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Registration question - "Which DAW?" - Should we change that?

Mike Greene

Mike Greene

Admin
Staff member
This forum is pretty much a direct copy of VI-Control, so one of the things that came along with that was the question when you sign up, "Which DAW do you use?" I don't think it actually blocks anyone if they don't name a legitimate DAW. (So if you put Cubase, don't worry, you'll still get in.) But it's still a useful way for us to weed out bots.

On VI-C, we often get "Best online casino" or we'll get gobbledygook responses that I assume are the bot re-entering their password. So the question does help, since the bots don't seem to have enough AI in them (yet) to handle the question.

Lyricists will probably want to sign up here eventually, though, so that question might be confusing, or even insulting, but I don't have a better alternative in mind. Anyone have a better idea?

Although ... everybody knows the most important part of a song is the base line and melody. And maybe the beat. Heck, I have no idea what 90% of my favorite songs are actually about. So do we really need lyricists at all?
 
I can tell you that it doesn't block anyone. I think on VI-Control, I just put a space or a period. On this forum, I came up with, "FL Cubalogleton Studiotools".

If thwarting bots is the purpose, is there some way to incorporate a Captcha into the signup process, such as slide the piece over to complete the puzzle, or choose all the pictures with a fire hydrant?
 
Polkasound said:
If thwarting bots is the purpose, is there some way to incorporate a Captcha into the signup process, such as slide the piece over to complete the puzzle, or choose all the pictures with a fire hydrant?
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It's not to thwart bots on signup, it's more a matter of, "There's something off about this person. I wonder if they're real?" Then we go back and check what DAW they said they use, and all becomes clear.

Plus, on VI-C, "What DAW" is a nice stat. Not that I've tallied it recently, but if we ever did want to know which DAWs get used most, we could, and it would be way more accurate than a poll.

In that vein, maybe we could do something like, "What genre do you usually write in?"
 
Mike Greene said:
In that vein, maybe we could do something like, "What genre do you usually write in?"
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To which I would say, "Oh, I do most of my writing in my living room."

For sure, the DAW question should get zapped because I'm certain some people joining won't know what a DAW is. It always struck me as odd that VI-Control had a mandatory question like that without explaining why... and then to see it again on this forum. Maybe the question should be:

"Please name a genre of music and two artists in that genre. This question is designed to help us discern whether you're a real person or a bot."
 
Polkasound said:
To which I would say, "Oh, I do most of my writing in my living room."

For sure, the DAW question should get zapped because I'm certain some people joining won't know what a DAW is. It always struck me as odd that VI-Control had a mandatory question like that without explaining why... and then to see it again on this forum. Maybe the question should be:

"Please name a genre of music and two artists in that genre. This question is designed to help us discern whether you're a real person or a bot."
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This sounds great. I have very little knowledge of genres; but I even I could do this:
Heavy Metal: Kate Bush, Kate Nash.

I'm kidding, Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath.
 
Hey! I found it. It was empty and I still got in!

Question though, where's the spot to change the "New Member" tag to something more interesting?
Thanks!
 
Some websites require a person to add two numbers as part of the login process.

6+3=?

I don’t know if this effectively screens out bots but it certainly keeps me from logging in successfully for at least an hour or two while I try to figure out the mathematical equation.

Maybe this could be an alternative to the DAW question?
 
Apparently there is a Captcha that needs to be solved when signing up. I assume that does a good job of keeping bots from joining.

I sent out an email blast to my friends and colleagues in the music biz today, but some of them won't know what a DAW is when they get to the signup process. That won't literally prevent them from joining, but I fear the unfamiliar acronym could potentially make them feel like they're too obsolete or old-school for this forum, which is the last thing we'd want anyone to feel.
 
Polkasound said:
Apparently there is a Captcha that needs to be solved when signing up. I assume that does a good job of keeping bots from joining.

I sent out an email blast to my friends and colleagues in the music biz today, but some of them won't know what a DAW is when they get to the signup process. That won't literally prevent them from joining, but I fear the unfamiliar acronym could potentially make them feel like they're too obsolete or old-school for this forum, which is the last thing we'd want anyone to feel.
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Good point, and upon request from head office this has been changed. Apologies to your friends and colleagues.

Andre
 
creativeforge said:
Good point, and upon request from head office this has been changed. Apologies to your friends and colleagues.
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Thank you! Sorry for being such a squeaky wheel! 🐭

If we need a replacement question, I'd like to offer one: "If you designed a reflex klystron with more than one apertured cavity resonator, where would you place the charged magnets of a mass spectrometer in relation to the repeller anode?"
 
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