WordPress MU

In previous WPMU installations, for any blog, the Users page listed all the users then had a section called "Add User From Community" which only allowed users to be added from the community.

This seems to have been replaced with the "Add New User" page. The problem I have with that is that the new page allows them to either add from the community or create a new user entirely.

I would prefer that blog admins just be able to add from the community (as in 2.6). It also complicates things that a blog admin has to type both the user's user name and email address to add them.

Interestingly enough, wordpress.com seems to still have the older 2.6 functionality.

I don't mind the new email activation step. Granting users' a right to quietly refuse membership is fine by me.

There should be a way to just add users from community while refusing to create any new users, I agree.

However,
if
Site Admin-->Options-->"Allow New Registrations" = Disabled
while
Site Admin-->Options-->"Add New Users" = Yes

I expected that if found in the existing community, it should add user('Yes'), else NOT create a new user('Disabled'). But new users are still created. Hmmm.

There should be a way to just add users from community while refusing to create any new users, I agree.

Agreed. This is just a spammer's wet dream waiting to happen.

This questions has two parts.

One of my sub-blog administrators approached me to see why she could no longer add people from the community. Now from discussion above I see why. Now the quandry is do I allow them to add new users?

The flipside to doing this is--it is possible to:
"Enter the username and email address of an existing user on this site."

But as far as I can see, the admin of the sub-blog does not have access to a list of all existing users in the blog community. So possible duplications might occur. (This MU blog is in a University Research School, and is highly likely one person could be in two blogs). Is there a way around that.

It checks to see if the user exists in the system already, so no duplicates. It will tell you so if you go and try it.

It's a bummer for sure. I just migrated from a single user install, and I'm trying to add a bunch of existing users to another blog and there is no way for the admin to automatically do that. Seems like the master admin should be able to do this.

The master admin can. If you go to Site Admin -> Blogs, click Edit on the blog in question, on the lower right is an area where the site admin can add users to that blog.

I expected that if found in the existing community, it should add user('Yes'), else NOT create a new user('Disabled'). But new users are still created. Hmmm.

Is there or will there be a patch to fix this ?

I can see this as a major problem, we have to give end users control of who has access to their blogs but we cannot let them join anyone into the site ...

"Is there or will there be a patch to fix this ?"

Probably not. I can't see it anyway.

The point for most users of MU is they *want* to add more users, current members or not.

then why not just have an invitation system rather than allow sub-blog admins to add a new user?

either through the email or through private message to current blog-wide user. User will then presented with an "accept invitation page" where they either sign up new and get assigned to the blog or get assigned to a new sub-blog from their current account?

am i reading this correctly?

there are already invite plugins.