Blog Business: User Registration

Hey, everybody -- can Hunky Haakon and I have your attention for a bit?  We've got an important announcement to make! :)

In an effort to keep the blog running as smoothly as possible, especially during that big event that's coming up at the end of next month, I'm implementing a change I've been thinking about making here at Mad Hattery for a while.  (If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen me posting about it a few weeks ago!)

From today on, users will be required to register at the site before they can comment on posts.  It won't be any different than other sites or forums that require users to register before posting; in fact, if you post over at Royalty with Ella Kay, it will be essentially the same system.

So, if you've been a regular commenter here previously, what do you do?  I want to make sure you get to keep the screenname you've been using here, so register that screenname and use the same e-mail address you've been using up until now, and I'll be able to ensure that you get to keep your name (and no one else can snag it!).

Users will have to use a legitimate e-mail address when registering an account; you will have to verify your account using a link sent to that address.  After you verify your account, I'll approve it -- and then you'll be good to go!

I'm hoping this change will do a few things:
-- Keep our community as fun and vibrant as it has been up until now.
-- Make it easier for you to post, as you won't have to enter your screenname and e-mail address every time you comment.  There is a new widget in the sidebar so you can conveniently log in to the site.
-- Cut down on the amount of nuisance comments I've had to filter out.
-- Make sure that each user has a unique screenname, so no one tries to post as an "imposter" user.

Whew!  I'm hoping that a tiny bit of inconvenience now will lead to a much more comfortable commenting experience for everyone.  So, head over to the registration page to grab your screenname, verify it, let me approve it, and then let us know you're here with a comment in this post!  Thanks, hatters! :)

Note: If you can't locate your verification e-mail, please check your e-mail program's spam folder.  Some programs are filtering the messages there.  If you've not been approved, and you're still waiting for the verification message, check there!

(And then, make it a real party by snagging some of the new MH gear from over in our shop!) ;)

PHOTO CREDITS: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images North America

This entry was posted by Ella on Saturday, March 12th, 2011 at 12:51 PM and is filed under Blog Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

49 Responses to “Blog Business: User Registration”

  1. Ontarian says on March 12th, 2011 at 2:40 PM :

    Testing out the new login...

  2. Eliza says on March 12th, 2011 at 2:40 PM :

    Great idea Ella! I don't mind doing this for a blog as great as this one :)

  3. Ontarian says on March 12th, 2011 at 2:40 PM :

    Success!

  4. Feeshalori says on March 12th, 2011 at 2:43 PM :

    Works great, Ella. This blog is well worth it!

  5. nancy says on March 12th, 2011 at 3:28 PM :

    That was easy. Did everyone see that our lovely couple is planning yet another visit in the shires sometime between now and the big day?

  6. lovinlorne says on March 12th, 2011 at 4:33 PM :

    I'm new here, but have been enjoying your various sites for about a week now. Now that I've joined up, I hope to be able to contribute to the conversations as well. :o )

  7. Patricia says on March 12th, 2011 at 5:26 PM :

    Thanks for the assist in helping me log in, Ella. I think we'd all do handstands to continue with this wonderful blog!

  8. Ella says on March 12th, 2011 at 6:05 PM :

    Glad to hear it's working for most everyone so far!

    I have had an issue with users registering accounts that do not have associated usernames. I'm purging those blank accounts; if one was yours, and you accidentally deleted your username, please register again.

  9. DK says on March 12th, 2011 at 6:45 PM :

    Yea!!!!!! I'm in!!!!

    Thanks so much for this Ella. Wouldn't miss it for the world. As far as your Granny Tiara items, now I know what to ask for my next birthday.

  10. EmiiNova says on March 12th, 2011 at 6:59 PM :

    I've been enjoying all the hattering fun on this blog for over a year now but staying quietly in the background. Figured I'd sign up and join in the excitement to come this year!

  11. Ella says on March 12th, 2011 at 7:10 PM :

    Welcome to both lovinlorne and EmiiNova! So glad you're both here. :)

    ETA: If you've signed up, but not been approved, please remember to click on the verification link sent to your e-mail address!

  12. lovinlorne says on March 12th, 2011 at 8:54 PM :

    Yay! I'm back in! I was locked out there for a while and I thought maybe you didn't really want me here after all! ;o) LOL

  13. Jake says on March 12th, 2011 at 9:19 PM :

    Hope this will clear up any headaches for the future for you, Ella. I'm so glad I found this blog and immensely appreciate all the work you put into it!

  14. cece18 says on March 12th, 2011 at 9:40 PM :

    Phew! For a while there I thought I was persona non grata. Really only about 5 minutes but seemed like forever!
    thanks!

  15. Lisa says on March 12th, 2011 at 11:23 PM :

    Yeah! All set! Now I just can't wait for our wedding fiesta!

  16. royalbuff says on March 13th, 2011 at 6:01 AM :

    woot woot! up and running!! cheers Ella

  17. Mrs. Eynsford-Hill says on March 13th, 2011 at 6:46 AM :

    Thank you for getting us all prepped for the big festivities.

    Love the site Ella--hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray, hip hip, hooray!!!

  18. Kikky says on March 13th, 2011 at 9:52 AM :

    Yeah, in!! I'd hate to have to give up my daily dose of snark!

    Thanks for keeping (hopefully) the riff raff out.

  19. maggie says on March 13th, 2011 at 11:54 AM :

    Woot!! I'm in! And my, doesn't Haakon look masterful...

  20. Gigi says on March 13th, 2011 at 12:15 PM :

    I have been accessing this site for quite a while and absolutely love it! I am happy to now be a registered member--great idea! Crown Prince Haakon is such a handsome young man. I love seeing photos of him, even if he doesn't have a hat! :) Well done, Ella!

