Webshots Blog

Comment by Keith

November 6, 2009 @ 5:04 pm

A most welcome upgrade, thank you. Can’t say I’ve missed the ringtone spammer this past week or so. Now while you’re on a roll, do something about the homepage horror. You may as well know there’s no way I’ll ever visit your “New Store” for fear of the colour scheme alone. Besides, what became of your Old Store? Credit where credit is due, thanks again for your efforts to keep spam off the site.

Comment by Jim (police370)

November 6, 2009 @ 5:17 pm

This should stop the members that are using auto scripts to drop spam on random pictures. There is a website that a member found that was sharing this script with others to spam Webshots members. We may have to type two extra words on a message, but I think this is a small price to pay to stop the spammers. Though it is sad that we had to do it because of the spammers.

I have heard from someone already that does not want it and wants it to be optional, but it would have to be turned off by each person they visited which would not work. If it was up to the message writer to turn it off then the spammer could write a script to turn it off automatically and defeat the entire purpose of this security.

I already see that links are no longer active in messages now. So even if someone types in a spam instead of using the automatic script, the link will have to be copied and pasted to use it or typed in.

It does leave the link active in the email sent for the message though. Just the nature of email that turns a www.xxx into an active link. Perhaps you could insert a space in any group of letters starting with www. link like you used to do. This way the mailed message would not have an active link in the email. Unless changed, the blog still allows links. I will see when I post this. Did www.JimHarmonPhotos.com become active here?

Comment by Judy of North Carolina

November 6, 2009 @ 11:16 pm

Hah you tricked us all into checking out your website Jim! in other words, it was active. Looks like a good start. Kudos to Webshots for working on the spam problem that has been a thorn in our sides for weeks.

Comment by Richard

November 7, 2009 @ 12:12 am

Beautiful pictures, Jim! Guess that answered your question. Thanks to WS, too, for adding the recaptcha. Should be a big help.

Comment by Roberto

November 7, 2009 @ 5:16 am

Yes, I asked for this, so I’m pleased it has been implemented

Jim, your link is active on the blog

Ciao!
Roberto
rodemicheli

Comment by CharleySunshine

November 7, 2009 @ 7:36 am

HOPE THIS WORKS !! Question: I have recently had eye surgery — still having problems with using computer, my near vision is zilch — distance is great but arms not long enough If cannot see letters etc correctly does this program allow another set? Some websites allow this. Will try this and see. Charley

Comment by CharleySunshine

November 7, 2009 @ 7:36 am

HOPE THIS WORKS !! Question: I have recently had eye surgery — still having problems with using computer, my near vision is zilch — distance is great but arms not long enough If cannot see letters etc correctly does this program allow another set? Some websites allow this. Will try this and see. Charley

Comment by Paola

November 7, 2009 @ 7:52 am

I preferred the spams! All it took is cancelling the message…
I don’t know if the sentences have a sense (I don’t know English use a translator and perhaps this makes me everything more difficulty), but the thing has given me a great stress.
The words are illegible, I mistake on four three of it and to send a message is really stressful.
I have thrown the sponge and I have confined to a comment only bottom the album.
Could not you/he/she be found at least a compromise?
Even that appears only to the first message that he/she is sent to a person, and until him it doesn’t change friend you allow to write without further problems?
Or every ten messages?
The thing that love of Webshots is that have found some friends, don’t make too much me the difficult things!!!!
Thanks - Paola

Comment by Carol

November 7, 2009 @ 8:01 am

While I apprecaite WS trying to solve the spam problem, I don’t like having to type the code on each comment I leave on my friends’ photos. Perhaps you can tweak the system so that it isn’t required for friends.

Today’s beautiful POTD of the pumpkins looks absolutely horrible with the red and green background of the Home Page. It is an extreme disservice you are doing to our photographs. We are proud of our photographs and you are ruining them by the horrible red and green blasting in our faces.

Comment by Barbara

November 7, 2009 @ 8:41 am

I think this is a wonderful idea. Is this case sensitive? (I hope not) It may be my old eyes but it took me 3 times to leave a comment.

