I’ll be frank: I would like the username of an account that has never contributed anything to the platform since its creation in 2015 and has not been active for a long time. Could be since 2015. Is this something that is accommodatable?
1 Like
Now that all accounts are linked to an email, I would imagine it might be possible to send emails to users that had never been active, asking them to confirm they still want the account, after maybe 3 or 5 years, and if they don’t confirm, deactivating the account after some reasonable period, maybe another 1-2 years. I don’t know if staff will agree. Users who have been active (even adding a single observation or ID) should of course be maintained in perpetuity.
3 Likes
Please contact the Helpdesk for these sorts of account-related questions.
https://help.inaturalist.org/en/support/home
1 Like
I highly doubt the staff would remove someone’s account or change their username for someone else to use it. I have also seen people return to iNaturalist after many years.
1 Like
I agree that an account with any level of contribution should be maintained in perpetuity. Contacting the person directly is my best bet. Thanks everyone!
2 Likes
Yes, we don’t remove inactive accounts or change their usernames, I’m sorry.
3 Likes
Perhaps no identifications, observations, or curatorial action, but it’s impossible for us to know for sure that they haven’t left comments or edited checklists. I even know of users who just have an account for the email notifications they get from other people posting observations.
7 Likes
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.