Is there any point any more using email confirmations for new members?

[musicales]

I recently came across a large and very popular site which doesn't require an email confirmation to signup - you just pick a username and password and away you go. This got me thinking, as I've long followed the standard practise of sending out a confirmation email and not allowing access till the email address was confirmed.

But in these days where its so easy to get a hundred new email addresses just like that, you don't really learn any more about the person by doing this, so is there any real point in asking for emails any more?

[tresmom5]

I find it slows problem people and spammers down a little bit. Spammers have to at least set up an email account and validate before they spam and that may be more trouble than it's worth.

[chance1376]

I agree with Tresmom with the slowing them down. It seams after 2 or 3 usernames they decide its not worth the effort. Even if it only takes a couple of minutes it still seems to be enough for them to go find someone else who is less effort to annoy.

[rogerd]

Definitely an important spam & problem user control tool. Before implementing forced verification, it was too easy for a user to sign up for many usernames. We also saw people registering with a real address and then removing or changing it. Forced confirmation for both new registrations and address changes is an essential feature, IMO.

Sure, people can still get another free hotmail or yahoo account and sign up again, but it makes the process more annoying time consuming.

As a forum admin, the way you win battles with persistent spammers or problem members is with better tools. When a returning spammer has to go register a new address, register on your site, get verified, start posting in different forums, and then you ban him and mass-nuke his posts in 30 seconds, he'll eventually get frustrated. (The "jerk to admin work ratio" is particularly high for members who craft long, obnoxious posts individually. Ya gotta love making two hours of work creating nasty posts vanish with one press of a button.)