Capcha’d!

The deluge of spam is getting to me. I thought it would be at least partly stemmed by the configuration changes I’ve made in the past couple weeks, but if anything it’s accelerated. I’d far rather write and chat with you than slog through scores of bot-generated messages to see if anything you’ve written got caught in the net by mistake. Time for more strident measures!

I definitely do not want to make commenting obnoxious for you, so several of the older styles of “are you human?” validators were out of the question. Capcha is probably the best way to weed the bots, but I find many of its applications very irritating to use.

The good news: I found one that is easy, intuitive, and doesn’t leave you wondering, “Is that a q and a 2 stuck together, or some deranged G?” Nope. Just rotate the little image and away it goes. And if you’ve logged in, when you comment it won’t even bother you with that.

Now, on with the show!

Dusty From The Basement

Well, that was interesting. My pause to reorganize things coincided with some other things that clobbered my ability to spend time with you, meaning that while it’s been quiet here for longer than I planned, I both got more done and fended off other distractions as I did so.

You may be amused to know that when I went back to the holding area for new comments (as all users must, to begin with), I had over 350 waiting there, almost all of which were some very odd spam. I’m hoping my new changes here will fend off that sort of nonsense, as I’d rather chat with you than turn away lunatic solicitors at the gate. On the other hand, I hope that the changes make commenting easier and more effective for you, dear guest.

Another affect of all that banging away in the basement and attic should be to expand our little circle of friends here, and experience the company of some who would not have otherwise seen this little garden.

So excuse me briefly while I clear the dust and put away the tools. I do believe poetry and a drink are in order to get things moving again.

Fixing The Villa

Fear not, my friends: I have not deserted you! Your humble host is making a variety of improvements, and as is the way of such things, it’s taking a good deal more work than predicted. I should have things figured out and running smoothly by the beginning of next week, and may yet eke out a post or two in the mean time.