Captcha settings: speed vs protection
The captcha and antispam settings on JoinKeeper are the only knob you actually need to think about after setup. The default is a balanced configuration that approves real users within seconds while rejecting most basic bots. For most channels this is the right setting and you do not need to touch it. For channels that have specific needs, two scenarios are worth knowing.
First scenario, you are running a channel where speed matters more than protection. Examples: live event channels, breaking news, time-sensitive promotions. Switch the captcha to lenient mode. This skips the slowest checks and approves users in under one second. Bot rejection drops by about thirty percent but acceptance speed roughly doubles. For most channels in this category, the tradeoff is worth it.
Second scenario, you are running a channel that gets targeted by spam waves (often happens to channels above 50k members). Switch the captcha to strict mode. This adds an image-based challenge that automated bots typically fail. Acceptance speed slows to about three to five seconds but bot rejection rises to near total. Use this when you see a spike of obvious bot accounts in your member list.