What are some best practices for implementing effective spam protection measures in PHP forums?

Spam protection in PHP forums is crucial to maintain the quality of discussions and prevent malicious activities. Implementing CAPTCHA verification, utilizing honeypot fields, and implementing IP address blacklisting are effective measures to combat spam. 

// CAPTCHA verification
session_start();
$randomNumber = rand(1000, 9999);
$_SESSION['captcha'] = $randomNumber;

// HTML form
<form method="post" action="submit.php">
    <input type="text" name="captcha" placeholder="Enter the code">
    <img src="captcha.php" alt="CAPTCHA Image">
</form>

// PHP verification
if ($_POST['captcha'] != $_SESSION['captcha']) {
    // Handle invalid CAPTCHA
}

// Honeypot field
if (!empty($_POST['email'])) {
    // Handle spam submission
}

// IP address blacklisting
$blacklist = ['127.0.0.1', '192.168.0.1'];
if (in_array($_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'], $blacklist)) {
    // Handle blacklisted IP address
}

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