Inactive User Accounts
Explanation
An account is inactive while its owner has not confirmed their email address. XWiki creates accounts that way whenever "Use email Verification" is on in the registration settings: the account is stored with its active property set to 0 and with a validation key, and the wiki emails its owner a link carrying that key. Following the link activates the account, and it applies equally to somebody who registered and to somebody an administrator added.
An inactive user can sign in, but every Page they then ask for is refused, including the Pages a guest may read. The exceptions are the account validation Page and any Page named in the xwiki.inactiveuser.allowedpages property of xwiki.cfg, which takes a space separated list of full Page names and is empty by default (see XWiki Configuration).
A disabled account is stored the same way, since disabling also sets active to 0. What separates the two is the email_checked property: an address that was never confirmed makes the account inactive, and the wiki tells its owner that the account is inactive rather than disabled.
FAQ
How do I activate an account without the email?
Open its profile and click "Enable this account". That sets active to 1, exactly as the validation link does.
Why did nobody receive the validation email?
Because the wiki cannot send mail. Check the mail server in the "Mail" administration section, then create the account again or activate it by hand.
Does an inactive account count as a user of the wiki?
Yes. It appears in the users list and in the groups it was added to, struck through like a disabled account.
