4.28.2008

Captcha

Ok, so Blogger seems to have tinkered with the word verification font...if you hadn't noticed, it is far, far more difficult to read these days.

No official word from Blogger that I can find, but I have read out in cyperspace that bots have cracked the captcha font so Google changed it. Fine and dandy, but if the change prevents real people from using it as well, you've pretty much defeated the purpose.

Sooo...I'm going to turn the captcha off and see what happens. I don't moderate comments and don't plan to unless the spam gets out of hand, but I think I might be moving services because I'm close to fed up with Blogger these days.

Get with it, Google.
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27 comments:

  1. Well, if everyone ditches their word veries, it'll be a blessing in disguise :}
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  2. I always feel so stupid when I flunk word verification. ;(
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  3. How funny - I commented this issue to Jim earlier today.... if you're looking for options, consider wordpress. It's not for everybody (I tried to convince Jim but it didn't work for a few reasons) - but for me it was much nicer.
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  4. I also can't stand when I get the "Duplicate action" error when commenting on a blogger blog as well! Grr...
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  5. Sue - No kidding. It's just that Blogger doesn't have any spam protection without it.
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  6. Grace - Heh, me too. I'm never going to get that A in captcha.
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  7. Chris - I already back up to Wordpress, so it would be the logical option.

    We'll see. I've been waffling for awhile...but I haven't got there yet...maybe till now.
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  8. HI Erin, I was just glad to find out it was Google messing with the font, not my eyes going bad.

    I have to decide what to do with my blogs/website. I don't even know why I have a website....ugh
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  9. Anna from TorontoApr 28, 2008 12:07 PM
    and here i was thinking about starting a blogger blog, owing to YOUR suggestion! :o

    let me know what you conclude. I like blogger's lack of ads, and the nice clean look and the clean (but customizable) functionality.

    then there's the matter of WHAT to blog about that won't have the media picking it up and messing with our lives, etc. (i just want to be a regular joe sometimes)
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  10. Well ... you know I'll tell you to go to WordPress :D

    I hate failing the word verification too ... it always feels like a little test thrown in at the end of a comment. I know that it's not, but that's what it feels like.
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  11. Anna - Well it doesn't have to be Blogger...just be sure to let me know whenever you do!

    For me it boils down to this: if you want to have free reign with your CSS and HTML, go with Blogger.
    If you want inline comments (and/or to stay away from Google products), go with Wordpress.
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  12. Anna - Oh, and you can always blog anonymously, I did for a year and a half. Some people in the comments here (I'm not naming names, Grace) continue to.

    But whichever, you still have to let me know. ;-)
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  13. Sonja - Yeah but you have WP installed, don't you? Which gives you control over the style. I'm not sure I'm ready to give up my java template. Call me weird.

    And you know, I didn't realize how many people hated the captcha, but I'll tell you, I've been Akismet-ed more than a few times, too.

    As long as spam exists, there will be no perfect answer.
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  14. Barbara - OOps I missed your comment!

    No it's not your eyes. I have been failing the captcha test almost always lately.

    And, you have a website because people love you.
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  15. Erin,

    Yeah, I turned off Captcha on my blogs this morning after Chris complained. I've only had three spam comments in a year, so I guess I will just delete them as they come.

    I don't have the time nor energy to switch off Blogger at this time. It is maddening from time to time, but so would be anything else. As a programmer all I can say is "all software sucks" in one way or another.
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  16. Anna from TorontoApr 28, 2008 01:08 PM
    my problem is picking an audience so i know what details i need to leave out so that certain groups don't find my blog based on stuff that can be searchable... and if i rant about the things i want to rant about in less than super vague terms - people will know it's me and make my words come back to bite me. grrr. Maybe i should learn from you - you're pretty darn vague about certain areas. ;)

    Have you seen these Jesus dub videos? they showed this clip at church a couple weeks ago and we laughed until we cried. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9V4Zn85rnI
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  17. Jim - I'm not popular enough to get spam comments. I think I've had maybe 3 in almost 3 years. I will say that WP's import from Blogger ability makes it really tempting. Gone are the days of having to start fresh when switching.

    Oh and I don't usually read your geek blog so thanks for the link.

    So then when are you going to write us a perfect blog platform? Huh?
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  18. Anna - There are some things better left off a blog because it's so permanent. Once it's crawled, there's no going back. I can imagine things being sensitive...but you can blog without telling who you are or where you live or where you work...and then just write what's on your mind.
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  19. Anna - And that video was hilarious. I'll have to watch more.
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  20. I thought it was just me...
    good to know I'm not googly eyed.
    :)
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  21. Rhonda - you actually ARE Google-ly eyed. :-) Because Google changed the font.
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  22. I haven't had any spam problems really. I get probably 1 spam comment every couple of weeks, and that's with Tourette's Syndrome. But yeah, I guess it varies among different blogs huh.
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  23. Like I said, I'm not popular enough to get spam. Maybe I should pay you to leave me a spam comment every month or so so I don't feel left out.

    Not.
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  24. Hehe. If you knew the delightful possibilities that just floated into my head then, you wouldn't make such foolish suggestions :)

    I'll do it for free, too.
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  25. Better be careful what I wish for, huh?
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  26. Don't worry about spam. I have never had the word verification, and have only gotten 2 spams in a year. Deleted them both.
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  27. Hey Nate. Yeah, I don't seem to have a problem with it either.
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