Steven Zahm@ Juanita
RE: I checked the configuration and it was correct. I am a little confused. Our organization allows users to log in to WP using their userid (the first part of their email) and a password that they use across platforms. It recognizes their email and in WP settings there is a check box that says anyone with the @. email can register
WordPress has no builtin feature as you describe… so, you must being using some type of plugin or something which is bypassing the normal WordPress login validation. Sorry for the really generic statement but not knowing details makes it impossible for me to help with specific advice.
RE: How does connections make that link happen?
The way Link works is it matches an existing WordPress user account email address to a Connections entry with an identical email address. If neither of those exist then a match or link will not be made.
From your description, it does not sound like there are any real WP user accounts. It sounds like the login validation is taking an email ID and password and validating it against … against, something… what that is, I can only guess maybe Active Directory or some other similar system.