+klossner Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 The captcha on the new email page http://www.geocaching.com/email/Default.aspx is really hard to puzzle out for us in the bifocal set. I've looked at several examples and find that some of them I can't read at all. How about omitting the captcha for logged-in premium members? Surely spam is not a problem in this case. Link to comment
btrodrigues Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 The captcha on the new email page http://www.geocaching.com/email/Default.aspx is really hard to puzzle out for us in the bifocal set. I've looked at several examples and find that some of them I can't read at all. How about omitting the captcha for logged-in premium members? Surely spam is not a problem in this case. I second that thought. Captchas are evil. Link to comment
+Thrak Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 ACK! I had no idea they had implemented this. I hate it! Link to comment
+Airmapper Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 The captcha on the new email page http://www.geocaching.com/email/Default.aspx is really hard to puzzle out for us in the bifocal set. I've looked at several examples and find that some of them I can't read at all. How about omitting the captcha for logged-in premium members? Surely spam is not a problem in this case. I second that thought. Captchas are evil. I agree, are they really necessary? Link to comment
+GeoBlank Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Has there ever been a history of automated spamming via the feedback pages? Seems a bit over kill... but safety first Link to comment
+mtn-man Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Please, for logged in premium members, it would be nice if that could be eliminated. Link to comment
+Prime Suspect Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Please, for logged in premium members, it would be nice if that could be eliminated. Excellent suggestion. Link to comment
+Marky Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I'm glad I don't use that to email members all that often, that is very annoying. I agree it would be nice to shut that off for premium members. --Marky Link to comment
CoyoteRed Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Yeah, it's fairly rare to see a captcha where the person is known and logged in. I'm wondering if this new "feature" is because the mail limit has been removed. Otherwise, I don't see the reason to implement. Link to comment
+DavidMac Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Please, for logged in premium members, it would be nice if that could be eliminated. Yes, please remove it. In three and a half years, I have never been the target of spam or abuse through the email feature. Link to comment
+The Leprechauns Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Well, others HAVE received spam mail and abusive mail. Sometimes this is whinged about in the forums. The captcha will cut back on the spam from, for example, "geocaching cruise" operators. Unfortunately it also adversely affects the event organizer who wants to send a message to everyone who's logged "will attend." And the strengthened reminder about IP address logging and not abusing the e-mail feature *may* deter some of the anonymous flame mails that fly around. Unless you have access to Groundspeak's mail server logs and customer service complaint database, it's hard to state definitively that spam and abuse is not a big problem. I've heard of and personally seen enough anecdotal evidence to suggest that it may be. Link to comment
CoyoteRed Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Well, others HAVE received spam mail and abusive mail. Sometimes this is whinged about in the forums. Unless you have access to Groundspeak's mail server logs and customer service complaint database, it's hard to state definitively that spam and abuse is not a big problem. I've heard of and personally seen enough anecdotal evidence to suggest that it may be. Well, while this may be true, captchas are only to tell the difference between a human and a machine--nothing more. Additionally, I was not aware that anyone could use the email function of this site without being logged in. Even then there was some kind of throttle. So, unless either of these two things were changed I don't see the need for a captcha. This actually feels like a step backwards in functionality, not one forward. Link to comment
+Stunod Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 (edited) Yeah, it's fairly rare to see a captcha where the person is known and logged in. I'm wondering if this new "feature" is because the mail limit has been removed. Otherwise, I don't see the reason to implement. The limits are still there. How does this work?We respect our users privacy. As a result, we allow you the ability to email other accounts through online forms without exposing your email address. In order to reduce abuse, there are a limited number of emails you can send per session, and your IP address will be sent to the recipient along with your message. Commercial emails are not allowed through this tool. I, too, do not understand why this "feature" (the captcha) is needed for logged-in members. Edited August 24, 2006 by Stunod Link to comment
+The Leprechauns Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 The throttle has always been there. My friend Keystone used to run into it frequently before Groundspeak overhauled the reviewer tools and added the Reviewer Note log type. The captcha is new. Link to comment
+darus67 Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I want to believe that the powers that be are clueful enough that they wouldn't implement something like this if it weren't necessary. It sure seems that it shouldn't be necessary for premium members, tho. Whatever the case, it would be nifty to hear the official story. Link to comment
+Maingray Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I had no idea they were called captchas! Thanks for today's lesson! Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart Link to comment
+DavidMac Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 (edited) Well, others HAVE received spam mail and abusive mail. Sometimes this is whinged about in the forums. The captcha will cut back on the spam from, for example, "geocaching cruise" operators. I wasn't stating that it never happens, just that it's never happened to me. I have heard of instances where the feature was abused in the past, but I was unaware that anyone had automated the process of sending out bulk unwanted emails through the contact form. Still, I fail to see how adding a captcha will prevent people from manually sending out bulk unwanted messages, though it makes the process a little more difficult and I agree that it can slow the process down and at least deter people to a degree. And the strengthened reminder about IP address logging and not abusing the e-mail feature *may* deter some of the anonymous flame mails that fly around. I completely agree with you here. I'm glad they made the warning more obvious. (edit: typo) Edited August 24, 2006 by DavidMac Link to comment
ParentsofSAM Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Another vote for the removal of the captchas. (I also learned something new...I never know what those things were called.) Link to comment
