Help:Login
Logging in is not required for viewing pages. It is required for editing them and it provides additional advantages. When you created an account, you created a username (your real name or a nickname) and a password. After you create your account, you "logged in" however you will not be able to make edits until you confirming your email. The next time you log in, you supply your username again and demonstrate with the password that you are the same person.
- Do not share your password with other people. This can allow them to misuse your account. Edits you make are recorded under your username.
- Do not create usernames that reflect a group or generic login.
- A user account is created only once. The system will reject a username that is already in use.
How to log in
Click on the Log in link at the top right of the page. You will then be prompted to enter your username and password. If you have not logged in before, you will need to use the link provided to create an account.
What if I forget my username?
If you have forgotten your username, these steps may help you recover it:
- If you can remember the names of any of USApedia pages that you edited while logged in, the username will be listed as part of the page history of those pages.
- If you can remember the first part of the name, this search page may help you remember the rest of it.
If none of these steps are successful you will have to start again with a new account. USApedia administrators will use the same steps list above. They are not able to help you work out your username from your IP address.
What if I forget the password?
To reset your password:
- Go to Special:PasswordReset (also accessible from the Log in link at the upper right hand of the every USApedia page)
- Enter your username (see What if I forget my username? above, if needed)
- Enter your email address you used to create your account
- Click on the red box labeled "Reset password"
This will send a temporary password to your e-mail address that will allow you to retrieve your account. You will be prompted to change it after you log in.
Logging out
You can log out any time by clicking on the Log out link at the top right of the page. To prevent the browser from remembering your username and suggesting it to the next user of the computer, remember to delete the USApedia cookies in your browser's privacy settings.
Automatic
For security reasons, editors are automatically logged out after a period of inactivity. If you get this error while making a change, it is possible to ensure your changes are saved by following the steps below:
- Use the back button on your browsers
- Open another browser tab (Chrome instructions)
- Browse to any USApedia page
- Login on the new tab
- Browse back to the original tab where you making edits
- Click on the "Try again" button again twice
The changes should be saved.
Error message
Something went wrong - We could not save your edit because the session was no longer valid. Do you want to save this page as an anonymous user instead? Your IP address will be recorded in this page's edit history.
Video tutorial saving changes after logout
Creating an account
Advantages
See more on Help:Getting started with USApedia.
- You can make edits to USApedia.
- Other users will be able to recognise you by your username when you make changes to pages.
- You will have your own user page where you can write a bit about yourself. See Why create a user page for more information
- You will also be able to make user subpages, as an add-on to your user page.
- You will be able to keep track of changes to pages you are interested in using a watchlist.
- You will be able to rename pages.
- You will be able to set your own preferences, to change things such as:
- The number of pages displayed in Special:RecentChanges
