How to register and log in

There seems to be a little confusion among some readers about how to get on to the Forum and post questions and comments, so I thought I would put together this simple guide.

If you just want to read any of the posts on here, you can roam freely across the whole website, search for keywords and follow threads. Fill your boots – it’s all free.

However, if you want to ask a question or make a comment, you need to first Register, then Log In.

And, just to be clear, you REGISTER only once (so we know who you are) but LOG IN every time you want to post a comment or ask a question.

First things first, to register, click on the “Register” button directly beneath the log-in panel near the top right of your screen.

That will take you to a yellow box that will ask for a username and an email address.

It will also ask you to drag a little symbol into a circle, to prove you are not a robot.  Easy-peasy.

It will then ask you to complete a very simple arithmetic test, for the same reason.

The email address you provide must be real and accessible by you, otherwise you will miss out on the next step. The username can be whatever you want but it’s best not to be your real name.  Have fun (but keep it clean).

Once you have completed the process, the website will immediately send you a registration email which has two links at the bottom>  Ignore the first and go to the bottom link which will look something like this:

Password Retrieval URL: http://www.flatchat.com.au/strataguru/?action=rp&key=nvQ80vhdLMW&login=[username]

Instead of [username] at the end you will see the username you put in at the first stage.

Click on that line where it is underlined,  and it will take you to a screen where you will see a yellow box and, inside a white window, a new password.

The password will be incredibly complicated, for maximum security, but you have two choices. You can highlight and copy the password (Ctrl-C) and paste it somewhere safe, then click the reset password button to finalise it.

Or – and many people will do this – change the password to something more memorable. You do that by deleting what’s there and typing in your preferred password.  Either way, you then click the RESET PASSWORD button.

That will take you to a screen that will invite you to login with your Username and the Password you have just created, and from there to your profile page where you can fill in as much or as little about yourself as you wish.

And that’s it as far as registering goes. Save your profile changes and click on the Flat Chat logo on the top left and then head for the Forum page and get posting.

The next time you come back, if you want to participate in the Forum, click on LOGIN and type in your Username and Password (your browser might even do that for you).

Oh, no! I forgot my password!!

If you have forgotten your password.  Click on the forgotten password button under the login panel and fill in your username or the email address that you used when you registered. 

You will shortly thereafter get an email with the same link as above.  It will take you to the same Password panel as before but with a new password in the window – or you can type in a password you will actually remember this time.

Then hit the Reset Password button. It’s the same process as when you registered the first time, using the same username as you registered with.

Why is it so hard just to comment?

Unfortunately, as we live in an age of internet trolls, hackers and other mischief-makers we can’t make it too easy to get access to the website. It’s not just people posting offensive or just plain stupid material, they could be uploading stuff that neither you or I want anywhere near our computers.

But once you are in, you’re in. You only have to register once but you have to log in every time you want to participate (most browsers will remember your login, if you let them, so that couldn’t be simpler).

Please use a screen name other than your real name.  This allows you to be more candid in your comments as identifying yourself also identifies the people you may be complaining about.  That said, you can change your screen name, which is different from your username, at any time.

And if the email with your password link doesn’t turn up, do a search for “flat-chat” in your email program – it probably just got misdirected to the wrong folder

If you have followed all these steps and you still can’t register or login, send an email to mail@flatchat.com.au and we’ll do our best to help.

Remember – Register once, log in every time.