SOP: New User Registration Review
This Standard Operating Procedure defines how Clarksville Furs reviews, approves, and welcomes new member registrations. Our registration process balances security and spam prevention with a warm, welcoming experience for genuine community members.
1. Purpose & Scope
This SOP governs the new user registration and onboarding process for the Clarksville Furs website. It covers the registration flow from initial sign-up through approval, welcome messaging, and integration with community chat platforms (Discord and Telegram). The goal is to prevent spam and bad actors while ensuring legitimate new members feel welcomed and supported.
2. Registration Flow
New member registration follows this process:
- User Registers: Visitor completes the registration form on clarksvillefurs.com via Community Builder (CB).
- CB Form Submission: CB collects required fields (username, email, display name, birthday, agreement to terms) and optional profile fields.
- Email Verification: User receives a verification email and must confirm their email address.
- Admin Review Queue: After email verification, the registration enters the admin review queue.
- Admin Review: An Admin reviews the registration against the Verification Checklist (Section 3).
- Approve or Reject: Admin approves the account (user gains access) or rejects it (account is blocked with documented reason).
- Welcome Process: Approved users receive a welcome email with links to Discord, Telegram, and community guidelines.
3. Verification Checklist
| Check | What to Look For | Action if Suspicious |
|---|---|---|
| Username | Readable, not gibberish or random characters. No slurs, offensive terms, or impersonation of staff. | Reject with explanation. Invite them to re-register with an appropriate username. |
| Email Domain | Legitimate email provider. Not a known disposable/temporary email service. | Reject. Disposable emails indicate spam or ban evasion. |
| Profile Fields | Display name is filled in. Profile does not contain spam links or advertising. | Reject if spam. If fields are just empty, approve but monitor. |
| Birthday / Age | User meets minimum age requirement. Date appears legitimate (not obviously fake). | Reject if under minimum age. Flag for review if date seems implausible. |
| Terms Acceptance | User has agreed to community terms and code of conduct. | Cannot register without acceptance (enforced by CB form). |
4. Spam Detection
Watch for these red flags during registration review:
- Disposable Email: Services like Guerrilla Mail, Temp Mail, 10MinuteMail, Mailinator, etc. These are almost always spam or ban evasion.
- Gibberish Username: Random strings of characters (e.g., “xkjf83kd”) often indicate bot registrations.
- Profile Link Spam: If the user has added URLs to their profile fields immediately upon registration, especially to commercial or unrelated sites.
- Duplicate Patterns: Multiple registrations from similar usernames/emails in a short timeframe.
- Known Bad Actors: Cross-reference with any banned user records. Check if the email or username pattern matches previously banned members.
5. Bot Prevention
Multiple layers of bot prevention are in place:
- POW Captcha: Proof-of-Work captcha is required on the registration form. This prevents automated bot submissions without burdening legitimate users.
- CB Registration Fields: Required profile fields (display name, birthday, about me) create friction that deters simple bots.
- Honeypot Fields: Hidden form fields that are invisible to real users but filled in by bots. Submissions with honeypot data are automatically rejected.
- Email Verification: Requiring email confirmation eliminates bots that cannot access email.
6. Approval / Rejection Process
Approval
- Log into the Joomla admin panel. Navigate to Components > Community Builder > User Management.
- Review the pending user against the Verification Checklist.
- If approved: Enable the account. CB will automatically send the welcome email configured in the CB Auto-Actions.
- Log the approval with the date and reviewing Admin.
Rejection
- If rejected: Block the account in CB. Document the specific reason for rejection.
- If the rejection is for a correctable issue (e.g., inappropriate username), send a message explaining the issue and inviting them to re-register.
- If the rejection is for spam or ban evasion, block silently and document.
7. Welcome Process
A warm welcome sets the tone for a positive community experience.
- Welcome Email: Automatically sent upon approval via CB. Includes: a greeting by display name, link to community guidelines, link to complete their profile, and invitations to join Discord and Telegram.
- Discord & Telegram Invites: The welcome email includes direct invite links to join Clarksville Furs on Discord and Telegram. These links should always point to the website redirects, not direct platform links.
- First-Login Experience: New users are directed to complete their CB profile on first login. A welcome message is displayed guiding them to introduce themselves and explore the community.
8. Probationary Period
- Duration: New members are in a probationary period for their first 30 days.
- Restrictions: During probation, new members cannot post links in chat, upload gallery images, or send direct messages to more than 3 users per day. Avatar uploads are subject to manual moderation queue.
- Full Access: After 30 days with no violations, restrictions are automatically lifted and the member gains full community privileges.
- Early Graduation: An Admin may manually remove probationary restrictions early if the member has demonstrated positive engagement.
9. Integration with Chat Platforms
- Account Linking: Members are encouraged to link their Discord and Telegram accounts to their Clarksville Furs website profile via CB profile fields.
- Consistent Identity: Members should use the same or similar display name across all platforms for easy identification by moderators and other members.
- Cross-Platform Moderation: Bans and warnings apply across all Clarksville Furs platforms. A ban on Discord also applies to Telegram and the website, and vice versa.
10. Revision History
| Revision | Date | Author | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 2026-05-16 | Moko Consulting | Production release |