Community requires a unique email address for each member.
Community keeps track of all email addresses, old and new, that have
been associated with members and nonmembers at any point in time. This behavior
ensures there are no duplicate email addresses in the system. Moreover, if
nonmembers decide to join the community after completing an ad hoc activity,
the application can synch them to their prior participation history based on
their email address (provided this email address is not claimed by another
member already).
The following table summarizes how Community handles different types of
email addresses.
| Email address type
|
Community behavior
|
| A new email address
|
- Someone using a
new email address is able to join the community successfully.
- If you do a system
upload, a new member is added with the specified member status.
- If you do a CSV
import, a prospective member is added with a status of nonmember.
|
| An email address currently used by a member
or nonmember
|
- If someone tries
to join the community with an email address that a member is using already, the
user will see an error message.
- If someone joins
the community with an email address that a nonmember is using already, the
email address will belong to the new member and become invalid for the
nonmember.
- If you do a system
upload and the CSV file contains
Email only, the application updates the
member and profile data associated with that email address to match what is in
the CSV file.
- If you do a system
upload and the CSV file contains
Email and
MemberId, the application updates the member
and profile data, and the email address, to match what is in the CSV file.
- If you do a CSV
import, the application updates the member and profile data associated with
that email address.
|
| An email address previously used by a member
|
- If someone tries
to join the community with an old email address that was previously used by an
active member, the user will see an error message.
- If you do a CSV
import, the application detects the old email address in the CSV file, and it
updates the member and profile data associated with that email address to match
what is in the CSV file. However, it does not change the current email address
stored in the application. Instead, an Errors and Alerts file is generated
notifying you of the outdated email address.
- If you do a system
upload and the CSV file contains
Email only, the application updates the
member and profile data associated with that email address to match what is in
the CSV file.
- If you do a system
upload and the CSV file contains
Email and
MemberId, the application updates the member
and profile data, and the email address, to match what is in the CSV file.
|
Implications for upgraded customers
In Sparq 1, it is possible to have multiple anonymous member records
with the same email address. However, in Community, when someone joins the
community using an email address that was previously associated with an
anonymous member, that email address will belong to the active member and
become invalid for the anonymous member.
Sparq 1 member and profile data will continue to be synced to
Community. Over time though, as data updates occur in Community through other
means (for example, system uploads and member APIs), member data discrepancies
will result. As you continue to use Community, Community should be considered
the single source of truth and Sparq 1 should no longer be relied upon as such.
Updating email addresses
For new and upgraded customers, admins can perform a system upload to
update a member's email address. For more information, see
Perform a system upload.
