Sign Up (Creating an Account)

[Brother Tyler]

While anyone can view and download the content at the Bolter & Chainsword, the real strength of the community is in the members participating by engaging in constructive discussions, sharing content, and providing feedback and reactions to content. To do those things, one must be a member. Luckily, being a member of the community is completely free.

 

If you’re already a member and are having problems logging in (i.e., you’ve tried the forgotten password function with no success and have checked your spam folder) or you can’t remember either your password or the email address associated with your account, contact the administrators. We can work with you to see if we can help you recover access to your account (and any content you may have created previously). Keep in mind that we allow members to have only one account – duplicate accounts will result in disciplinary action and the removal of the duplicate accounts.

 

Creating a new account consists of the following steps:

1. Open the Sign Up menu
2. Enter your information and complete the security check
3. Submit your information to create your account
4. Confirm your email address (check your email)
5. Contact the administrators

Each of these steps is explained in detail below.

 

Open the Sign Up menu

 

Note that all of the images that appear below are shrunk down. If you want to see any of the images at full size, simply click on them.

 

If you’re on a mobile device or using the mobile theme, the first step is to click on the three horizontal lines that appear at the top right of the screen.

 

 

Click on the Sign Up button. If you're using the Default theme, it appears at the top left of the screen. If you're using the Mobile theme, it appeas at the top right of the screen.

 

 

You’ll be taken to the Sign Up screen.

 

Enter your information and complete the security check

 

First, choose a Display Name. Each member has a unique Display Name. While we occasionally allow members to change their Display Name, you should choose your Display Name as if it will be permanent.

 

Member display names may be between 3 and 26 characters in length.

 

Letters and numbers from any language may be used. In addition, the following characters are allowed:

•  (space)
• _ (underscore)
• . (period/decimal)
• - (dash)
• , (comma)
• ( (opening parenthesis)
• ) (closing parenthesis)

 

Characters from foreign languages that can’t be visually represented by an English language character are not allowed. For example, ä is allowed because it could be substituted with the letter a, and Я is allowed because it could be substituted with the letter R. Meanwhile, 象 and दे are not allowed because they aren’t visually analogous to English language characters. For the most part, the foreign language characters allowed are English language characters with diacritical marks, though there are others that are also acceptable. The intent is to allow any member to type another member’s name (or something obviously close to it) in using an English language keyboard without having to run things through a translator or insert special characters.

 

Then enter your Email Address. Each account must have a unique email address, too. You must use a valid email address by which you can be contacted. The email address is one of the elements necessary for logging in (along with your password) and is the method by which the site can contact you, including if you have forgotten your password.

 

Using an effective Password is your responsibility. We recommend that you follow standard practices in having a unique password that you keep to yourself so that others cannot gain access to your account. The site displays a Choosing a Password dialog box when you click in the Password field, and the strength of your password will be indicated by a colored bar and text that appears below the field.

 

 

The Security Check consists of two parts. The first is a question (there are multiple questions, and each accepts a variety of answers) and the second is the “I’m not a robot” checkbox. Sometimes, checking in the checkbox will activate the reCAPTCHA, forcing you to select all of the boxes that have “X” in them (I’ve seen buses, bicycles, and fire hydrants so far). Sometimes that reCAPTCHA doesn’t appear.

 

Once you have completed the Security Check, decide if you want the site to send you news and updates, then read the Terms of Use and check the box.

 

Submit your information to create your account

 

Once you have completed everything, click the Create my Account button.

 

 

If you have entered a unique Display Name, a unique and valid Email Address, both passwords match, the security question is answered correctly, the Security Check box is checked, and you have checked the “I agree to the Terms of Use” checkbox, the site will accept the registration and will send a validation email to the email address that you entered. You’ll see the following screen:

 

 

Confirm your email address (check your email)

 

Check your email and confirm your email address. The site will then put your account in the approval queue awaiting administrator approval. If the email address for an account does not work, the account will be deleted.

 

If any of the fields are incorrect (e.g., you choose a Display Name or Email Address that is already taken, you answer the security question incorrectly, etc.), you’ll receive an error message describing the problem. The security question can be problematic – sometimes correct answers aren’t accepted (I had that problem while creating these screenshots, for example, even though I used the same answer on my PC and on my phone).

 

Contact the administrators

 

The last step is to contact the administrators for account approval. You can do this by sending an email. Alternately, the administrators can provide assistance if you encounter any problems during the process of signing up. You'll need to contact the administrators at this point.