Not exactly a software solution though. I wrote a plugin for my CMS that uses Project Honeypot so it's not that difficult and this is supposed to be a software forum, right?
The problem in this case, however, seems to be that it's an exploit-it needs a patch. Demoting highly qualified (and expensive) software engineers to data entry clerks sounds to me like an accountants argument (leverage free resource). I'd rather the free resource was leveraged to fix the software or we (the forum users) pay for the fix.
The sheer hutzpah of NI to make you a no-cost employee to clear up their spam is, to me, astounding. What's even more incomprehensible is that they have also convinced you it's a privilege