There has been a recurring feature request for some type of CAPTCHA support in the WP-Members membership plugin.  I have held off for awhile as I needed to make some decisions on which direction to go on this project.  I could reinvent the wheel by creating an internal CAPTCHA process unique to WP-Members, but that’s not really appealing for a multitude of reasons.  I had requests to support specific existing WP CAPTCHA plugins, but that wasn’t really a workable possibility either as I would have to pick one to support at the expense of others, or I would support multiple thereby complicating the process.

I settled on including reCAPTCHA.  This decision was made for a number of reasons.  First, it’s a widget that I can easily include in the existing code without too much recoding.  This means I don’t have to reinvent the wheel.  I like that!

Second, and just as important, I like the fact that it is supported by Google Labs.  This provides some long-term viability.  I like that, too!

I’ve already got some tests running, so I might have this ready to release sooner than expected.  I’ll let everyone know when I have a target date.  Honestly, the CAPTCHA part works fine.  The heavy lifting is going to be programming this to be an optional parameter in the plugin and accommodating users who are upgrading without screwing up their existing installs (always a challenge that too many plugin authors overlook).

Because WP-Members is used in a variety of applications, I can’t assume that users don’t already use reCAPTCHA in some form or another on their site already.  So another challenge will be to make sure this addition does not collide with other potential possibilities (i.e. users of the WP-reCAPTCHA plugin or others).  I found that when I tried to test various other plugins that I got collisions if both were installed.  So, I’ll need to be testing that as well.

If you’re not familiar with CAPTCHA and why you should use it, here’s some background:

• Wikipedia
• Official CAPTCHA site
• Google reCAPTCHA site (you’ll need an API from here)

I am currently working on a list of updates for WP-Members 2.3.2 release.  If you have any requests, feel free to post here.

Note: I am always open to feature requests, but keep in mind, this will be a minor release so major updates are not going to make it in.  Also, PayPal integration is in development as a premium module, but a release target has yet to be set.

Here is the list as it stands (I’ll be updating as needed):

• Fix notify admin new registration email – url field (currently it’s not including this)
• Fix login failed message for sidebar widget
• Fix login failed message for members area page

October 14 Update:

WP-Members 2.3.2 bug fix release has been published.  You can get it here.

Over the past year, I have become aware of a number of plugins using the name WP-Members (or a derivative thereof). This has come to my attention in the form of support issues posted in the wordpress.org forum and tagged wp-members. Often these are the result of unresponsive support and “buyer beware” issues, for example “[Plugin: WP-Members] Broken upon install — support not helpful — don’t buy.”

While that specific post has since been removed at the request of the original poster since it was not in fact referencing WP-Members, it makes evident a more important issue. The plugin this user was actually referencing was not mine, but rather a plugin called wp-Member, offered by SmartMediaPro, and this is not the first occurrence of such confusion.

The Original WP-Members

The original WP-Members is the plugin developed and released by me. It is maintained in the official WordPress Plugin Repository. It is both free and open source. If a user of the forums on wordpress.org tags their post wp-members it will be tagged to my plugin (and my attention). In contrast, these other plugins are commercial in nature and are not open source.  And they are using the same name or a derivative of WP-Members.

It is very clear that this amounts to what is known in trademark law as “confusing similarity.” A similar concept is “likelihood of confusion.”

Date of First Use in Commerce

My date of first use of the name WP-Members precedes that of these commercial vendors.  I have, where possible, referenced third party links for date claims. I find this to be more accurate and reliable than the time stamp on an individual blog.

When the original WP-Members plugin was released publicly, there were no other membership-focused plugins for WordPress of which I am aware, let alone any called WP-Members. ( read the May 31, 2006 beta release announcement | also documented by third party archive.org).  This predates the next earliest subscription/membership type plugin that I know of (WordPres-PayPal Membership) by 6 weeks.

It was first bookmarked on delicious.com on June 27, 2006. WP-Members was approved and added to the the official wordpress.org repository on 12/15/2007 as documented in WordPress’s subversion tracking.

Going Forward

I am doing what I can to create clear separation. Understand that I have absolutely no relationship with these vendors nor their plugins. Additionally, based what I have outlined above, I do not believe they have a legitimate claim to the name WP-Members.  In order to protect my interests and my good name, trademark registration of the name is pending.

Although a commercial, pro version is in development, The Original WP-Members will remain a free product. Both will continue to be open source.  If you didn’t get it from wordpress.org or butlerblog.com/wp-members, it is not the original.

Notes On Specific Products/Sites:

SmartMediaPro / wp-Member

In summary, I view SmartMediaPro to be infringing on our mark.  The biggest problem here is that it causes confusion with users in the marketplace and in the WordPress forums.  The official WP-Members is open source and free and is available here.

I have a full statement on the product known as wp-Member that can be read in its entirety here.

Infringement of the Mark to Fraudulently Sell Another Product

This one is more frustrating.  Caveat emptor! There is a specific person holding themselves out to be WP-Members under the following names that is actually fraudulently selling a version of YourMembers and calling it WP-Members. [Statement by Cambridge New Media Services] Please note that this person has absolutely no  association with me whatsoever.  Additionally, since the product is obviously a rip-off of someone else’s work, the plugin is not the same either:

* www.wpmembershipservice.com
* www.promembershipsite.com
* Possibly others