Download

Attention!!!
If you are going to use this theme, you should know one very important thing:
This theme does not have sidebar.php.

The left sidebar can be edited in header.php(the place is marked)
The right sidebar is in index.php (the place is marked)

The theme has two header images, which you can change in style.css
(Read the READ_ME.txt in the ZIP)

The theme is built with standards compliant XHTML1/CSS.

Have a Happy blogging.

Download the theme if you like it.

If you want to change the rose (which I’ll very much appreciate), made yourself nice image and put it on my image place.
You can adjust the height for this

by changing it in style.css /

Have a nice blogging!

[UPDATE] TruBar is updated to 4.1(Silent). The installation process is simplified and all possible cookie problems are cleaned off.
The download link points now to the new version.

When I released TruBar 3.0(Lessen) a guy said: “then anonymous users must click unlock every time they post?”
That made me feel guilty.
It is hard enough to click on the “Submit” button EVERY TIME you post.
Why should I give you some more pain!?

Then I made TruBar 4.0(Silent).
But… you have to click in the text area every time you start typing.
Sorry.

How TruBar 4.0(Silent) works?

The same way as TruBar 3.0(Lessen).
You just don’t have to click on a link to unlock your comment posting.
The UNLOCK is done when you click in the text area.
Robots do not CLICK because they do not have mouse
Because they don’t click, they don’t get cookies.
Well, even if they start clicking around, they must still learn java script.
And then robots must become at least as clever as their architects.
Only then I’ll have real fun.

How to install

Download TruBar 4.0(Silent)
Read and follow INSTALL.txt from the ZIP.

I said for TruBar 3.0(Lessen) that it is easy to install.
Unfortunately I didn’t know how lazy WP admins are.
Well, it is not easy to install TruBar.
(It takes almost 8 minutes)
You have to upload three files, edit two core and one theme files, by adding few lines in them and upload them as well.
Then you have to go and activate TruBar plugin.

Even if it takes one hour to do it, you will save every day at least an hour going through your spam bin.
TruBar will not let a single SPAM comment or user registration in your weblog.
So, if you see spam in your Akismet bin, you must be sure that it is legal comment.
If it is not then it is personal (human) spam.

Why core files must be edited?

Because that is the way Word Press is designed.
If I don’t stop the spam on POST, I have to build filtering system like Akismet or Spam Karma (I’m not that CLEVER).
But to stop the spam on POST, I have to change the file to which the comment form posts (wp-comments-post.php).

How far TruBar will go?

Normally spammers lead and anti-spammers follow them.
Now spammers must catch up and if they do, I’ll release TruBar 2.0
(Do not waste time and money, my spammer friends.)
It is a nice game, you know…
A carpenter makes fun of the spammers with 1 935 bytes.

Do I hate spammers?

I hate the SPAM, not the spammers.
I don’t hate nobody.
I do not agree with the sin, but I accept the sinner.
Every sin comes from our righteousness.

Now what?

Now enjoy your spam-free weblog.

The End (was put with TruBar 3.0)

It is called TruBar 3.0(Reg) and it protects only the registration form.
So, if a bot wants to register on your weblog, it will meet TruBar.

This plugin does not protect against comment SPAM.

Of course TruBar 3.0(Reg) must not be used if you have TruBar 3.0(Lessen) installed and running!!! (Lessen has Reg’s function build-in.)

[UPDATE] TruBar 3.0(Reg) is updated to TruBar 3.1(Reg). The installation process is simplified and all possible cookie problems are cleaned off.
The download link points now to the new version.

Download TruBar 3.0(Reg).

Read the INSTALL.txt in the ZIP.

Easy to install, easy to use.
Have a nice blogging

[EDIT] The HELP and the discussions about TruBar are moved in Word&Press Mu Forums

[UPDATE] TruBar 4.0(Silent) is updated to TruBar 4.1(Silent). The installation process is simplified and all possible cookie problems are cleaned off.
The download link points now to the new version.

[EDIT] If you need help for this plugin, please visit TruBar home page.

You all are sick and tired of the spam in your Akismet spam-bin. Right?
I wasn’t happy too.

Then I made TruBar.

The concept

In coding we give cookies to the registered user, or to mark preferences or for thousands of other things.
We never give cookies to the robots, because no robot will take cookie to mark itself as a robot.
Then why not giving cookies to the human users?
If the user doesn’t hold a cookie it is to show that this user is not human.
There are many ways to give cookie to human and one only way for the robots – find it.
But we can help robots to find the wrong cookies.
TruBar has plenty of them.

What is TruBar 3.0 (Lessen)

It is very small plugin (less than 2KB) which gives cookies to humans
If you get the cookies you can post or you can register in my weblog.
If you can not take them, then you are a robot.
That is the simplest way to stop automated registration and comment posting.
With TruBar automated comment posting is stopped on POST and even Akismet doesn’t know about the attempt.
In this regard TruBar is the best Akismet helper.
In fact Akismet is left only with the track-back work.