Comment by anonneymouse1(Fay)

November 7, 2009 @ 9:10 am

Thank you to your tech staff for tackling the problem of spammers and finding a solution. I’m very grateful, as I was having a hard time with a lot of them hitting on various shots in my albums. Your background on the home page is a bit “in your face” so to speak. Maybe we could have something a little more pleasing to the eye? Just a suggestion.

Comment by Ornella

November 7, 2009 @ 9:16 am

I hope this new feature will discourage spammers as much as it discourages me from leaving comments!

Comment by Teresa (Teres187)

November 7, 2009 @ 9:51 am

Jim, “Did www.JimHarmonPhotos.com become active here?” Yes. Links are active in the blogs. This helps, when we are referring people to another blog, website, etc.

Comment by dlbweb

November 7, 2009 @ 10:40 am

I’m happy to see something is taking affect to block the nuisances of spammers on this site. I don’t mind going the extra mile to block out “unwanted trash”. I’m glad there are members like Jim and others that know how to spam the spammer. Thxx…

Comment by ericy202

November 7, 2009 @ 12:12 pm

Worked for me Jim, great looking site well done. Eric

Comment by Rita

November 7, 2009 @ 12:12 pm

Great.. the spam was really annoying me. I had to block the sender who sent it.

-Rita

Comment by Rita

November 7, 2009 @ 12:13 pm

Great.. the spam was really annoying me. I had to block the sender who sent it.

-Rita

Comment by Pat Hammarth

November 7, 2009 @ 3:43 pm

I was getting so many spam ringtone messages….it was driving me crazy! Thanks for producing this new (slightly lengthy) system to combat spam.

Comment by steve beschakis

November 7, 2009 @ 9:19 pm

hey, webshotz….
your site’s is still sort of navigable. better stuff in a bit more of the useless advertising and nag screen bullshit–then it’ll be completely useless.

Comment by Jim (police370)

November 7, 2009 @ 9:54 pm

Personally, I think you could cut it down to one word and achieve the same results. I used it a lot today visiting and commenting on weekend walks. Occasionally, I had to look real close to figure out the word. Once I got it wrong. Most of the time the words were easy to read, but I am sure a computer would not read one word if cut back to one word. It has been nice to not have the spammer driving me crazy.

Comment by Rachel7119

November 8, 2009 @ 2:50 am

Thanks, Webshots. I am happy to see this too. I had to change my comments to friends only. Now I will turn it back on for any member to comment and see how it goes.

Comment by Lorella

November 8, 2009 @ 9:22 am

Hi! I don’t agree totally with this sistem, because one must type in every time these two words, which are not always good visible! This doesn’t stop spammer, I just received two hours ago two other stupid messages, so I think that spammers are not afraid of this typing in…Why not a password or another kind of protection? There are some diffiulties in reading these words, but if you find this a good sistem, so you can ask them only once in the same album, otherwise it seems, you want discourage members in commenting photos of friends!!! Best regards, Lorella.

Comment by Simonetta

November 8, 2009 @ 11:50 am

(Please forgive my poor English! ;0) )
I am thankful for your effort to solve the problem of the spam in our site, but I wish to beg you to find a different way to do it. I think in this case the treatment is worse than the sickness … Spam is a very tedious problem but now is more easy to win a national lottery than to be able to post a little comment under a photo of one of our friends. I am not use to write a lot of comments on the guestbooks of my friends but sometime it happens to wish to do it and now I need to have a very very long time to dedicate to this simple action because:
-first: to read the characters generated by Recaptcha is a mess and finally when I am sure to have understood it … I discover it was a fault… and I must try again and again …
-second: after some attempts, the program deletes the whole message I wrote and I must begin all over again …
Please, help us!!! It is just hard to find the time to dedicate to all our Webshots’ friends, now it is beginning impossible to do!
Thank you for the time you have dedicate to this message. Best wishes. Simonetta

Comment by Sven Jambor

November 8, 2009 @ 12:04 pm

Jim, using 2 words is reCaptcha’s way of dealing with the Unknown… Think about it; what reCaptcha does is to use scans words that are hard/impossible to recognize by machines with optical character recognition. So these words are also hard to know for reCaptcha itself. So what they do is give you one “known” word and one “unknown” one. Once they get a lot of similar results for the “unknown” one they can use that as “known” as well etc etc.

