# New signup with old email including + doesnt work in rest API
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [June 7, 2023, 8:39pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594 "2023-06-07T20:39:29Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@hosna](https://meta.discourse.org/u/hosna)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2023, 8:39pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594/1 "2023-06-07T20:39:30Z")
It seems in a recent update, new signup with same email including a + to represent a new email isnt allowed. my system is highly dependent on it. how to enable it again?
for example if I have already signup with [email@gmail.com](mailto:email@gmail.com), I cant signup with [email+1@gmail.com](mailto:email+1@gmail.com)
btw I am testing this with rest api
also, I dont have this option checked:
---
### Author:  [@JammyDodger](https://meta.discourse.org/u/JammyDodger)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2023, 8:47pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594/2 "2023-06-07T20:47:15Z")
I believe that’s the `normalize emails` admin setting: 👍
**Edit:** I did not see that edit before I posted. 🙂
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### Author:  [@hosna](https://meta.discourse.org/u/hosna)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2023, 8:47pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594/3 "2023-06-07T20:47:51Z")
> [@JammyDodger](#):
>
> I believe that’s the `normalize emails` admin setting: 👍
yes it is already disabled for me
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### Author:  [@supermathie](https://meta.discourse.org/u/supermathie)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594/4 "2023-06-07T21:03:37Z")
I can’t duplicate this on [try.discourse.org](http://try.discourse.org).
Can you sign up from the normal UI with this email?
Also, can you double check the `+1` email wasn’t already used for a signup?
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### Author:  [@hosna](https://meta.discourse.org/u/hosna)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594/5 "2023-06-07T21:11:29Z")
yes normal UI is ok. rest api is not ok.
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### Author:  [@supermathie](https://meta.discourse.org/u/supermathie)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2023, 9:47pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594/6 "2023-06-07T21:47:54Z")
I did exactly the same and could not duplicate the problem on the latest code running live - it behaved as expected with the `normalize emails` setting disabled:
> 
Can you show the output of these from the rails console:
```plaintext
[1] pry(main)> SiteSetting.normalize_emails
[2] pry(main)> User.find_by_email('YOURUSERNAME@gmail.com').username
[3] pry(main)> User.find_by_email('YOURUSERNAME+1@gmail.com').username
```
Also, what version of Discourse are you on?
I might also double check you’re hitting your production site and not your test one (or vice versa).
---
### Author:  [@hosna](https://meta.discourse.org/u/hosna)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2023, 10:16pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594/7 "2023-06-07T22:16:00Z")
> [@supermathie](#):
>
> Also, what version of Discourse are you on?
I updated right now
> [@supermathie](#):
>
> Can you show the output of these from the rails console:
here it is
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### Author:  [@supermathie](https://meta.discourse.org/u/supermathie)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2023, 10:21pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594/8 "2023-06-07T22:21:02Z")
What do these translate to?
> 
(and can you copy/paste them here)
I should have asked this first 🤦♂️
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### Author:  [@hosna](https://meta.discourse.org/u/hosna)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2023, 10:34pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594/9 "2023-06-07T22:34:37Z")
“Primary email is not allowed.”
it is a translation for user.email.blocked
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### Author:  [@hosna](https://meta.discourse.org/u/hosna)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2023, 10:37pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594/10 "2023-06-07T22:37:49Z")
hmmm
it seems the normalized email is blocked. 🤔
I mean if [email@gmail.com](mailto:email@gmail.com) is blocked, then [email+1@gmail.com](mailto:email+1@gmail.com) is blocked too. it is wierd to me when I have not normalized email option selected.
---
### Author:  [@supermathie](https://meta.discourse.org/u/supermathie)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2023, 10:43pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594/11 "2023-06-07T22:43:30Z")
That’s why I should have asked first instead of assuming it was “already taken” 🤣
What are your overridden settings in the email and user categories?
Have you blocked that email address, or, say, the Gmail domain?
---
### Author:  [@hosna](https://meta.discourse.org/u/hosna)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2023, 10:51pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594/12 "2023-06-07T22:51:37Z")
> [@supermathie](#):
>
> What are your overridden settings in the email and user categories?
I didnt underestand this. where should I check?
> [@supermathie](#):
>
> Have you blocked that email address, or, say, the Gmail domain?
yes I can see the normalized email is blocked.
---
### Author:  [@supermathie](https://meta.discourse.org/u/supermathie)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2023, 11:00pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594/13 "2023-06-07T23:00:17Z")
> [@hosna](#):
>
> yes I can see the normalized email is blocked.
In this case we almost definitely block subaddresses of blocked addresses regardless of the setting as an anti-griefing measure since the normalisation option is not the default.
> [@hosna](#):
>
> where should I check
“Only show overridden” in settings. But now I suspect we don’t need to worry about that.
---
### Author:  [@supermathie](https://meta.discourse.org/u/supermathie)
#### Post date: [June 8, 2023, 12:55am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594/14 "2023-06-08T00:55:35Z")
Back at my desk I took a look at the actual code that does this rejection:
>
Right at the top we’re checking the canonical email against the blocklist:
```ruby
def self.canonical(email)
name, domain = email.split("@", 2)
name = name.gsub(/\+.*/, "")
name = name.gsub(".", "") if %w[gmail.com googlemail.com].include?(domain.downcase)
"#{name}@#{domain}".downcase
end
```
And even if that didn’t catch it, it would be caught by the [Levenshtein distance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levenshtein_distance) check here:
```plaintext
[1] pry(main)> ScreenedEmail.levenshtein('fakezabanshenas@gmail.com', 'fakezabanshenas+1@gmail.com')
=> 2
```
as the default for `SiteSetting.levenshtein_distance_spammer_emails` is `2`.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://meta.discourse.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2023, 12:56am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-signup-with-old-email-including-doesnt-work-in-rest-api/267594/15 "2023-07-08T00:56:02Z")
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