[buddypress-trac] [BuddyPress Trac] #8781: Username consisting entirely of special characters causes profile links to break

[buddypress-trac]

#8781: Username consisting entirely of special characters causes profile links to
break
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 Reporter:  niftythree    |      Owner:  (none)
     Type:  defect (bug)  |     Status:  new
 Priority:  normal        |  Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  (not sure)    |    Version:
 Severity:  normal        |   Keywords:
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 Hi,

 When registering a username which consists only of special characters
 (example @- at -), the registration proceeds and the user account can be
 activated. However, the profile link is non-existent, so the user cannot
 do anything with their account through the web interface when logged in
 (their account links will 404). Other users and admins (from the web
 frontend) cannot access the new profile either, because they'll end up
 going to /members/ when they click on the profile.

 This is also reflected in the output of the REST API. For example, some
 plugins are not exposed via the REST API. To get around this limitation,
 our app uses the user profile link (as provided by the REST API members
 endpoint) to open a web browser and redirect them to the website. This
 allows users to access specific functions, such as exporting their profile
 data. However, they are not able to access these functions because the
 link is invalid.

 Perhaps, in this situation, making it a requirement to have at least one
 letter or number in the username field would prevent this? Or even having
 it so no special characters are allowed? We also note that the View User
 link (top bar) when viewing an account with a username like this (e.g.
 @- at -) in the admin backend is also blank (/author/). We do know there is a
 link between BuddyPress and WordPress regarding usernames, but we are
 unsure of the extent of this.

 Thanks.

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Ticket URL: <https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/8781>
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