I didn't request my password?

September 13, 2007 5:24 PM

I got a "Your MetaFilter password request" e-mail but I didn't request my password?

Received an e-mail at 10:09AM with my password. Thing is, I didn't request my password and thought I'd let the admins know in case there is a problem somewhere.

posted by zaphod to Bugs at 5:24 PM (26 comments total)

Looks like somebody wants in to your account.
posted by tehloki at 5:26 PM on September 13, 2007

Someone may have requested your password by accident or possibly maliciously. If you'd like us to change your password, drop one of us an email. Letting users change their own passwords is one of the upcoming things on the To DO list.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:26 PM on September 13, 2007

Looks like somebody wants in to your account.

Once again, tehloki has foiled my well-laid plans. But I'll get into zaphod's account yet! Mark my words!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:30 PM on September 13, 2007

It seems like firing off lots of "password request" emails would be a good way to annoy somebody... even somebody whose email address isn't listed on the site.

Is there some limit to how many times the system will send a password to the email address that's associated with a given account?
posted by killdevil at 5:34 PM on September 13, 2007

a lot of times people have one username on all sites but they sign up here and it's taken. Then six months later they try to login and forget they didn't have their original username and they fail a few logins then request it.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 5:39 PM on September 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

In the golden age of the internet, I could go anywhere and claim the bold, brazen name "Loki" for my own. Now some ass always gets here before me and I have to be tehloki everywhere.
posted by tehloki at 5:50 PM on September 13, 2007 [3 favorites]

Dammit, someone hacked my zaphod sockpuppet to post this! JUST TO MOCK ME!
posted by Eideteker at 5:57 PM on September 13, 2007

hurf durf hotmail
posted by Kwine at 6:44 PM on September 13, 2007 [3 favorites]

Just got another one at 845pm!

>Looks like somebody wants in to your account.
Yeah, I was thinking that myself.

>If you'd like us to change your password ...
What do you think? Do you see this kind of thing often?

>But I'll get into zaphod's account yet!
Do you have any chocolate?
posted by zaphod at 7:01 PM on September 13, 2007

Good lord it's 2007 and we still can't change our passwords. Seriously that would take 5 minutes to develop.
posted by xmutex at 7:10 PM on September 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

Actually, xmutex, it doesn't. See the MeFi case study.
posted by niles at 7:37 PM on September 13, 2007

zaphod, could you forward me one of those emails?

I like your username more than mine.
posted by popechunk at 8:33 PM on September 13, 2007

Sometimes when drunk I accidentally try to sign in as "Sasshatch" can u fix plz? k thx bye.
posted by SassHat at 9:39 PM on September 13, 2007

I got a "|3 uy V1aGr@ n0vv!" email but I didn't request it?
posted by shmegegge at 10:47 PM on September 13, 2007

How MetaFilter works:
* You can't change your password
* You can email an admin your password in plain-text and ask them to change it by hand for you
* You can get your current password emailed to you

How it should work:
* You can change your password
* You can get your password reset to something randomly-generated and have that emailed to you

I think that this should be pb/mathowie's highest priority. Being unable to easily change my password after I post a comment saying that it's "hotfudge11" is a little 1996.
posted by Plutor at 5:16 AM on September 14, 2007 [3 favorites]

LOL PLUTOR SUCKS BALLS
posted by Plutor at 5:23 AM on September 14, 2007 [1 favorite]

And another one at 3:59am!
posted by zaphod at 7:07 AM on September 14, 2007

niles: What does that article have to do w/ MeFi? Was MeFi actually designed that way?
posted by xmutex at 7:09 AM on September 14, 2007

Letting users change their own passwords is one of the upcoming things on the To DO list.

And it always will be.
posted by gsteff at 7:22 AM on September 14, 2007

zaphod, I don't think you should change your password. Obviously, the person that wants it doesn't know it.
posted by tellurian at 7:52 AM on September 14, 2007 [2 favorites]

So, we've all tried to log in as Plutor now, right?
posted by methylsalicylate at 8:22 AM on September 14, 2007

I've been trying every day for six months.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 9:10 AM on September 14, 2007 [1 favorite]

You only need a password if you're going to log in. To log in, you must first log out. Solution: Remove the logout link. QED.
posted by blue_beetle at 10:06 AM on September 14, 2007

>the person that wants it doesn't know it.
That what I was thinking.

And 3 more at 10:15am! Now I think you lads & ladies reading this thread are just fecking with me! ;)
posted by zaphod at 10:50 AM on September 14, 2007

/humor
posted by niles at 10:56 AM on September 14, 2007

In the near future you'll be able to change your password and yeah, I'll require that people properly match their username and their email before sending them a password change URL. I think at this point people are requesting it for zaphod as a joke, but I can throw in some checks to show you who actually requested it.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 11:22 AM on September 14, 2007