Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Is it time for HN to implement a form of captcha?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 150 posts

Re: Ask HN: Is it time for HN to implement a form of captcha?

#81

Post by behindsight »

al_borland wrote: post #76
chasebank wrote: post #60

We've always wanted to build a service which provides authentication through credit score verification. Whether its applied to dating apps, product review sites, HN. I'd sure love to filter by 650+ only. I'm certain it's illegal but it sure would help.

What happens if someone had no debt, and thus no score? Lenders see this as a negative (to drive more business), but is likely a positive sign, as it means they live within their means and can get their bills paid without leaning on debt.

While it's commendable, the reality is they should have already "figured out" how to play the system and just farmed the reward points from credit cards and immediately pay them off without incurring any interest.

You get a good credit score and still live within your means while also getting additional points + bank covering any fraudulent activity if the card got stolen.

Of course this method probably won't work for people that feel they would rather just cut themselves off from temptation fully or those without access to banking systems, which I sympathise with.

Re: Ask HN: Is it time for HN to implement a form of captcha?

#82

Post by FloorEgg »

I explored a startup idea that really didn't make sense unless there was a way to ensure users were unique humans in an anonymous and privacy preserving way.

Researched it substantially and realized it's an unsolved problem. Anything that makes a dent is incomplete and comes with ugly tradeoffs. For a time I wondered if I should try and solve it myself, but I could never think any solution that hadn't already been/being tried. Years later I'm left curious if it's even possible to solve the problem.

My point is that captcha won't solve this, and solving this problem is a lot harder than it seems at first, and might not even be solvable (which I know is hard to accept).

If someone does find an elegant privacy ensuring way to solve it, I think the impact would extend far beyond HN and could make a big difference to the future of civilization as a whole.

Re: Ask HN: Is it time for HN to implement a form of captcha?

#84

Post by binary132 »

FloorEgg wrote: post #82

I explored a startup idea that really didn't make sense unless there was a way to ensure users were unique humans in an anonymous and privacy preserving way. Researched it substantially and realized it's an unsolved problem. Anything that makes a dent is incomplete and comes with ugly tradeoffs. For a time I wondered if I should try and solve it myself, but I could never think any solution that hadn't already been/be…

Having to invite people in person and maintaining a network of trust could work. There would always be people ignoring friends selling accounts to bots, but ultimately I guess it would be mostly too costly.

Re: Ask HN: Is it time for HN to implement a form of captcha?

#85

Post by lagniappe »

tptacek wrote: post #58
lagniappe wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Almost everyone banned on HN is banned publicly, with a public message explaining why. I would love for this to be the case, however I quite extensively investigate this phenomenon and this does not match what I've seen. I'd like for us to be better than shadowbans. In some cases, I don't even get to vouch, it's just a comment that is banned-banned. It feels the worst when they're saying something substantive to the…

Every time I've looked into it, when you see suddenly and without reason ban-banned after a string of real comments, the backstory has been that it's someone with a track record under other usernames. At some point, no matter what HN does, being comfortable with its moderation requires you to take Dan's word for things. I take his word for it on shadowbans. Ironically, I'm irritated with moderation in the other direc…

>the backstory has been that it's someone with a track record under other usernames.

This has gaps, as you know, and doesn't wash. Let someone turn a new leaf. Amnesty puts a stop to this.

Re: Ask HN: Is it time for HN to implement a form of captcha?

#86

Post by SoftTalker »

ibejoeb wrote: post #38
tptacek wrote: post #31

The value of an HN post or comment that people actually see is so much higher than the value of a CAPTCHA-solve that there's no point in even talking about this.

Totally. Captcha should be thought of as rate limiting, not anti-spam.

And HN already has rate-limiting, at least for newer accounts.

Re: Ask HN: Is it time for HN to implement a form of captcha?

#87

Post by baxuz »

FloorEgg wrote: post #82

I explored a startup idea that really didn't make sense unless there was a way to ensure users were unique humans in an anonymous and privacy preserving way. Researched it substantially and realized it's an unsolved problem. Anything that makes a dent is incomplete and comes with ugly tradeoffs. For a time I wondered if I should try and solve it myself, but I could never think any solution that hadn't already been/be…

It is a solved problem with ZKPs

Re: Ask HN: Is it time for HN to implement a form of captcha?

#88

Post by baxuz »

FloorEgg wrote: post #82

I explored a startup idea that really didn't make sense unless there was a way to ensure users were unique humans in an anonymous and privacy preserving way. Researched it substantially and realized it's an unsolved problem. Anything that makes a dent is incomplete and comes with ugly tradeoffs. For a time I wondered if I should try and solve it myself, but I could never think any solution that hadn't already been/be…

https://eu-digital-identity-wallet.github.io/eudi-doc-archit...

Re: Ask HN: Is it time for HN to implement a form of captcha?

#89

Post by tptacek »

lagniappe wrote: post #85
tptacek wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every time I've looked into it, when you see suddenly and without reason ban-banned after a string of real comments, the backstory has been that it's someone with a track record under other usernames. At some point, no matter what HN does, being comfortable with its moderation requires you to take Dan's word for things. I take his word for it on shadowbans. Ironically, I'm irritated with moderation in the other direc…

>the backstory has been that it's someone with a track record under other usernames. This has gaps, as you know, and doesn't wash. Let someone turn a new leaf. Amnesty puts a stop to this.

I don't think it does, no. I've seen people raise innuendo about this kind of thing for over 10 years and have never seen someone vindicated. Maybe you have an example you can share.
Post reply on HN