Reading through this topic and the previous topics, I can see that the current functioning is “by design” but does not reflect the new changes to the invite system. It has become much easier to create invite links that can be used by unknown people. Invite links now also dangerously can be created by staff that add invitees to groups that can have access to secure categories on the site.
@Wall-E I am curious to understand how it is that your invite links are falling into the hands of people who should not be allowed access to your site. Presumably your site’s staff will know to be careful not to create invite links that can be used by anyone and share them publicly or in settings where the wrong people will be able to use them. To some extent the issue you are facing is a staff training issue. Feel free to PM me your answer if it contains specifics that are sensitive.
If there are invite links existing currently that are somehow compromised, you can delete them and create new ones and share them more carefully in the future. As admin, you can also always look on the invites page for the user to see who has redeemed their invites. If you have staff you do not trust, you can lower their privs to TL4 which has near moderator privileges.
I see three possible courses of action:
- Do nothing. Invite system is working as designed, staff just need to be careful with their invite links. If we take this route, suggest we change description of
must approve usersadmin setting to make it crystal clear that invite links created by admins bypass this setting.
Staff must approve all new user accounts before they are allowed to access the site. Note: invites created by staff bypass this setting and do not require approval.
Pull request for this change is here: clarify that invites by staff bypass user approval by tobiaseigen · Pull Request #16966 · discourse/discourse · GitHub
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Do (1) but also add an extra “are you sure” warning step when admins create an invite link that can be used to immediately gain access to the site. Only on sites with approval required.
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Change behavior so invite links created by admins respect the approval required setting just like invites by non-admins.
I agree with the OP that the current behavior is misleading, and has the potential to lead to problems on sites when approval is required. Sites with this setting enabled are extra cautious and need this extra paranoid level of control over who can gain access.
My recommendation therefore would be for us to choose door number three - make all invite links work the same way and respect the must approve users setting.
I don’t think this is a bug, however. It’s working as designed. Reclassifying as feature request.