Hi Everyone,

I have a question about password protecting site pages, except for the Classmate Profiles page which I will not assign a password. Doing this would prevent random people surfing the web or using Google to find and read my site pages correct? My understanding on the topic is this... Once you password protect pages, do you then send out an email blast to the members giving them the password? Once they input the password for the specified pages is it then stored as a cookie so they don't have to keep putting it in?

Any help or feedback would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Best,

First, don't password protect the Home Page, nor the Profiles. You do not need to send out any password. The pages are password protected to everyone except those who register on your website.

Basically, tried and true, Join the website if you want to see these pages. That also helps to encourage to join, one of the many benefits.

Welcome, Michael!

I have password protected a few pages because of an incident with a classmate. It is my understanding that, classmates who are registered can see password protected pages. There is no need to inform them of the password. You can provide the password to guests who you invite to view your site. I, also, believe that you can designate which pages "outside viewers" can or cannot see. Good luck with your site.
Tam

Michael,
So there you have it... You don't want to password your Home page But make the subject matter so interesting that people will want to join and update their profile) I opt to protect my classmates so I password my profiles - because some have some need to privacy of their info...

I have password protected my Announcements. When they first go to my site, they see the home page, school info, why the site was created, but, to see any new information, birthdays, pictures, announcements, etc., they have to log on..
Plus, I have password protected most all of the links on the left side of home page.

Hi again,
This is what I did. I password protectected my music pages. I'm not sure I had to, but I did so there's no conflict with downloading it with you-tube. Other than that, as I understand it (Please, anyone correct me if I'm wrong!), each member picks their own password with which to log in. Then, once logged in, they may view the entire site (except for member to member messages and chats). Not logged in viewers cannot see profiles, addresses, or pictures that the individual alumni desires to keep private. On the left, the top set of pages anyone can see. The middle set of page descriptions only logged in members may see. The bottom set of page descriptions only the Administrators can see..
Barbara Ecker

Barbara
You can password protect your pages at the top left.
I only want signed in people to be able to view those pages on my site.. (except Classmate Profiles and Contact Us) Go to Edit Site pages and you can password any of those links.

I have pictures, information, etc, in those links that only logged-on people can see, not the public.

Tamson Will wrote:

Only when one is already logged in can registered classmates see password protected pages. Once they log out (or the pw cookie is invalidated), they have to log back in again. IOW, all they see is the BIG login screen.

That's not too big a deal, however, how do people that have never registered now register? The home page is password protected, so one can't get to Profiles to register. Do they email you?

As described, the home page and profiles should not be password protected - unless the whole class is registered and there's no need to get anyone else to join?

Michael,

I help with 2 different sites. Both have decided to also password protect the home page for hacking reasons.

By having the home page open so that anyone finding it can also access the Classmate Profiles page, a non-member of your class can go to the Classmate Profiles page, pick a name of someone who has not joined, and pretend to be that person. That's when you need that "verification question" to make sure you are dealing with the right person.

Our situations have been pretty blatant at times, with the email appearing at the bottom of the new classmate notification having someone else's name in it. That's when you get suspicious and start asking questions that only the real classmate can answer.

We did send out an email to the class explaining that we were setting up another layer of security and the new way of logging in. They still used the same log-in info as before, just on another page.

These are just some things to think about and be aware of as you get further into the process.

Anita

There are differing degrees of "comfort". I find password protecting the home page counter productive. Only a mature site should ever resort to that - for reasons already noted.

The worst that can happen is not really a big deal - in the big picture. Most CC sites do not pw protect the home page since it makes it very difficult to add new members. Verifying a member is part of the deal. We've not had any fakes yet.

I've had my business email publicly posted for 18 years. It just takes a good spam system - such as provided by gmail. I get about 100 spam emails a day, but they are all in spam, so no biggie.

Micheal,

When I started out, I, too, had the same issue and question. I learned through trial and error:

1. In Edit Site pages, do not password protect the home page. Check to password protect all other pages except the class list so folks can sign up.

2. In Edit Home Page at the bottom is a text box called Your Content. Anything written there will be visible to the world. Keep that limited or even blank.

3. In Edit Announcements, you have the choice in a drop down box to determine who reads which announcements on the home page. Mine are all Logged In only except for a few that I use as instructions to those who are joining. Your Home Page information can be a mix of "who views what."

Now if you knew all that, then the answer to your question is that Password Protected means a classmate with a password (i.e. logged in) is the only one who can read it. The system password asked for on the Edit Home Page is one you can give out to someone who is not a registered classmate like another admin from another site or whomever you determine should have temporary access to your site. I suggest you change the password after giving it to someone and give that visitor a deadline to complete their business.

I hope this clarifies some things for you.

This beginning haze of bewilderment will end. Then you will be mentoring the newbies. Hang in there!

Margaret

Michael Morin wrote:

It just struck me that this is the opposite goal of most commercial web sites. Commercial sites, such as CC, WANT random people surfing the web or using a search engine to find their site.

I personally also tend to WANT random people to find and read our site. The only restriction would be pages containing personal information. But the rest - the more open it is the better I want anyone and everyone to come visit the site. Why wouldn't I?

I think the password protecting thing is being interpreted in a way that is not healthy for a good site. CC intended it more for protecting personal information, not necessarily a goal of keeping all pages "hidden".

A good example is this message forum - intended only for CC site admins. Yet the world can read these forums. This forum could have been easily protected from outsider viewing since one requires a password to post and see who posted. Yet it's kept open. Why? To get more exposure. IOW, it's a good thing to attract attention, even from those not looking for the service they provide.

Better to approach it in the same way as commercial sites. There's a lot of history for how and why this was/is done. I find CC sites that have many pages open interesting to read. I can see pictures of areas that I can't find anywhere else. Sort of the same way that reading profiles is (I assume) interesting to many of us. A sort of natural healthy voyeurism that lets me/us explore places I'll never go