Spam proof email

4th July 2002

Today saw a useful thread on Webdesign-L about hiding email addresses from spambots. Some of the points raised:

Javascript encryption makes addresses inacessible to anyoen with javascript disabled, not just spambots.
Form based solutions help avoid ever exposing your address to the open web.
An english description (mail cs1spw at bath dot ac dot uk) is a good solution, but may eventually be parsed by spambots as well.
If you go down the javascript encryption route, adding an english description in <noscript> tags can make your address more accessible.
An image showing your email address is spambot proof, but does not solve the problem of how to hide addresses that can be clicked on.
A lot of users with webmail do not benefit from mailto: addresses anyway, and would prefer a form.

I have restructured my contact page to take these in to account.

Simon Willison’s Weblog