Threads locked, without resolution but marked solved - hCaptcha

[andy_hewitt]

I have a problem with the discriminatory captcha system.  A lot of other people have had the same problem.   The last thread I found about this was marked as solved, and locked, by a moderator, without any resolution being reached.

What the hell?

The Captcha system stops me using some parts of eBay.  There is no alternative to the visual challenge.   None.

hCaptcha offers an accessibility cookie, which I have set.  eBay rejects it, therefore discriminating against and excluding a significant part of it is FORMER customer base.

I am really sick of this high handed attitude.  I've been a customer for well over a decade, and I'm not a robot.

Sort this out, or lose me as a customer, along with all the other people this has driven away.

[albertabrightalberta]

If someone bumps an old dead thread, the mods lock it and recommend starting your own new thread.

[andy_hewitt]

A Captcha system doesn't have to only be visual.   A Captcha system that is purely visual discriminates against a significant number of people, for a number of reasons.   There are alternatives, including just not using one at all - like for the last 15 years.

Fixing the site to actually recognize the hCaptcha accessibility cookie would be a good start.

My patience with eBay is now pretty much exhausted.   They don't care about customers, and they apparently don't even care about losing them, any more.

[redmodelt]

https://community.ebay.com/t5/About-the-Community/Community-Guidelines/td-p/26164369

We would be unable to see your reply to a post, just post(s) you have started without a link to that thread, so cannot comment on why your post was changed nor see what was removed. Unless you have under a different account name, this is the only post you have started that we can see. 

The post on the community forums are not being address to eBay employees, they are being responded to by other sellers/buyers. The moderators volunteer their time to monitor the boards, they are not eBay employees. 

Not all questions have a solution, we can only offer advice or suggestions, not make any changes. 

If you did post to an old message, yes, the moderators can/will lock it. If you have questions or comments, please start your own thread, as you have with this one, following the rules as shown in above link. 

You might try signing up for one of the Town Halls and voice your concerns there. 

[redmodelt]

@developer_support@ebay

[eburtonlab]

Most threads that are marked as solved are marked by the original poster; if a poster marks a post as a solution, chances are something in the post or thread was helpful to getting the problem solved, or else the problem went away soon afterwards.

Moderators do not work for eBay or answer questions on the boards; moderators work for the company that provides the board platform, Khoros, and their job is to make sure that board policy is followed. Sometimes this means that older threads are locked to new replies, but this should not discourage users from starting new threads if a problem recurs or persists.

Just because someone reported a problem years ago and you are experiencing a problem now that does not mean that the same problem has been going on continuously the whole time, or that the solution that worked in the past will necessarily work for you now, though it may be instructive to read the old thread to see what was suggested or tried back then.

Some Captcha issues can be worked around by trying a different browser, or different browser settings, or by disabling certain kinds of privacy software.

Many things can interfere with the operation of Captcha, including using common add-ons such as ad blockers, script blockers, privacy software, by blocking cookies or blocking third-party cookies, by blocking trackers or by using "tracking protection", or by using a VPN or a hotspot.

If your browser is set to erase cookies automatically upon closure, you will have to sign in again and go through verification each time. Retaining cookies should prevent that. In some cases a blocked or corrupt cookie can cause issues; in that case, manually erasing your eBay cookies once may help.

My browser is not set to erase cookies, and the only time I seem to encounter Captcha on eBay is when I manually erase my browser cookies, try an entirely new browser, sign in from a new network IP-address, or sign in to an unfamiliar eBay site such as ebay.fr for the first time. Otherwise my time on eBay is Captcha-free.

[redmodelt]

I don't recall seeing a Captcha after clearing my all my history, just need to sign back in. 

I have seen a number of questions about having to sign back in every time someone opens the site, good information about not erasing the cookies each time they close. Thanks

My understanding of the Moderators is, that they were other community members that had enough street cred and were asked to volunteer their time to watch the boards? 

[buyselljack2016]

My understanding of the Moderators is, that they were other community members that had enough street cred and were asked to volunteer their time to watch the board?

------------------------------------------

Mentors is what you are referring to    😁

[dryophelia]

@andy_hewitt 

Sometimes the “solution” chosen is the post that supports the Original Poster’s gripe. Another user comes along and instead of offering a solution, they commiserate and the OP finds that helpful. 
Those are the generally cases where the OP does not really want a solution, they just want to vent. 

Then there are instances where the OP hit the ‘solution’ button by accident and doesn’t know how to reverse it. 

[eburtonlab]

My understanding of the Moderators is, that they were other community members that had enough street cred and were asked to volunteer their time to watch the boards?

