New User Registration

From Encyclopedia Dramatica

Typical registration form.

[edit] As A Process

New user registration, often an ornate, overdone process in such failed online entities as FailTube, Yahoo mail, Paypal, iTunes and nearly all online gaming forums -- involving providing such details given to identity theft as your real name, mother's maiden name, a mobile number, the routing and account numbers of your checking account, your level of dedication to Dave Barry humor, the name of your first pet, and/or your work or student e-mail address.

However, Wikis, being open to the idea of shit for content, make it far easier to register and crap all over their websites.

[edit] Types of Registration

[edit] No Registration -- TOW and Uncyclopedia

The Online Encyclopedia Anyone Can Vandalize Edit

No registration, while technically a null set of registration, is nevertheless imbued with particular characteristics which give it an anonymous, vinegary and distinctive flavor all its own. Anonymous editing of TOW has given it 90% of its content, in essence turning over all content to TOW Foundation, which in turn empowers Jimbo Wales in his vast treks across the Western world, taking responsibility for the vast and sprawling wasteland of craptacular inaccuracy, all the while raking in significant amounts of money off speaking gigs as well as the ongoing denial of Larry Sanger.

Additionally, not requiring new user registration provisions the wiki extraordinarily well for vandalism and drama of various sorts -- the assumption that all users are there for good is extraordinarily laughable, as in time, the forces of chaos, decay and butthurt former Wikipedos will eventually bring every once-useful article to an eventual conclusion of false expertise, deliberately misleading information, and three thousand recent change watchers ready to revert any attempt at correction back to its now-static, unchanging mess.

[edit] Closed Registration -- Wikitruth

Registration's closed!

The Online Truth-Telling Device Only Angry Wikipedo Admins Can Edit

Closed registration means never having to revert stupid faggots. The grand advantage of knowing everything about one's subject, such as Wikitruth's awesome, internal knowledge of TOW, is that one really doesn't need anyone other than the chosen few, still-anonymous and angry TOW admins to write content.

Closed registration also leaves the editors of the site free to participate in other activities -- such as wildly masturbating to TOW's article on Semen; actually paying attention during meetings at work not getting fired; going to class; acquiring a significant other/losing one's virginity -- rather than banning vandals, reverting vandalism, or worrying about your article's fate while on vacation.

[edit] ED

The open and evolving nature of lulz and drama on the internet make it impossible for ED to cover as much as it needs to if registration is entirely closed, but permitting anyone to make edits anonymously deprives editors of recognition for their work, and makes it very difficult to control for quality and leads to general lawlessness and the ruiniation of lulz, and the eventually decay of the mind.

[edit] Unrestricted Registration -- Creation - November 2006

For the first two years of ED's peaceful history, creation of user account was mandatory to edit, but was not restricted in any fashion. Vandalism took the usual forms, and was punished in the usual fashion of b&s, IP blocks and, of course, the time-honored shunning of the outcast by one's peers.

However, this changed once a butthurt evangelical decided test a vandal-creation script out on this welcoming, friendly website -- abusing the trust of ED to the point where registration had to be restricted.

[edit] Restricted Registration -- November 2006 - January 09, 2007

After Microsoft failed, ED Admins had to be used to allow people to register

User registration during this time required any prospective new editor to get on irc, and, between kicks, all manner of personal and intimidating questions, and the ever-present threat of ruin, convince an ED admin to create an account for him or her. Users who received an account during this time invariably believe they are special.

After much vacation, holiday merriment, and a laughably quick debate during the first week of January, it was determined by a small, unelected cabal that a variation of open registration should be reinstated.

[edit] Protected Registration -- January 09, 2007 - January 13, 2007

Even George Bush is shocked by the level of protection with registration. In fact, if the plans used now were implemented in Iraq, it'd look like America in two days

Captcha registration, known for its papal level of infallibility, was implemented on ED much to the joy of many, and the consternation of a few. Requiring the new user to solve a kindergarten-level math problem, while a relatively simple task (but daunting for most people on the net, requiring use of a calculator), has seemingly stopped the user-creation vandal from its scripted vandalism attacks.

The math problems are truely Herculean tasks. They tend to be difficult queries such as 6 - 9, or 5 / 9. The second number in the question is usually a 0, and often it asks new members to divide by zero.

Your standard math CAPTCHA

However, it has confused and infuriated users who came onboard during the restricted registration period, who were unused to the sudden flood of {{shit}} and {{crap}} edits by hundreds of n00bs within the first 24 hours. Several believed it to be one of the first major fail ED events of 2007 AD. The crawling chaos which appeared within ED destroyed the online appearance of an "old boys club" in favor of the appearance of six-hundred and thirty-two monkeys armed with notepad and a sense of entitlement.

While disturbing to a subset of users, it should be noted that through the generous use of the {{shit}} and {{lurkmoar}} templates, the world may once again be set right, and the dark throbbing pulse of the ED womb be heard pressing against a great many anal tracts again.

[edit] Good times are gone -- January 13, 2007 -

Registration is turned off again.

[edit] It came back. -- June??, 2007 -

Turned back on

[edit] Broken -- August 27, 2007 -

August 27 2007 somehow the captcha code broke and now there's only about 1 new user a day, unfortunately all of have turned out to be Samsara socks. See the new user log. A click on http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/index.php?title=Special:Captcha/image&wpCaptchaId=1316497145 shows....

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