Just don’t ask me. I got the account handed to me on a platter. However, I am getting email like this:
OK, if I’m blocked, just say so . . . but FTB will not accept any user
name I try, even under its lowercase-only rule, on the FTB registration
page. It always comes back with “Only lowercase letters (a-z) and numbers
are allowed.” I looked on the new page and plenty of nyms there
uppercase letters. So do you know what the problem is?
Maybe you expert users can offer suggestions on these essential matters, like how to easily get set up with an account, how to set up gravatars, that sort of thing.
the username under which you sign up has to be lowercase. once you have an account, you can create a nickname with all sorts of other characters. username and nickname are separate.
To mystery quote: The username you select is not the same as what gets displayed here, which you can alter when you edit your profile. If it continually rejects your name even if it’s all lowercase, make sure there’s no space in your name.
Ok. Well I can tell you how I got the uppercase in my name. Once you create a login username with ONLY lowercase letters you can set a “nickname” that appears. In that area you can use uppercase letters (or even have a different name than your actual login).
So the lowercase only rule definitely applies to the username you create for login, but once you have created that you can easily create a “nickname” with whatever characters you want.
Now, if you are entering a lowercase only username and it isn’t taking it I don’t know what other problem there might be unless your username is taken?
For avatars, go register at gravatar.com with e-mail used for wordpress login.
Are you putting in spaces? Get rid of them. Lowercase, all one word. If that works, then follow others’ instructions.
testing testing 1,2,3
Test test test
Ha! After many trials and tribulations I now have an avatar.
testing testing (this is a test spot, right?)
one
two
three.
WhooHoo!
Thanks everybody!!!
OK, I registered now. All went smoothly.
Does this work?
My comment on the Molly thread just got eated-ified.
Hey, looks like things are running a little more smoothly today. Maybe it’s time to switch my RSS feed.
I can’t remember if this was the e-mail address used in my gravatar account. Testing . . .
Yes it is!
Testing.
Do old usernames work
Yes, yes they do.
I tried to sign up, and have been waiting for the email link to confirm registration. 2 hours, and nothing. I still have the registration page up, and can confirm I didn’t typo my email address. Nothing in the spam folder either.
Anyone else have this?
I managed to register with WordPress, but gravatar.com doesn’t recognize my sign-in info. Maybe I just need to wait a little longer? I’m very jealous of everyone’s avatars :)
The new site is visually much better. PZ’s picture still represents the pinnacle of male beauty. Lots of other sites just a click away make for some intensive reading.
Test post.
Do I have an avatar yet? Woohoo I see it the preview! That’s a good sign.
Thanks Nerd, however, it does take awhile for the avatar to show up. I uploaded my monkey mug Monday. Now it’s finally working.
The virtual pharyngula world is constantly improving. The new site is much faster now.
(Alas, the actual world is still going to hell).
Ooo exciting, I can leave Words here.
relurks..
Hmm, let’s see if the old username works…
Hrmmm. Will PZ’s comments become a different colour at some point? I enjoy seeing his input in the discussions. I can’t be as lazy as I normally am squinting to see who’s comment I’m reading.
whose* sorry.
Try casting Mordenkainen’s Greater Registration.
Right now no registration with FtB/Wordpress is necessary to comment here at all. If you want a gravatar image, register an email at gravatar.com and type that email address when you comment here. That’s all that’s needed at the moment as far as I can tell.
Not implemented in WordPress afaik, but I’m sure the CSS could be tweaked to make it so.
Aha! Registered! :-)
Now, I wonder if this site will be as hard to keep up with as the old one? Probably. :-(
Test post.
Whew! Everything okay with me.
Let a thousand registrations (and gravatars) bloom!
I just want to test out the new registration.
Aaaand testing the gravatar.
That went reasonably smoothly. It took a while before I received the registration mail. And then updating the profile gave an error on the first try. But now all is well.
It’s looking as if this login will be recognized for all of the freethoughtblogs .
Hello Folks–
I hope everyone is having a nice day!
