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recaptcha

Just some guy

I understand that many people on the Autism spectrum struggle with things like forms. Finding that out (along with a diagnosis of Aspergers from the NHS) helped me immensely, finally revealing why filling out a simple expense form at work takes hours and causes tears.

I have found something analogous that causes me distress and makes me abandon online engagement: reCaptcha

Ostensibly designed to differentiate robots from humans it feels particularly capable of differentiating me. It's particularly insidious on company contact forms, when I want to seek clarification, access help in using their services, provide feedback or make a complaint. I often give up trying to contact a company because I don't want to deal with their obnoxious reCaptcha.

Is this just me, or is this a more general concern for people? If it's just me I'll continue coping with it, but if I'm not alone on this then it may be worth highlighting the challenge and encouraging companies to provide more friendly anti-robot checks.

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  • Good question. For anyone who doesn't know, reCaptcha is that thing that pops up on websites every so often that starts with 'I'm not a robot' and currently seems to show street scenes from the US asking you to identify 'storefronts', cars or signs.

    I don't have any particular sensory issues that I'm aware of, and I still find it very annoying. I'd imagine there are autistic people and people with sensory impairments for whom it is impossible. reCaptcha started as recognising simple character forms that might have required two or three attempts by me. Now it's evolved into a way of keeping Google's AI ahead of others. Particular problems I have with the current system is understanding the definition of the question - if marking a sign, do I mark every square that part of the sign is in, including its supports? If it's a car, how can I tell what that fuzzy detail in the distance is? What counts as a 'store' (shop in British English)? I've just been looking for signs above shops.

    I prefer textual questions of the type 'which is bigger, a house or a mouse?' which just seem better designed.

    Just some guy said:
    I often give up trying to contact a company because I don't want to deal with their obnoxious reCaptcha.

    That may be the purpose, if it's a complaint. Written letter?

Reply

  • Good question. For anyone who doesn't know, reCaptcha is that thing that pops up on websites every so often that starts with 'I'm not a robot' and currently seems to show street scenes from the US asking you to identify 'storefronts', cars or signs.

    I don't have any particular sensory issues that I'm aware of, and I still find it very annoying. I'd imagine there are autistic people and people with sensory impairments for whom it is impossible. reCaptcha started as recognising simple character forms that might have required two or three attempts by me. Now it's evolved into a way of keeping Google's AI ahead of others. Particular problems I have with the current system is understanding the definition of the question - if marking a sign, do I mark every square that part of the sign is in, including its supports? If it's a car, how can I tell what that fuzzy detail in the distance is? What counts as a 'store' (shop in British English)? I've just been looking for signs above shops.

    I prefer textual questions of the type 'which is bigger, a house or a mouse?' which just seem better designed.

    Just some guy said:
    I often give up trying to contact a company because I don't want to deal with their obnoxious reCaptcha.

    That may be the purpose, if it's a complaint. Written letter?

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