Legality of Captcha

[paul]

There is the laws under the DDA In UK, that make "captcha" illegal for a website hosting as it is being inaccessible by those who are blind or with similar disability. So there is a question mark about the legality of CAPTCHAs and inspite of all captcha is being widely used even illegal, dralegal.org/cases/private_business/nfb_v_target.php

[flesso]

Isn't that why some website hostings have introduced audio captcha?

[paul]

Originally Posted by flesso

Isn't that why some website hostings have introduced audio captcha?

But that will again problem for those who are deaf & dumb.

[flesso]

Originally Posted by paul

But that will again problem for those who are deaf & dumb.

If they're deaf or dumb then theres the image captcha.

[daledavies]

I thought audio captcha was a good idea, although if there are issues around the use of captcha systems then I guess its best to steer clear of them if possible.

But what else can be used? Possibly a set of random questions?

[Ben]

Originally Posted by daledavies

I thought audio captcha was a good idea, although if there are issues around the use of captcha systems then I guess its best to steer clear of them if possible.

But what else can be used? Possibly a set of random questions?

A lot of people have started mathamatical questions, and all it takes to answer these kind of verifications is brain-power. Or maybe a verification where you ask them to type in your website hosting URL in the input box.

[paul]

Originally Posted by flesso

If they're deaf or dumb then theres the image captcha.

Following is a list of some disabilities and their relation to accessibility issues on the Web in reference to DDA act and W3 standards as well. If I am not wrong that means a website hosting should be accessible to all these person with specific disability.

*visual disabilities
* blindness
*low vision
*color blindness
*hearing impairments
*deafness
*hard of hearing

[DPS Computing]

Originally Posted by flesso

If they're deaf or dumb then theres the image captcha.

What happens if your deaf and can't see? Then what do you do!!

The non image mathematical equations are probably the best option to go for but then again these are open to a bit of abuse after a script is made to provide the right answer. A random mathmatical equations script could be made to counter this problem though.

[daledavies]

Yeah but some people are just dumb, asking them to answer even simple math equasions would be too much surely. Do you mean like, "3+2="?

I would have thought you only need to make your website hosting available to the deaf and hard of hearing if you have audio content such as narration, which you would then need to provide a script for. However there are certain situations where providing an alternative to audio content would be impossible, music for example. Although you could provide a description.

I think its about taking every step within your power, which is something most people seem to ignore.

[DPS Computing]

Originally Posted by daledavies

Yeah but some people are just dumb, asking them to answer even simple math equasions would be too much surely. Do you mean like, "3+2="?

I would have thought you only need to make your website hosting available to the deaf and hard of hearing if you have audio content such as narration, which you would then need to provide a script for. However there are certain situations where providing an alternative to audio content would be impossible, music for example. Although you could provide a description.

I think its about taking every step within your power, which is something most people seem to ignore.

Yes but fortunately the DDA doesn't say you have to account for stupid people so the maths equation would still be OK .

[daledavies]

Originally Posted by DPS Computing

Yes but fortunately the DDA doesn't say you have to account for stupid people so the maths equation would still be OK .

Would it not be easy for spammers to write some code that could look for said maths equasions and calculate the answers?

[Brian]

Originally Posted by DPS Computing

Yes but fortunately the DDA doesn't say you have to account for stupid people so the maths equation would still be OK .

But then youre looking into discrimination because a dumb person cannot access your website hosting :S

[DPS Computing]

Originally Posted by Brian

But then youre looking into discrimination because a dumb person cannot access your website hosting :S

Are you meaning dumb as in stupid? Or as in without speech?

If your meaning stupid then that is a bit of bad luck you are having. The DDA does not cover this .

daledavies, creating a script to do this would take a lot of work and code and would be virtually improssible to implement. How would it distinguish between a number in the question and any other numbers on the page and which ones to include, all the mathematical rules etc. It just wouldn't be worth their while .

[Brian]

Stupid! You can discriminate. Thats why the went from "Mens" and "Womens" toilets to putting pics of Men and Women on it too :d Next step is a picture of a Weiner and a Vagina.

[daledavies]

Originally Posted by DPS Computing

daledavies, creating a script to do this would take a lot of work and code and would be virtually improssible to implement. How would it distinguish between a number in the question and any other numbers on the page and which ones to include, all the mathematical rules etc. It just wouldn't be worth their while .

True, I’m still not too keen on using maths questions, it seems a little over complicated for the users. What was wrong with the audio captcha idea?

I really don’t want to cause offense here but if you’re blind and deaf, how can you use a computer to do things like browse the internet? I guess the only sense you would have left would be to feel things, again I apologise for being flippant.

[DPS Computing]

Originally Posted by Brian

Stupid! You can discriminate. Thats why the went from "Mens" and "Womens" toilets to putting pics of Men and Women on it too :d Next step is a picture of a Weiner and a Vagina.

You have got a point but if someone doesn't know 5+1 or 2+3 then I doubt they will even manage to get to the website hosting in the first place - they won't even be able to switch the computer on!

Originally Posted by daledavies

True, I’m still not too keen on using maths questions, it seems a little over complicated for the users. What was wrong with the audio captcha idea?

I really don’t want to cause offense here but if you’re blind and deaf, how can you use a computer to do things like browse the internet? I guess the only sense you would have left would be to feel things, again I apologise for being flippant.

Maths questions can remain simple but random such as 5+1, 2+3, 7-2 etc so it should not be that complicated for the user.

I can understand your frustrations but unfortunately the DDA does mean that some wierd quirks are found out over what could be possibly an infringement. I wouldn't worry greatly about it as there are far more pressing problems - most website hostings don't even use things such as ALT tags so this is a very minor problem in comparison. Major website hostings still use Captcha imaging and the big website hostings are now also implementing audio as well (which helps blind people and people who cant read).

I wouldn't worry too much about it, maths questions and audio catpcha is just 2 alternative ways of implementing a system. No system will ever be able to cater for everyone as, alas as we know, no system is perfect!

[Eidolon]

A text-based maths question removes the need for an audio alternative, as it most cases visually impared users are likely to be using a screen reader. The equation generated would have to be somehow encrypted so that a bot/script couldn't automatically complete the registration, which is where the traditional captcha has its advantage.

One option I've seen is with Google which has an audio captcha working alongside the image vesrion, though the audio is a bit iffy.
https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount