I crave your indulgence

My support website is been pestered by oiks or spamming 'robots' who register and then post annoying advertising messages instead of sensible queries.

To discourage or prevent this, I intend to put a gateway page leading to the registration page, which asks the user to perform a simple test intended to prove that they are a human beings not a spamming automaton and that they have a reasonable grasp of the English language.

To make sure I don't totally confuse my users could I ask those here present to QA the simple test: Construct the password for me and PM your answer to me (so as not to give it away to the others)

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Using the information in the table below construct the password from your answers and PM it to me.

Make the password from the answers to these questions joining the words and numbers together without spaces.

1. One word in the table below is a colour.
2. One word is a flower
3. The answer to this question is the product of the number in the fourth column and the number in the third row.

Quote: billwill @ February 5 2009, 6:14 PM GMT

My support website is been pestered by oiks or spamming 'robots' who register and then post annoying advertising messages instead of sensible queries.

To discourage or prevent this, I intend to put a gateway page leading to the registration page, which asks the user to perform a simple test intended to prove that they are a human beings not a spamming automaton and that they have a reasonable grasp of the English language.

To make sure I don't totally confuse my users could I ask those here present to QA the simple test: Construct the password for me and PM your answer to me (so as not to give it away to the others)

==========

Using the information in the table below construct the password from your answers and PM it to me.

Make the password from the answers to these questions joining the words and numbers together without spaces.

1. One word in the table below is a colour.
2. One word is a flower
3. The answer to this question is the product of the number in the fourth column and the number in the third row.

Thanking you in anticipation.

View original

Isn't number 3 a bit like, convoluted and strangely worded?

Well if I saw that I'd just go and find another site. Don't make your users think. Bad bad bad.

'Product' in this case I assume is addition but I also believe it can mean multiplication?

Bad.

(Also, is it the number which appears in one of the cells, or is it the number OF cells?)

But why is the fourth a 'column' and the third a 'row'?

Just needlessly confusing.

Because column are the verticals. Row are the horizontals. (43 x 43 methinks.)

Can you not just have a captcha Billwill?

Quote: Griff @ February 5 2009, 6:23 PM GMT

I'm pretty sure Bill means "multiplication" by product.

View original

In that case (In dour Scottish accent) I'm out.

(And if row means counting down the table, then there is only one number.)

I assumed row was horizontal at first but then I thought how could he use the words 'product of' when just referring to one number.

Gosh I'm so blonde... I have NO idea how do answer this.

Quote: PhQnix @ February 5 2009, 6:24 PM GMT

Can you not just have a captcha Billwill?

View original

Seconded. Unless the goal is to keep out the young, the stupid and those who can't follow directions.

Quote: DaButt @ February 5 2009, 7:10 PM GMT

Seconded. Unless the goal is to keep out the young, the stupid and those who can't follow directions.

View original

They can often be awkward to read though. Sometimes they go too far with obscuring the letters with other marks and you can't make out what they are. Or it's difficult to tell if something's a zero or an 'O', a one or an 'L' etc.

Yeah, they can be reeeeally annoying!