# Why do I have to count boats to get in here???



## TurtleJimmy (Sep 28, 2012)

It doesn't happen every time I sign in, but often enough to be annoying. I'm on a very secure (I think) Mac laptop and the images are really small ... it's not even an easy exercise. I've never encountered this anywhere else. Any way to avoid this?

Turtle


----------



## theneighbordubh (Feb 14, 2014)

It's the latest rage. All the cool kids are doing it.


----------



## TurtleJimmy (Sep 28, 2012)

Don't get me wrong ... I like boats. But it is annoying.

Also, seems like the right place to ask this ... How do I edit posts? The FAQ suggests the three dots and selecting "edit" but my three dots doesn't ever have "edit" in it.

Turtle


----------



## theneighbordubh (Feb 14, 2014)

Which three dots are you selecting? On my phone, there is the three dots for the message, another three dots for the web page, and another three dots for the browser/app. My 'message' three dots have(has?) the 'edit.' Maybe you are using the wrong internet. Did you turn it off and turn it on again?


----------



## TMadness1013 (Aug 19, 2004)

You get boats? Jealous...I always feel like I get stuck with traffic lights & fire hydrants.


----------



## Sacks Of Phones (Jan 26, 2017)

Boats, airplanes, traffic lights.........


----------



## TurtleJimmy (Sep 28, 2012)

Thank you! My screen is so small, I never even noticed the three dots in the post itself .... Or, somebody just flipped my 3 dot switch on. 

How about those boats .... are they trying to keep bots out of here? I'm not often asked if I'm a human (the ex notwithstanding).

Turtle


----------



## chilehed (Sep 17, 2013)

Is there any way we could have something cool like explosions or wheelstanding funny cars?

How about wheelstanding funny cars that are exploding?


----------



## theneighbordubh (Feb 14, 2014)

Ironically, hard code is the reason us mortals can't change the pictures we need to select in order to prove we're not bots.


----------



## Pete Thomas (Sep 12, 2004)

TurtleJimmy said:


> It doesn't happen every time I sign in,


why not just stay signed in?


----------



## Sacks Of Phones (Jan 26, 2017)

Pete Thomas said:


> why not just stay signed in?


....then you don't get to see the boats..........


----------



## TurtleJimmy (Sep 28, 2012)

Boats are good, bots are bad. What a difference an a makes.

If it's for a good cause, I'm down with it. It's not that annoying. I could use a bigger screen though.

Turtle


----------



## Humbardi (Mar 9, 2011)

I used to review new post every day but now with this “ I am human” test so annoying ( pictures not very clear and small size ( bikes, boats,traffic lights , etc ) I am going away of this site....


----------



## -AleX- (Nov 3, 2020)

TurtleJimmy said:


> It doesn't happen every time I sign in, but often enough to be annoying. I'm on a very secure (I think) Mac laptop and the images are really small ... it's not even an easy exercise. I've never encountered this anywhere else. Any way to avoid this?


I am offered not only boats, but also bicycles and buses, etc ...


----------



## datsaxman (Nov 28, 2005)

You say that as if boats, bicycles, buses, etc. is GOOD.


----------



## JL (Feb 3, 2003)

Pete Thomas said:


> why not just stay signed in?


Exactly. If I had to sign in every time I came on here it would drive me crazy, so I just stay signed in.

I only have to sign in when I clear history (cookies, etc), which I do every couple of weeks or so. But even then when I do sign in I never see any boats...or anything like that.


----------



## Humbardi (Mar 9, 2011)

when navigating the site, going from page 1 to page 2, ( or similar from previous page to next page ) It always stop me asking me to prove I am human....!!I have run 3 kinds of antivirus on my Mac and no one found any malware or virus... what is happening to the SOTW Forum?


----------



## PigSquealer (Dec 27, 2017)

Is it the Titanic? Could be the sign of a sinking ship . I wonder what happens when you count past three. SOS


----------



## Pete Thomas (Sep 12, 2004)

TurtleJimmy said:


> Any way to avoid this?





JL said:


> so I just stay signed in.


----------



## VSadmin (Mar 20, 2017)

We get complaints when the site gets flooded with spam, we get complaints when we put in place anti-spam measures... 

We adjust the settings of our anti-spam measures from time to time based on the amount of spam that gets to the site. If you are seeing things like the Captcha or the "please wait 5 seconds" messages, these are intended to cut the spam on the forum and should interrupt any spam bots that are trying to post. Yes, it is annoying, but we feel that is better than 100 posts and threads about everything else. 

Daniel


----------



## PigSquealer (Dec 27, 2017)

VSadmin said:


> We get complaints when the site gets flooded with spam, we get complaints when we put in place anti-spam measures...
> 
> We adjust the settings of our anti-spam measures from time to time based on the amount of spam that gets to the site. If you are seeing things like the Captcha or the "please wait 5 seconds" messages, these are intended to cut the spam on the forum and should interrupt any spam bots that are trying to post. Yes, it is annoying, but we feel that is better than 100 posts and threads about everything else.
> 
> Daniel


Daniel, your efforts are appreciated.

Please start thread of corrections / management of everything.
This will relieve the 3,000,000,000 posts from MEMBERS wondering WTH.
Regular updates would be well appreciated. Like what the hell happened to all the pictures. To keep the thread clean block it from replies. Strictly solid updates only.
Start a separate thread to post any and all complaint issues. Members can subscribe to one thread and follow everything. VS can mark "acknowledged, check thread listed in the signature line for updates". 
This isn't rocket science. Nobody likes being left in the dark.
G.


----------



## Pete Thomas (Sep 12, 2004)

A captcha makes sense when registering, but not when logging in. This implies that the bot (who is not yet clever enough to know what a boat is) has somehow got hold of your SOTW password. If that can happen, then God help us all.

In that case the issue is not so much about anti spam measures, but about hackers and scammers.


----------



## Pete Thomas (Sep 12, 2004)

Speaking of wheich, everyone shoulkd check their email on this site:



https://haveibeenpwned.com/



It is a totally legit site and will tell you if any account you have has been data breached and your details ended up on a dodgy database used by spammers and hackers.


----------



## Humbardi (Mar 9, 2011)

I decided to take this seriously and after various scan with antivirus and anti malware ( I did not find any threats ..!) I restored my MacBook Pro to original settings. Now , My MBPro es clean from whatever I had , and I can review posts and comment as I am doing right now without the site asking me to answer the captcha.
So, my advice to all having this captcha problem is to clean your computer because that is a real indication that there is something not going well inside of your computer.
I used this guide :
How to restore a Mac to its factory settings








 How to Restore Any Mac or MacBook to Its Factory Settings | Digital Trends


Want to restore a Mac to its factory settings? There are a few simple methods if you need a fresh start or want to sell your Mac. Here's a step-by-step guide.




www.digitaltrends.com


----------

