Is this a normal reaction?

[master412160]

Hello,

On my forum we don't allow fake e-mails. Such as [email protected]. Instead we ask you to use @hotmail, @gmail, etc...

Now a member signed up with a fake aka domain e-mail while on the registration page cleary stated we don't allow that.

I simply contacted the member in kind through PM with the following:

Hey,

About your e-mail "fake e-mail here" we currenlty don't allow such e-mails with the domain after it.

Do you got a other one we can replace on this account for you?

Regards

He replied with:

the most pathetic childish thing i've ever heard.

no sorry, in fact you've lost a member. please remove my account. until such time there is maturity on this forum i will not be part of it.

I know I can enable account activation through e-mail, but I don't cause its one extra step people have to undertake which many don't like. Instead I try to check the e-mail of new users and see if its a real one or not.

But do you think this user reacted correct? Did I ask a impossible thing? I think not. Anyways I did remove his account on his request.

 

[Deleted member 12738]

Hotmail is the most common spam mail, and I think it's ridiculous to block domains. The domain will only expire when the user forgot about it.
When a member forgets about his gMail he won't use it anymore either so it makes no sense.

Additionally, it would be better to block hotmail and not personal domains, due it having so many fake email.

His reaction may be a little overreacted, but he sure has a point.

 

[AndroidOS]

Yes, the user might have over reacted a bit here, but I do agree with Mii, I don't think it is a good idea to block domains. If the user forgets about it then it expires after a year, webmail and ISP provided mail don't.

 

[Bluezone777]

The guy definitely overreacted. If that's the way he's going to act over having to use a real e-mail then I think he did you a favor by leaving. I can only imagine how this guy would react to someone if he had some sort of mod power...

 

[Deleted member 12738]

The guy definitely overreacted. If that's the way he's going to act over having to use a real e-mail then I think he did you a favor by leaving. I can only imagine how this guy would react to someone if he had some sort of mod power...

How are domains not real emails? They're more real then Hotmail and Gmail and such are.

 

[master412160]

I disagree, cause eventually it will expire thus vanish. You won't be able to recover your account on all those boards on which you registered using your domain e-mail.

While with a email like gmail it is still possible.

The expire part also happens of course on gmail/hotmail and other e-mail providers when the account has been inactive for a period of two years or longer.

But for a domain e-mail or personal e-mail its a year if the domain isn't renewed.

 

[Deleted member 12738]

That's not true. You can just lengthen like a real domain. (Well, it is a real domain so. 😉 )
If the user doesn't do this he doesn't care about his mail anymore.
On Gmail, he won't care anymore and thus not read his mail anymore either.

Result: The same.

 

[master412160]

Well not really, it could be the person is taking a break from the internet.

Thus getting inactive on all accounts he used. This doesn't mean he won't ever use it again.

Sadly when you take a break of 2 year period due having a busy job or such your domain expired. Which is normal as you had no value for it at the time during your absence online.

But when getting back on the net from that break you might feel sorry about not having renewed it.

Of course there are people who still renew it when being on the net not often.

 

[Deleted member 12738]

Not true. If you're busy you most of the times get loads of email.
Also, even if they don't read if for 2 years, he can update it after and you can't contact him in meantime anyways.

Most people having a domain are people who get loads of email.

 

[Gimgak]

LOL I've seen website blocking free email providers as a lot of spam users come from such sites but blocking someones personal email? That just sounds extremely counterproductive.

 

[master412160]

I do that cause chances are high I won't be able to contact said user in a long run when the domain associated with his e-mail is expired.

Of course if this domain is registered out of soul purpose to be his e-mail then that won't happen in a long run, but I don't know when that is. Making contact helps to find out.

 

[CyberFreak]

Personally I think it is an over reaction on both sides. Should the user have reacted in the way he did? Not really. Should a forum, in my opinion, have restrictions like this in place? Again not really.

This to me is another one of those cases where you try and solve a problem by causing another. Email accounts get deleted... No matter if they are hotmail, gmail or an @yourdomain.com email. Is it worth inconveniencing your members and yourself by checking all accounts and sending a PM? Personally when running a forum, I feel that there are much more important matters to deal with on a daily basis other then getting people to use a Gmail or Hotmail email address which could vanish just as easy.

I deal with cases where users cannot access their hotmail or gmail account anymore for whatever reason, we have alot of emails that get bounced back from Yahoo, gmail etc saying the user doesn't exist. If a user is active on your site then you can use PM to speak with them if needed & if the user is inactive and you want to email them then they are probably not that interested in your site anymore. If users can't access their email and have a problem logging in then they will let you know if they are interested in your site.

Without email validation, you also start to get users that will enter fake hotmail email addresses and it is not always easy for you to know. The number of these could outnumber the number of users with invalid @yourdomain.com email addresses.

 

[sapper]

Personally I can't see the problem with a personal e-mail, if the domain lapses, then all that happens is that any mail will bounce.

He did overreact a bit, but you could have put it to him a little bit better.

It would have been far better to let him join, and keep an eye on his activity, you never know he may have become a brilliant member, now you will never know.

 

[death180]

I completely agree with Fowler. But the user was also immature in his response, if he didn't like the way you ran the forum he could have said it differently instead of acting childish himself. Regardless he's gone so it doesn't matter that much.

But I won't tell you how to run your forum master, it's up to you how you handle emails.

 

[D]

I'm with Fowler on this one. I join websites with my own personal email: [email protected]

I do not like giving out my actual email anywhere really, for security reasons. The user did sound kinda childish though, if I was messaged by you to change my email I would have explained that I rarely use my actual email address for security reasons and if you still was not happy about that I would have left without a reply.

 

[karoshio]

I'm with Fowler on this one. I join websites with my own personal email: [email protected]

I do not like giving out my actual email anywhere really, for security reasons. The user did sound kinda childish though, if I was messaged by you to change my email I would have explained that I rarely use my actual email address for security reasons and if you still was not happy about that I would have left without a reply.

I agree. Not on the security part for me personally but emails using @domain.com are very common in the Webmaster World and it doesn't make any sense to restrict it.

 

[Luke]

It's a bit over the top by both parties, I notice most people signup using @theirforum.com so blocking that is just making you loose members because why should they have to create a gmail or hotmail account when they already have a valid email just isn't hosted by Microsoft or Google.

 

[Nebulous]

If I was able to register on a forum without providing my actual email address, then that's the admin's bad. He should have had email validation turned on if he wanted my real email addresses. If he approaches me asking for it afterwords, chances are I probably wouldnt want to give it to him either. Seems like an odd request seeing as I am already a validated member of the forum, what does he need my email for anyway? To send me email announcements about the forum that I don't care to receive? Screw that.
😛 😛

 

[master412160]

Thanks for the great replies guys,

That of Fowler got me thinking the most.

I have now removed the rule of not allowing personal e-mails and instead have activated account activation through e-mail.

 

[dojo]

I have hundreds of accounts in forums (after 10 years) and NEVER cared about having to click on a link to confirm an email account. I wouldn't waste MY time to see if the email is legit or not. not to mention that, if I register from my web design domain I will be pretty angry if you call my account fake. Enable email activation and you're fine. I really can't understand where you guys come from with this idea that it's annoying to the members. ANY decent resource will ask for email confirmation, so your members are used it. And, if they can't be bothered to waste 2 seconds of their precious time to click a link, I surely don't want to have people with unconfirmed emails or waste my precious time trying to see which are legit or not.