At work I was asked by a different team how we can deal with bots, because someone in my team remembered that I knew how to do it.
I reluctantly suggested Anubis because I got shit for it last time, This is the URL https://anubis.techaro.lol/
This is the 2nd and last time I will ever recommend Anubis anywhere at work to deal with bots because of how unprofessional, un-serious and weird others perceive it.
The mascot being a ~10 year old "cutsie" anime cat girl is weird in a work setting.
I will never put myself in a situation again where I have to explain that it's not weird to anyone again, same for that URL.
What is a professional looking open-source alternative to Anubis?
Edit: No I can't just send my colleges here https://anubis.techaro.lol/docs/admin/botstopper The issue is they find the Mascot and domain weird, they will still run into both.
My Goal: Recommend a Open-Source bot protection tool
The Issue: When I send my coworkers to https://anubis.techaro.lol/docs/admin/botstopper they find the mascot and URL weird.
Result: They don't see Anubis as a serious tool and turn away from it
What is a professional looking open-source alternative to Anubis?
I understand you are just looking for an easy open source project that solves your issue, but it seems fairly obvious to me that your real issue here is that you are not willing to push for your teammates to accept that it is a valid service even if branded a bit oddly.
You should go for the $50 professional tier and get your team to accept that as valid by respectfully asserting yourself instead of wetnoodling and trying to get a different project that requires less assertiveness on your part.
Good luck with your team.
I have tried twice to push it, and both times I've gotten weird reactions because of the branding.
It's not worth it for me to do that again, I wish Anubis had a paid version with a different domain and no cutsie anime girl branding. That would make it significantly easier to sell to me colleagues
I think the developer might benefit hearing that point of view. A separate website that only lists the paid tier without displaying the anime branding seems beneficial for them. You could suggest it to them.
That would solve all my problems.
If they can’t stay professional, be the one who does.
Sure, but at the end of the day Anubis will not be used, because of its branding.
Then point out that their way of thinking is unprofessional without saying so directly. That’s what I would do, at least.
There is a way to use something like Anubis without having to deal with the image. But you need to handle it professionally.
Even after doing that, Anubis will not get used. I am in the minority.
Then let happen what needs to happen. The company does not have a simple and cheap solution for fighting bots. Maybe it is better they don't have such protection.
You say you have tried to convince them twice. How have you tried to pitch it so far? Like, give us a word for word and we may be able to help you workshop it.
I am not jumping thought hoops at work to fight this battle at work.
IMO, Anubis is no longer a tool I will recommend at work until there is a URL I can point people to without that branding, it being paid is not a issue, work will throw thousands of Euro's at the issue if they have to. But I will never risk that mascot coming up in a meeting again.
It sounds like you are still just throwing a fit over the fact that the Anubis team has set the logo as what it is.
New suggestion:
Write your own damn anti-bot code.
Then don’t recommend it to others. Keep being ashamed of the cute, anime-style picture just because everyone else is embarrassed by it. But that’s not how the world’s problems get solved.