Two forum accounts on XenForo.com allowed?

[Slavik]

People may want to buy licenses to this software using different identities, or talk about the product without using their "business" account.

I have 5 licences, are you advocating I have 5 accounts to switch between on my whim to post?

How about people who have 20+ licenses, would you suggest we allow them 20 accounts?

 

[Ridemonkey]

I have 5 licences, are you advocating I have 5 accounts to switch between on my whim to post?

How about people who have 20+ licenses, would you suggest we allow them 20 accounts?

This isn't a "whim" though. This is is a real, specific need that's important to people who buy software licensing and seek support for it.

And yes. If people have 20+ licenses that are attached to 20+ different business email addresses, I suggest that you allow them to have 20+ accounts. Just like how I have 2 accounts at Audentio Design, one personal email address for my personal license of their framework, and one business address for my business license. I have multiple Microsoft accounts, one of which I use to purchase licenses for my day job.

If I work for a company at which I purchase licensing, that should be tied to an account and an email address the company can access. If I do work for a second company, I don't expect them to have access to the first company's account. If I decide to contract myself out to a dozen companies, and purchase a dozen copies of XenForo, I would expect to register them under a dozen email addresses. I would also expect to seek support in a public forum under the correct account, to maintain the privacy of all of my customers.

As an administrator, I do understand there's some administrative overhead here - I'm not unsympathetic. But this isn't a trivial need - it's something I and a lot of other IT professionals deal with every day.

 

[n00bsaibot]

I'll chime in and say this is not a particularly large ask from a paying customer. And yes, if a bulk license holder holds 20 XF installs, they should be able to showcase their website under each business/site name.

 

[Jeremy]

If I work for a company at which I purchase licensing, that should be tied to an account and an email address the company can access. If I do work for a second company, I don't expect them to have access to the first company's account. If I decide to contract myself out to a dozen companies, and purchase a dozen copies of XenForo, I would expect to register them under a dozen email addresses. I would also expect to seek support in a public forum under the correct account, to maintain the privacy of all of my customers.

Customer accounts are not limited to one-per-person. We recommend it to consolidate, but if you purchase a license for your company, using a new account for the company is perfectly fine.

 

[tr1cky]

Nope. They simply have their profiles set to private.

I don't want to be a ****, but this is probably illegal under UK law if you consider the data protection act.
Since xenforo Ltd. is based in the UK denying the deletion of an account could be considered against the law.

 

[James]

I don't want to be a ****, but this is probably illegal under UK law if you consider the data protection act.
Since xenforo Ltd. is based in the UK denying the deletion of an account could be considered against the law.

This was clarified that the accounts were deleted and recreated and now the new owners of the accounts have the profiles private. Please read the thread before accusing.

 

[Slavik]

I don't want to be a ****, but this is probably illegal under UK law if you consider the data protection act.
Since xenforo Ltd. is based in the UK denying the deletion of an account could be considered against the law.

You should go read up what the Data Protection Act actually does, there are a staggeringly large number of false beliefs regarding what it requires businesses to do.

Denying the deletion of an account does not violate any ICO guidelines.

 

[Ridemonkey]

Customer accounts are not limited to one-per-person. We recommend it to consolidate, but if you purchase a license for your company, using a new account for the company is perfectly fine.

Thanks for chiming in. Does this extend to forum accounts that are associated with those customer accounts?

The OP's question ties into this, even though it's not specifically a 1:1 customer account to forum account.

I don't want to beat this topic to death, so I'll just summarize my thoughts and you can consider it (or not). That there are lots of real, meaningful reasons to have multiple forum accounts, and doubly so in an environment where you're often getting professionals who are seeking information to support a business of whatever size, whether it's $20/month or $20/hour. Sometimes that's posting under a specific business account, sometimes it might be posting under a personal account to protect the privacy of the business.

If there's a behavior that's intended to be curbed by curtailing multiple forum accounts, it might be better to clarify a rule about that behavior, rather than impeding your customers' ability to maintain privacy or separation in their business relationships. Using discretion in banning as Brogan indicated in the other thread, or a wink-wink "it's okay as long as it's legit" policy, doesn't help the fact that most people will believe it's not okay to do it at all.

 

[FredC]

I have 5 licences, are you advocating I have 5 accounts to switch between on my whim to post?

How about people who have 20+ licenses, would you suggest we allow them 20 accounts?

Actually its to bad XF only considers what is easiest for themselves. Almost insulting that xf has no interest in their customers workflow only their own. Making it easier for yourselves while you make it more difficult for your customers isn't much of a solution.

 

[FredC]

Customer accounts are not limited to one-per-person. We recommend it to consolidate, but if you purchase a license for your company, using a new account for the company is perfectly fine.

Ahh this makes more sense. And has been a pet peeve of mine here for years. Always wondered why it seemed OK for some and not others.

 

[Chris D]

Actually its to bad XF only considers what is easiest for themselves.

Actually, that's far from the truth.

We are happy to consider the use of duplicate accounts on a case by case basis, and this is evidenced by the fact that some users do indeed share company accounts. Where it becomes most problematic is in cases where permission hasn't been sought, or it has been done with malicious or devious intent. With that in mind, if you have a specific use case in mind, please contact any member of staff on the forum where we will discuss it as appropriate.

 

[n00bsaibot]

A very specific use case was presented in the original post... and quickly denied.

From a customer point of view, it seems completely reasonable.

 

[Jeremy]

The use-case presented is not something we've determined needs an exception to be made. We have made that clear.

Thanks for chiming in. Does this extend to forum accounts that are associated with those customer accounts?

The OP's question ties into this, even though it's not specifically a 1:1 customer account to forum account.

I don't want to beat this topic to death, so I'll just summarize my thoughts and you can consider it (or not). That there are lots of real, meaningful reasons to have multiple forum accounts, and doubly so in an environment where you're often getting professionals who are seeking information to support a business of whatever size, whether it's $20/month or $20/hour. Sometimes that's posting under a specific business account, sometimes it might be posting under a personal account to protect the privacy of the business.

If there's a behavior that's intended to be curbed by curtailing multiple forum accounts, it might be better to clarify a rule about that behavior, rather than impeding your customers' ability to maintain privacy or separation in their business relationships. Using discretion in banning as Brogan indicated in the other thread, or a wink-wink "it's okay as long as it's legit" policy, doesn't help the fact that most people will believe it's not okay to do it at all.

No, having multiple customers accounts does not provide an exception to this rule. As stated that both Chris and Brogan, if someone feels they have a legitimate use-case for a duplicate account, they need to contact a member of staff. Otherwise, duplicates are almost always banned.

 

[n00bsaibot]

lol you can't have it both ways. Permission was being sought in this thread for something not malicious or devious. So you are indeed putting your convenience above the customers in this case.

But whatever. You have a superior product and you can flex your muscles. But that's not an apple logo up top yet

 

[Donny]

Actually, that's far from the truth.

We are happy to consider the use of duplicate accounts on a case by case basis, and this is evidenced by the fact that some users do indeed share company accounts. Where it becomes most problematic is in cases where permission hasn't been sought, or it has been done with malicious or devious intent. With that in mind, if you have a specific use case in mind, please contact any member of staff on the forum where we will discuss it as appropriate.

Oooo good news perhaps then.

I might send a PM or something soon to explain my situation with a little more detail.