Password Protection Option

[charmian]

Title:
Password Protection Option

Area:
Security

Summary:
A new level of security, password protection, could be created. It would be similar to the <a href="http://en.wordpress.com/features/password-protected-posts/">Wordpress feature,</a> where viewers must enter a password in order to see a post.

Description:
Sometimes, users might want someone who doesn't have a Dreamwidth account to see a post. This person might have a low level of internet know-how, or not want to go through the trouble of using openID to simply see one post. (Or, it could be a group of persons, meaning that it might be inconvenient to add them all)

Or, if this person has a Dreamwidth or openID account, the user might not want to grant them access because it would mean that they could see all of the user's access-locked posts on the Default Access List level of security.

In terms of feeds or crossposts, the post would be replaced with a link to the Dreamwidth entry (since LJ doesn't allow for passwording). Comments would also not be visible.

In terms of the posting interface, I think it could be placed under security options after Custom Filters. If selected, there would appear a box where the poster could type in the password. Password-protected posts would be public (I'm not sure there is much use in them being Access-locked).

Poll #1498 Password Protection Option

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 41

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
11 (26.8%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
6 (14.6%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
12 (29.3%)

(I have no opinion)
12 (29.3%)

(Other: please comment)
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[zvi]

If we do this, the level of security should not be public. (The whole point of having locked entries is that people who can't see them don't see evidence that they're there.)

Also, I would want to be able to set the password either per-entry or per tag, so that giving someone access to one password-protected entry wouldn't open up any other password-protected entries to them.

[kyrielle]

Allow the user to specify whether it's public-with-password or private-with-password (anyone can see it exists or no one can see it exists, but either way a person linked directly to the post may input the password and see it), on a per-post basis. Specify the password on a per-post basis also. This way, people who want the Wordpress-like feature can have it, but also someone can choose to make a post and then email the links to people.

Really, REALLY sweet: allow to specify an access list plus password, and set existence-of-post public or private. People on the access list can see the post normally; those not on it can either see it exists or not based on that setting; those not on the list, given a link to the post (either because they see it exists or a direct link is sent) can give the password and see the post. This would allow you to invite into your access-list-locked discussion people who might otherwise not see it.

Allow a password to be added to an access list. I have an access list called "Mommy" for my, well, mommying posts. Let me add a password to it as if it were an account, and anyone who supplies that password can see any post with that security. That would be cool. That may be too complex to do, though, but it would be cool.

[matgb]

I would actually really like this option--a lot of my readers (and even more of miss_s_b's) are non LJ/DW users unfamiliar with OpenID or LJ tricks.

We would both definitely want the entry to appear in the RSS feed, for example, as a lot of our readers come to us from an aggregator. How often it'd be used I don't know, but it could definitely be very useful.