Just checking out my avatar.
Gravatar is a third party service with its own login. Once you’ve signed up, your avatar will work on any supported sites (as long as you use the same email address).
Your login to FTB is for commenting here. It links with your Gravatar ID, but the logins are independent.
(This is all separate again from having a WordPress.com login, which uses the same software but is a different service.)
Just testing to see whether my Gravatar is working.
Anyone recognize it? (It’s cropped pretty small here.)
How do I register?
@ Kagato
Thanks for responding. It was my understanding that gravatar.com and WordPress worked together. Here’s what it says at gravatar.com:
That’s where things break down for me. My WordPress ID doesn’t seem to work at Gravatar. I’m obviously missing something, but I’m not sure yet what it is :). I guess I can just create a separate Gravatar account and see if that works.
testing 1-2-3
That was a hard setup… You can’t just sign into Gravatar with your FTB login. I forget what I did, but took about 10 minutes of going in circles.
I’m testing if my Gravatar is working!
Here goes nothing…
Rieux,
I needed to click on it to see it, but that scene from the Truman Show is quite apt.
It appears I have a few things to adjust … but the setup is working!
One more test here…
Testing my longname… yar!
Hey, we supposedly have FTB profiles linked to our usernames. How can we actually LOOK at them? My browser doesn’t read the CSS right now; can y’all who see blue sidebars (and no comment numbers) see a way to look at each others’ FTB profiles?
Ah. Testing 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 —
I am an officially successfully Registered Minion now, I think.
(“Attention readers! The following thread is so mind-rippingly godlessly terrifying there is a REGISTERED MINION in the audience. Do not hesitate to ask for help at any time if you feel unwell, find yourself clutching pearls, or get an attack of indig-na-stion!”)
hmmm, did it just eat my comment? Testing….
So, when does the original Pharyngula hosted by
Seed,National Geographic, whatever get shut down?Hellooooo. Everyboddy.
Mic check.
Testing: 1
Sounds good, where is the drummer…
Long time lurker, testing :)
Fancy new Pharyngula you have got here.
So, do I have a Gravatar?
Yes, it appears I do. And a splendid one, at that.
Test
Ah, I see; well, that may be the case.
I don’t have a wordpress.com account. If you do, and it’s supposed to work, and it doesn’t – I can only shrug my shoulders.
(But as stated earlier, your wordpress login for this site is not a wordpress.com login; you can’t use your FTB login on Gravatar, and you can’t use a wordpress.com login at FTB (as far as I know).
@ Kagato, correct – the login here at FTB is wordpress-SHAPED but it doesn’t go to WordPress.com the site. It’s just using the framework.
MG Myers:
I declare it best avatar of all Pharyngula. Perfection!
Just testing, really
testing from NW AU… and the preview gives me a triangular avatar… interesting. Maybe I’ll change it
Testing… have no idea where to register for an account testing…
H-hello?
Seems a bit silly that you have to fill in your name, even if you’re signed in.
Just checking to see what happens when I try and comment.
Nothing to see here.
Long time lurker testing…? Also… I hate to give another comment about the new site… but is there some way you can get the ‘angry puppet’ guy back? You know, the muppet-looking guy that appears when PZ quotes nonsense. I love that guy. I would hate for him to disappear forever.
Also, I hate to do a double-post, but I can’t figure out how to ‘register’… it’s just letting me post in the comment box at the bottom by typing in any old name. Is there some way to actually reserve a username?
Sorry, figured out where registration is! (For others asking, look on the left side of the page, under the box called ‘Profile’ in a box called ‘Stuff’)
Testing avatar change now.
Test
Don’t be testy.
Yes, it should be back fairly soon, along with some other changes to make it a bit more like the old site.
The registration and login links are on the left side bar, near the top, somewhat inconspicuously under the heading “Stuff” under the big red A. If you want to get a custom avatar (if you don’t like the random monster the blog gave you), you can go get an account for that at gravatar.com, using the same email address you’d use to login here.
