They're easily bypassed, phpBB has them by default and it stops 0 bots.
I've installed some mods for my forum and they work quite well.
I'm sure there are mods out there for SMF too, I'll have a google and see if i can find anything that looks worthwhile.
I'm not sure I agree with not letting people post for a few days for a couple of days is a good solution for 2 reasons:
1) I don't like reducing functionality to stop abuse.
2) They can just come back after a few days to spam.
stopping someone from posting a thread for the first few days is not a grand idea IMO...new members should be able to post and get involved withe the forum from the start...get involved...that's what it's all about


I wouldn't have been able to say hello on my birthday otherwise
