Re-instating a deleted member

[tdmes]

Forum URL: tdmes.proboards.com

One of my members has been deleted.  When he tries to re-create his account, he is told that the e-mail address is already in use.

He has tried a 'forgotten password', but doesn't get an e-mail.

Help please.

Thanks...Steve

[Brian]

Hi, tdmes.

It's not possible to restore a deleted user's forum account. Once an account has been deleted it's gone forever.

The account that the login page is referring to is their global account which exists on ProBoards.com itself. Unless they've deleted that from their dashboard on the ProBoards homepage it will have remained even after their account deletion.

Ensure that they're entering their email address and not their old username into the Forgot Password page.

[tdmes]

Are you saying that he can create a new username, using his existing e-mail address? This doesn't seem to work, as if he selects 'Register', rather than 'Login', it states that that e-mail is already in use, and then asks for the password. As he doesn't remember the password, the 'Forgot Password' and 'Recover' option should result in an e-mail to him. However, it doesn't.

[Brian]

Aug 1, 2018 11:58:02 GMT -8 tdmes said:

Are you saying that he can create a new username, using his existing e-mail address?

Yes. They can even create a new account using the same username as the account that was deleted. However, none of their previous posts will be tied to the new account as that association is done by their account's numerical ID.

Aug 1, 2018 11:58:02 GMT -8 tdmes said:

This doesn't seem to work, as if he selects 'Register', rather than 'Login', it states that that e-mail is already in use, and then asks for the password. As he doesn't remember the password, the 'Forgot Password' and 'Recover' option should result in an e-mail to him. However, it doesn't.

I can confirm that the Forgot Password feature is currently working as I just received the one I requested for my test account. Are they clicking on the Submit button below the captcha challenge after completing it? The email isn't sent until that button is clicked.

If so, what was their username on their prior account?

[tdmes]

The previous user name was 'boilerspecter'

[Scott]

tdmes, for privacy purposes I cannot go into details but the the email address that was associated with that username has some weird characters/formatting that most likely is causing the Forgot Password to fail and not send an email.

I would ask the member to create a new account (and thus new global account) making sure they enter their email address exactly the way they got it from their email provider. If this still doesn't work, then they would need to use a different email address.

[tdmes]

Thanks for your help, Scott and Brian.

[tdmes]

Scott,

Sorry to keep on with this problem, but the user is fairly elderly, and not very au fait with computers. He also doesn't have an alterative e-mail address to use.

Could you e-mail me directly (I guess you can see my e-mail address from my profile), so I can send you his correct e-mail address, and you can compare that to what you are seeing on his account?

It's strange actually, because if we enter his correct e-mail address, the system says that it is in use, but doesn't send him anything following a password request.

Brian,

You say that he can create a new account (even using the original username). How is that done? The first thing we encounter when clicking 'Register' is a box to enter the e-mail address, and the moment we enter his correct e-mail address, the system tells us that there is already an account linked to that e-mail.

Many thanks.....Steve

[Scott]

tdmes,
A global account is a collection of forum accounts that are all tied to one email address.
Whenever someone registers an account on a forum, a corresponding global account is created - unless one already exists. If same user deletes their forum account, the global account still remains. So when the user registers a new account and enters their email address, the system recognizes there is an existing global account in place with that email address and should then instruct the user to login to the global account or enter the password associated with the global account so that the new forum account will be linked to and part of that global account.

What complicates this normally simple process is that the member does not remember their password; and the way their email is recorded in our database is causing the reset password email to fail to send.

Before we move forward I would be curious what they're saying their email is. Once I know this I can better guide you (and them) how to proceed. No need to email me, you can just PM me with their email as that will be private, though if you wish to email send it to [e-mail]