This is simply a discussion topic for Good types of anti-spam questions for verification on your forum.
My suggestions are: Some tough, but also easy math problems. Asking what the color of a object is.
What else can you think of?
List of Suggestions:
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Unscramble Words
What is LOL backwards?
Write the word "mom" in Capital letters.
http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=456620.msg3326933#msg3326933 (http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=456620.msg3326933#msg3326933)
Acronyms
EDIT: PLEASE MOVE, I meant Chit Chat
EDIT 2: Didn't know it was moved here. Nevermind above edit :P
EDIT 3: Added more to the list, completely forgot about it.
1+1= would keep you away from anywhere ;D
The question people have to answer on my forum is related to the area where I live.
A few of mine ask the user to unscramble a word and I give a one word hint. :) I think that makes a great security question and its kind of fun at that, haha!
Alright, lets keep this coming, this topic could have good ideas for anyone developing anti-spam questions.
remember easy math questions can be solved by human spammers, which may lead your forum to get spammed, you are best to not use math questions especially if the answer is in words as you may have a user from another country want to use your forum and not be able to. use questions related to you content and the reason people want to use your forum.
I have like 10-15 questions it will randomly select one from. Until their 10th post.
EDIT: The thing is, I have no specific purpose to my site. It is a general discussion forum. So I have made a few "unscramble this word" questions in addition to others.
EDIT 2: I'm already on the second page of this query: http://www.google.com/search?q=good+anti+spam+questions&hl=en&prmd=imvns&ei=AYqhTrzTJoGIiAKOhoCXCw&start=10&sa=N&biw=1024&bih=653 lol
and if the user does not know english well, but wants to post on your forum they most likely can not. you could ask general questions like what software runs your forum [which is in the footer] or what theme are you using [given it is in the footer as well]
If they select their language shouldn't it change?
Hey... that would be a good mod idea! For the anti-spam questions, if multiple languages installed, input the answer for that language...
no it does not change per language change, and most likely not even a mod would be possible without the use of an online translator and then the answer would not be in english, also the translation may not make sense in another language.
Ah, well it was a good idea :P I already created a topic. But lets get back on topic. Everyone here can contribute, and I will edit the first post with a summary of their suggestions.
"How do you think Spammers should be dealt with?"
1) Roasting over a spit.
2) Firing squad.
3) Toenails removed with pliers and shoved up the Spammer's arse.
4) Thermo-nuclear device up afore-mentioned orifice.
Jesus LOL!
All of them K@
All of them yes, but... ...how would you implement them in SMF?
What is LOL backwards?
Write the word "mom" in Capital letters.
@Uhura!: The anti-spam questions aren't case-sensitive so they could type "mom" "moM" "MoM" "Mom" and they would all be 'correct.'
Quote from: Kcmartz on October 23, 2011, 04:02:08 AM
@Uhura!: The anti-spam questions aren't case-sensitive so they could type "mom" "moM" "MoM" "Mom" and they would all be 'correct.'
They are case sensitive if they are set in non-ascii letters. Not good for international users.
When I answer one of those questions (which I resent doing) the LAST thing I want to have to do is think about it so unscrambling words would make me close my browser window.
Also, it's not supposed to be fun. Funny maybe, but not fun. People want to be done signing up (most of us hate it) they don't want to be having a blast writing their name in and guessing at questions which means they then have to retype their password and what ever else was lost, like verification!
Also I believe the antispam ARE case sensitive...I had to tell people to use all lowercase for mine.
I have a bunch of grammar questions because my forum is for writers:
The apple is bigger ___ the cherry. (then/than)
The dog lives over ____. (their/there/they're)
This house is ____. (theirs/there's)
I guess they think ____ funny. (they're/their)
Then I ask obvious ones for my other forum:
What month is April Fools in? april
What planet do you live on? earth
What day comes after the weekend? monday
What colour are snow tigers, other than black? white
Using a : and a D make a smiley face in the box. :D
Write h3ll0 with letters instead of numbers. hello
The trick is to use QUICK questions, preferably tailored to your forum, and to not include the answer in them.
On my forum they have to answer a question asking what state is pictured at the top of this page?
It also helps against spammers from other countries since most can't identify a particular state within the US.
I lived in the states for 6 years and I still can't identify anything other than Florida. I didnt even live there lol.
I haven't used that system in a while.
