not asking for email on registration?

[sheevanian]

hello all,

how can i turn off email requirement on the registration-page for all users?
i want smf to ask only for:
username
password
password (confirm)
verification (prove being human)

i have read quite some boards on that, but all i tried didnt work for me.

thank you in ahead for any help

[margarett]

That's because you can't...
email is heavily used in SMF and it's not a trivial task (if possible, at all!) to take out.

If you really don't care about email, you must be sure to disable all email-related functions and ask your users to shove in a random e-mail. We can even generate a random one in Register.template.php
Then, it would be advisable to edit all places where email can be shown (at least profile and memberlist, out of my head).

But this is still a dirty work-around. Fact is, the software needs the email address.
These days, everyone has an e-mail address, right?

[sheevanian]

thank you for the reply.

my problem is: many ppl dont want to use their email-adress everywhere on the net (for whatever reasons).
me too, i mostly use emails for amazon, ebay, job, governmental issues etc...
although i used it to register on www.simplemachines.org, i dont want to spread it all over the net.
and i dont want to force ppl spread theirs all over the net or make the register new emails.

everyone has an email, but why does one need it to register on a smf-talkboard?
indeed its only useful for i dont know whom.
nobody needs an email to read or post something on a talkboard.

using an anonymous email works: like "[email protected]" but only one user can use it to register.
any other users registration using the same (false) email as above will be rejected saying: "email already registeredl"

it would be cool if the board admin could turn off all email funktions easily.
the other board admin who need email function simply leaves them turned on.

thank you in ahead for answering and have a nice weekend^^

[Burke ♞ Knight]

With the way SMF is set up, the member's email address does not show up for anyone who does not have permission to see it.
Therefore, it is not really an issue that needs to be hidden, as it already is hidden.

[Kindred]

and no, it would not be cool.

The forum can send emails to a user because they request notifications of new posts, pms, newsletters form the admin or they forgot their password or if someone tries to contact them...
Also, the email address can be used as an alternative login if the user has forgotten his login ID.

So... no. It really just can not and should not be removed.

[sheevanian]

"....it is not really an issue that needs to be hidden, as it already is hidden."
thats true and if all ppl would use their true email that would work fine.

unfortunately this problem: "....other users registration using the same (false) email as above will be rejected saying: "email already registeredl""
goes above some ppls head. getting that msg 3 times makes them close the board and continue surfing elsewhere^^ so in my eyes the best would be to turn it off.

if a board user really wants to receive msgs from a board a small button "add email to receive msgs" would make sense and the whole process easier easier.

thank you for your patience

[Burke ♞ Knight]

Like I said, the email is hidden, so people would not need to use fake emails. Kindred explained it very nicely, the email is needed for various reasons, and it needs to be valid, in order for the member to get password resets, etc.

Not only is it not a good idea to let them use fake emails, but it could also leave your site vulnerable. Email addresses can also be used to log into the forum, and fake email addresses are easier for hackers, as they have an extensive list of usual fake emails.

[sheevanian]

ok you persuaded me that its useful and i have a solution....

ill use the free for guests to read entrance board to explain ppl what to do
thank you and a nice weekend^^