@alexmiller: is it possible to add ticket editing permissions to new JIRA accounts rather than people needing to request it?

It's possible but I'm not going to do it. I would rather do those manual changes than have to do the spam control required on the other side.

Sure, suspected that might be the case. Maybe you could make a note somewhere for people signing up explaining this as I’ve seen a few people get confused when they can’t edit their own tickets?