Question

In my Rails 3.2 app, I have a signup form that includes a “terms and conditions” checkbox. The form looks something like this:

<%= form_for @user do |f| %>
  <!-- Error message stuff -->
  <%= f.text_field :email %>
  <!-- More fields... -->
  <%= text_field_tag :terms_and_conditions, false, "true" %>
<% end %>

To make sure the user checks that checkbox, I have the following code in my controller:

unless params[:terms_and_conditions] == "true"
  @user.errors[:base] << "You must check the 'Terms and Conditions' checkbox"
end

But when I call @user.save (or @user.valid?), it seems to clear out this error message. I know I could use @user.errors.empty? && @user.save, but I find it strange that the save method doesn’t care about the error message I just added. Is there a better and more elegant way to do this?

Answer 1

Rails offers an acceptance validator. It’s perfect for your situation. See docs for further information.