Will this help combat registration bots?

[RedHotChili]

I'm thinking of requiring a first and last name for registration to help combat registration bots.

Will this force registrants to enter a first and last name by specifying this in the vBulletin Options > vBulletin Options > User Registration Options > Username Regular Expression:

^[a-zA-Z'-]+\s+([a-zA-Z'-]+\s*)+

...or will this only help in search modes?

I'm looking for a way to force registrants to use at least two words for a username as a means of cutting down on reg bots registrations.

Will the above expression do the trick?

[steven s]

So far I've never had a spammer use two words as their username.
That will prevent numbers though, won't it?

Many of my members use the same username on other forums and many include a number.

How about a required hidden profile field requiring a real name?

I won't take long to catch on though.
For a long time all my spammers would enter '1' for location.
I have a mod that auto bans anyone with a '1' in location.
Now they use China, USA or even US city names.

Unless I can still use all my anti-spam mods on v4, I may consider having everyone pay $1.00 to post with out being moderated.

[RedHotChili]

Question is:

Will the following expression force registrants to enter two words for a username if this is specified in the vBulletin Options > vBulletin Options > User Registration Options > Username Regular Expression:

^[a-zA-Z'-]+\s+([a-zA-Z'-]+\s*)+

...or will this only help in search modes?


In other words, if they enter only a one word username will they be prevented from registering if this is used?

[Andy]

I'm thinking of requiring a first and last name for registration to help combat registration bots.

Have you tried using the Questions & Answers system? It works very well.

[RedHotChili]

Have you tried using the Questions & Answers system? It works very well.

Thanks, that's a good suggestion. I plan to use that as well.

I think I may need to rephrase my question. I'm basically wanting to know if the expression above will force a two word username, or if that available feature is just to aid during search mode? I guess I should have just stated that without any reference to combating spammers.