Look, we can debate the proper and private way to do Captchas all day, but if we remove the existing implementation we will be plunged into a world of hurt.
I run tucson.social - a tiny instance with barely any users and I find myself really ticked off at other Admin’s abdication of duty when it comes to engaging with the developers.
For all the Fediverse discussion on this, where are the github issue comments? Where is our attempt to convince the devs in this.
No, seriously WHERE ARE THEY?
Oh, you think that just because an “Issue” exists to bring back Captchas is the best you can do?
NO it is not the best we can do, we need to be applying some pressure to the developers here and that requires EVERYONE to do their part.
The Devs can’t make Lemmy an awesome place for us if us admins refuse to meaningfully engage with the project and provide feedback on crucial things like this.
So are you an admin? If so, we need more comments here: https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/issues/3200
We need to make it VERY clear that Captcha is required before v0.18’s release. Not after when we’ll all be scrambling…
EDIT: To be clear I’m talking to all instance admins, not just Beehaw’s.
UPDATE: Our voices were heard! https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/issues/3200#issuecomment-1600505757
The important part was that this was a decision to re-implement the old (if imperfect) solution in time for the upcoming release. mCaptcha and better techs are indeed the better solution, but at least we won’t make ourselves more vulnerable at this critical juncture.
Everyone is impacted, but especially moderators and admins. Moderators will see more spam if Capcha is removed, even if their own instance isn’t on v0.18 - they will exist in a fediverse with instances that are on v0.18.
Admins are impacted because Captcha served as a decent way, when coupled with email validation, to combating spam account sign ups.
Thank you for your response, makes sense. Hmmm. On one hand, I agree with the developers in that they have to develop features that the foundation requires. They have full time employment contract with them.
They have to prioritize tasks and features using a whole different set of variables than what the users deem important.
I think both groups intentions are understandable. But I think this just highlights the importance and the need of open source contribution. We need more volunteers to implement features desired by the community.