Here is something I want to say to people using word verification (captcha) on their blog posts. I take out precious time, read and write comments of appreciation to your posts and what do you do in return? You spring the dreaded captcha on poor unsuspecting old me. Excuse me, I am damned if I am going to waste my time trying to verify what those squiggly things are and type them only to be rudely told that I haven’t got them right. Hello! I have better things to do with my time than repeat this useless exercise. So IN CASE YOU’D LIKE TO SEE my comments on your posts, please banish word verification from your blog kingdom and adopt new and more efficient methods. If not, well, now you know why you never see me on your blogs and will not be seeing me again. No hard feelings. Blog on regardless. Cheers!
Why I don’t comment
08 Thursday Nov 2012
Posted in status
Shail's Nest 
I have blogged about this too,
http://indianhomemaker.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/do-you-hate-comments/
I am putting this up as a status message here so people know, IHM. I am required to comment on a certain number of blogs while joining challenges. I try and get the captcha wrong so many times! So much of time wasted! I want anyone who drops in here to read this and make suitable changes if they can.
I don’t use captcha or any other form of verification .. and whenever shail comments on my blog it makes my day 🙂
Awww… thanks Ruch! 😀
Oops the lady is upset. Thank God I do not even know what ‘captcha’ means though as a Civil Engineer I know of a ‘kapcha’ used by masons.
Indeed I am. And what’s a kapcha? *off to google it before Vivek says ‘go find out!’*
And this is Captcha: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA
I dont have one.. 🙂 but then I know that is not the only requisite to get your valuable comments…
But thank you for mentioning this.. even I have struggled on many websites.. I think someone said it right.. it requires a computer to figure out the captcha!
Good that you don’t have one Happy Kitten. I agree the new ones on Blogger truly need a computer! 🙂
As for my comments, yeah, time and interest do play a role. But captcha takes away from the limited time too!
even I dont have one 🙂 but then I know that is not the only requisite to get your valuable comments..
but thank you for this timely post… even I have struggled much to identify the captcha..someone rightly said that it would need a computer to figure out a captcha!
One reason why I don’t comment on blogspot blogs x-(
Same here, Bhavia. 😦
If we like blog visitors to comment, then why do some of us make it so inconvenient for them to comment? I think it’s not courteous to subject commenters to word verifications and captchas.
Absolutely. You want them to come, make it easier for them, not tougher!
And IHM, it is like spreading thorns in front of your house when guest are expected with a ‘if you wanna enter, first lets see if you know how to remove the thorns’ attitude.
Hmm, Im a little technologically challenged. don’t know what’s captcha. havent come across it. Is there a way to find out if it’s on or not in my blog?
You have a wordpress blog Deepa. So no captcha, thankfully. 🙂
You can see what captcha is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA
That was educational as well , never knew what these irritating things were called 🙂
Don’t think I have one….
Irritating they sure are. What bugs me is when I start writing out the comment I have no way of knowing that Captcha is biding its time to jump out of the wings and yell, GOTCHA! 😦
I don’t have it and I still don’t see you… Must be something wrong with me then 🙂
Ahh, then you need glasses! 😉
ok if i get new glasses and still not see you THEN 🙂
You then get a magnifying glass. I am small, but not that small that a magnifying glass cannot find me 😉
ha ha ha ha ha 🙂
😀
Couldn’t agree more. There have been moments when I have LOVED a post and tried several times to comment without avail. What is the point?
Word. I wish there is a Captcha warning prominently displayed in blog pages so we don’t have to waste time writing out comments! Recently I spent time writing out a comment thrice and all the time I tried hard to get the captcha letters right to no avail 😦
Spoke my mind there! And sometimes you write a heartfelt comment, and can’t get the captcha right….. sigh!!!
That happens a lot! And it is so disappointing. 😦
I take it a step further and disable moderation as well – except for some clearly spammy posts that are automatically flagged.
A good spam filter and a honeypot are more than enough to get rid of the bots.
I had only the barest minimum of comment filtering, but now have enabled moderation coz I do not want some attention crazy people trying to use my blog page as centre stage for getting themselves noticed. 🙂
I do not have word verification on any of my blogs. Would appreciate your comments on any or all of them!
