Has new member verification process been changed or removed?

Recently I've had new applicant member's information pop up on the website prior to verification. Today a new person was able to complete her profile information, update her profile photo which posted to the website (What's New) to all classmates, not just visible to me as Admin. I logged out as me and logged back in as a classmate and it is visible to all.

I didn't think the profile update was supposed to post until the classmate had been verified, or am I wrong?

I have Preferences - New Classmate Verification set to DO NOT ALLOW . . . classmate to post messages, send or receive emails, etc. and her profile page IS restricted where other classmates are not able to view it until verified, but at the bottom of the new applicant's Profile Page, the option to Restrict their access to the site is GONE.

The 3 options shown now only include:
Yes, I've verified this person
No, I do not believe this person is who they claim or
Leave this person's account as unverified, BUT CONTINUE TO LET THEM USE THE SITE.

There used to be a 4th option to restrict their access to the site until after verification

NO, I do not want an unverified person to have access to the site. I've had people try to say they were a classmate, they were not able to answer the simplest of questions about our school, and google statistics showed connections to China and Russia and as far as I know, NONE of our classmates are in either country.

Being able to view information on our website can facilitate Identity Theft by providing enough information for someone to pretend to be an old friend by referencing some of the comments and interaction they can readily see on the What's New Page.

I thought I remembered a 4th choice, that was to prevent access UNTIL they had been verified. Did I remember incorrectly? When was this feature removed?

Please restore it! Or is my site broken?

I have had several times when logging in took me back to the log in screen. Once I was actually logged in but it didn't show it, but usually I'm not logged in and I have to use a different browser. Perhaps it's my browser. Didn't do extensive testing and access with a different browser would point to mine as the problem, but I thought I'd mention it in case it was germaine.

EDIT: I do see in Join Verification vs Joined Email Send Response #1 Kyle Erickson tells us that the Profile Update should NOT go out until verification. Has this changed?

Hi Gary,

It is difficult for us to check into this further without the classmate name. You can email me the information using task ID 73356 in the subject line and email info@classcreator.com

We have not changed the options and only have the three options listed.

Jessica
Class Creator Support

If you go to that member, does it show "Yes, I've verified this person"? It sounds like they'd been verified, and then came back later (much later?) to finish the rest of the join process.

As far as what I remember about a member before they were verified, they could log in, see everything but profiles (don't remember about access to restricted pages), but could NOT post messages or comments - kinda like someone logged in via the system password. Oh, and they don't appear on either the missing list OR the class profiles list until they're verified. And the "New Member" notify does not go out until they're verified.

I don't remember a choice that removes/blocks access until a new member is verified. But all of this is from ancient memories since I have not had a new member for years.

Thanks John,

No, the image in my message was the actual classmate showing I have not verified her, and she has Never been on the website.

I periodically copy the Statistics - Last Sign In list and save it to Excel. Double checked and she has never been on before, but I did have some of her contact information that I'd listed on her profile, but she's never been on.

I'm almost positive that there used to be a setting that would NOT let them access much of anything until they had been verified. As I recall, and I'm pretty sure I tested this, they couldn't see any Restricted Pages and almost all mine are restricted.

My main concern in allowing folks access to any of our pages, is that enough information can be gleaned just from following the comments, that some unscrupulous actor could learn enough to spoof a classmate to social engineer their way into Identity Theft, probably on another site.

They could contact another classmate and say "Hey Melody, I was thinking about you the other day and remembered when [this event I learned from the discussions] happened, do you remember me. will you "Friend" me [so I can continue to collect data]?

Name Sent to Jessica.

As you can see, they still are not verified, but their Profile has a new picture added shows up on the What's New Page.

Kyle Erikson's response in the link I referenced in my first post indicates that this should not happen.

Hi Gary,

The option to not let them do anything is the No option.

Jessica
Class Creator Support

You're saying click the No, I don't believe this person is who they say they are.

Selecting "No" will basically block them from everything. I was thinking there used to be a 4th option that we could select in Preferences, but I no longer see 4 options, only 3.

When was this removed and can we please have it back?

The default NOW appears to permit anyone access, Despite the fact that I selected Do Not Allow new subscribing classmates to view Password Protected (Restricted Pages) areas of the website.