The board moderators that are moving posts or locking threads -- the ones with -kh as part of their usernames -- work specifically for Khoros, not eBay. I do not know how they are recruited, but I have not seen one answer a question about eBay, at least not in that capacity.

There may be other community users that are designated as moderators of specific specialty boards, but I have less experience with those boards.

The folks that work for eBay that do answer policy questions or that can speak for eBay have @ebay as part of their usernames.

[pburn]

@andy_hewitt 

I see you're registered in the UK. Are you experiencing this Captcha issue on ebay.co.uk or on ebay.com, or on both sites?

If you're experiencing this issue on ebay.co.uk, you might try posting on that site's discussion board community:

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Discussion/ct-p/13

[wastingtime101]

Hey @andy_hewitt. If eBay is rejecting the hCaptcha accessibility cookie, I recommend going to their CS on either Twitter or Facebook and submitting feedback along with the specific error messages you're running into.

That said, the eBay captcha system does offer an audio verification in addition to the visual verification.

You said, "There is no alternative to the visual challenge.  None." But there is a headphones icon at the bottom of the captcha images which allows you to do an audio challenge in lieu of the visual challenge.

[andy_hewitt]

I don't do Facebook, or Twitter, and I'm not about to start.  I haven't been able to use eBay's Help & Contact, because it's blocked by the Captcha.  Ironically, and I assume this was meant as a cruel joke, there's a link to it on the Captcha "I am human" page.

So, my first port of call was this forum, which it seems eBay have set up to give the appearance of help and support, while not actually providing any.  If they can do it on Facebook or Twitter, they could do it here.  They've chosen not to.

If a moderator is working for the company eBay employ to provide this service, then they're effectively working for eBay, as their representative.  I see no distinction.

I have not seen a headphones icon.  If I was a robot, I think I'd have a better chance of defeating their Captcha - I could just be programmed to do that.

I think their whole attitude stinks, and I am more disgusted by eBay that I have been for some time.  My point, really, about the locked "resolved" threads, with no resolution, is that people have had problems with this for a couple of years, and there is no evidence that it has ever been sorted out, because eBay just don't give a **bleep**.

FWIW, I've used the same PC, OS and browser (Firefox), for at least a few years.  I was not personally harassed by the Captcha system until quite recently, but eBay are always "improving" their site, mostly  by making it harder to use and taking away features I had used for years.

I see no need for a Captcha system at all, especially since they managed so long without one.   The resolution I'd like to see is them taking it away again.  Failing that, they could choose a more accessible one - this one is terrible - or at least liaise with the staff of hCaptcha, to make sure their accessibility cookie is actually accepted.

[wastingtime101]

Hey @andy_hewitt. This screenshot shows you where the headphone icon is (bottom, highlighted in green). Next time you run into the captcha, please check to see if that headphones icon is there and come back to let us know.

Hey kyle@ebay. Not sure if you're familiar with hCaptcha, but it's a cookie that helps with accessibility. (Read an overview here.)

OP is a user that relies on this cookie with other sites, and for some reason is not seeing the audio option when the eBay captcha pops up. eBay is rejecting their hCaptcha cookie.

While I have no idea if this is a general eBay parameter based on security measures or if it's something specific to the OP's system, the OP is not able to contact customer service because they're hitting a captcha wall. Kind of a catch-22 situation for them.

Hoping you can pass on the hCaptcha feedback in case it is a site wide parameter. OP is likely using eBay.co.uk based on their registered location, but they were directed here to the .com forum.

[kyle@ebay]

---

@wastingtime101 wrote:

Hey @andy_hewitt. This screenshot shows you where the headphone icon is (bottom, highlighted in green). Next time you run into the captcha, please check to see if that headphones icon is there and come back to let us know.

Hey kyle@ebay. Not sure if you're familiar with hCaptcha, but it's a cookie that helps with accessibility. (Read an overview here.)

OP is a user that relies on this cookie with other sites, and for some reason is not seeing the audio option when the eBay captcha pops up. eBay is rejecting their hCaptcha cookie.

While I have no idea if this is a general eBay parameter based on security measures or if it's something specific to the OP's system, the OP is not able to contact customer service because they're hitting a captcha wall. Kind of a catch-22 situation for them.

Hoping you can pass on the hCaptcha feedback in case it is a site wide parameter. OP is likely using eBay.co.uk based on their registered location, but they were directed here to the .com forum.

---

Hey @wastingtime101 thanks for bringing this up.  This is great feedback and we'll be glad to pass it along to the appropriate teams!