reCAPTCHA - neat idea

[drwex]

A CAPTCHA is a supposed test to tell if a form is being filled out by a human or a bot. It presents a distorted image and asks you to type in the original word, answer a question, or solve a simple math problem. CAPTCHAs are often used to try and stop spam bots.

CMU has come up with an interesting twist on the technique. reCAPTCHA presents words that failed OCR, not made up images. The puzzle answers supplied by humans are then used to improve these digitized books so they can be better searched, or more accurately computer-read to blind people. Currently reCAPTCHA is working with The Internet Archive, which I consider a worthy endeavor.

CAPTCHAs themselves have some issues, such as reducing accessability. But if you're going to use this technology, reCAPTCHA seems to be a nice way to go about it.

Comments

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

i understand why you want to use the capability -- i'm saying the capability itself is ridiculous. "adult" is the norm and the majority. i should not have to "prove" (in quotes for the utter ridiculousness of it, since the "proof" currently consists of clicking a button, which any 3-year-old could do) i'm over 14 or 18 or whatever to read anyone's journal.

it's a preposterous solution to a problem created by technology and lawyers.