Unable to log in?

[Jürgen]

A common problem is browsers "remembering" wrongly spelled usernames and passwords.
Another common problem is people not remembering usernames.

Read these instructions carefully, also the instructions of the emails you get when you reset your password. Follow those instructions and it will work (it does for me). The website does not allow any mistakes. Any mistyping will not lead to a successful login. "username1" - "username 1" - "username 1 " are 3 different usernames.

After several login failures, the page changes to a different login page where you additionally have to enter some letters and numbers into a field for added security. In that case, the login details have to be typed in again correctly, they are NOT brought over from the previous page. If the text boxes are already populated, most likely it is something incorrect put in by your browser. If you copy/paste, make sure that you do not copy a blank space before or after your username/password. I would recommend copy/paste to avoid mistakes with look alike characters O-0, I-l, ... Passwords are case sensitive. To avoid more frustrations: if the letters/numbers of the picture contain unreadable letters/numbers that are not obvious (e.g. O-0, I-l, etc), please refresh them before you proceed as you have to type your username and new password in again every time it fails.

Please note: password reset works. I did it several times due to emails from frustrated users, telling me that it does not work and that it should get fixed. Again, it works. I do not have any explanation for password reset not working for some people.

If you do not enter the correct details or let the browser "remember" incorrect details, the login will fail. It might be frustrating but this is not a problem of the website.

If you forgot your password, there is a "Lost Password?" link and some instructions. You then get an email with a link. That link works only once. If you still can't log in, you can not use the link a second time. You have to go through the Lost Password procedure again. The mail by the way, will also tell you your username. When you have your new password, copy and paste it, rather than typing.

If you forgot your username /password, the best might be to first delete the login details stored by your browser. Then it is not quite as likely that things go wrong.

If your email address turned invalid due to the provider disabling your email account, your message board membership will have seized too, meaning that you have to sign up again with a valid email address. Such disabled accounts can not be re-enabled.

It might be advisable to use a password manager. I like 1password or Bitwarden. Search for it on the internet. Both password managers are online managers. The costs are different. One has a subscription and the other starts from free. That lets you generate/use strong passwords, e.g. !&h@eUZa9A66J6R@zdcL or hEG8i8n2@EX^BiK!$P^W which take a long time to crack. Password managers help with today's huge amount of logins. In other words: Please use a password manager to avoid frustrations.