Webmaster questions
Unanym connects community websites with member-controlled identities and recognised memberships. Each community keeps its rules; each person chooses what to share. The current package is a pilot candidate, not a supported production release. Hosting and support arrangements are agreed with your service operator.
What does our website gain?
Members use one sign-in across participating websites and choose which approved memberships each site receives. Your website keeps its own content, accounts and admission rules. It does not receive access to a shared member database.
Do we need to rebuild our website?
No. For WordPress, install OpenID Connect Generic Client and the Unanym companion on a staging copy. Your operator registers the callback address and supplies the connection settings. Members see Continue with Unanym, or the name configured by your operator. Start with the WordPress setup.
What happens to existing accounts?
Members sign in to their existing WordPress account first, then connect it from their profile. Their content, roles and email remain. Accounts are never merged by matching names or emails. Members without a local account become Subscribers. There is no automatic migration of another community platform's accounts.
Who approves memberships?
Each organisation appoints authorised administrators. An administrator approves or revokes that organisation's memberships; each website decides which organisations it recognises. Local, national and international organisations do not automatically inherit authority over one another.
The current statement is signed by the identity service operator and reports the recorded administrator approval. It is not signed with an organisation-held key and does not prove training, qualifications or personal safety.
Can we set our own access rules?
Yes. The ready-made member area currently protects one selected private WordPress page requiring one selected organisation membership. Additional tiers, combined requirements and other membership plugins need separate work and testing. Membership never automatically grants an administrator role.
What information do we receive?
Your website receives its own stable identifier for the member, their chosen name and the memberships they selected, with verification information. It does not receive their sign-in email, other website connections or unselected memberships. The contract lists the exact fields.
Can we still send members email?
Existing WordPress accounts keep their email. New members can add an email directly to your website if they want messages from it. The identity service does not share it automatically. Plugins that require email need their own test.
Are members anonymous?
They can use a pseudonym and withhold unnecessary information from your website. The identity operator holds account records and keys and can link their website identities. Shared names or details may also make them recognisable to websites. This is not complete anonymity.
Are our files and other member pages protected?
The tested integration protects the selected page's content. Uploaded PDFs, public media links, other pages, directories, forums, custom APIs and other plugins need their own access policy. Caches must bypass private and signed-in pages. Disabling the companion leaves the selected page private.
What happens after withdrawal or disconnection?
The hosted path checks current membership on connected requests. Withdrawing approval or withholding a required membership closes access on the next checked request. Disconnecting ends the connected session. Neither deletes the local WordPress account nor recalls material already downloaded. Logout is separate from withdrawing sharing permission.
What if the identity service is unavailable?
New sign-ins and sessions connected through the service can be blocked until it recovers. Public pages remain available to signed-out visitors. Ordinary WordPress administrator sign-in stays usable. Agree support, backups and recovery with the operator before relying on the service.
Do members need an app or wallet?
No. The first supported journey uses browser sign-in. Wallets, personal keys and alternative storage are optional development work, not requirements for members.
Who holds the data and handles privacy requests?
The identity operator holds account, approval and sharing records. Your website holds local accounts and received information. Before a pilot, agree the actual hosting locations, responsibilities, retention, deletion and recovery process. A consent screen alone does not establish data-protection compliance.
Can another operator take over?
Unanym runs independently. Backup and restore have been rehearsed with fictional data. A handover must preserve the issuer address, account identifiers, keys and withdrawals. Changing the issuer needs explicit website-account migration. Independent operator handover still needs acceptance; source access alone is not an operational support plan.
Is it ready, and what does it cost?
Automated rehearsals use real local WordPress installations and fictional members. Real-member acceptance and independent security review remain pending. The source repository is currently private. Pricing, hosting, maintenance, incident response and support commitments are not settled by this package; agree them explicitly with the proposed operator.