For now, PZ’s said he’s letting people comment without registering, so they can get acquainted and ask questions just like yours.
Sorry, I see you figured some of that out.
But yes, the Gumby dude will be back soon. I’ve been conditioned to like him as well. His mere presence triggers anger or disgust, which is helpful since I’d like to get some kind of warning before reading some of the shit people say.
I didn’t register, just carried on posting.
Long time lurker, figured now is as good a time as any to register!
Registration went fine after reading the comments here :)
Has anyone successfully changed the email address associated with their ftb account after registering? When I try following the link in the confirmation email, I receive the following message even though I am logged in to ftb.com.
Also that Gravatar displaying next to my ‘nym isn’t mine, which is strange and mildly concerning.
After going round in circles, I also can log in. I also inadvertently tried to log in to the Pharyngula dashboard instead of my own. Obviously, lack of tea.
Now to see if my avatar shows up. Oh look, it does in preview.
Hello world!
(It’s traditional)
lets see if this works – no luck logging in to get avatar – suggestions!!
To all those who said they had to create a new WordPress account to get on here because your existing account wasn’t accepted, a data point in the other direction – I logged straight in, no problems. Sorry not to have any suggestions about why you’re having trouble, beyond what other have already written above.
“otherS”
grrr
Nice new blog ya gots here, Myers. It’d be too bad if something happened to it. We could work out something beneficial ta both of us, if ya know whats I mean.
Testing testing 1 2 3
Avatar problems:
If you post without a gravatar, you will be randomly assigned an avatar by the FtB machine.
To create/reserve an avatar,you must have the following:
1/ A log-in account here,
This is not the same as posting below, where you fill in your details each time. This will be switched off shortly; after that point, you will require a login account to post.
It is also not associated with wordpress.com – any login you have there will not work here.
To create an FtB log-in, go to the left sidebar and click on “Register”.
2/ An account at gravatar.com.
You will need to create this if you don’t already have one. The login name you use here is not associated with gravatar.com.
You must use the same email address you used to create your FtB account.
Then, you can point the gravatar.com engine to a picture on the net, or upload one from your computer.
The next time you log in here, you should be engravatarated.
ericthehalfabee says:
Huh. I heard otherwise from other users. Perhaps I stand corrected.
This is a test
Will this let me post? Testing… Preview looks good, submitting…
(you also know me as badgersdaughter, but I have a gravatar here)
Test
OK! That was easy. Created an account and logged in. Thanks to the user who pointed out where the link to register/login is (it’s in the left side-bar in a box called “Stuff”).
Is there anyway to get wordpress.com logins to work on FTB? It would be nice not to have two seperate WordPress accounts (I already have a working gravatar on wordpress.com).
no problem signing up.
Just now hit “preview” and got “preview error”
So, I will now hit “submit”.
Testing…
Well, registration was relatively painless. Definitely easier than the old mess. Hardest part was picking out a picture.
Congrats on the new digs!
Wow. That is not the picture I selected, nor is it the one in the preview.
Weird.
Testing, testing
OK, didn’t ask me for anything, so I guess the previous registration worked. No idea where the picture comes from though. I didn’t get an option on that.
Testing out the registration
Ok, lets try this again;
“Maybe I’m being a dunce, but I no longer get an option to sign up. I get a Text box for Name, Email address and for the comment body.”
As of the last time I tried to post this, the Preview button did not work, nor did the submit. So…Where is the “Make an Account” option hiding?
I hope I’m not prevented from commenting here the way many people were at SB.
Oh, preview worked this time, and I have no idea why I even have an avatar…
testing. Longtime lurker here, just wanted to see if I am able to comment. Carry on.
Rawnaeris, I have the same thing…or lack thereof.
I have a gravatar account, so I should have an avatar, though
@Rawnaeris
The registration link is further up the page in the ‘Stuff’ box on the left (alternatively, click here).
It’s so easy even I could do it.
I’m just testing too. Doesn’t seem to care that I didn’t register.
test
What? Oh… No.
This is how it starts. isn’t it?
