WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: Alternatives for the CAPTCHA

for

From: Keith Parks
Date: Mar 23, 2009 5:50PM

On Mar 23, 2009, at 3:47 PM, Randi wrote:

> If something like this could work, you could even have an option for
> "new question" just in case someone didn't know the color of grass.
> They could even be fun questions, like, What sound does a cat make?
> And they'd select "meow" or "hiss".


Not to drag this out too much, but a difficulty with the "common
knowledge" type of question is the cultural/language bias.

I would agree that most people with a rudimentary knowledge of English
would answer that grass is "green"

But if you ask a variety of people what sound a cat makes, I suspect
you'll get quite a variety of answers, or at least spellings. And
someone who's first language is Japanese might be frustrated because
"nyaa" isn't on the list.

See Derek Abbott's animal noise page:

<http://www.eleceng.adelaide.edu.au/personal/dabbott/animal.html>;

I always thought a simple math question was a good idea.

"Enter the answer to this question: What does two plus three equal?"
Then accept either "five" or "5".

******************************
Keith Parks
Graphic Designer/Web Designer
Student Affairs Communications Services
San Diego State University
San Diego, CA 92182-7444
(619) 594-1046
mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED>
http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/communications

http://kparks.deviantart.com/gallery
----------------------------------------------------------

(Objects on your screen may be closer than they appear)