The short answer is: auto-registration won't be restored anytime soon, and may never be.
We are now going to aim to set up a semi-automated hand-approval system, a Web form in which people will be required to submit a biography and, probably, at least one supporting Web link (or perhaps the username of an existing member who acts as a reference). The result will be put into a Web-based queue administered by constables that will automate and speed up hand-approval; with the press of a button, we'll be able to create an account, populate the user page with the bio, and put a welcome message on the user talk page. That's the idea anyway. Note, good-faith contributors will not have to do anything they do not do already (except perhaps supply that Web link--although people did have to supply one in the first six weeks or so of the pilot project). Constables too will not have to do much more than what they do now, since they already look over biographies, welcome new arrivals, etc. But for bad-faith contributors, this puts the kibosh on their usual dirty tricks, because so much of vandalism absolutely requires the ability to create accounts at will. That's easy if you just have to fill out a simple Web form; but if it requires a bio and some simple proof of ID, it becomes *much* harder. This of course is why we had *no* vandalism prior to self-registration (that I can recall), or since we took self-registration offline. And we have been *unusually* productive since Friday night as a result (in part), although having a great new program (the Big Speedydelete) helped as well. The Executive Committee and Constabulary both reviewed the options. The reputation of CZ and the labor/workload of constables are deeply affected by the outcome. I think it's safe to say that most of us are conflicted about it, but ultimately comfortable with it for now. Obviously, we *want* open registration. But with even the beefiest technical tools available, it will still be far too easy for bad faith editors to get on board. Having a human being in the loop really does make a significant difference. So we're aiming at making a human-powered registration process as quick and efficient as possible. --Larry > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of > Phil Howard > Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 10:29 PM > To: 'Main Citizendium' > Subject: Re: [Citizendium-l] Up next: the Big Cleanup > > > Any ETA on when the auto-registration might be restored? _______________________________________________ Citizendium-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.purdue.edu/mailman/listinfo/citizendium-l