  21. Tricia says on March 13th, 2011 at 12:51 PM :

    I have been coming here for awhile now, but don't comment much. My friends and family don't follow the Royals like I do, which leaves me with no one to discuss them with. So Thank You to Ella for a wonderful site which allows me to meet people who share a common interest in the Royals!!

  22. anne says on March 13th, 2011 at 2:10 PM :

    Love your blog, Ella. Tons of fun and great to chat with others who are interested in the same thing! Thanks for keeping this up....I know I'm only one of many people who appreciate it very much!

  23. Katharine_CA says on March 13th, 2011 at 2:48 PM :

    All signed-up. I, too, love your blog -- because of the topic and also how gracious you keep the tone. April 29, here we come!

  24. Dina says on March 13th, 2011 at 3:39 PM :

    I'm not that good with computers, but I thought, for mad hattery I'll give it a try! And with some help of the lovely Ella everything worked out. Thank you so much Ella!

  25. Ella says on March 13th, 2011 at 3:41 PM :

    No problem, Dina. Out of curiosity, was the e-mail verification sent to your spam folder? There's a big list of people right now who have signed up but not verified; I think that might be part of the problem.

    Check to make sure your e-mail program hasn't accidentally marked the message as spam, people! :)

  26. Ky Person says on March 13th, 2011 at 3:45 PM :

    Here I am. I'd follow Haakon anywhere - rowr!!

  27. Dina says on March 13th, 2011 at 4:22 PM :

    Yes it was, Ella, but don't worry,
    I'll never consider mad hattery as spam :)

  28. noalder says on March 13th, 2011 at 4:52 PM :

    As so many have said before, thanks so much for the truly amazing amount of work that you do and for its very high quality! I think that I'll wear my MH long-sleeved tee to watch the wedding. I'll probably not sleep that night (hard to wake up after only 1-2 hours). So it will be great to have something comfy to wear, a fire, a throw, and then a wonderful wedding brunch! Thanks again, Ella.

  29. Sir Tom says on March 13th, 2011 at 5:20 PM :

    Oooh, it really works.
    Having said that, my email was in the spam - an affront to the good name of hattery and Ella if ever I saw one.
    All this talk of spam reminds of a certain Monty Python-based musical...

  30. lin says on March 13th, 2011 at 5:51 PM :

    Woo hoo! Officially registered :) Good idea. Nice pic of Haakon :)

  31. beckyneighbor says on March 13th, 2011 at 7:35 PM :

    I love your blog, Ella. I've had it on my Google reader for awhile but this post motivated me to actually say hi. Thanks for all your work - I look forward to seeing more.

  32. kilkerry19 says on March 13th, 2011 at 7:48 PM :

    I also visit lots and never comment but am thrilled to see
    the pictures and read the comments. I also love the history
    lessons on the tiara section. Great work and many thanks.

  33. scarebaby says on March 13th, 2011 at 11:26 PM :

    yay I'm in! Thanks, Ella!

  34. madmommy says on March 14th, 2011 at 6:42 AM :

    I guess now is as good a time as any to move from being a lurker to official status-now that wedding season is nearly here! I'm going to go on record with a prediction that Princess Anne is going to trot out that fried-egg monstrosity for W&C's wedding *shudder*

  35. Emily says on March 14th, 2011 at 1:19 PM :

    Yay! I hope this helps, Ella!

  36. Eliza says on March 14th, 2011 at 1:51 PM :

    Wow, you can "like" comments! That's awesome!

  37. Ella says on March 14th, 2011 at 2:26 PM :

    Yep! :) Playing around with some new features ... stay tuned!

  38. jacc22 says on March 14th, 2011 at 3:28 PM :

    BYO Tiara

    I work at a nineteenth century living history museum in Ontario Canada, and we are having a Princess Party to celebrate the April Royal Wedding. You can read about it on Facebook by searching for the "John R. Park Homestead group".
    Hope all you hattery lovers will like our event.

  39. Margaret says on March 14th, 2011 at 7:04 PM :

    It worked!

  40. maggie says on March 14th, 2011 at 7:10 PM :

    You can like comments!!! this is SO fab....

  41. Constance says on March 14th, 2011 at 8:25 PM :

    Hurray, it worked!

  42. Phoebe says on March 14th, 2011 at 10:15 PM :

    Will this be where there will be a running commentary on the wedding (the one on 4/29), rather than at RWEK?

  43. Lise says on March 14th, 2011 at 10:20 PM :

    I'm in!

  44. DK says on March 14th, 2011 at 11:29 PM :

    Loving the "Like" button! Though I accidently "Liked" my own comment, thinking I was checking to see who the one person before me was, LOL!

  45. Mandy says on March 15th, 2011 at 12:33 AM :

    Grrrr, for some reason it wouldn't let me verify. Took me ages of nos. Then went away and came back and I got through. YAY. Happy to register my whole hearted supprot and sign in for this wonderful site.

  46. Anika says on March 15th, 2011 at 5:05 PM :

    I'm finally in. Thanks Ella for the help and patience. As the English say: You are a star!!

  47. Su says on March 15th, 2011 at 5:28 PM :

    I'm in! Thanks, Ella :)

  48. Barber says on March 17th, 2011 at 10:35 AM :

    I'am in ! I like this site very much , clear and open ! Succes, Barber

  49. lyrebirdgully says on March 19th, 2011 at 8:54 AM :

    I've been a little down all week thinking that I must be on your banned list Ms Kay, after days of failing to get through at the verification log-in. I gave up trying for a while...
    and today, success! thanks for letting me in - your blog is a delight to read!

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.