[Mediawiki-l] Email approval before login

Anthony DiPierro wikilegal at inbox.org
Mon Dec 5 23:41:27 UTC 2005


On 12/5/05, Rowan Collins <rowan.collins at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 05/12/05, Mischa Peters <mischa2023 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I understand the open editing thing. But I don't want to have people
> > register with bogus accounts. As long as their email address exist I
> > don't mind what they type.
>
> How on earth does "not having an e-mail address" equate to "bogus
> account" - or rather, how does "having an e-mail address" equate to
> "completely trusted account"? This is exactly the kind of flawed
> reasoning that gets trotted out time and time again on this subject,
> and why I think there is a serious message behind the very funny
> parody on meta [1].
>
Is there any check in mediawiki to determine whether or not the email
address you give it is actually an email address of yours?  I think
this is what was meant by "bogus accounts", someone who put
"whatever at example.com" or something like that.

> By all means argue that the additional speed-bump provided by forcing
> e-mail verification, and the resulting overall decline in edits and
> editors - both good and bad - will be on average beneficial for your
> particular use of MediaWiki. But do not be so foolish as to claim that
> the ability and willingness to go through that process will in any way
> guarantee the character and intention of a particular user.
>
> Look at mailinator.com, look at bugmenot.com, and you'll realise that
> people who *want* to by-pass the "verification" will be able to do so
> perfectly easily thank you very much.
>
> -=Refs=-
> [1]: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Friends_of_gays_should_not_be_allowed_to_edit_articles
>
> --
> Rowan Collins BSc
> [IMSoP]



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