CAPTCHAs and sign‑up quizzes annoy real people and barely slow down determined bots. As the fediverse grows, we need smarter, more humane defences, ones that don’t push away genuine newcomers. What creative, non‑intrusive ideas do you have? Trust‑based vouching, proof‑of‑humanity protocols, behavioural signals… what feels both effective and aligned with the open social web? I’m building a social media platform and I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic.
There probably is no magic solution: I would focus on making abuse expensive instead of making honest users miserable. Gradual trust, optional vouching, sensible rate limits, reputation, and behavioral signals together will outperform almost any CAPTCHA while keeping the door open for real newcomers.