"It does not compute!" |
In the course of visiting various sites and communicating with a number of entities, corporate and personal, I have come to the reluctant conclusion that I am a robot.
I suppose I should have guessed it a long time ago, but the realization only unfolded itself this morning.
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The Orphan's Tale (Book I) |
I hosted a giveaway on Goodreads, (The Orphan's Tale Book I) and wanted to advise the winners that there had been a delay while the cover design had been finalized. I pulled up the list of winners, composed a message to be sent to all explaining the reason for the delay, advising that the books would be sent out once I received them. (I prefer to send things personally. A handwritten note on the flyleaf, even if the book is destined to be maybe read once and then donated or sold, is a nice touch, as is a bookmark.) Since the giveaway ended September 30, the delay was not unconscionable, but I thought it best to spread the news that the books would be on the way.
Then the fun began. I pulled up the first name, smiled at the profile photo (a smiling mother and daughter), pasted in the message, and hit 'send'.
A Captcha image appeared on the screen.
"Oh, goody," thought I. "'Hotruct'? 'Hatruct'? The 'H' and the 'CT' are a given I'll think about it.' I looked at the other word. It was obviously a scan from a older book, probably 18th Century. Today it would be printed 'greatest', the 'f'-seeming character actually being an 's'. But would a robot know that? I asked twice for other images and finally answered correctly. Whew! That was worrisome.


This is no time for joking, dang it! I hit the button, found a more or less harmless choice, and sent the message.
I suspect a robot invented this nonsense. If I find out who it is, I'll - I'll...
Well, I'll do something.
Hi Diana .. I agree those captchas are so irritating .. and unnecessary - if you have anonymous unchecked .. occasionally something will slip through, but rarely ...
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for you ... irritating to say the least ... a robot didn't invent the nonsense .. there's a good explanation .. which I was / intend to post on .. if I can find said bit of paper ... I don't have robot cleaners sadly!!!
Despite that it's a pain in the neck ... good luck, relax, have a cup of tea and some chocolate? Cheers Hilary
LOL. I know, I hate the captchas too!! Honestly, mostly they just seem like a huge waste of time. You make a great robot, though ;)
ReplyDelete