Setting up email confirmations

Ok, let me try it this way.

I can't figure it out, maybe a mental block but can someone explain to me in detail what the three settings under Admin/Settings/Moderation Settings actually do?

Yes/No

The first checkbox determines whether profiles must be confirmed (i.e. turned on so users can use it) manually.  checking it means the profile is "activated" in the sense users can edit hteir profile and pictures.  They cannot do anything else in the site if the other 2 are unchecked.

The second box, I believe, determines if editing profile information requires manual approval of the edits before it goes live, or it places the profile in unconfirmed status again until edits are approved.

The last box determines whether profile confirmation (i.e. approval) requires validation of an email address.

So....

If you check the first 2 and uncheck the last item, then users must confirm their email (clicking on the email message sent) in order to use any functions in the site, they are unconfirmed.  The profile is active in the sense that they can edit their profile information and upload their avatars, but they cannot do anything else on the site until they confirm their email address.

If you check all 3, then when a user registers, they will have full access to the site without any confirmation necessary.  Membership level is whatever your default membership level is, usually promo or standard.  No other action is required to grant users full access to the site.

If you uncheck the first and check the last, then the user cannot access their profile until it is approved by the admin, but no email validation is required once the admin approves the profile to use the profile.

Thank you for the information.

Now I need to go test again because my initial tests showed it wasn't working that way and that was my problem. The other problem is I understand that many different people from many different backgrounds are working on this project but the english used to describe those things leaves a little to be desired for someone as illiterate in other languages as I am.

Be back with the results of my test in a couple hours....

I know what you mean, English is not always English.

Ok, first test

Checked box 1, box 2 & 3 unchecked.

• Validation email is sent after successful signup
• Clicking validation link results in activation at default membership setting
• changing profile information results in membership being moved back to 'approval' (or unapproved) status
• No email is sent to member
• No email is sent to admin

essentially, in this scenario, if the member does not send a note to the admin that he needs an action taken to re-approve his membership, no one knows. While not being a bug, it is certainly something that needs to be changed.

Running test #2 now

Second verse! Same as the first!

Well, almost. Checking box 1 and box 2 and leaving box 3 unchecked has resulted in the member being allowed to change his profile and still remain active.

This is not a good thing and I recommend no one use this as it allows the member to do all kinds of weird things, including placing a fake email address that can cause problems with your server (at the very least, repeated bad emails can clog your drives up)

I'm not sure what checkbox 3 could possibly be for but wwe're gonna go test it now...

I don't need to test the third one. Here's what I found out.

1. Checking this box enables email validation
2. Checking this box disables the members access if they change their profile information. 
3. Checking this box disables all validation requirements.

Now that I understand it I have a problem. I cannot make the site send a re-validation email if they change their profile information, especially their email address. In fact, if they change it, they are NOT notified that their membership access has been reduced NOR AM I, as the administrator, informed of their changes or lack of access so I can take the necessary action.

How do I make the site send a re-validation email if someone changes their profile?

in the admin panel under members button, can you not send a confirm email by ticking on whomevers email address you want to send a confirmation to?

they should be notified that their membership level has been reduced or a payment is coming due, the user ID does not change, and the userID is what is the common denominator between any of the additional fields on the database.

SkyForum,

If someone is going through all the trouble the change to a fake email I doubt they are going to pay attention to what ever your site sends them.

I bet they will just report the emails as spam. And if a enough people from a email provider do that there is a chance your mail server will get black listed.

I personally just wait for a bounced email, then look up the account by email and delete or change it if required.

Email validation is usually a form of spam protection as its harder for spammers to open a lot of fake accounts on your site.

-LSB

That's the whole point my friend. The system is not notifying me or the member that their membership has been restricted. I do not charge my towers for access to the site, only outside advertisers. The portal I use now has this feature and it's invaluable for keeping the email addresses honest and it also helps keep the spamming to a minimum. This feature also helps the member who inadvertently creates a typo in his address. Even if it notified me, I wouldn't like it. I need it to be automatic. If your membership gets very high, you could feasibly spend all day just checking profiles and updating them. I don't want to be bothered with all that.

I don't think that's true. It would be very hard to get your site blacklisted because someone is sitting in your forum every day, entering and reentering new profiles with bogus emails. If you were a little spamkiddie, would you sit in the forum login screen all day just entering fake email addresses? I think not. There are a lot better ways to have fun f***ing with people.

I know a little about being black listed as early on I tried to set up my own email server and inadvertently created an open relay. It didn't take a Chinese hacker long to find it and my estimates put the emails that went through my system somewhere around 750,000 before I noticed it and was able to slam the door shut. Even after that event, I only ended up on two serious lists that were pretty easy to get myself off of..

Now I have to tell you my site is unlike any site you have ever visited. I have a perfect score in site management and over the last 5 years and some 1900+ authorized members I have had only one instance where I had to ban someone. On top of that, the few spam attacks I did encounter were easily thwarted by making the site read only until your membership was approved and authorized. My membership all know each other and are part of the same industry. Causing problems on the forum has the distinct possibility of harming your reputation and they all know it so the problems like the ones you would encounter on a sex site or a dating site are virtually non-existent.

Can someone help me rewrite the specific code that would force a validation email on a profile change?