Please fix the "first post" process

[moneymatters242]

Just a suggestion as a newbie here - I highly recommend fixing the "first posts" process that requires CAPTCHA + answering two cryptic questions.  The CAPTCHA itself is the hardest to read that I've ever seen on the internets and requesting a new image that is readable wipes the entire message the person entered - incredibly frustrating.   And the two questions are incredibly hard to dig up for new people.  It's the equivalent of a giant sign saying "KEEP OUT" to legitimate users.  I get that you want to keep spammers out, but CAPTCHA is all that's necessary.  This isn't fort knox, this is a simple finance forum, and when the process of making a post here is more difficult than accessing my bank account, there's a big problem.  Just my 2 cents as someone coming in from the outside.  Now, let's see how many tries it'll take for the CAPTCHA this time...

[Raenia]

There are several threads on this topic in the "Forum Information and FAQ" section, which you can review if you wish.  The short version is, even with the difficult process, there is still enough spam getting through to keep the mod team busy.  If it were only the CAPTCHA, it would be much worse.  The idea is to make sure that people are reading the blog and are truly interested before joining, not schilling for their own blogs, trolling, or only wanting to argue politics or some personal axe to grind.

Personally, I think the bigger problem is how easy it is to access a bank account.

[Dicey]

This isn't "just" a simple finance forum. It's an extremely popular one and it became a target for jerks with nefarious intent. You obviously weren't around when spammers kept hijacking the site. It was incredibly frustrating. It hasn't happened since the new measures were put in place. I helped a friend create an account recently and you're right, It was a pain in the ass, but the results are worth it.

This is a place where people share their personal financial details relatively freely. I appreciate the extra layer of security for that reason alone.