On one of my old sites 2-si.net I believe, which isn't a available anymore, I modified the question system where it would take BBC, support multiple answers via commas with PHP's explode and made it case insensitive. From there I added pictures and such and asked questions about them.
Like what is this person doing?
What animal is in the picture?
I don't know if the question system supports BBC now, I know it didn't in the past releases.
I love the idea of multiple answers!
What about acronyms?
Like "What is the abbreviation for Central Intelligence Agency?" (answer: cia)
I wouldn't do it, it wouldnt be easy. I would have to think about it.
That's kind of the point. You have to use your brain, but the answer is easy.
I just added 10 of them of the most common acronyms i could find.
And it's not even that hard for bots either, believe it or not.
Hint: search for your question in Google, take a look at the results you get. Bots are now actively doing this.
Even better grab your phone and if you have one of those apps you can ask a question to, then ask it the question and see if it returns results. These apps search the web and format the answer and speak it to you. Chances are if the app can get the information then the bot can too.
There were also a few open source code that did this but wasn't complete, so the chances are that bots are using it is great I would think.
Well, it's not bullet proof, but it'll stop gsa and captcha solving, which will be 90% of it.
What appliance is usually found next to the washing machine? Dryer
What room would you normally find the refrigerator in? Kitchen
What room would you normal find the dishwasher in? Kitchen
QuoteWhat appliance is usually found next to the washing machine?
Not in England, it isn't ;) Most people don't have drying machines and if they do, invariably it's not next to the washing machine.
Quote from: Arantor on July 29, 2012, 08:21:16 AM
QuoteWhat appliance is usually found next to the washing machine?
Not in England, it isn't ;) Most people don't have drying machines and if they do, invariably it's not next to the washing machine.
Interesting, good to know.
Went with...
In what part of a house can you normally find a refrigerator? Answer is one word:
kitchen
I know someone is gong to try using "one word" as the answer, but I added that bit so people would not try, "The kitchen" or "In the kitchen".
Do people in England keep their refrigerators in the kitchen?
Fridges, generally, yes are in the kitchen. Dishwashers - if people have them - also generally yes in the kitchen.
Cool, I changed the wording a bit. :)
In what part of a house can you generally find a refrigerator? Answer is one word:
I searched the question in Google and did not see the answer on the first page of the search results.
How well do you think the question will work for our site?
I think it'll work reasonably well, assuming:
1) you have a predominantly English/American userbase
2) people can spell kitchen
Most of our users are from the United States and Canada.
Spelling is not my strong point, so if I can spell kitchen... ;)
Maybe after they first try spelling it as kitchin they will try again. :)
Our dryer is in the kitchen....also, my fridge is in my bedroom....well the lounge room section of my bedroom ha ha.
Quote from: Jade Elizabeth on July 29, 2012, 09:22:33 PM
Our dryer is in the kitchen....also, my fridge is in my bedroom....well the lounge room section of my bedroom ha ha.
I bet your still smart enough to answer it correctly. :)
Aww that's so cute you have faith in me!
Also I just realised YOU'RE AN APPLIANCE GUY!! My bar fridge makes everything go off :'(. Milk doesn't last half a day...no matter where I put it and it's long life milk!! I don't think it's the seal but is there a way to test it? I Googled for HOURS a while back and found nothing except that I might as well buy a new fridge because it will cost around the same to get someone out...and no one does free quotes anymore. What. The. Hell.
I'm not really a appliance guy i just play one online. ;)
Aww :'(
Just kidding of coarse. :)
If you really need some help with your refrigerator please start a new topic on our site and be sure to include the model number of your refrigerator, thanks.
Okay :)
Excellent question, anything else?
Quote from: GravuTrad on November 05, 2012, 12:01:12 PM
Excellent question, anything else?
Bumping an old topic? lol. Just read around here and this:
Anti-Spam (http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Security_and_Moderation%23Anti-Spam)
Security and Moderation (http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Security_and_Moderation)
These links might help ya.
Anyway, updated the OP list.
Thanks for the links.
I only look for good questions, i saw few good ideas here but not a lot. That's why i bump this topic.
My forum is only couple of weeks old now but in the very beginning I did not use questions and I was getting tons of spam a day.
Now I use simple mathematical questions with numbers specified as words and digits and the spam is gone so I guess even something this simple does work.
To make it hard use a multiplication sign like 0*9