Sign-up Codes

Today I am going to write about something that bugs me: sign-up codes. So what's the big deal with sign-up codes? A lot of companies use them as a way to influence consumers into signing up for a service or getting something for free, etc. You usually get them when you buy something. Remember the Sprite "under the cap" promo? These things are everywhere.

Now the problem I have with these sign-up codes is that they aren't always readable. How can you tell the difference between a 1 (the number one), I (the capital letter I), and l (the lower case letter L). Depending on the font your code was printed in you could be in real trouble trying to figure it out. That's not the only letter too. How about O and 0. 5 and S. vv (double v's) and w. 9 and g (a far stretch but could look similar depending on the font), 2 and Z. Now let's say your sign-up code is quite long and you have a few of these letter or numbers in it. How the heck are you supposed to figure it out then?

It just so happens that I tried to enter a sign-up code today and ran across this very issue. I have the 1-I-l character twice and O-0. My sign-up code is "7MIOBlaYjp". So how many combination am I guessing here?

18
here they all are...

1. 7MIOBIaYjp
2. 7MIOBlaYjp
3. 7MIOB1aYjp
4. 7MlOBIaYjp
5. 7MlOBlaYjp
6. 7MlOB1aYjp
7. 7M1OBIaYjp
8. 7M1OBlaYjp
9. 7M1OB1aYjp
10. 7MI0BIaYjp
11. 7MI0BlaYjp
12. 7MI0B1aYjp
13. 7Ml0BIaYjp
14. 7Ml0BlaYjp
15. 7Ml0B1aYjp
16. 7M10BIaYjp
17. 7M10BlaYjp
18. 7M10B1aYjp

Who would ever enter a code that many times? After a few tries most people will give up! It's hard to believe someone didn't notice this when they were tasked with this promo code project. Didn't they want me to get into whatever they were promoting? They were almost successful but because of a poor choice in code characters have now lost me.

A few years ago I was approached by a toy company to do write an application that generates promo codes. I made sure to take these considerations into account when I wrote it. Plus - it's toys so that means there is a good chance a child is entering the code. You have to make it AS EASY AS POSSIBLE!

The same thing goes for CAPTCHA's.