The discussion revolves around the difference between deactivating and suspending a user on Discourse. Per_Jacobsson1 is looking for a way to restrict access to users whose subscription has expired on Memberpress, without deleting their content. itsbhanusharma suggests deactivating the user, but Per_Jacobsson1 is concerned that deactivated users who haven’t posted might get deleted after a few days.
ondrej explains that deactivating a user requires them to re-validate their email to regain access, whereas suspending a user prevents them from logging in. Per_Jacobsson1 prefers suspension, as it doesn’t allow users to regain access by re-validating their email.
Per_Jacobsson1 also inquires about email notifications and reply capabilities for deactivated users, which is not desirable in this scenario. Ultimately, Per_Jacobsson1 considers suspending users, and david confirms that a suspended user’s content remains intact.
What is the difference between deactivating a user and suspending a user?
I have an integration with Memberpress where users purchase a subscription. When their subscription expires on Memberpress I want to restrict their access on Discourse (but I dont want to delete them and their content as they might become active again by purchasing a subscription on Memberpress).
So is the best way to deactivate them or to suspend them on Discourse?
Thanks!
The best way is to deactivate the user
thanks!
but I read somewhere that users who have not posted anything will get deleted after a few days if they are deactivated. I would ideally like to keep their accounts.
Whats the difference between being deactivated and suspended?
When you deactivate a user the user must re-validate their email. If you suspend a user they cannot log in to the site.
If deactivated, they could revalidate their email and then be active again right?
I dont necessarily want them to be able to do this. I only want them to regain access after purchasing another subscription on Memberpress.
Also, when deactivated, would you still receive emails from the forum when other members are posting? And can you still reply? Again, I dont want them to be able to do this before resubscribing.
Can anyone please confirm that a users posts are kept intact when the user is suspended?
I am thinking of using the “suspend user” as an option, but only if the users content does not get deleted.
thanks!
Correct, their content is kept intact 
awesome, thank you for confirming! 