Revision: 848
http://svn.savannah.gnu.org/viewvc/?view=rev&root=administration&revision=848
Author: ineiev
Date: 2025-08-15 13:43:26 -0400 (Fri, 15 Aug 2025)
Log Message:
-----------
explain account lifecycle in more details
Per sv-help-public@ 2025-08-15
<cagp6pojbpe0ptx-sxgasz42fhppm4sc1_qb8-rjaqh6atv4...@mail.gmail.com>
Modified Paths:
--------------
trunk/sviki/IdleAccounts.mdwn
trunk/sviki/NewAccount.mdwn
trunk/sviki/back-page.mdwn
Modified: trunk/sviki/IdleAccounts.mdwn
===================================================================
--- trunk/sviki/IdleAccounts.mdwn 2025-08-15 03:55:56 UTC (rev 847)
+++ trunk/sviki/IdleAccounts.mdwn 2025-08-15 17:43:26 UTC (rev 848)
@@ -1,32 +1,87 @@
-The intended purpose of Savannah accounts is working on the
-packages hosted here. Unused accounts may be removed
-with or without a notice.
+# Account lifecycle
-This page documents criteria for automatic account removal.
+Users' accounts pass a few stages.
-Pending Accounts
-----------------
+* pending (unconfirmed) accounts
+* 'idle' accounts---confirmed (activated) accounts with no records
+ of essential activity
+* permanent (fully active) accounts
+* removed accounts
+##<a id="pending"></a> Pending accounts
+
+New accounts are created in the Web UI in the 'pending' state. Savannah sends
+an email with instructions about how to move to the next stage.
+Before activation, the user can't log in. See also: [[NewAccount]].
+
Accounts that don't pass the activation procedure within 3 days
-are automatically removed. You can try to register again using
-the same name.
+are automatically removed. You can try to register again using the same name.
-New Accounts
-------------
+##<a id="idle"></a> Newly confirmed (idle) accounts
-When an account is activated, but no substantial activity follows for 2 weeks,
-it is automatically removed. In order to prevent this, it's sufficient
-for the user to do anything from this list:
+When account is activated, it becomes 'idle'. The intended purpose
+of Savannah accounts is working on the packages hosted here. Therefore,
+if an account is activated, but no substantial activity follows
+for 2 weeks, it is automatically removed. 'Idle' accounts are absent
+on VCS and download machines, and authenticated access
+[[via SSH|SshAccess]] isn't enabled for them.
-<a id="non-idle"></a>
+##<a id="non-idle"></a> Permanent accounts
-* post a new item in any tracker;
-* comment on any item in any tracker;
-* actually join any group (mere requests for inclusion don't count).
+In order to prevent automatic removal, it's sufficient for the user to do
+anything from this list at least once.
-(Note that the accounts whose first posts look like spam are
-likely to be removed manually.)
+* Post a new item in any tracker or comment on any item in any tracker.
+ Note that the accounts whose first posts look like spam are likely to be
+ removed manually. Posts from new accounts are monitored by Savannah
+ admins for a few weeks.
+* Actually join any group (mere requests for inclusion don't count).
+These actions immediately make an account permanent:
+
+* it isn't subject to automatic removal any more;
+* SSH access to all machines is enabled.
+
+For example, a user [asked about
+SSH
access](https://lists.nongnu.org/archive/html/savannah-hackers/2025-08/msg00008.html)
+on savannah-hackers@ and was advised to file a support request on the tracker
+of Savannah administration; when the [request was
+submitted](https://savannah.nongnu.org/support/index.php?111299), the SSH
+access was automatically enabled.
+
+Examples of activity that doesn't make accounts permanent are:
+
+* Changing profile settings like password, email, full name, registered
+ SSH and GnuPG keys, timezone, Web UI theme. These actions don't
+ make constructive contributions to the forge.
+* Posting on mailing lists. In a sense, mailing lists (`lists.gnu.org`) are
+ [[out of scope of Savannah|NotSavannahAdmins]]. Savannah doesn't
+ attempt to link its accounts with posts on mailing lists.
+* Sending a message to a user through Web UI. These messages are not
+ stored anywhere in Savannah database, and the users can't
+ see them on Savannah.
+
+The next kinds of activity don't affect the status of the account
+because it is only possible for permanent accounts:
+
+* Checking out or cloning VCS repositories. Using anonymous
+ protocols means using no account, and using authenticated
+ procotols means that an account is already permanent.
+* Pushing to VCS repositories. In order to do that, the user
+ must be a member of the relevant group, and joining a group
+ makes the account permanent.
+* Updating settings of a group, like public description,
+ selected features, tracker configuration is also only possible
+ for group members.
+
+##<a id="removed"></a> Removed accounts
+
+Account may be either deleted by its owner or by a Savannah admin. Savannah
+admins typically delete accounts whose activity amounts to posting spam.
+In all cases, data like email address and full name are erased
+from the database. The login name is changed to the underscore character
+followed by the numeric user Id. Logging in such accounts isn't supported.
+
Copyright © 2019, 2025 Ineiev
Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
Modified: trunk/sviki/NewAccount.mdwn
===================================================================
--- trunk/sviki/NewAccount.mdwn 2025-08-15 03:55:56 UTC (rev 847)
+++ trunk/sviki/NewAccount.mdwn 2025-08-15 17:43:26 UTC (rev 848)
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
When registering an account, the user receives a confirmation hash
and activates the new account with it. For some people,
[[automatic emails may not work|MailWhyNoMailFromSavannah]]; then
-Savannah admins can help. [[Unactivated accounts|IdleAccounts]]
+Savannah admins can help. [[Unactivated accounts|IdleAccounts#pending]]
are automatically removed after a while.
The new account is created both for savannah.gnu.org and savannah.nongnu.org;
Modified: trunk/sviki/back-page.mdwn
===================================================================
--- trunk/sviki/back-page.mdwn 2025-08-15 03:55:56 UTC (rev 847)
+++ trunk/sviki/back-page.mdwn 2025-08-15 17:43:26 UTC (rev 848)
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
##<a id="accounts"></a> Accounts
- [[Registration|NewAccount]]
+- [[Account lifecycle: pending, idle, permanent, removed
accounts|IdleAccounts]]
- [[Credentials|AccountCredentials]]
- [[Logging in|WhyLogin]]
- [[What we can do with your passphrase|DoWeHaveYourPassword]]
@@ -38,7 +39,6 @@
- [[Recovering passphrases: the easy case|LostPassword]]
- [[Recovering accounts: in depth|LostAccounts]]
- [[Savannah and GnuPG|UsingGpg]]
-- [[Idle accounts are automatically cleared|IdleAccounts]]
##<a id="groups"></a> Groups: registration and management
