yes, the problem is prevalent and (small) forum operators bear the pain acutely. i'm not so dogmatic that i can't sympathize with your need for a working, if im

yes, the problem is prevalent and (small) forum operators bear the pain acutely. i'm not so dogmatic that i can't sympathize with your need for a working, if imperfect, solution, or as a user, needing to jump through the captcha hoops occasionally. this is a subtle externality borne from scale combined with zero marginal cost. we need to find a way to make the bad actors bear the cost of that externality rather than the rest of us. it's a hard problem that resists simple solutions like captchas, certificate signing, delivery fees, taxes, or even just outlawing the practice. as a lowly consumer, one of the few levers i have is curtailing my use of services employing (google) captchas.