Security? [Re: Why is this Symbol in the front of your website. A humble request.]

Daniel Feenberg feenberg at nber.org
Sat Feb 25 11:32:28 UTC 2012



On Sat, 25 Feb 2012, Da Rock wrote:

> On 02/25/12 12:03, David Brodbeck wrote:
>> On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 5:15 AM, Dave<dave at g8kbv.demon.co.uk>  wrote:
>>> Those address links need changing to graphic's, so that most address
>>> harvesting bots won't get anything usable.
>>> 
>>> Mk1 eyeball can still see what's what, but if you have to use the info,
>>> you have to re-type it manually.
>> I really don't recommend that.  Keep in mind not everyone can use the
>> "Mk1 eyeball."  Websites need to be accessible to blind people using
>> screen reader software, too.
> And therein lies the problem. How do you maintain accessibility while 
> preventing bots from harvesting? You can't have your cake and eat it too... 
> :)
>
> Only solution lies in a security gate of good filters and blocklists. But 
> occasionally one or two will still pass.

An email address can be hidden from bots without violating section 508, 
for instance:

   feenberg is at nber dot org

or some variant won't be picked up by a robot. But is it really practical 
to treat an email address as a secret, when it will be shared with 
hundreds of correspondents? I have mostly thought that was hopeless. We do 
it on our website because we don't want to bother arguing with people.

daniel feenberg
feenberg at nber.org


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