Registration question and Support Forum?

Doug Shepard

In Memorium
Messages
772
Location
Waterford, MI
I've got a question regarding the whole registration process. I noticed Gail O'Rourke said she had the same problem I had after registering. And apprarently Matt Meiser is (or was) having some trouble getting on. I could see my name showing up on the home page next to "Most Recent Member:" and I could read the thread under the Welcome Forum announcing I had joined, but I didn't appear on the Member List yet. I wasn't able to post anything but I was able to send PM's.
So in case we point folks here, what should we tell them about the normal turnaround time between registering and being able to post? And wouldn't it make more sense to already have the person showing up in the Member List before the Welcome thread for that person goes out? Or maybe have a 2nd email sent to them once they're finally set up, and tell them in the first email that they wont be able to post until they get the 2nd email? I'm just confused about the whole process and kind of dont think I'm the only one.

I also looked for the Support Forum when I went to post this and noticed there isn't one. Should there be?

I realize these are just the kinks that have to get worked out starting up a new forum. Just thought I'd throw the questions out there.
 
One of the three admin's have to approve, let you in after you register.

So sometimes it takes a while for someone to post.
This keeps out the joewoodbasher user names .
We also like real names.:D
 
Thanks Steve
Wouldn't it make more sense then for the Admin's to post the Welcome message then? After the person has been added to the Member List?
Maybe they could get a script that would take care of generating the Welcome message and emailing the person (saying something like "You're all set up and can now post messages, blah, blah, blah") as they're added to the Member List?
I don't question why you're doing manual intervention to weed out junk names. It's just that the current process leaves the new registrant scratching their head wondering what's going on. You'd think the Welcome thread would indicate that you've been completely registered, but that's not the case.
 
Good questions, Doug.

In Gail's case, I suspect her password was mistyped when she first registered. It took trying a few things, but once I changed her password, she was able to get in. Matt's trouble was apparently due to initially trying to use a Gmail account, which the software is set up to deny.

The normal turnaround time varies. Sometimes it is a couple of minutes, and other times might be part or all of a day. We do try to get people approved and in as quickly as possible. To expand on what Steve mentioned, when someone registers, an email message is sent to the address they registered with. The e-mail has a link in it, and when the new member clicks the link, it tells the forum software that the e-mail address worked. Once the address has been confirmed, another mail message is sent to Stu, Marty and me letting us know someone has registered and is waiting for approval. Whichever one of us happens to be awake and at a computer will log into the Admin Control Panel and check the new registration to be sure it's a legit registration. (No "real names" like Seymore Butts, for example.) If everything looks fine, we click a button and the new member gets a mail message letting them know they're good to go.

Unfortunately, the new member's name shows up on the Members List before they are completely approved and actually in the forum. (Also, it shows up at the bottom of the home page, as the "newest member".) Like you've seen, often the gang here gets excited to see a familiar name show up at the bottom of the page, so they start welcoming the new folks before they even get to the point where they can post. (It's usually not the Admins who start a "welcome" thread.) This can be doubly frustrating for people who, for some reason, are having trouble logging on to the forum. They see all the "Howdy" posts directed at themselves, but they can't respond. So far, we've not found a way to make the names show up later in the registration process, but if we can, we will. None of us Admins are real code/script jockeys, so there are some things that are probably very doable, but we don't have the chops to make them happen. :)

For now, we don't have a Support Forum per se, but usually this type of discussion happens in the Members Only forum. Still, I think it's a good thing to have this post here in the Off-Topic forum, so Guests can see it also.

I agree with your suggestions, and hope this helps answer your questions -

- Vaughn
 
Maybe Stu, Marty, Vaughn will comment here about this.

I don't see a problem with someone welcoming someone in before they can post.

Maybe they can fine tune the registration process when they get time, with a welcome message:)


Edit. Vaughn was 2 milla seconds ahead of me. Lol
 
Last edited:
Top