Experiment 1
Keen-O. My Gravatar comes right up…
ok that seems easy enough, if not painfully slow
Testing…
Nah, nothing works in the preview.
Once I use blockquotes everything appears in blockquotes, even after I’ve turned it off.
Too complicated for me, I’ll just go back to reading the articles and forget about comments.
Is this thing on. Got a 404 error last time.
So slow. Less than a second to load any other site – up to a minute to load the Freethought Blog.
I’ll keep on reading it – I love Pharyngula – but what a shambles!
Slowness should be fixed once FTB is moved to the new server (should be this weekend).
Preview is working intermittently for me, might also be a result of the current server getting hammered by, well, us :)
Michael. You did do the close blockquote bit didn’t you?
And this isn’t.
Like with most html codes you need a <blockquote>stuff</blockquote>
The closing bit is important.
Hmm. I could do preview earlier but slow now. Hopefully as Eric says will sort itself out at the weekend.
Trying submit without preview. This may not be wise, but it’s getting late.
I couldn’t register on the old site – the confirmation e-mails never showed up. Maybe I’ll have better luck on this one.
testing: 1 2 3
This is a test.
This should be in bold.
This should be in italics.
Preview doesn’t seem to be working.
Testing. Boring, but testing.
Testing…testing…
Test.
Also, test.
PZ has a Log In link in the Stuff box. If you log in you don’t get (or need) the “Name (required)” and “Mail (will not be published)(required)” boxes.
However, Pharyngula is the only one of the 6 blogs that has this Log In link. It’s not even on the FTB main page. This is good on PZ but seems like a big oversight on the part of everyone else.
Let’s see if this works.
Where did my comment go?
A test, I see
Written by me
Not a cuttlefish
Better? I wish.
Just trying my first post, fearful that my gravatar won’t make it… but I can see from the preview that it did :-)
check check
sibilance sibilance
Testing
Also testing… hello… hello…? This thing on?
test?
This is a test. This is only a test. If this had been a real emergenAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGH!!!
A testing we will go
A testing we will go
Hi-ho the merri-O
A testing we will go!
OK, register…mumble….change u/n…password…back to pharyngula…scroll, scroll, scroll…
clickety, clickety…
submit…
Oh, wait, that actually worked?
Nevermind
Worky Worky??????
Testing to see if Gravatar shows up. I’m having difficulty with the WordPress/Gravatar thing, and I tried a different username for Gravatar.
Ha! OK, I see it in the preview. I had to use a different username in Gravatar — it would not accept my WordPress username, but the avatar connects to the email address. If somebody already posted this, sorry — I’ve been rassling with it awhile!
It’s nice to be at the sniny new home, but please somebody make killfile work.
Testing Testing. Is my Gravatar working?
Testing
Do or do not, there is no test.
Looking for the Gravatar.
Test post.
Looking good!
Hmm.. I guess the Gravatar takes a little time to feed through.
Testing
Am I in right now?
also looking for the gravatar…
can I submit a comment too?
Testing, Testing
testing gravatar
and there i am…
testing
Like everyone else, I’m just testing the reg and gravatar situation.
Oooooh, it works in preview!
Testing; testing.
Maybe I finally (after about five years of lurking) can get around to commenting.
Since I can’t make out any detail in the gravatars (except PZ’s), I’ll just go with the default for now.
checkcheck is this thing on?
Dear Pharyngula,
I have created a login and hopefully uploaded a cheeky little avatar. I have decided to test it here as I am sure you are all very grateful to note. Hurrah and Glod shave the Ding!
Louis
Well fuck me quite deftly with a large pronged bargepole it worked. Maybe there’s something to these computers and internet watchamecallits after all.
Louis
Account: check
nickname: check
gravatar: check
Post: check
Taps screen
Testing testing…
Late to the party, testing too…
So Firefox folks know, the htmlXtra (actually bbcodeXtra, just use the html part addon works here.
Prueba
Late to the party, testing…
Italics?
Boldface?
Good enough!