[MM3-users] Re: Implement a simple non javascript captcha to mailman

On Sun, Oct 4, 2026 at 9:11 AM Lars Bjørndal via Mailman-users < mailman-users@mailman3.org> wrote:

I need to implement some sort of captcha for Mailman accounts. As all my lists are for Norwegians, I think it's enough to have a simple question in Norwegian that has to be answered. I'm not a Python programmer, and I asked Gemini. He suggested that I should add a settings_local.py file in /etc/mailman3, which settings.py from the same folder should import, as it have, at the end:

try:
    from .settings_local import *
except ImportError:
    pass

But the code from settings_local.py doesn't semm to be run.

The settings_local.py have:

import sys
import os
CURRENT_DIR = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
if CURRENT_DIR not in sys.path:
    sys.path.insert(0, CURRENT_DIR)

ACCOUNT_ADAPTER = 'mailman_local.adapter.CustomMailmanAccountAdapter'
ACCOUNT_FORMS = {'signup':
'mailman_local.forms_no.DynamicMathCaptchaSignupForm'}
INSTALLED_APPS += ('mailman_local',)

I have the directory /etc/mailman3/mailman_local with the following files:

• adapter.py
• forms_no.py
• __init__.py

If this at all is possible, I'd like to have the extra code/files in a place where an upgrade doesn't affect them, so /etc/mailman3 seems to be a good location.

Do you have suggestions in how to get this or a similar approach to work?

1. If implementing a Captcha was that simple, I am sure it would have been implemented by the Devs already.
2. Gemini is not that intelligent for programming tasks, IMHO. Try Claude.
3. A few list administrators have implemented Anubis in front of MM3 and it works perfectly.
4. If you've got enough hairs to pull out then you're welcome to follow this guide I made with Claude > https://eu.kictanet.or.ke/~wash/mailman3-captcha-guide.html

-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :-) [How to ask smart questions: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]