EDIT: Picture Removed
Quote directly from Preferences:
• DO NOT ALLOW new subscribing Classmates to view password protected areas of the web site, access any restricted Classmate Profiles, send or receive emails, post messages in forums, participate in Live Chat, and hide Profile information from other Classmates until the new Classmate's identity has been verified. (Note: If you select this option, a new "Verified" field will appear in the Classmate's Profile area that only you, the Site Administrator, can see. When a new Classmate joins your site and the Classmate's identify has been confirmed, toggle the "Verified" field to "yes". The default will remain "no" until you do this. Once toggled to "yes" the new Classmate will be granted access to restricted areas of your site.

Doesn't clicking NO prevent them from even logging back in to the website?

Wouldn't it be better to let us set a No Access by Default (As it USED to BE)? As it is now, anyone can look around all they want until I realize we have a new subscribing classmate, but if I miss it, they have access until I take action. I could be on vacation.

Additionally, their NOT having access until they are Verified increases their motivation to Answer the List of Verification Questions that I always send.

If they have access by default, there is no incentive for anyone to answer the questions and anyone can gather personal information from the site.

Gary Scott wrote:

To jog my memory, I did some testing. In the process of Joining/registering, the new member is able to update their details and profile, answer profile questions, add a photo (and make it the master), but is blocked from seeing or doing most anything else beyond what they could have seen before they joined.

But... it they log out and then log back in (still not verified), it's haphazard. They can look at class profiles page (assuming that page is not restricted), but they can't look at any profiles. They can't look at any restricted page. But they can view the Message forum or User Forum (if they're NOT restricted) although they can't post or add a topic. And they CAN take, save, and view a survey - just like any other logged in member.

They can't see What's New (if it's restricted). But adding that photo in their profile triggers a "profile updated" entry in What's New with the new photo and a link to their profile - showing everyone they're there - even though they still do NOT show up in the class Profile list or the Missing list until they're verified.

Sooo... "No" is simply the verify response to use when someone fails whatever verify tests you gave them and you want to reset that profile. They're pretty well blocked from seeing and doing anything beyond what an outside visitor can see or do until you verify them.

Once you do verify them, then everything is normal like any other user, but... you do have the option to change your mind later, when that last verify option has changed to "Unverify and Reset to the original".

The real 'bug' here is that they become visible to everyone from that What's New entry - before they're verified. That should not happen since the system tries to keep them hidden by any other view option until they're verified.

PS: Looks like trying to post the picture of the New Classmate Verification option in #6 above screwed up the thread's formating...

John Ralph wrote:

John Ralph wrote:

John, thanks for the extensive testing. You're right, the Profile Update at least according to Kyle Erikson's post from 2014 verifies that it should NOT display until verified.
I've already gotten complaints that while their profile photo showed up, they are not on the Missing or Profiles pages. The photo created a lot of Buzz, but all that momentum has unfortunately, now been LOST.

My biggest concern is that there USED to be a 4th option and that was to Automatically Block their access UNTILthey had been verified and NOT display their Profile Picture Update until verified. That Option was good, and now it's missing. I'd love to have it back, it just makes sense, and the Profile Update SHOULD NOT display Until Verified. IMHO

Gary Scott wrote:

While I don't remember a 4th option, I guess I don't see a problem letting an unverified new member have access after their initial join session so they can clean up their profile, upload profile photos, etc - while blocking any views or activity beyond those already available for an unregistered visitor. Any attempt on their part to try most (but unfortunately not all) activity now gets them an error message stating that whatever they tried can't be done until they are verified. That forced isolation also hinges on making sure that the rest of the members can't see them until they're verified.

The What's New entry and allowed survey completion are bugs, and I've entered them in the Bugs forum.

John Ralph wrote:

I'm quite sure the 4th option used to display. I spent quite a bit of time with it. I liked the automatically blocked until verified feature (as you can tell!)

I agree with letting new registrants update their profile and picture on first visit, as long as nothing was posted until they are verified. The fact that their picture and profile update notification WAS posted shows that apparently the site isn't working properly or some changes have been made. Thanks for posting under Bug Reports. I should have thought of that.

Why I feel this is important is that whenever we have a new classmate register, site activity increases, especially when everyone can contact and say hi, but when no one can contact them or view their profile, that excitement quickly diminishes and an event that could bring more people to the website as the new member interacts, is minimized rather than maximized.

I am glad to know that their access is limited. Thanks very much for your thorough investigation. I do appreciate it!

Gary Scott wrote:

This forum has had that width "bug" since forever. That and interpreting script code that will totally kill a thread

The same 'width' problem has also existed with the Message Forum and User Forum on our websites. But as admins, we can correct it when someone posts a photo that's too big.