Nyke’s Nuisance of the Week: CAPTCHAs [POLL]

Let me begin by saying: I HATE CAPTCHAs!

If you're wondering what they are, they are those dreaded alphanumeric characters you have to type in some websites to "prove you are not a robot". CAPTCHA is actually an acronym that stands for: Completely Automated Public Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart. The correct definition (according to The Official CAPTCHA Site) reads:

"a program that protects websites against bots by generating and grading tests that humans can pass but current computer programs cannot.

I understand the reason behind having and using them... they essentially protect your information, as well the parent website. But what ticks me off is when I can't read it myself. If it takes me more than twice entering in the f****** letters, I'm liable not to use the fricking website ever again! Unfortunately, some these sites are essential to my job, so I basically have no choice.

Props to the people over at Google though. A good 75% of the time, their URL Shortener (see also: bit.ly) uses numbers only, which are a lot easier to read. And if you actually have a Google account and stay logged into to it, it won't make you use them at all.