Android Central Account Signup Feedback (funny yet serious)

[sproketz]

Hello there.

I'm a fan of Android Central and have been reading it for over a year now.

I finally decided to register an account for it and it was such a pain I almost decided not to complete it. It is probably the single most horrid example of a registration process I've ever had the displeasure to be subjected to.

First. You impose draconian levels of password creation to the point that I have to make a password that I'm never going to remember. I have passwords that have high enough security for me. I should be able to use them. This is not a registration for a multi-million dollar Swiss bank account. It's for commenting on a blog. Tell your security guru to take a chill-pill.

Second. Capchta's suck. The sucky Capchta you are choosing to use is a video, which sucks even more ... a video that is preceded by a commercial? SERIOUSLY? I have to watch a commercial before I've earned enough credit to be allowed the privilege of deciphering your Capchta? What evil "genius" in business development decided that the Capchta was a smart place to make a few extra bucks on advertising? I found this so annoying I opted for the "accessibility" version that is just audio. This of course is an audio track so low quality and scrambled that you can't understand a word of it. Finally I get an image that doesn't take a PHD in abstract art and soviet cartography to decipher and manage to register.

It's fortunate I love you guys, or I would have quit at the password ;-)

 

[Ricky Babalu]

Wow! Sorry you had to jump through hoops to register. It was not like that when I joined. Anyhow, welcome and hope you enjoy AC.

 

[Phil Nickinson]

Hi, sproketz I was going to reply to the e-mail you sent me. But since you also posted here, I'll reply here.

We're sorry you believe the password requirements are too difficult. But we take your online security seriously. Very seriously. And these are the same password requirements that we subject ourselves to, as well as the hundreds and hundreds of people a day who register at Android Central. Trust us, it's better than the alternative.

As for the CAPTCHA, we also take spam seriously and do everything we can to keep spambots out of your Android community so that your comments and forum posts, not spam posts, are what are seen. To that end, we've tested numerous CAPTCHAs and have found that this one actually is one of the easier CAPTCHAs to complete. Yes, you have to sit through a few seconds of advertisement, but then there's a handy skip button (and lord knows I hit that skip button as soon as I can), and that the end there's an easy-to-read phrase to enter. Simple as that.

But we're glad you did take the time to register along with the hundreds and hundreds of other members who joined today, and yesterday, and the hundreds we'll see tomorrow. You're in good company.

 

[sproketz]

Here's a good example of Captcha. It randomizes question types.

"What does six plus 7 equal?"
"What is the opposite of high?"
"Enter the word orange"
"8 + Four equals..."

These are good because they are legible and you don't make your customer go through hoops, watch ads, or click " new" 20 times to figure them out. They also can be generated by a randomization engine making them hard enough to code for to be not worth the effort to do so. If your generator renders them as an image they become even harder for spammers to work with.

Simple as that.

 

[Cory Streater]

1.) Our CAPTCHA is randomized. If you'd hit your refresh button you would have been asked a different question. Most of them are so easy a blindfolded monkey could answer them. For example, type the following: 76 Gas

2) Strong passwords are suggested not forced.

More info here: http://forums.androidcentral.com/an...-whats-password-requirements.html#post1257553