Is there still no way for unregistered users to post?

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AI-generated summary

Discourse still requires users to sign up with an email and password before posting. MrDavis97 inquired about the possibility of allowing unregistered users to post, but HAWK stated that there are no plans to change this requirement.

However, orenwolf suggested adding “Sign in with X” options (e.g., Google, Facebook) to reduce the barrier to sign up, while Sailsman63 proposed a potential plugin solution for a “Quick Comment” form, which would still require an email address and a confirmation link for spam mitigation.

MrDavis97 confirmed that they had already implemented the “Sign in with Google” option, and codinghorror mentioned that Sign in with Apple is currently in testing, joining other available options.

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Are the conclusions reached in this and this post still the same as of 2021?

Basically, I have a discourse where I would like instant engagement, so I would rather have an unregistered user make a post anonymously than first have them go through the sign-up process of registering and THEN post. So is it still absolutely required that people first have to sign-up with an email and password before posting?

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There are no plans to ever do this, I’m afraid. Discourse fundamentally requires an email address to work.

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Well alright, I understand. Guess if people really want to engage with my discourse they can take the extra step to sign up real quick. Thank you for giving me a definitive answer!

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If you add the various “Sign in with X” options (such as Sign in with Google), you significantly reduce the barrier for most users to signup while also gaining the benefit of that entities signin security for your users, as well.

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I suppose that it might be possible for a plugin to add a sort of “Quick Comment” form…

  • Still need an email. The email address field would be part of the comment form
  • Submitting the comment form triggers a confirmation sent to the provided email “Click the link to confirm that you are the person who posted this comment”
    • This is primarily for spammer mitigation
  • On confirmation, a Staged User is created, as is sometimes allowed for Email-in categories. Username “StagedUser{blah}”
  • User can do this multiple times, all tying back to the Staged User
    • Now, you can promote completing signup as bringing the following benefits:
      • Being able to bypass the confirmation link on every post
      • Customized username
      • Notifications of Replys to one’s posts
      • &tc, &tc, all other standard discourse-y goodness
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That’s actually exactly what I did. I went through the process with Google. Good advice

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Sign in with Apple is also currently in testing, joining the other options (Facebook, Instagram, GitHub, Twitter, Discord..)

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