It’s a new year and we will be conducting our first little experiment of the year in the next couple of days or so. Basically, the test in question is in relation to Growmap Anti Spambot Plug-in (GASP) for WordPress (WP). Brought to my attention by one of our readers, this plug-in appears to have been quietly increasing in popularity amongst WP bloggers for a while now (by virtue of the number of articles already written about the plug-in). GASP claims to ‘defeat automated spambots by adding a client side generated check-box asking the comment author to confirm that they are not a spammer’. It currently relies on the inability of spambots to tick check-boxes on active Websites, at least for now.
As the idea behind GASP is a relatively simple one, one cannot help but feel that it only a matter of time before spammers catch up with it. However, one thing that seems to go for plugin is the fact that it was created as a result of collaboration from several WP bloggers hence one can be forgiven for hoping that the collaborators will continue to be one step ahead of the game particularly as the battle against spam comments is a sort of Cat and Mouse game. For example, the use of CAPTCHA and reCAPTCHA was sort of revolutionary when they were first introduced however, same cannot be said today.
As a result of all the positive feedback received so far on GASP, particularly in terms of its reported (99%) success in dealing with Trackback spam and automated spam messages, coupled with its association with the makers of CommentLuv, the plug-in will be tested on this blog. Consequently, CAPTCHA will be replaced by a check-box that must be ticked in order to submit a comment. The final verdict will be delivered by updating this article with our observations in the near future. Meanwhile, we expect to find answers to the following questions from our personal experience of using the plug-in:
- Will GASP clash with any existing WP plug-in?
- Is GASP compatible with the latest WP version?
- How effective is GASP at dealing with legitimate and automated spam comments as opposed to Akismet, which it was originally created to replace?
- Will the inability of GASP to prevent human spammers significantly reduce its overall success in preventing spam?
- What happens if JavaScript is not enabled on a user’s Web browser?
- What are the potential downfalls of using GASP?
- How long before spammers catch up with it?
Talking Point
Have you ever used GASP? What is your impression about the plug-in since you installed it? Do you have any concerns?
I have tried it. Anti spambot is really great.
I pay for Akismet for now, but that’s because I didn’t know of any other options. I’m curious also about whether or not GASP would be good for other sites but I don’t have time time to test it myself. Thanks in advance for keeping us posted.
I tried,,, askimet is ok
GASP is becoming very popular among the wp bloggers. I have read about it on many blogs and because of its good functionality it popularity is increasing day by day.
I have not try GASP on any of my blog and this is the second blog I will come across it. I think it is a good plugin and it is working fine.
Its a nice feature and i am glad you have applied it to you web also. Most importantly its not irritating and user friendly as compare to other anti-spam strategies. I agree what you said about CAPTCHA and reCAPTCHA .
The results of Growmap Anti Spambot Plug-in (G.A.S.P) are far better than Akismet.
I tried GASP the other day and it relly lessen spammers on my blogs.
Great to hear you got similar results Winona.
I’m using Gasp in combination with Akismet and it is working great.
It doesn’t make any problems with other plugins either.