ju66l3r Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Add my vote against the captcha (as if "my vote" had any weight in the decisions around here...both because there is no "vote" and it's "mine"). The only reason to include it is to stop a scripted mailer, but wouldn't a time limit between e-mails be just as efficient? A second-order time limit for stopping someone from pushing the time limit repeatedly would end scripting effectiveness for good. In the end, I personally use the mail function so infrequently if the captcha remains in place, I'm not going to care too much. Link to comment
+Raine Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Ok, ju66l3r.. because you asked for it.. I removed it from showing for Premium and Charter members. I wasn't going to, until you asked -Raine Link to comment
+ibycus Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Ok, ju66l3r.. because you asked for it.. I removed it from showing for Premium and Charter members. I wasn't going to, until you asked -Raine Big thanks . Link to comment
+Stunod Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Ok, ju66l3r.. because you asked for it.. I removed it from showing for Premium and Charter members. I wasn't going to, until you asked -Raine Thanks for listening! Link to comment
+mtn-man Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Ok, ju66l3r.. because you asked for it.. I removed it from showing for Premium and Charter members. I wasn't going to, until you asked -Raine I don't care what Hydee says about you, I think you are a great guy! A big thank you! Link to comment
+CO Admin Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Shhhhhhhh he didnt know about that. Link to comment
ju66l3r Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Ok, ju66l3r.. because you asked for it.. I removed it from showing for Premium and Charter members. I wasn't going to, until you asked -Raine Thanks, I needed some wubbing today for so many other reasons. I'll take what I can get. Link to comment
+London Rain Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Ok, ju66l3r.. because you asked for it.. I removed it from showing for Premium and Charter members. I wasn't going to, until you asked -Raine Raine, could you please explain why they should be there for non PMs but not for PMs? Perhaps we should introduce some nag screens for all who are no PMs. "If you want to remove this 20 second timeouts you can become a PM here." Shhhht... search for the irony... Link to comment
+Michael Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 (edited) Ok, ju66l3r.. because you asked for it.. I removed it from showing for Premium and Charter members. I wasn't going to, until you asked -Raine Raine, could you please explain why they should be there for non PMs but not for PMs? Perhaps we should introduce some nag screens for all who are no PMs. "If you want to remove this 20 second timeouts you can become a PM here." Shhhht... search for the irony... I have just spoken with Raine. We have had spam problems before and and this was added to aid in preventing it from happening again. Edited August 24, 2006 by Michael Link to comment
+Miragee Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I have never gotten any SPAM . . . I wonder why some people are victims of it and others of us have never had a problem? Link to comment
+Raine Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Maybe they hadn't gotten down to the M's... Link to comment
+mtn-man Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Ok, ju66l3r.. because you asked for it.. I removed it from showing for Premium and Charter members. I wasn't going to, until you asked -Raine I don't care what Hydee Michael says about you, I think you are a great guy! A big thank you! Corrected! Link to comment
+Miragee Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 (edited) Maybe they hadn't gotten down to the M's... Oh . . . I see, they got to "mic" but not "mir." Edit to add appropriate quote . . . Edited August 24, 2006 by Miragee Link to comment
+ibycus Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Ok, ju66l3r.. because you asked for it.. I removed it from showing for Premium and Charter members. I wasn't going to, until you asked -Raine Raine, could you please explain why they should be there for non PMs but not for PMs? Perhaps we should introduce some nag screens for all who are no PMs. "If you want to remove this 20 second timeouts you can become a PM here." Shhhht... search for the irony... Never spoken with Raine... BUT... If someone is concertedly spamming people through their Geocaching accounts, they aren't too likely to do it with a premium member account. Why? Because to do so would require that they provide their credit card number to someone, and that means their real identity. If its not anonymous any more, its less likely to be abused. (at least this is my guess...) Link to comment
+Miragee Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 The irony of this discussion is that I have never received any SPAM through GC.com, until today. I keep receiving Validation emails -- seven so far -- from GC.com, but none of them have contained valid code for me to once again become a Validated Premium Member, as I was this morning . . . Link to comment
Jeremy Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 The irony of this discussion is that I have never received any SPAM through GC.com, until today. I keep receiving Validation emails -- seven so far -- from GC.com, but none of them have contained valid code for me to once again become a Validated Premium Member, as I was this morning . . . It doesn't count as spam when you're the one that keeps sending validation emails. When you do this it changes the validation code each time, so anything before the last one sent to you won't work. I'm not sure if the emails were being throttled today but it's possible depending on your provider. Link to comment
Jeremy Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Perhaps we should introduce some nag screens for all who are no PMs. That's a great idea! We really don't promote the premium features as much as we should. Thanks for your feedback Link to comment
ju66l3r Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Perhaps we should introduce some nag screens for all who are no PMs. That's a great idea! We really don't promote the premium features as much as we should. Thanks for your feedback Do I get to vote again? Link to comment
+Miragee Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 The irony of this discussion is that I have never received any SPAM through GC.com, until today. I keep receiving Validation emails -- seven so far -- from GC.com, but none of them have contained valid code for me to once again become a Validated Premium Member, as I was this morning . . . It doesn't count as spam when you're the one that keeps sending validation emails. When you do this it changes the validation code each time, so anything before the last one sent to you won't work. I'm not sure if the emails were being throttled today but it's possible depending on your provider. But . . . SPAM is mail I don't want and I am not "requesting" any validation emails. Before the day was over yesterday, I had received 13 "Validation Instruction" emails. I just interjected this into this thread because I have never had a problem with SPAM from or through GC.com, so I didn't understand the need for the captchas. The problems I am experiencing are obviously not real SPAM, but they are unwanted, unrequested emails . . . Link to comment
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