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Answer 1

A:

Take a look at the function setcookie() for setting cookies and $_COOKIE["mycookie"] for getting the value of the setted cookie.

But be aware that the user can simply bypass your "solution" by deleting the cookie.

A more complex (but better) solution would be to implement a user-system (with login and so on) and check the time of the last post in the database.

bb-generation 2010-06-21 16:54:28

Answer 2

+1 A:

Aside from the how to do it with a cookie, why are you doing it? If you want to avoid technically advanced spammers, setting a client side cookie is going to deter them for about 5 seconds before they disable cookies for your site or otherwise work around your restriction.

As for how, you could simply set a cookie with a timeout of 30 minutes. If the cookies exists, block. If not, they're free to post.

Kendrick 2010-06-21 16:55:05

Answer 3

+12 A:

Don't do it client side (cookies, javascript, whatever); that can be easily circumvented.

If the user must be registered in order to post a comment, you can add a column/table in the database where the time of last comment is stored. Every time before a comment is posted, you then check if 30 minutes have elapsed since that instant that's registered in the database. If not, you abort the operation.

If you don't require registration, you can save the database a tuple (IP, time) and proceed likewise.

Artefacto 2010-06-21 16:55:12

@Artefacto: I agree cookies can be easily circumvented, but it takes much less effort building a client side solution using cookies rather than a server side solution that moreover requitres a DB.

Marco Demajo 2010-06-21 21:18:10

Answer 4

+1 A:

Without knowing more about your project, I would do it something like this:

When a user posts first check to see if your cookie exists
If it does not exist allow the user to post, and create a cookie with a current timestamp
If the cookie does exist, check to see if the time stamp is more than 30 minutes prior to the current time.
If the time is more than 30 minutes, let them post and reset the time.
If not, give them a pretty message which says they have to wait.

Of course this isn't the best method because they have to have cookies enabled, or they could delete the cookie, or whatnot. Personally I would handle this server side by either a) having each user create an account to post (which isn't too crazy of an idea of you are that worried about a user posting more than once every 30 minutes), or b) checking their IP address.

Tim C 2010-06-21 16:56:38

@Tim C: +1 I like this, cause actually deleting the cookie is not that basic cause most browser won't let you delete only one cookie but all of them, so if the user probably uses cookie to keep himself looged in Yahoo mail (for instance) and in another bunch of sites, in order to try to cheat the site and send another comment in less than 30 mins he would have to delete all cookies forcing himslef later to log in again in all websites were he was kept logged in by a cookies. (Unless he goes in broWser cache and deletes them by hand, but the average user don't know how to do it).

Marco Demajo 2010-06-21 21:24:46

@ Marco: The user can easily use several browsers (e.g. FF, IE, Safari, Opera, ...) to do multiple posts. Also Firefox allows users to delete cookies for a selected domain.

Majid 2010-06-21 21:45:55

I think the logic is there if you really must only use a client side solution. @Majid there is no doubt that you can get around it in many browsers easily. But if you have to use a client side, I guess this would do it. I still agree to go with a server side solution though.

Tim C 2010-06-21 22:08:47

@Majid: true what you say, but the average user don'y user three browsers at a time. Anyway I agree that the good path is to perform the control on server side, but still performing it on client side is much less effort to be coded.

Marco Demajo 2010-06-22 11:30:42

Answer 5

A:

why jquery? you can do it by php.

store user data in cookies(if he/she is registered user, store id, if not - store ip address), and set time to 30minutes(or whatever you want).then verify, if the cookie is active, don't allow to write a comment.

Syom 2010-06-21 16:57:07

Answer 6

A:

Use Session

For example, after a post, put the current time + 30 minutes in your session line this $_SESSION['postTimeFlag'] = time() + 1800; Then whenever the user is about to post then the session

if(time()>$_SESSION['postTimeFlag']) { 
   //continue posting
}

Starx 2010-06-21 17:10:19

User can still clear their session cookie.

Lotus Notes 2010-06-21 17:15:22

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Limit posting to every 30 minutes

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