Some "user CP" stuff

The "edit profile" form is insisting on extraneous things like
birth date being filled out, when I go to change something
unrelated. Is there a way to relax/eliminate that checking and
make the profile form simply accept anything? I only want to
fix one field, without having to go after everything else.
.
I'm still baffled as to why vbulletin calls this "User CP" in
its obscure way -- it's the same in several other forums, and
it's always thrown the newbies who would obviously have no
intuitive feel for what a "CP" might be.
.
_H*