[collaborative-vr] Fwd: [QUESTIONPOINT-L] Reduce spam with captcha

Mon Jun 18 09:09:09 PDT 2018

This is not related to QP CPATCHA, but my library just installed a
reCAPTCHA on the library's email form
<https://multcolib.org/we-can-help-anything>. We had resisted doing so
because we wanted to avoid any kind of patron verification since we know it
can be a barrier to submitting questions.

The nice thing about the reCAPTCHA is that it only requires the patron to
use a check box to confirm that the patron is not a robot. This is the most
user-friendly type of CAPTCHA. The box is not visible in the code that a
bot sees, so the bot cannot be programmed to check it.

We took this action just last week. We received over 80 spam messages
overnight from a foreign country. We blocked the ip address (knowing that
the spammer might just change ip addresses). The following night we
received over 1500 spam messages! That's when we added the reCAPTCHA.

Emily

Emily Papagni
Virtual Services Librarian
Multnomah County Library
Phone: 503.988.5433
emilyp at multco.us

On Mon, Jun 18, 2018 at 7:43 AM Cathay Keough <Cathay.Keough at lib.de.us>
wrote:

> Click With Care -
> [image: Click With Care]
>
> Thanks for your response, Paul.  It’s interesting!
>
>
>
> As with Maryland’s service, we opted not to use it for the same reasons.
> Captchas can be frustrating for users, and also for those who have visual
> impairments.  See the study and evaluation How Good are Humans at Solving
> CAPTCHAs? A Large Scale Evaluation by Jurafsky, Bethard, Fabry, Mitchell
> and Burszstein (Stanford)
> https://web.stanford.edu/~jurafsky/burszstein_2010_captcha.pdf
>
>
>
> Delaware’s VR service uses Springshare’s LibApp/LibAnswers which has an
> automatic spam filter, similar to what a person can set up through their
> Gmail account.  I have to point out that no filter is close to ideal but it
> has been more of a help than a hindrance.  The spam ‘folder’ is easily
> reviewed for any real questions (aka “tickets”), and in turn, tickets that
> come on the main Dashboard that shouldn’t be there are easily sent to
> spam.  So with a little human intervention, this area is kept under control.
>
>
>
> -Cathay
>
>
>
> Cathay Keough
>
> Statewide Coordinator, Reference Services
> Delaware Division of Libraries
>
> 302-257-3014 (office)
>
> 302-983-1430 (mobile)
>
> libraries.delaware.gov
> answers.delawarelibraries.org
>
> Delaware Library Association: dla.lib.de.us
>
>
>
> *From:* collaborative-vr [mailto:
> collaborative-vr-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] *On Behalf Of *Paul
> Chasen
> *Sent:* Monday, June 18, 2018 10:19 AM
> *To:* collaborative-vr at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
> *Subject:* Re: [collaborative-vr] Fwd: [QUESTIONPOINT-L] Reduce spam with
> captcha
>
>
>
> Hi Doreva,
>
>
>
> Statewide, I leave it up to the AskUsNow! partner libraries' discretions
> to use CAPTCHA for the chat form on their library's website.
>
> It was determined in past, in-depth reviews of chat transcripts that
> spammers (who were primarily trying to promote new books or ask for funds)
> were mostly accessing the partner libraries' websites.
>
> This scenario helped me make better arguments to the partners to implement
> the Qwidget and use CAPTCHA on their chat forms (if they wanted to continue
> have chat forms as access points).
>
>
>
> When we used to have the chat form on our statewide public portal
> <http://www.askusnow.info> (which we have kept solely as a Qwidget), we
> decided to not use CAPTCHA because it was an obstacle (mostly for students
> and educators) attempting to access the service anonymously or by
> identifying themselves.
>
>
>
> I hope these details help.
>
>
>
> Best,
>
>
>
> Paul
>
>
>
> On Sun, Jun 17, 2018 at 8:56 AM, Doreva Belfiore <belfiore at hslc.org>
> wrote:
>
> Hello Colleagues,
>
>
>
> This was a recent message from OCLC suggesting the use of CAPTCHA to
> reduce spam inside QP. Have any of you implemented CAPTCHA, and in which
> scenarios?
>
>
>
> Thanks very much for any feedback you might provide.
>
>
>
> Best,
>
>
>
> Doreva
>
>
>
> Doreva Belfiore
>
> Director of Library Services
>
> HSLC
>
> 3600 Market Street, Suite 550
>
> Philadelphia, PA  19104-2649
>
> 215-222-1532 (phone)
>
> 215-222-0416 (fax)
>
> belfiore at hslc.org
> www.hslc.org
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>
>
> *From: *"Thelin,Sonya" <thelins at oclc.org>
>
> *Subject: [QUESTIONPOINT-L] Reduce spam with captcha*
>
> *Date: *May 31, 2018 at 11:09:33 AM EDT
>
> *To: *QUESTIONPOINT-L at OCLCLISTS.ORG
>
> *Reply-To: *"Thelin,Sonya" <thelins at oclc.org>
>
>
>
> Save time for your reference staff by blocking spam messages using the
> CAPTCHA tool you can enable within your QuestionPoint account.
>
> To turn on CAPTCHA in QuestionPoint, login and navigate to: Administration
> > Forms > Spam Filter. Then check "Use Captcha" for email and/or chat and
> save your changes:
>
>
>
> Your QuestionPoint team
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ********************************************************************
>
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>
> _______________________________________________
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> Questions related to message content should be directed to the sender of
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>
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> Paul Chasen
>
> Statewide Coordinator, Maryland AskUsNow!
> Enoch Pratt Free Library/SLRC
> 400 Cathedral Street
> Baltimore, MD  21201
>
> 443-984-4955
>
> pchasen at prattlibrary.org
> <http://askusnow.info>
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>
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