Of course Webshots could use any old captcha service - but using reCaptcha is great because it helps in digitizing the world’s knowledge at very little expense in time to each user.

Comment by Paola

November 8, 2009 @ 1:17 pm

You excuse, but besides not knowing English (I hope that the translator does his/her duty) the mysteries of the computer science are also I become dark. I/you/they have not succeeded in seeing the message that I have left yesterday anymore. Have those lost of also other people surely, where do I have to look for? Thanks I am really denied with the computer, you have patience with me.
In the case you deal with a problem of internet instead I allow me to again write my opinion.
The new method creates me a lot of stress, to the point that preferred the spams! It was enough for me to cancel the message.
The thing that I love more in Webshots is the possibility to write and to have friends from the whole world (also without knowing the languages) and I am now me that to write a message me us take ten minutes.
The sentences are for me illegible, continuous to be wrong her, after various errors the message also cancels me… SOS!!!!
Could not a compromise be found?
I would propose that the system him active only once for friend, and left the first message him succeeds in writing the others without further problems.
I believe that the spams don’t write more than a message to person, and this should be enough for to protect us.
Thanks of your patience
Paola

Comment by Teresa (Teres187)

November 8, 2009 @ 1:44 pm

Today’s POTD, got hit with spam.

Comment by THERESA

November 8, 2009 @ 3:43 pm

thank you so much for this because i was pretty tired of all the spam. it is alittle more work but well worth it. theresa

Comment by Donna

November 8, 2009 @ 8:09 pm

I like to leave a comment on my friends pictures, a lot if I go through an album, and this I find very inconvenient, and will definately slow down my comments, sometimes only doing guest book comment instead. Ok, I agree, something was needed, but two words is overkill. I wish it was an option, but thanks to Police370, I understand why it is not optional. Thanks Jim for explaining.

Comment by marita Sutherlin

November 9, 2009 @ 2:06 am

Halleluja!!!!!!!!Thanks!Maybe now I can stop being unfriendly and turn my messages back on! Marita

Comment by marita Sutherlin

November 9, 2009 @ 2:07 am

Halleluja!!!!!!!!Thanks!Maybe now I can stop being unfriendly and turn my messages back on! Marita

Comment by marita Sutherlin

November 9, 2009 @ 2:07 am

Halleluja!!!!!!!!Thanks!Maybe now I can stop being unfriendly and turn my messages back on! Marita

Comment by Suresh Krishna

November 9, 2009 @ 9:07 am

This is an excellent idea as a deterrent to the unwelcome spams we have been experiencing. I have a question. Is it difficult for this software to generate these words in print letters? Very often I find it hard to decipher the characters, and have to change the words to get the one I can clearly see.

Comment by Barbara

November 9, 2009 @ 10:07 am

Thank you, thank you! The fox in the henhouse is gone! On another topic, I tried to sign in to the new shop (free mug, very nice!), but I got a message that the password or user name was incorrect even though I used the same words that I log in with. I’ll try again today. Webshots is a wonderful community of friends from everywhere on the globe, and I appreciate the work done by the WS staff. (I just tried to submit this comment and got the message “Slow down, cowboy. You can only post one message every 15 seconds.” It was my first message today!)

Comment by Nanna505

November 9, 2009 @ 10:25 am

I’m giving the effort a (tentative) thumbs up. I have had an account on Webshots for several years, and only just recently been spammed. I was quite surprised. Then it became a regular thing, and I was quite annoyed. I am happy to see that the issue has been tackled, and hopefully the implementation of ReCaptcha will solve a multitude of problems. Sure, it’s a little time consuming, but what’s a few letters more, if it will help put a stop to this madness?

Comment by kayanne101

November 9, 2009 @ 11:31 am

I don’t mind the ReCaptcha at all, but I often do have trouble deciphering the letters or numbers and have entered the wrong word more than once. Can they be more clear to read? Thanks for the solution!

Comment by Annick (frissons100)

November 9, 2009 @ 12:35 pm

This is for Jim: yes, the link is active and brought me to your site. Which I gladly saved in my Favorites!

