TOPIC: Guests can use any username ?!!!

hey everyone..
we installed the comment system and it works fine EXCEPT that guest visitors can use any name they want and that includes the name of Registered users.. !!! so..

how can we stop guests from using registered usernames ?? is there a privacy check on the comment system to check if the guest username is already registered or not ?

plz help
thanks

They can use whatever name they want, but they won't look as registered users... For example - if you enable avatars from jomSocial or CB - you won't see the registered user avatar - you will still see them as unregistered.

Daniel

hi, thanks for the reply
so basically guests can also use a SAME Name as a registered users ?!

like I could be a registered users with the name "JOHN" and I would comment and it would show the comment poster as "JOHN" and at the same time a guest can post with the Same Name "JOHN" and post the comment and it will too show the name as "JOHN" ?

if that's so don't you think it would confuse people and start a mess ? cuz someone can use a registered users name and start spamming like I guest use the name "ADMIN" as a guest and post right ow and that way a guest can trick people by using ADMIN as their guest name....

please advise
thanks again

Do you have jomsocial or CB - enable support for their avatars. This way - if the person is registered and has an avatar - everyone will see this avatar. If the person is registered -> then you will have no avatar.

If you don't have either of those components, then it looks like this.
If I'm not registered and post my comment as JOHN - then at the right of comment header you should also see - unregistered user.

And also you can go to the settings and enable real names instead of usernames. The chance that someone will input Daniel Dimitrov in the field is small..

There are always some bastards that will try to destroy your reputation, but I don't think that restricting the names that you can enter in this field is going to help. Imagine this situation. You have a registered user with the name daniel.
I go on your website and try to leave a comment and the comment form doesn't let me do it, because you have another guy who has registered with this name.

so I go for daniel1 - but you have another member who is again registered with that name. At the end I'm so frustrated that I just leave your website and won't write any comment.

Does this make any sense to you?

Cheers,
Daniel

hello,
thanks for the reply, yes you are absolutely right users will leave if they can't pick a easy name as they desire... BUT lets say they don't have to use any name... so if you are a Guest remove the NAME field so they can't insert any name so they just type their comments and submit and the name for guests will automatically be either GUEST or ANONYMOUS....

so can you add a very simple IF and ELSE condition on the Form so if guest commenting is enabled and user not logged in to remove or hide the Name Field this way you have added a feature to your software and made me and few others happy ...

if users see that they can post but they can't use a custom name then that's another way that they are motivated to register so they can use their own name rather than a default Guest name for guests

what do you think ?