Lol, yeah thanks. Luci does drop in on Bozo’s blog! 😉
S`OK Shail – only ketchup on my blog! 🙂
Lol, 😀
Totally agree with you….I’ve written personally to my friends to use blogspot to remove that unwanted captcha and make commenting easy !!! Its so frustrating to do it….
You know, sometimes I want to tell the owner of the blog how many times I tried to comment on their post (when I have really liked something) When you don’t have a way of contacting them it is all the more difficult.
I have completely removed comment moderation. WordPress spam filter does a pretty good job. This problem is more spefic to blogspot blogs. And I really do not understand the need of so much moderation. It is not a Men in Black website for God sake!
//”It is not a Men in Black website for God sake!”//
Exactly my point!
I think one of the reasons I moved from blogspot to WP was that commenting is definitely easier in WP…some of those Captcha are so difficult to understand eh?
Too difficult that I doubt if Blogger users want us to comment on blogs or not?!! WordPress is indeed doing a good job of catching spams without the dreaded captcha! In this new age when we try to save time in everything, Blogger wants us to waste time! Sheesh.
I hate that word verification drill as well!!
*same pinch*
I didn’t know word verification was required to comment on my blog, until my friend called me on Thursday and said that she took a full hour to comment. She got the Captcha wrong every time and now after reading your post, the first thing I did was to change the settings and remove that stupid thing. Thanks to you both for pointing it out.
And Thank you again for commenting on my blog. Now I know how irritating it would have been for you then.
It is not just irritation Seena, it is downright impossible at times. Many times I have gone away because I am unable to get the verification right. If younger people are having problems you can imagine how much more trouble we are having. i cannot get the letters right even with my glasses on 😛 Looks like Blogger delights in confounding humans rather than keeping out bots. 😦
And thanks for removing it 🙂
Shail, captchas suck but they are needed to stop bot type spamming on blogs. I have heard from other bloggers on independent platforms that they regularly block and moderate comments to avoid spam!
Hail to the Field Marshall, hope you sent him out to work in the fields!
Is that so Raj? Then how come we bloggers survive on wordpress/multiply et al? How come there are so many blogspot bloggers who blog without using the dreaded captcha? If captcha is for blocking bots, why are they succeeding in blocking humans? You should try commenting on Blogger and tell me just HOW humans are supposed to get through the word verification they use. Many times I have given up after multiple trials, all of which I have failed.
FB and other sites also have captcha and it is “humanly” possible to read those. So the question is what is the aim of Blogger: TO KEEP OUT BOTS OR HUMANS?
Reblogged this on Words in verse…...
Thank heavens I am on WordPress and see ya soon 🙂
WordPress rules as far as I am concerned! 🙂
Oops.. first time here.. no word verification on blog.. so I am qualified 😛
No but seriously blogger makes it so difficult to comment.
Welcome to Shail’s Nest, Jas 🙂 Yeah Blogger is such a pain!
Disabled those thingies a long time back 🙂
That’s good Sridevi. Many seem not to be aware of its existence and there seems no way to communicate this to them either without going through the dreaded captcha!.
Great post! I also hate the word verification stuff.
Welcome to Shail’s Nest and thank you. A lot of us hate it with a passion!
I totally agree with you, I hate this aweful captcha too.
Looks like we are a strong community. I am not alone! 🙂
I cannot agree more with you.. When a blog post is really good and I have to put a comment, I give it a try once but not more. You are not alone here Shail
I agree Farida, when something is really good you make at least that one try. Sometimes I make the effort to request them to please take down the captcha barrier that they have set up.
The more said about this subject the better! I’m so tired of going through word verification!
By the way, in appreciation of my readers and commentors, I posted this today: http://www.bigaandlittlea.com/2012/12/top-commentors.html. Do come over and check it out!
Thank you Roshni! You are such a dear 🙂
It freaks me out when I encounter word verification. I think many are not even aware of their existence. I don’t comment on such blogs either.
Yes, I have found many are unaware of its existence till someone or other points it out to them! That’s why I am keeping this as ‘sticky post’ always on top on my page, hoping more would see it. 🙂