New CAPTCHA

Discuss features as they are added to the new version. Give us your feedback. Don't post bug reports, feature requests, support questions or suggestions here.
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Discuss features as they are added to the new version. Give us your feedback. Don't post bug reports, feature requests, support questions or suggestions here. Feature requests are closed.
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DavidMJ
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Re: New CAPTCHA

Post by DavidMJ »

luchtzak wrote: Is it me or do other members also agree that the current confirmation code is way too difficult ?
Which one? There are four...
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elmar
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Re: New CAPTCHA

Post by elmar »

I ran a couple of phpBB boards (phpBB 2.0.20) with 5000 - 10 000 members, and almost on daily basis i get an email saying "i can't type confirmation code ,it just doesn't work!". Of course nothing is wrong with it as i've tested in on many occasions and can always go and register on the users's behalf.
Now phpBB 2 confirmation seems very simplified compared to Olympus - i think i will get way more emails with the Olympus CAPTCHA (normal users are just plain stupid).
So we have to look at the negatives and the positives of hard CAPTCHAS.
Sure we will stop bots cracking the code at the same time we will also loose potential members (how many people really write an email to the admin about the confirmation code, probably 90% just don't register and don't bother)
Even now that the current phpBB2 CATCHPA is so succesfully bypassed (97% rate?) - i haven't seen one bot register on my forums (and these sites are high volume)

To more specifics:
1. Number 1 - the wavy captcha with letters sticking out 3-D wise - is very hard to read, almost every letter is hard to read (W especialy and 2, 3 are smugded too much)... I asked my mum to read it to me (she is an noob internet user of course) - no luck, just doesn't understand it.

2. Number 2 - the pink one with. Hard to understand which order the letters go in.

3. The big one... One letter is too faded - very easy to miss.

The best thing to do is ask parents to read them (i've been with computers from the age of 12)
P.S i do have a life and don't live with my parents :)

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DavidMJ
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Re: New CAPTCHA

Post by DavidMJ »

Numbers One and Two are disabled by default, Number three is being worked on.
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Xore
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Re: New CAPTCHA

Post by Xore »

DavidMJ wrote: Numbers One and Two are disabled by default, Number three is being worked on.
It is? Which one was #3 again? (Use codenames, please. Assigning an arbitrary ordering on an unordered set is confusing)

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Highway of Life
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Re: New CAPTCHA

Post by Highway of Life »

There are four types of CAPTCHA: (note: ALL Noise was turned off in the ACP)
1) Occlude
captcha-3.gif
Shape
(8.85 KiB) Downloaded 1477 times
2) Entropy
captcha-2.gif
Entropy
(4.52 KiB) Downloaded 483 times
3) Shape
Occlude
Occlude
captcha-1.gif (1.8 KiB) Viewed 9181 times
4) 3D Bitmap (next post)

The CAPTCHA on Olympus is it's worst feature.
I'm almost tempted to disable it altogether, it's really frustrating.
With the CAPTCHA on phpBB 2x, it was easy to read, and I never had even 1 single bot Register on any of my forums.

Here are my opinions on the Olympus CAPTCHA:
Note first of all that I removed all the noise from the CAPTCHA in the ACP, with noise it makes reading the CAPTCHA next to impossible, so if you want your CAPTCHA to be readable, leave the noise off, or at the least, keep it at a minimum.
The 1) Occlude is the Easiest to read, but it's really difficult to tell what order the numbers/letters go in, they also use different fonts, or font styles, so the first time I used it, it was difficult to tell if it was in caps or not, you can safely use a little bit of noise on Occlude.
I soon found out that you ONLY use caps on the CAPTCHA.
The 2) Entropy same thing here with capitals, and format, do NOT use Noise on Entropy, you will not be able to read the letters/numbers at all.
The 3) Shape is the most confusing of all the CAPTCHA's, it took me three minutes to figure out what on earth it was talking about, then, once I figured it out, I only got it right on the fourth try. Don't use noise on this one, it makes reading the image that much more difficult.
The 4) 3D Bitmap is #1 worst, it's the hardest to read, I don't recommend this on your board at all. If you want to keep your board free from members, use this one.
Image

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Highway of Life
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Re: New CAPTCHA

Post by Highway of Life »

3D Bitmap:
Proposed
Proposed
captchapropose.gif (1.13 KiB) Viewed 9181 times
Wouldn't it be better if we had something like this?
captcha-4.gif
3D Bitmap
(35.56 KiB) Downloaded 1467 times
That is from the 3) Shape. But it's much easier to read by itself. (i.e not with 3 others and an image to match it up with)
Image

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DavidMJ
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Re: New CAPTCHA

Post by DavidMJ »

It is MUCH easier for the computer to read that.
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Lieutenant Clone
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Re: New CAPTCHA

Post by Lieutenant Clone »

What hes saying is it doesnt matter if its impossible for a computer to read these things if users cant read it. User friendlyness is #1, antispam #2.
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Highway of Life
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Re: New CAPTCHA

Post by Highway of Life »

Exactly, we've made it so Computer-unreadable that it's Human-unreadable now.
So add a little noise to it.

I'm not saying you should get rid of the four options, but add an extra one or two, easier readable options.
If an ADMIN chooses to make their board really difficult to sign up on, they can turn on some of the other options as well, or add a bunch of noise.

What I'm saying is, give some of us the option to not have a super-unreadable CAPTCHA, give us at least one good option.
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uranusalien
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Re: New CAPTCHA

Post by uranusalien »

I don't think it's that hard for a human to read, but it could definitely use some work. I don't think the work needed to make it more readable is that major.

In 'Occlude' and 'Entropy', the only issue I can really see is the order in which you're supposed to read the letters, and even that's not too bad. I'd reccomend either spacing out the letters a bit, or adding arrows to show which order, or something?

I think Entropy is the easiest to read, 3D bitmap being the second.
Last edited by uranusalien on Wed May 24, 2006 10:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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