09 Sep 2010 
Support Center » Knowledgebase » Password Issues
 Password Issues
Solution Before detailing all of the problems that one can have with a password, it is important that you get have a good grasp of how to do simple password tasks such as changing your password and keeping your personal information up to date.

How to Change your Password on the Archive
1. Log into your account on the HPFF Archive. 
2. Click on Your Account. You will be taken to your User Account Page.
3. Click on Edit Personal Information.
4. Locate the 2 blank boxes to the right of the heading Password.
5. Enter your "new" password into each of these 2 boxes; in other words, you will need to enter it twice.
6. Click on Submit.

How to Change your Password on the Forums
1. Log into your account on the forums.
2. Find the drop-down menu located in the upper right corner of the forum's main page and select My Settings
3. Click on Change Password, located on the left side column, under the heading General Settings. This is where you can change your email address, your password, and anything else having to do with your account.
4. Enter your Current Password.
5. Enter your New Password, and then enter it again in the 'Please confirm your NEW password' field.
6. Click on Change my Password.

Now onto password issues.....

Problems with Passwords: Your email provider
When you sign up for a new account, our system will automatically send you an email to verify your email address (make sure it is a "real" address and not a spammer). The most common issue with a password is not receiving that email. If your password didn't arrive, the problem was likely with your e-mail provider. Most major e-mail providers flag mail from HPFF as "junk," "bulk," or "spam" as we send out so many e-mails in a day.

In order to solve this problem, with some e-mail providers like Hotmail and Yahoo!, you can add the following address to your "Safe Sender" or "Contacts List"

noreply[at]harrypotterfanfiction[dot]com

This will insure that our e-mails make it to your inbox. After you have done that, click the Forgot Password link on the login page and a new password will be sent to your e-mail address. This can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 24 hours.

With other services like AOL e-mail, their spam filter may not be able to be bypassed, and our emails will not reach you. In that case, we recommend registering a new account with a service like Hotmail or Yahoo!, following the protocol for receiving e-mail with them, and then contacting the staff to have a new password generated for you. Once you are able to login, immediately change your registered e-mail address to the new one by entering Edit Personal Information, and make sure to check it for e-mails from the staff frequently.

Note: AOL is not the only offending server. If you are not receiving your e-mails and you have already added noreply[at]harrypotterfanfiction[dot]com to your safe senders list, please get a new e-mail address with a different provider and contact the staff.

Problems with Passwords: Failure of the password
You will know that your password is a problem because you will receive a return message of "That password doesn't match the one in our database. Please try again or retrieve a new password if you can't remember yours."

Try entering your Password again
Should this occur, first attempt to enter your password again. Typos can occur in password entrance, and because you cannot see what you are typing, typos are a possibility. Also remember -- passwords are case-sensitive. Ensure that your CAPS key is not engaged.

Forgotten Password
If you think you are entering wrong because you cannot remember your password, you can send off for a new password. To send off for a new password, click the Forgot Password link and enter the e-mail address currently assigned to your account.

Invalid Password
For some people, you will encounter still more issues, not only does your password read as invalid but, when you attempt to access your new password e-mail, you are being told that your e-mail address does not match the one in the database. There are three possible causes for this.....

1. Using the wrong e-mail address. Many times people will forget which e-mail address they used when they registered or they will make a typo. If you cannot remember the e-mail address associated with your account, the staff cannot help you to access your account as we do not give out that kind of information. Email addresses are used by the staff for confirmation purposes before generating a new password.

2. Your account has been removed from the archive. This can happen as a disciplinary action if you are considered to be a serious Terms of Service offender or if you have committed one TOS violation so egregious, the staff was forced to remove your account immediately. This does not happen often and, should this be the case, you have probably already had significant correspondence with the staff as they attempted to rectify the problem before it going to this serious stage.

Removal of account can also happen if your penname is considered "inappropriate" for the site. HPFF has a strict 12+ Rule, meaning that all public areas of the site must be rated 12+ or lower. If your penname was found to violate our 12+ Rule, the staff member who removed your account will have sent you an e-mail informing you. You are welcome to register again but you must do so with a different, more appropriate penname.

3. Your account was suspended by the staff. When the staff feels it necessary to suspend your account, your e-mail address is removed from the account and your password is changed. Suspensions usually last 10 days but can vary based on the reason you were suspended. If your account was suspended, the staff member who suspended your account will have sent you an e-mail citing the issue. Generally, account suspensions are caused by repeated submissions to the validation queue without correcting your chapter per the validator notes. If you have been suspended, do not attempt to create a new account as the suspension will be applied to the new account.


Article Details
Article ID: 12
Created On: 24 May 2006 09:51 PM

 User Comments Add a Comment
Posted By: Heather Gahler (trixterzgrl@hotmail.com) On: 30 Aug 2006 05:14 AM
This happened to me, and I didn't understand it. This article helped me understand. Thanks for helping me and I hope my account will come back soon.
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