[Web4lib] Spam-resistant forms service

Genny.8215832 at bloglines.com Genny.8215832 at bloglines.com
Mon Jun 26 14:07:55 EDT 2006


As far as I can tell, it boils down to this choice:

- either you make it
hard for spammers to reach the form
- or you make it hard for their spam
to be passed on to you 

Something like captcha or "duck, duck goose" accmomodates
the second option.  A script that randomly generated some three-digit number
and displayed it in plain text would probably do close to as well as a full
captcha, without the cognitive and accessibility load of captcha.

Alternatively,
you could go with the first option by randomly changing the location of the
feedback form itself.  All other links on the site would have to auto-change
to match.  Or you could manually change the location every few months, if
it takes that long for your particular spammers to catch on.

Believe it
or not, I have also had success with emailing the repeat spammers and requesting
that they stop.

Genny Engel
Sonoma County Library
gengel at sonoma.lib.ca.us

www.sonomalibrary.org


--- kgs at bluehighways.com wrote:
I feel as if
I've asked this before some time ago but can't find the post or
> the responses...
and don't remember if the answers helped... or if it was
> all one dream...

> 
> I'm (again) interested in a service we could use/license that would
provide
> us spam-resistant web forms for suggestions, user comments, etc.
I'm not
> interested in an in-house solution-a good canned solution will
do. I gotta
> believe these exist. 
> 
> Karen G. Schneider
> kgs at bluehighways.com

> 
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> 


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