To Jim and Suresh: I fully agree with you both: this software is a solution to spam, but could be improved by making the words more easily readable, and only ONE WORD would serve the purpose! More could discourage Members to post messages, and that would be truly sad! Annick

Comment by ericy202

November 9, 2009 @ 1:13 pm

Firstly very many thanks for getting rid of the red on the homepage, now we can see the thumbnails in all their glory & I can start viewing the homepagr in detail again.

Secondly, this update is most welcome but inevitably with a slow leyboard operator like me, I might not have as much time to post messages as I used to. Therfor I agree with Jim & Suresh, perhaps one word would be suffcient & the messages I have posted so far have needed several options to find words I could actually read.
Eric

Comment by Tiger

November 9, 2009 @ 2:13 pm

Welcome change! I got to where I really dreaded receiving a comment to one of my images because it took as much work to block the sender as it did to upload the photo in the first place.

Comment by Carol

November 9, 2009 @ 3:09 pm

Editors, Thank you, thank you, thank you……the horrible red background is gone.

Comment by Judy of North Carolina

November 9, 2009 @ 3:33 pm

I agree with Suresh. I know you do not want the characters to be so easy a computer can decipher it easily but sometimes I have to go through a dozen images to get one I can read. A happy medium would be nice. Polgaratex

Comment by Dan (USCdyer)

November 9, 2009 @ 8:01 pm

I had just started to get those evil spam messages so this is a welcome thing. I agree with Police370, Can we get to one word. I too like go down Weekend Photo Walk section and leave many commits.

One last thing, Can you please up the link to Weekend Photo Walk back on the homepage, please?

Comment by Domingos

November 9, 2009 @ 8:28 pm

I don’t know if these measures will work or not, but I sure appreciate that “Webshots” is doing something about this really annoying problem. At least you are trying, and that to me, is half way there. Thank you guys.

Comment by Carol Jean

November 10, 2009 @ 5:28 am

HI! Thanks, the spammers were driving me crazy!!! Carol Jean

Comment by phillper0906

November 10, 2009 @ 6:16 am

And there was me thinking that my numbers would continue to soar…… drat.

No, seriously - thank you for introducing ReCaptcha,
I was getting bored of blocking people.

Comment by Lynne from Virginia (http://community.webshots.com/user/donolew)

November 10, 2009 @ 6:56 am

First, thank you, thank you for getting rid of the nightmare red homepage - what a relief to find it gone this morning.

Second, thank you for the ReCaptcha. I found it a bit annoying at first, and I too find that sometimes the ‘words’ are unreadable and have to try again, but if it stops all that pesky spam, then I’ll be happy to take the extra step.

Good job - on both counts!
Cheers, Lynne

Comment by Beth

November 10, 2009 @ 1:53 pm

Thank you sooo much for adding this security feature! I welcome it with open arms!

Comment by Chandra, Photography Goddess

November 10, 2009 @ 3:02 pm

Hi Everyone
To answer a couple questions you had on ReCaptcha:

The reason there are two words is that we’re using the ReCaptcha format which takes a known word and combines it with an unknown word. ReCaptcha uses the known word to validate that you’re a real person and then “learns” the unknown word and replaces it in a digital library. So in addition to helping eliminate spambots, we’re helping a cause in updating the digital library!

The issue of difficulty reading the words is probably tied to the “unknown” word. The digital library is typically scanned books, articles, etc. So if the print is old or not clear in the original, that may be why the computer can’t read it to begin with. If you get a word you can’t read just click the top red button in the ReCaptcha module and the words will be replaced.

We didn’t want to eliminate members adding links to their comments since a lot of you like to link to your own photos on Webshots or an outside site like Redbubble etc. where you may also have photos. Hopefully we won’t have to take away adding links to comments. But we’ll keep our eyes out (as I’m sure you will too).

Thanks,
Chandra

Comment by Jim (police370)

November 10, 2009 @ 6:27 pm

I believe many members do not understand that most of the spam was computer generated with a script that was being shared on a spam site. If it was not for this fix, the spam probably would have grown considerably worse. It will never eliminate the manually generated spam if someone wants to take the time to do it, but it will grow old and they will probably go somewhere that they can use a script to spam automatically with a computer. They were sharing how to spam other sites besides Webshots. They deal in volume and manually doing it does not allow for volume. I find that the more I use the ReCaptcha, the less of an annoyance it is. I had blocked my messages because it had gotten so bad. I know it would have grown worse if this had not been done. Sad that Webshots had to do this, but you can only blame the spammers for ruining the way we had it on Webshots.

