Have you ever been confronted by one of those web verification code boxes while working online? There is an image of some letters and numbers and you have to read them and then type them into another box before you are allowed to submit a form or comment on a blog or commit some other web-based action. The devices help prevent spamming and avoid automated submissions which can overwhelm the system, so they definitely add value.
But why do they have to be so hard to read?!
I don’t understand why some sites choose to make them so hard to read that I can’t even say for sure what the numbers and letters are supposed to be. It seems contradictory to have a security device which ends up keeping out the people you’re specifically trying to let in. I’ve always been able a fill out the correct code in the end, but I still think I shouldn’t have to guess. I don’t like feeling nervous that my submission won’t go through because I was unable to read the text that what was right on the screen. That just makes me feel dumb. And yes, right before I wrote this I did have to try to figure out one of those images on another site.
