Token in image to prevent comment spamming

  • I am of course annoyed by (automatic) comment spamming on my blog, like everybody else. Personally I wouldn’t want to require my readers to register to comment on my posts.
    Other solutions to prevent comment spamming exist that are preferable to user registration, I think. I want to put forward a request for a feature in WordPress that uses a token in the comment form. I have seen this mechanism used in user registration processes and on a discussion forum for posting messages.
    The concept is this:

    1. When displaying the form for posting a comment, automatically generate and display an image (f.ex. using the gd library in php) with a 5 digit code.
    2. Add an input field to the form where the user must input the 5 digit code.
    3. In the script processing the posted form, match the user input to the generated token and if they match, the comment is accepted and posted on the weblog.

    Some distortion technique can be applied to the image to complicate automatic processing of the code from the image.
    I think this feature adds a modest load on the user that wants to add comments to your blog – he doesn’t need to register and allows for complete anonymity if that is preferred.
    Please post any questions and I will happily try to elaborate. ??

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  • I think developers have already rejected this technology as they are not user friendly…

    Yes, we’ve discussed and rejected that idea because:
    1) it is not accessible
    2) accessibility is in the WordPress mission statement
    3) making it accessible defeats its purpose
    ??

    Thread Starter mikkelj

    (@mikkelj)

    Ah, good point. Thanks. I still like the idea, though. Content-based spam filtering has some catching up to do, and until that is a feasible approach I suppose that front-end measures should be considered. Perhaps image tokens can still be used with user registration as a fail-safe that also supports disabled users. At least, this could be an option for the site administrator if the feature is made available?
    Where can I find WordPress’ mission statement where this is mentioned so I can keep up with things?

    I suggested something similar in another thread, but it could apply in this situation, too:
    How about a three-prong approach?
    1) If user is registered, comments are posted immediately.
    2) If user is not registered, he or she has the option to enter in text from an image token, and then have the comment posted instantly.
    3) If user is not registered and does not wish to or is unable to enter in the text from the image token, then his or her comment will be queued for review.
    In this way, EVERYONE is accommodated, but spam is still (from what I can tell) thwarted from appearing on one’s blog.
    Your thoughts?

    Thats about the best system i have heard of ! Implementation ?

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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