I have been working on adding captcha functionality to ShoutBox module. It has proven to be quite a challenge with the way the ShoutBox module is constructed.

I had an idea to add some functionality to the captcha class and wanted to hear what others thought about it. Currently the class allows you to bypass the requirement for registered members using the variable $skipMember.

My suggestion is to add a similar parameter called $goodGuest. The way it would work is the guest would have to make one valid code entry. We would then record the guest's session name and as a $goodGuest the captcha requirement would be waived for the life of the session.

I am not sure if this would create any issues or security concerns so I thought I would throw the idea out there.

For now I am going to try to code this in a copy of captcha (modified class) in the ShoutBox module.

Well I took the plunge. Made a copy of the captcha class and placed it in the ShoutBox module. To make it completely self-contained I had to copy over a few more class files as well.

Some of the module requirements could only be satisfied by edits to the class. For example, a unique id for the text input field was needed so the input field could be cleared after a submission without performing a page refresh.

I am not sure if other developers may find themselves in the same situation but it does appear to me that a generic package of these files could be created so a developer could drop them into their module and make edits as needed.

i like the idea of 'goodguest'

guest will not have to refresh and enter captcha code everytime they want to post shout..that is more user friendly

thank you tank...

I still have some testing to do but it appears I have the Good Guest mode for captcha working. The visitor only has to enter captcha code for first post then, if successful, the guest becomes a good guest. The captcha block disappears and is no longer required for the remainder of the guest's session on the site. You can see it in action at http://www.customvirtualdesigns.com

That's an amazingly useful adaption of captcha, Tank. Excuse me if I sound cheeky, but I vote you share the code with the core developers and that they include it in the next release. I believe there are plans to make the captcha available to all modules...

I'm excited about this (my regular users always complain about the captcha). How does one petition the devs to include a certain function?

When I created the modified captcha class for the ShoutBox module, I made sure the class is in it's own directory and self contained. If someone in core development would like to adopt any of my code I would be happy to share my work.

I am like you, I have no idea how a request of this nature works.