Creating and Modifying an Account
Why should I create an account?
Without an account, you can read all of the articles and comments, and even submit stories and post comments yourself, under the guise of "Unknown User". But you'll miss out on the more empowering features, such as being able to rate other people's comments or vote a story to the front page. More importantly, though, you'll miss out on being part of the community. When you create an account, you are creating a persistent identity for yourself, which makes you accountable for your words. All of your postings are preserved for anyone to see. Over time, your what you say in your postings will earn you a level of respect, and you will develop a reputation, or "mojo" as we call it. Basically, every comment you post will automatically start with a rating equal to whatever your average rating is. We strongly encourage you to create an account. If, for any reason, you wish to make an anonymous posting, you can simply logout beforehand.
How do I create an account?
Creating an account is simple. Just do the following:
- Click on the "Make a new account" link in the Login box in the right column.
- Enter a username and a valid email address.
- The username is usually not your real name, unless you're someone famous, in which case, we'd actually prefer that you use your real name, so that readers will know who they're talking to (you can always create another "ghost" account for interacting incognito-like). Please, do NOT use the name of someone famous unless you really ARE that person. That's not funny--it's a serious breach of etiquette. If you masquerade as someone else, you could be considered liable for fraudulent misrepresentation, which is serious business.
- If you enter a bad email address, you will never receive your initial password, which will result in locking your chosen username out of the system. This email address you give us will NEVER be revealed to anyone in any way (see What is your privacy policy?), nor will this email address be shown on any articles or comments.
- You will receive an email containing a password and the URL that you need to visit in order to activate your account.
- Click on the URL. Your account is now activated.
Wait, why do you need my email address??
Don't worry, we don't sell it on the black market. In fact, unlike other sites, we do not even keep a plaintext copy of the password list--all our password information is stored in encrypted format. The reason we need it is for security purposes. If someone, claiming to be you, says that they forgot their password, we can't just give them your password. Instead, we send a new password to your real email address.
How do I log in?
Once you have created your account, you can log in on the right side of the World Forum home page by entering your username and the password that was provided to you. NOTE: you must have cookies enabled in your browser settings in order to use your account.
Once you are logged in, you can modify your settings and change your password. Upon first logging in, it is STRONGLY recommended that you immediately change your password to something easy for you to remember (see How do I modify my account?).
Should I log out?
It's up to you, but most people don't. The cookie stored on your computer enables us to know who you are, so that you don't need to ever logout or login. However, if you share your computer/terminal with anyone, we recommend that you log out. This will stop someone else from modifying your account or masquerading as you, possibly damaging your good name.
How do I modify my account?
Once you are logged in, you will see a box in the right column with your username in the titlebar. In that box, click on the "User Preferences" link and modify any of the following:
- Real email
- Fake email
- Homepage
- Bio
- Signature
- Public Mail Key
- Account Password
In your user box, click on the "Display Preferences" link and modify any of the following display options:
- Time Zone
- Number of new stories to show
- Number of old stories to show
- Font face
- Font size
- Image display on/off
- Server for images
Help! I've lost my password!
Don't panic! All is not lost. We can send a new password to your "real" email address (we have to create a new one because we store your password in encrypted format). Simply enter your username in the Login box and click on the Mail Password button.
Note: Never share your password with anyone else. Once you lose control of your persona, there is very little we can do.
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