As you can see in my weblog, you must click on a link to unlock comment posting.
Once you click on the unlock link you get a cookie.
That is it.
No security images.
No popUp windows.
No sophisticated checks and filtering.
Then you click the “Submit” button.
Your comment is received and your cookies are taken away from you.
Next time you’ll get cookies again

It is the same with the user Registration.
Click the unlock link and then the submit button.

The robot must UNDERSTAND the request and execute it.
But there is no link and page to go for the cookies.
They are right here on the same page, yet unreachable for the bots.

Well, there is plenty cookies around for the robots.
If they get them, they’ll never be able to post.

Is it easy to install TruBar 3.0(Lessen)?

The “Lessen” word is Bulgarian and means easy
Easy to install, easy for the user, easy for the system.
There is nothing to load except a small function, which gives cookies, if you click on the link.

The only scary think is that you must edit your

and

You need to insert in them two cookie checks and one cookie “kill”. (Code is provided with the instalation ZIP file)

If you want to have the red warning above the “submit” button, you must edit your comments.php in all your themes.

There is one robot-trap file in the ZIP, which you must rename if you want to have unique name, and multiply it with different names for better result .

How to install TruBar?

Download TruBar 3.0(Lessen) TruBar 4.1(Silent)
Read INSTALL.txt in the ZIP file.

The name

What “TruBar” stands for?

“Tru” stands for true and comes from Truden, which in Bulgarian means difficult
“Bar” is bar.

I’ve already told you what “Lessen” means?

Few BAD words about the spamers

We all know that spammers are CLEVER.
To be clever with TruBar, the spammer must personally target you.
Still, the sucker must be VERY clever to do “normal” SPAM, over TruBar’s protection.

TruBar 3.0(Lessen) is lighter version of TruBar 2.0(Lessen), which is not released.
I’ll keep it for darker days

Important to know!

TruBar is making your weblog much faster.
It stops SPAM on POST and doesn’t pass it to Akismet for additional processing.
TruBar does one check – cookies.
Simple and fast.

The End

Comment and clean up your cookies.
What do you see now!?
Nothing.

Shame!
Matt and most importantly Akismet put your comments on a queue…

And don’t tell me that Akismet is GOOD!!!

I have very little visitors in my weblog and they probably started to think that I dropped the “manipulation” articles.
No, my friends.
Every study needs examples.

The TruBar project was part of the study.

If you don’t know what WordPress is, it is the engine on which my weblog runs.
It is developed by clever and bright guys and it is FREE of charge.
Somehow it happened that the users of this software started to get SPAM
Then the bright guys decided that they can stop it with another software called Akismet
Akismet is filtering system which runs on a BIG server.
You go on a weblog, and you comment.
Your comment is sent for filtering to the server on which Akismet runs.
Akismet looks at it and decides whether it is SPAM or normal comment, and then it returns answer to the blog where you comment.
The blog system decides according to Akismet’s answer to publish or not to publish your comment.

Clever eh!?
And very sophisticated…

Well, “sophisticated” is CLEVER.

Just imagine few hundred thousands of weblogs sending data to a server and getting it back.
And all that for free.
That server has to be a monster.
How much it cost to maintain such a monster?
Don’t worry.
It is paid off.
There is a lot of paid subscriptions for it.

But that does not matter.
What matters is that there are clever guys who menage to do all this.

And now imagine this;

A guy goes to these CLEVER guys and tell them: “Hey, friends, why don’t you fix the way WordPres posts the comments and stop the spam without using that heavy monster Akismet? It only slows down my weblog.”

What do you think will be their answer?
Any answer that you could think off will be wrong, because they will simply not answer.
Why?
Why wouldn’t they answer?

An answer would start discussion.
In a discussion they must prove that nothing could be done with the way WordPress handles comment posting.
That can not be proved and they know it.
But why they don’t change it then?
Because Akismet will stop to work…

And now imagine one more think;

A guy found very easy and simple way to stop the SPAM.
What must that guy do?
Go and tell it.
To whom?
The clever guys don’t want to hear about it.

OK lets imagine that he will say it loud and many other guys will hear him.
Can you imagine the reaction: “What!? Are you saying that you made something so simple which is better than Akismet!? Are you in your mind!?”

What is the lesson?
You can not go against the established rules, authority and momentum.
Well, you can, but the only way to do it is to use the momentum like Aikido masters do.
Pull the momentum your way and direct it.

Some of you would ask: “What about TruBar?”
And I’ll say: “What about TruBar? Everyone deserves the SPAM he/she gets.”

Here are the lyrics:

Broadway wonder
You’re such a success
Your pretty secretary, ha
She say you are the best

Your face always smiling
say you sure paid your dues
But I know inside
You’ve got the Bensonhurst blues

Those custom-made cigars
that you offer to me, pretend
and pretend to care about my family

And those pictures on your desk
All them guys did you abuse?
Did they know you suffer
from the Bensonhurst blues

Your grandmother’s accent
still embarrasses you
You’re even ashamed
of the French you once knew

You’re the part of a chance now
Baby you making the news
But I know inside
you’ve got the Bensonhurst blues

But thanks for the lesson
Cause the life that I choose
won’t make me feel like living
with the Bensonhurst blues

And don’t, don’t try to write me
And don’t bother to call
Cause I’ll be in conference
Merry Christmas you all