Comment by ericy202

November 11, 2009 @ 6:28 am

Today I had my first 3 spam messages from someone who had only joined yesterday. Presumably manually generated, hope they give up soon. Eric

Comment by CharleySunshine

November 11, 2009 @ 9:26 am

So far so good — last spam was 10-25-09 !! Keeping fingers crossed. Occ. having problems with word/words to enter — appears that I have spelled correctly etc. but it is not accepted. Takes 3 tries then it is accepted. Other times accepted on first try. Sad to see that Spammer is back for some WS members:-( Charley

Comment by Mara

November 12, 2009 @ 1:20 pm

I don’t have a problem with the idea of the Recaptcha codes, but I agree with many others who’ve complained about the difficulty of making out the words. I tried to read two different sets of words and got them wrong each time. I switched to the audio option and they were mumbling! I requested a new recording and typed in my best guess. When that was wrong, it automatically switched me back to the written words and I finally got two words I could read. After 5 tries I finally got it right. What a nuisance! Other sites have clearer codes, can we get this fixed?

Comment by Keith

November 12, 2009 @ 8:30 pm

A few things I’ve discovered about ReCaptcha, when I can’t read a word, if I type xxx it sometimes accepts. Numbers are a real bother, I get them right, and the program rejects my entry most times. Is it my imagination, or am I getting fewer comments? I know I’m making fewer comments, and still I appreciate the effort to stop the spam. I use disposable email addresses to avoid spam and identify which sites are most likely to compromise my email address. In my experience, WS is the least secure. No sooner do I change my email address with WS and shut down the previous address, than the spam follows. The fight against spam is ongoing and the Nigerians are very persistent.

Comment by CharleySunshine

November 13, 2009 @ 12:03 pm

Almost afraid to leave a comment now — clicked on vladimirpunikki to admire pics — mega amt of recent spams now after cat was displayed on home page Charley

Comment by Raffa (RaffaellaII)

November 14, 2009 @ 6:07 am

I think that to take care about your members is a right thing and if ReCaptcha can be a mean for that, it is welcome. Nevertheless this system discourage many people to leave message, and this is a real pity. Not only is WS a virtual place where to store your own photoes, but it is a great community where I personally got in touch with many people and in my opinion this social aspect is the real strength of this site. So, I wonder whether you can find out a easyer way to cope with the spamming problem, e.g. a password when you enter in WS or at least to limit ReCaptcha to a single word of few letters. Thank you for your attention. Raffaella

Comment by Shirley Hewitt

November 14, 2009 @ 7:06 am

It was easy enough to block the spammers but ReCaptu is a good idea and what are two extra words. Have patience everyone. If you have to do it a couple of times it is only a few seconds. As for comments, I still comment as much as I always did, it is just a shame that a lot of people have gone to another site, they are missing all the fun…Have a good day everyone “Relax and enjoy Life for you will never live this day again” Smiling, yep, then that is good.

Comment by Rebecca

November 14, 2009 @ 4:48 pm

I really appreciate this effort by Webshots to limit spam; something definitely needed to be done, and I get the sense that the amount of spam has plummeted since ReCaptcha was added. While I personally have found it less of a nuisance and source of stress than the spam was, I do have a question and a couple of comments. How should we handle nonalphanumeric characters? The great majority of “tests” that I have “flunked” have included punctuation, accent marks, or dollar signs. Except for a hyphen at the end of the 2nd word, which was accepted, I have not been able either to key in a punctuation mark or to find an accepted alternative (leaving a space has not worked, nor has closing up characters that appear around a comma or period). I see nothing relevant in the ReCaptcha Help section, either. Does any one have any tips? In the mean time, I now automatically skip over any clues that include nonalphanumerics. (Numbers without commas, dollar signs, or a slash for a fraction have been fine in my case.) To keep this message from getting too long, I’ll put my comments on ReCaptcha in another one. –Thanks very much, Rebecca

