human users
- It's not as accessible for those using small screens, visually impaired, text-only, etc...
I remain of the opinion that a clever text-only captcha might be our best bet.
Okay, on this site:
http://www.sampleswap.org/profile.php?mode=register&agreed=true
I found a captcha I really like. Now, going with LC's captcha, here's what it could possibly look like:
An elf amongst dwarves.
Hiding in the dwarven stronghold is one elf. Identify it!
- Axebeard Beardaxe
- Unther Ironspleen
- Llewella Faerieflower
- Steelyhelm Goblinsmasher
[Input Box 1] <-- If you are a robot, who would like to spam the site with porn links, please type the answer in this box
[Input Box 2] <-- If you are a human, who would like to talk about campaign building, please type the answer in this box.
The robot box, of course, would send them a "congratulations on being a robot" email, or something, but would not add them as a member of the site. What say you all?
MM. Looks great.
Once again, Ishy > Malicious Porn-bots
I pity the fool that fills in the wrong box.... :D
In the "congratulatory email" that goes to the robots, it should just be filled with a bunch of porn, v!agra, and mortgage links
Quote from: IshmaylIn the "congratulatory email" that goes to the robots, it should just be filled with a bunch of porn, v!agra, and mortgage links
I wouldn't do that, for the simple fact that someone will misread the instructions and get the e-mail... Could cause trouble, but if you aren't worried about it go ahead.
(it was a joke :) I won't even be sending out letters to failers)
What is a joke?
Which is NOT a type of map pojection:
Mercator
Lambert conformal conic
Azimuthal equidistant
Sinusoidal
Middle Earth
Whatever happened to the cool capthca idea?
Well, I suspect quite a few of these are starting to use humans to answer the captchas- namely work houses in India and such. Whether it's done by slave drivers or machines, letters and numbers don't seem to help much.
One method is creating an initial forum category (they usually only post in the first one) and then deleting any user who posts in that one automatically.
I like the elf one though, with the two boxes.
Anyway, I didn't get any e-mail at all, which seems weird.
Hey Blake,
Welcome to the site, I see you're already making yourself known around here! In case you haven't already read the hundreds and hundreds of topics about CBG2.0, crappy e107, awesome drupal, etc (I assume you haven't had time! ;)), we're not putting any extra work into the current incarnation of this site. On the new version (countdown to come soon), we will have that kickin' captcha. You have brought up a good point about live humans, but as long as we catch the initial bots, I think we'll be okay with whatever else happens; I have come to suspect in recent years that it is impossible to eliminate ALL spam.
Thanks for posting, hope to see more from you!
Quote from: IshmaylI have come to suspect in recent years that it is impossible to eliminate ALL spam.
This is wisdom, here. I mean, I've been here for years, and I'm
still not eliminated!
Quote from: IshmaylHey Blake,
Welcome to the site, I see you're already making yourself known around here!
entangled[/pun] in an argument about quantum mechanics (usually that takes me at least a week on a new forum).
Sorry I missed the stuff about the forum change- sounds awesome :)