IMPORTANT: If your community site is an HL-managed community site, STOP!

Do not use the information in this article to manage your user records. The information in this article is intended for Super Admins of AMS-managed community sites only.

To manage your HL-managed community site user records, see Deactivate, Delete, & Remove.

NOTE: As a general rule with Higher Logic integrations, you should manage your user records exclusively in your integrated AMS/CRM database. Exceptions to this rule are documented in this article.

Disable

SYNC NOTE: If a user record is disabled in Higher Logic but the record is still active in the AMS/CRM database, a subsequent sync will cause the record to be re-enabled in Higher Logic. To prevent this, make sure that the data for a disabled user record is no longer coming into Higher Logic from your integrated database.

When a user record is disabled (sometimes called a "soft delete"), the user is no longer Active and:

• the user is removed from the "front end" (i.e., the community site).
• the user's content in the community remains intact and displays the user's name but with an indicator that the user record is disabled.
• the user's data is retained in the "back end" data tables, but the record's status is set to Disabled (D).
• the user is no longer included in the Users lists in the Admin interface.

How are user records "disabled" and by whom?

User records can be disabled:

• automatically, when the record expires. (This is applicable only to integrations that use expiration dates on user records.)
• by a Higher Logic staff member changing the record's status to Disabled (D) in the back-end data tables.
• when the record is filtered out by either the LimitBySecurityGroups or LimitByCommunityGroups function.
• by the integration having the record set to "IsActive" = false or "IsDeleted" = true.

Can I "undo" this action?

Higher Logic recommends that you manage this in your integrated database because that is the authoritative source and doing so prevents unintended actions in Higher Logic when the records get synced.

• If a disabled user record is re-enabled, the user's name displays normally again on their content in the community.

Deactivate

SYNC NOTE: The Deactivate action will not be overwritten by a sync with the integrated database.

NOTE: Deactivation is at the discretion of a Super Admin and can be for any of a number of reasons. You might deactivate a user for not following moderation or for breaching a data-privacy policy.

When a user record is deactivated, the user is no longer Active and:

• the user is removed from the "front end" (i.e., the community site).
• the user's content in the community remains intact and displays the user's name but with an indicator that the user record is deactivated.

NOTE: If a user record is "deactivated" for GDPR reasons, their posted content, across the entire community, is "anonymized." This means that all of that user's personally identifiable information (PII) is removed so that nothing can be associated to the user.

• the user's data is retained in the "back end" data tables and the record's status remains set to Enabled (A).
• the user is moved from the Users > Enabled list to the Users > Deactivated list in the Admin interface.

How are user records "deactivated" and by whom?

User records can be deactivated (and re-activated) by Super Admins in either of two ways.

Admin interface

To deactivate a user:

1. Navigate to Users > List.
2. Select the user record in the Enabled list, click More, and then choose Deactivate.

The user's account is deactivated and the record moves to the Deactivated list.

• Review the list to verify this.

To re-activate a user:

NOTE: If a user's account was deactivated for GDPR reasons, the user will not be listed on the Deactivated list. In order to re-activate the user's account/record, you have to provide the user's unique integration key.

1. Navigate to Users > List.
2. Click the Enabled dropdown to the right of the page title and choose Deactivated.
3. Select the user record in the Deactivated list and click the Enable button in the upper right.

The user's account is re-activated and the record moves to the Enabled list.

• Review the list to verify this.

Profile page

To deactivate a user:

1. Navigate to a user's profile and click the Admin tab.
2. Click the DISABLE THIS ACCOUNT button.

The user's account is deactivated.

NOTE: The button is automatically relabeled as ENABLE THIS ACCOUNT. You can return here and click it to re-activate the user's account (or use the steps in the Admin interface section directly above).

Can I "undo" this action?

Yes. Super Admins can re-activate deactivated users as described above in How are user records "deactivated" and by whom?.

• If a deactivated user record is re-enabled, the user's name displays normally again on their content in the community.

Delete

IMPORTANT: This action is the "most severe" and it is irrevocable. A deleted user record is completely removed from the Higher Logic system and cannot be retrieved by a Super Admin or Higher Logic Support. Higher Logic recommends that you either disable or deactivate user records instead.

SYNC NOTE: The Delete action will not be overwritten by a sync with the integrated database.

TIP: Higher Logic recommends that you avoid deleting user records that have any kind of activity on them.

When a user record is deleted, the user is no longer Active and:

• the user is removed from the "front end" (i.e., the community site).
• the user's content in the community remains intact but the user's name is "anonymized" and the content is disassociated from the user record (i.e., "orphaned").
• the user's data is completely and permanently removed from the Higher Logic system.
• the user is removed from the Users > Enabled list in the Admin interface.

When might I want to delete a user record?

There are two circumstances under which you should delete a user record.

• The record was created by accident – either manually or automatically – and is not needed because there isn't an actual user associated with it.
• A "bot" has been spamming/hammering the system and creating "dummy" user records.

How are user records "deleted" and by whom?

• User records can be deleted only by a Higher Logic staff member.
• Create a case with Higher Logic Support and request the deletion.

Can I "undo" this action?

No. When a user record has been deleted, it is completely "gone" from the system.

If the delete was accidental, a new record for the user has to be created.

NOTE: If the user record is "re-created" using the same keys, the user's prior activity (e.g., Discussion posts, messages, etc.) that is tied to that user record/key is not re-associated to the user; it remains "orphaned." The re-created user record is, essentially, an entirely new user record.