Comment by Rebecca

November 14, 2009 @ 5:09 pm

Hello again, My comments: From what I have seen so far, I am concerned that there is a certain Anglophone bias in ReCaptcha. Because so many of the character strings are English words or truncated parts of words (e.g., “terday” from “yesterday”), those of us for whom English is our first language may have an easier time. In cases of doubt, my familiarity with vocabulary can often compensate for my middle-aged eyes. I can see that this factor would be less available to Webshots members for whom English is not a first or a very familiar language. I am continually impressed and humbled by the time and trouble that so many Webshots community members around the world take to write in English as a foreign language, and I would be extremely sorry to see ReCaptcha turning out to be an undue stumbling block for them. Comments that I have read suggest that this problem may already be developing. I only wish that I had a solution to suggest; I thought that I should at least mention this thought, in case any one has a recommendation for making ReCaptcha less daunting. –On a more encouraging note: While I found ReCaptcha quite stressful at first, I have found that as I stick with it, it is becoming easier. The fonts become more familiar, the word-truncation patterns become clearer, etc. (Knowing that we are allowed more than one try helped me to relax, also.) I can even find some amusement in noting the sometimes bizarre word combinations that come up — bases for interesting haiku or intriguing character names for a novel?(!) So please do not give up! –Thanks, Rebecca

Comment by JIm (police370)

November 15, 2009 @ 10:27 am

Well, the spam cleanup was short lived. I just got four new spammers that I blocked after they left multiple messages on the pictures. All have been reported to Webshots. So, I have now blocked my messages again. Only friends can leave messages. If you wish to leave messages, send a friend request…. Jim

Comment by Sam

November 17, 2009 @ 8:39 am

I suppose this is our world that to protect ourselves we have remove seals off of everything to prevent tampering and have to endure being delayed at airports so we can fly and have to type in words we can’t see and have to repeat the process often to leave comments on our WS friends photographs. Personally I would try another blocker but I commend your efforts for trying anyway. ~ Sam

Comment by Judy of North Carolina

November 17, 2009 @ 4:17 pm

Sorry Jim. I have not (yet) been hit with any spams since Recaptcha but I guess since you are one of the more popular and visible of the Webshots members, due to your help albums and frequent postings of walks and comments on the blogs, you are a target. Very sad indeed!

Comment by Jim (police370)

November 17, 2009 @ 5:34 pm

Since these were manual spams, I may remove the block in a week and see if they gave up on me.

Comment by Barbara

November 18, 2009 @ 1:37 am

Glad you got rid of that horrible purple home page color, made it so difficult to read anything..as for the automatic script, you can’t read the words half the time, so doing it three or four times is a real pain..

Comment by Eva

November 18, 2009 @ 3:44 am

I don’t find this idea good, not at all . I believe ,that most of us have very limited time to leave comments, and typing more words is certainly very discouraging.

Comment by Ann

November 21, 2009 @ 4:53 am

I am sorry to say this is not working, I have had several emails of spam since this idea was started, I have forwarded them to WS, so many of the generated words are unreadable too, one word would be ample, since this started my guestbook entries have almost ceased,
when are WS going to thinkof a better way,

Comment by anonneymouse1(Fay)

November 21, 2009 @ 10:17 am

I like the “idea” of ReCaptcha, however it would be nice if they did not use an old Remington (or whatever brand) of typewriter with a ribbon that is almost out of ink to type the necessary words for us to copy. For those of us who do have English as a first language, it is often difficult to read (or even guess) the words we are supposed to type. For those members who do not have English as a first language, it must be even more difficult to decipher. Other sites that I have seen requiring “confirmation or validating” words, do at least make them readable. Trying to differentiate between f and t, h or b, o or e, e or c, or e and a is often impossible with ReCaptcha.
I’ll try using this advice from Chandra….

If you get a word you can’t read just click the top red button in the ReCaptcha module and the words will be replaced.

Comment by Keith

November 21, 2009 @ 8:07 pm

If an illegible word appears to have six characters, try typing x six times, it doesn’t always work, but it often does. Numbers are a particular problem, you may correctly type 20-4 and have it rejected. I now ignore anything involving numbers. I find it better to click the red button and have the words replaced, or type nonesense I know will be rejected. After an initial dull in comments, I’m now getting as many as I ever did.