[pmwiki-users] Auth User & New User Registration

[The Editor]

> Let me just say that user self-registration systems are a
> real pain to write and get to work properly, which is one
> of the reasons I haven't implemented one yet.  (Also, none of
> my sites need user registration, or even use AuthUser. :-)

In exploring the various options, for creating a user authentication
systems, it occurred to me that the HtpasswdForm might be easily
adapted for new users.  It already allows Admins to create new
accounts instantly, it allows authenticated users to change their
passwords, and it works off the same passwordfile as AuthUser. The
only thing needed would be to modify it so that when a
non-authenticated user views the form, he is allowed to create an
account--without seeing the list of existing users (i.e. remove a
capability, not add anything).

I'm not a coder, and this solution might not offer all the features
others would want, but it seems it wouldn't be too hard, and it might
be enough features for some. As for email verification, I could just
have them send some form to my autoresponder, which passes them a
temporary password used to access the HtpasswdForm page, and thus
create the account then.

The only feature it seems to lack is checking that a new user's name
does not already exist. Also, thinking down the road, it is already
set up for a comment field which could be used to store an email
address, thus adding other possibilities to the script (i.e. password
reminder).

Is there a chance someone on this list might be able to look at the
script and see if such a change were doable?  If it were, it might be
a nice addition (or update) to the cookbook. And it might save having
to write a new recipe from scratch.

Caveman