Why can’t I change users to followers?

  • ddlf16 · Member ·

    Hi, in the manage –> people section, I don’t have the option to change users (now subscribers) to followers – may I know why?

  • kokkieh · Staff ·

    Hi there,

    This is because Subscribers is a user role in the open source WordPress software that you’re using on your site and Followers isn’t.

    Subscriber accounts are stored directly in your site’s database. That user role is used by certain plugins that allow visitors to your site to have their own accounts on the site they can log into. For example, you’d use this on a site running a forum or a members-only section, or on an online store where this would be your customer accounts.

    A follower is not a WordPress user role, but is someone who subscribed to updates for your site using their WordPress.com username account. Followers for your site is stored in our system on WordPress.com, not in your site’s database, and relies on the connection between the Jetpack plugin and your WordPress.com account.

    There is no way to know if someone who has created a subscriber account on your site even has a WordPress.com account as well, so it’s completely impossible to convert one into the other, besides which, you cannot add anyone as a follower on a WordPress.com or Jetpack site against their will – following sites via a WordPress.com account is strictly opt-in only.

  • ddlf16 · Member ·

    Hi, thank you for your reply!

    In that case, how can I direct my viewers so that they become followers and not subscribers? I used the Jetpack ‘follow’ button at one point – is it this function that caused my users to become subscribers?

  • staff-blorbo · Staff ·

    They’re using WordPress’s registration system, which is fully separate from Jetpack. In almost all cases, they’re just spam bots preemptively getting around WordPress’s “must be registered and logged in to comment” anti-spam system.

    Take a look at Settings > General in your site’s Dashboard, and uncheck “Anyone can Register” and save, this won’t affect Jetpack or its subscriptions system, but it will stop those registrations you’re referring to.

    Next, at the Users section of your site’s Dashboard, it’s safe to delete any User there listed as a “Subscriber”. Don’t worry about the role’s name. Not only does Jetpack not use this, WordPress itself doesn’t even send subscription content. It was the most limited role, created for subscription plugins hence the name, but none use it.

    So, to re-cap, switch off “Anyone can Register” at Settings > General, and delete “Subscribers” under Users. This will stop the problem, and it won’t affect Jetpack’s subscription system in the least. :)

  • ddlf16 · Member ·

    Great – thank you so much macmanx! sounds good :)

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