WOW! noemz, you are a genius.

[BC]

Hello noemz!

Here is a story in which you feature prominently:

I've just created a website for a book I published (http://lonelysong.com), along with a forum section. Which isn't used yet, by anyone but me. That's not concerning, since I haven't really gotten the book "out there" yet.

What WAS concerning was that I was getting all kinds of spam every day, but I am unwilling to turn off guest posting (I figure when people do show up it will be mostly to ask nagging questions about the book, not to really participate - so they need as few barriers to posting as possible).

So, I searched the internet, seeing nothing but anxiety and complicated fixes and mods and mods and mods everywhere...and then somehow I happened across your forum post on spam in the announcement section.

And WOW. 1) It's the easiest fix I've seen. 2) It immediately renders almost every other anti-spam suggestion out there both overcomplicated and unnecessary. 3) It's so logically brilliant and concise, since it simply segregates those who can reason like humans from those who can't...but this is the only place I've seen it.

So I say thanks and congratulations on finding the elegant solution (completely opposite of what Zeera would do, based on the bit that I've checked out)! It's jaw dropping in both simplicity and apparent obscurity.

Oh, and if you just stole it from somewhere...well, who needs to know?

-William Cheek

[noemz]

Hi William, and welcome to the forum!

Sweet, I'm glad I can save at least one other person the hassle of keeping spam bots out for good. It was the result of a couple of days of poking and prodding the code, finding what happened where, and finally tricking the visual confirmation.

I know exactly what you mean by all the spam mod suggestions out there. So many mods, so complicated, and so many holes. My solution certainly isn't the most elegant (I think there's a mod somewhere where you can add a custom field), but it was simple and it worked. That's especially important when you upgrade to new phpbb versions and have to re-install mods.

I'm surprised you managed to find my mod in the slew of Google's suggested links!

Anyway, best of luck with the book and best of happiness with your spam bot free forum!

-NoemZ

[BC]

Thanks! Yes, perhaps it's not the most elegant thing out there, but for DIY administrating it's a winner by KO. Also, I recalled how I found it. Pretty general search terms!

Anyway, I hope you find success in future cartooning endeavors. I'm always impressed when I see projects that have really been "stuck-to" (like the near DECADE of Zeera! That's no small accomplishment). I figure with that kind of dedication a graphic novel or two shouldn't be any problem!

[noemz]

Thanks, BC.

Yes, I certainly hope that graphic novels won't be a problem! It will be nice to draw something completely new, too!