4 ms·

Ask HN: Users who register but never activate

7 points by sendos 16y ago

I've been seeing several users come to my website (soundkey.com), register, but never activate their account by clicking on the link in the activation email they get. So, I'm turning to the HN community to see whether you guys have any experience with this, and whether you think there is anything fishy behind it. This behavior baffles me because I always activate accounts I register for, but maybe this is normal in terms of the average internet user? Benign reasons I can think of: (1) People get lazy, (2) The email went to their spam folder and they can't find it, (3) They gave a fake email when registering and didn't know they had to activate, (4) Changed their minds about resgistering, (5) Other? But, I'm a bit paranoid and wondering whether there are any "nefarious" reasons for doing so. Do you guys know any way to exploit a website in this way? Should I worry about it? Should I email the users a reminder to activate?

matrixownsyou 16y ago
you could peek at their e-mails to detect some pattern. if you don't "feel" like it's automated, you can delete their accounts after X days or send reminders.
imp 16y ago
It's most likely not nefarious. The combination of your email deliverability and people's laziness will mean that a lot of people probably won't click the activation link. How are you sending email? Are you using AuthSMTP or something like that, or are you just doing it straight from your server? Is your SPF record correct? Have you tried a Port25 scan? You're not an average web user. For a lot of people, checking email is a separate activity from web browsing. If they use Outlook, they have to open a completely separate program just to use your site. They don't have GMail open in a separate tab at all times. I would wonder if you really need people to activate their account that early in the process, but I'm not that familiar with how your site works.
- sendos 16y ago
  I would wonder if you really need people to activate their account that early in the process Yeah, I agree. I'll see if I can remove the requirement to activate. EDIT: Done!
  - imp 16y ago
    Wow, cool. That was fast. Hopefully you'll get an increase in activity.
icey 16y ago
I just registered there to take a look at the activation email that gets sent. It looks like the link is wrapped to two lines - Gmail handles those kinds of links correctly, but some mail clients don't. Do you have a way to shorten that link up some? (I know you can copy & paste the link, but my experience has been that users will try clicking the link and if that doesn't work they give up.)
- sendos 16y ago
  Do you have a way to shorten that link up some? I'm using Joomla, so I don't have much control over the content of the activation emails. I could go and probe to see which part of the code sends these emails and change it to something shorter. Or maybe, I'll see if I can stop requiring activation altogether. Maybe this will open me up to spambots, but for now, since I'm just getting started, I think I should remove all barriers to adoption.
  - icey 16y ago
    If I were in your shoes, I would leave the activation the way it is now. Then I'd pick a few people who registered and never activated and send them a personal email asking if they had difficulties activating their account or if they decided they weren't interested in the system. If you decide to do this, be cautious in your phrasing or you may not get a response. You may get some good feedback from doing it though - and then you'll be able to make a fact-based decision instead of a bunch of guessing.
  - one010101 16y ago
    I agree 100%. Take it as it comes. Good luck, my friend!
lhorie 16y ago
This has happened to me on more occasions that I can count: - click on something - oh, I have to register. Grumble. - register - confirmation email isn't in my inbox when I check - refresh a few times. Nope, still not there - forget about the site
joshu 16y ago
they didn't receive the registration link?
Mankhool 16y ago
I've registered on several sites, only to find out that the service is not available outside of the US. It would be good if designers put this information front and centre on the registration page instead of telling me afterwards (ie. Kickstarter).

7 points by sendos 16y ago

matrixownsyou 16y ago

you could peek at their e-mails to detect some pattern. if you don't "feel" like it's automated, you can delete their accounts after X days or send reminders.

imp 16y ago

It's most likely not nefarious. The combination of your email deliverability and people's laziness will mean that a lot of people probably won't click the activation link. How are you sending email? Are you using AuthSMTP or something like that, or are you just doing it straight from your server? Is your SPF record correct? Have you tried a Port25 scan? You're not an average web user. For a lot of people, checking email is a separate activity from web browsing. If they use Outlook, they have to open a completely separate program just to use your site. They don't have GMail open in a separate tab at all times. I would wonder if you really need people to activate their account that early in the process, but I'm not that familiar with how your site works.

sendos 16y ago
I would wonder if you really need people to activate their account that early in the process Yeah, I agree. I'll see if I can remove the requirement to activate. EDIT: Done!
- imp 16y ago
  Wow, cool. That was fast. Hopefully you'll get an increase in activity.

icey 16y ago

I just registered there to take a look at the activation email that gets sent. It looks like the link is wrapped to two lines - Gmail handles those kinds of links correctly, but some mail clients don't. Do you have a way to shorten that link up some? (I know you can copy & paste the link, but my experience has been that users will try clicking the link and if that doesn't work they give up.)

sendos 16y ago
Do you have a way to shorten that link up some? I'm using Joomla, so I don't have much control over the content of the activation emails. I could go and probe to see which part of the code sends these emails and change it to something shorter. Or maybe, I'll see if I can stop requiring activation altogether. Maybe this will open me up to spambots, but for now, since I'm just getting started, I think I should remove all barriers to adoption.
- icey 16y ago
  If I were in your shoes, I would leave the activation the way it is now. Then I'd pick a few people who registered and never activated and send them a personal email asking if they had difficulties activating their account or if they decided they weren't interested in the system. If you decide to do this, be cautious in your phrasing or you may not get a response. You may get some good feedback from doing it though - and then you'll be able to make a fact-based decision instead of a bunch of guessing.
- one010101 16y ago
  I agree 100%. Take it as it comes. Good luck, my friend!

lhorie 16y ago

This has happened to me on more occasions that I can count: - click on something - oh, I have to register. Grumble. - register - confirmation email isn't in my inbox when I check - refresh a few times. Nope, still not there - forget about the site

joshu 16y ago

they didn't receive the registration link?

Mankhool 16y ago

I've registered on several sites, only to find out that the service is not available outside of the US. It would be good if designers put this information front and centre on the registration page instead of telling me afterwards (ie. Kickstarter).