Stratadrake Elder Than Dirt
Joined: 05 May 2004 Posts: 13710 Location: Moo
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Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 7:16 pm Post subject: "Incorrect/inactive username or invalid password" |
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(Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Ask An Expert)
If you are unable to log in to the FAC forums because of this error message, please read the following.
The specific error message is:
[quote]You have specified an incorrect or inactive username, or an invalid password.
Click [here] to try again
Clich [here] to return to the forums index[/quote]
This is a standard error message that phpBB2 uses if attempting to login fails for any reason.
First and foremost -- I really cannot stress this enough -- this is a [b]GENERIC[/b] error message. We've heard occasional reports from concerned users wondering if their accounts have somehow been "hacked into" or "banned" simply because they received this error message when trying to log in. Let me say flat out that this is usually [b]not the case[/b], not even remotely. However, it is important to ask a site administrator to investigate it, because only we have access to enough information to tell for sure. Don't try to figure it out all by yourself, and don't ask your friends to figure it out either; [i]we're[/i] the experts, anyone else is just guessing.
But just so you know, the various possibilities include:
[list][*][i]Invalid username/password[/i] - The first and (yes) stupidest possibility is to just ensure that you're actually typing your login details correctly including any spacing, capitalization, and/or punctuation. If you know for sure you are (and, well, you probably are ... right?), then you can safely rule this out.
[*][b]Verify email address[/b] - This is actually the most common reason you may be receiving the error. As stated in our site policies you [b]must[/b] have a [i]verified[/i] email address to use our site. This applies to the forums just the same as the mainsite: If for some reason you need to re-validate your email address, you will be unable to use the forums until you do. It is also important to note that you [i]cannot[/i] use the forums to validate your email address, and you [i]cannot[/i] ask a moderator/admin to do this for you. You must use the email validation tool from FAC mainsite:
> http://www.fanart-central.net/revalidate.php
Click on the "Resend Validation Mail" and it will tell you whether you need to validate your email address.
[*][i]Mainsite ban[/i] - If you were actually banned from FAC, chances are good you'd know about it already and wouldn't even have to ask. You'd be unable to view your FAC userpage, and attempting to log in to FAC mainsite would result in a ban message. If you can still view your FAC userpage then you'll know you are NOT BANNED.
[*][i]Forumside ban[/i] - If you were banned from the [i]forums[/i] specifically, then you wouldn't encounter the "incorrect username" error at all -- you would receive a very clear and concise "[i]You have been banned from this forum[/i]" message instead. So stop worrying.
[*][i]Inactive forumside account[/i] - Site administrators have the ability to mark individual accounts as either "active" or "inactive" on the forums. However, [i]only[/i] a site administrator has access to this setting, which is another reason you'd need to contact us.[/list:u] _________________ Strata here: [url=http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/242293]Nanowrimo[/url] - [url=www.fanart-central.net/user-Stratadrake.php]FAC[/url] - [url=http://stratadrake.deviantart.com]dA[/url] - [url=www.furaffinity.net/user/Stratadrake/]FA[/url]
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