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Subject:	Re: LUGNET in its Senior Years? (was Re: How to properly "announce" MOC's)
Newsgroups:	lugnet.general
Date:	Sun, 6 Jul 2008 20:41:36 GMT
Viewed:	9118 times

In lugnet.general, Jim DeVona wrote:

The web/email authentication system strikes me as an unnecessary obstacle to casual discussion. Before I obtained a Lugnet membership last year (inspired by the Great Brickshelf Crisis of ‘07), I often had difficulty posting messages. Sometimes I chose not bother after my initial attempts failed.

Is that system in place for compatibility with the Lugnet news-by-email option? My opinion is that a simpler login and posting mechanism would be nice.

Hi Jim,

as a matter of fact, LUGNET members do not need to authenticate posts if they sign into the web interface and post from there (as I am doing right now). Only the news (NNTP) and mail interfaces require authentication even for registered members as email sender addresses can easily be faked and we actually did have spam intrusion when the authentication mechanisms were broken for a while. Authentication would technically be possible for the NNTP service, but require a load of programming that I am unsure whether it would be worthwhile.

However, unregistered users just cannot sign into the web interface and thus will have to authenticate posts sent via the web as well. The reason behind all this is simple: We need to be able to 1) prevent spam and 2) prove that posts came from someone with a valid email address. LUGNET posters are encouraged (read: required) to post with their real names, and a validated email address is (and always has been) a prerequisite for being able to post.

Just btw., for just about any forum software and in just about any legislation it is highly recommended if not required that only logged-in users are allowed to post, and that accounts are activated through checking the validity of the signed-up email address. What LUGNET does not currently have is a simple sign-up process - since acquiring a life-time membership currently still requires payment of a small one-time (!) fee. Since membership also buys you out of having to view advertisements on LUGNET pages, it’s probably an investment worth considering.

As for what the future might hold - sorry, I guess I don’t have my crystal ball handy. We’ll certainly be considering all suggestions from the community (that is, all of you), because without you LUGNET would not be where it is now.

Regards,

Jerry

Message has 2 Replies:

		Re: LUGNET in its Senior Years? (was Re: How to properly "announce" MOC's)
(...) I know; I am a member. As I said, the difficulties I experienced occurred before I became a member. (...) I do not advocate posting privileges for anonymous visitors either. (...) Indeed. Elsewhere, this is done with a one-time email (...) (16 years ago, 7-Jul-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)

		Re: LUGNET in its Senior Years? (was Re: How to properly "announce" MOC's)
In lugnet.general, Gereon Stein wrote: <snip> (...) <snip> This statement alone is a big part of the reason I like LUGNET over the alternative sites (that and the threaded format vice bulletin board flat posting format). I feel it adds an edge of (...) (16 years ago, 7-Jul-08, to lugnet.general)

Message is in Reply To:

		Re: LUGNET in its Senior Years? (was Re: How to properly "announce" MOC's)
(...) The web/email authentication system strikes me as an unnecessary obstacle to casual discussion. Before I obtained a Lugnet membership last year (inspired by the Great Brickshelf Crisis of '07), I often had difficulty posting messages. (...) (16 years ago, 6-Jul-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)

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