UBB.threads PHP Forum Software Community Forums UBB.threads 7 Version 7 Support Weird CAPTCHA issue.

So, I have one forum were I allow everyone to post anonymously - I minimized spam by using CAPTCHA verification. However, at some point the CAPTCHA verification went wonky and stopped working, so I had to disable it and resort to manually rooting out the spam (posts have to be approved first anyways). But lately the amount of spam has been intolerable.

Anyways, I don't know why the CAPTCHA doesn't work. I've sorted trough all the previous advice given on CAPTCHA issues here, and none of that is the issue:

- GD2 is working, and there are no issues when I enable CAPTCHA for registration
- No rogue files in the captcha folders, and permissions are OK
- Re-upped captcha.inc.php and newpost.tpl
- Tried disabling javascripts in the site's footer
- A slew of other whimsical things that I don't quite recall

It just won't work. In some browsers (namely, webkit based) it'll generate a missing image field, clicking on which will make CAPTCHA load and work. In others there'll be nothing to see.

Any ideas?

You are getting some javascript errors on that page, with the MM_preloadImages and MM_swapImage functions. It could be that's interfering with the captcha javascript.

I tried to remove any code pertaining to that both in the header insert and in the body tag, but it did not resolve the problem.

A bit more info:

Looking trough the actual output on the page, Firefox and Opera simply embeds ../images/general/default/blank.gif where the CAPTCHA image should be output.

WebKit browsers, however, output which, when clicked, produces
Edit: Or rather - that's the images' link.

Hmm, that's strange. It starts out with the blank image so it doesn't show a broken image while the page loads. So it just looks like the javascript isn't updating it to the actual captcha image.

Can you check your cache directory and make sure it's fully writable? There is a temporary image that gets written to there.

Yes, the cache directory's permissions are set to 777.

I guess that means we'll just have to live with it, then... :|

I have noticed that on certain sites the catcha is fine and others, it is extremely hard to decipher, causing log in errors and lock outs; frustrating to say the least.

This error is getting increasingly aggravating and extremely annoying. No new ideas or inputs? How would I go about replacing it with reCaptcha if no other options work?

You can't just "replace" one captcha with another, it's not a drop and go option... Scripting is far more involved than that...

I'd generally recommend opening a support ticket if this issue is still plaguing you

I am well aware that it involves scripting, but I am sure the word 'replace' easily accomodates things that aren't simple to do as well as easy operations. I looked in ubbdev.com, but there didn't seem to be any mod, perhaps I'll go there and ask if anyone there has ideas.

Opening a support ticket is out of the question.