The Character Faq, Passwords, Character Security, E-mail, Alt Lists, Alt Deletion, Beekin Options

[Kamose]

Questions Answered in this FAQ:

• How do I change my name?
• How do I change the case (capitalization) or spacing of my name?
• How do I retrieve an ini file that I deleted from my computer?
• How do I retrieve an expired character?
• How do I change my character's password?
• How do I reset my password if I don't know the current password?
• How do I reset my password if I don't know the current password and no longer have access to my character's registered e-mail address?
• What should I do if I can't log in?
• What should I do if my character is stolen?
• What should I do if I get a password change confirmation e-mail when I never tried to reset the password?
• How can I keep my character safe?
• How do I change my character's registered e-mail address?
• I didn't get a validation e-mail when I created my character or changed my address. What should I do?
• How can I get a list of all of my characters?
• How do I delete a character?
• How do I prevent my characters from expiring?
• I want to have more than ten characters. How do I do this?
• How do I get my character out of a dream that makes Furcadia freeze?
• Do I need to e-mail my Beekin group when I change my e-mail address?
• How do I transfer my Beekin badge to another character?

Q: How do I change my name?

You need to create a new character. To do this, go to Start -> Programs -> Furcadia -> Create A New Character. You will be told what to do from there.


Q: How do I change the case (capitalization) or spacing of my name?

You can't fix this by creating a new character. Furcadia characters are case-insensitive, meaning that the game considers "Felorin" to be the same as "felorin." Similarly, "EmeraldFlame" is treated the same as "Emerald Flame."

To change the case or spacing of your name, log into the Update Name service. (You need to know your name and password in order to log in.)


Q: I deleted my character's ini file from my computer. How do I get it back?

Log into the Retrieve Character ini File service. (You need to know your character's name and its password.) The ini file will be sent to your character's registered e-mail address. Download this file, and save it to wherever you keep your ini files. (The default location is My Documents\Furcadia\Furcadia Characters.)

This procedure will only work if the character has not expired.


Q: My character expired. How can I get it back?

Unused characters expire after six months unless they have Digos on them. If the character expired, someone else may have since taken the name, in which case you are out of luck. If no one has taken the name, you can create a new character with the old name. (You don't need to use your old password.)

To do this, go to Start -> Programs -> Furcadia -> Create A New Character. You will be told what to do from there.


Q: How do I change my character's password?

Log into the Change Character Password service. (You need to know your character's name and its current password.)

Once you have changed the password, open your character's ini file, and type the new password where it says "Password=." (Note: you can't just change the password in your ini file; you need to use the Change Character Password service first.)


Q: I forgot my old password. How do I get a new one?

Log into the Change Lost Password service. (You need to know your character's name.) Once you have selected a new password, a confirmation e-mail will be sent to your character's registered e-mail address. You will need to open that e-mail and click the link in order to change the password.

Once you have changed the password, open your character's ini file, and type the new password where it says "Password=." (Note: you can't just change the password in your ini file; you first need to use the Change Lost Password service and click the link in the confirmation e-mail.)


Q: I forgot my password, and I no longer have access to my character's registered e-mail address. How can I regain access to my character?

Unfortunately, you won't be able to do this on your own. Without access to the e-mail address, it is impossible to reset the password on your own. Similarly, if you can't log into the character (because you don't know the password), you won't be able to reset the e-mail address.

In this case, your only recourse is to submit a ticket with as much information as possible so that Cironir can verify that you are the legitimate user of that character.

• The name(s) of your main character(s): this is used to verify identity.
• The name of the character.
• How you obtained the character.
• If you created the character, the e-mail address to which it was registered when you created it. (If you don't remember which e-mail address you used, write whatever you can remember -- even the e-mail service would help.)
• When you were last able to log into the character.
• Whether the character had any Digos on it, and if so, which Digos.

Q: I can't log in. What should I do?

First, try resetting your password and retrieving your character's ini file. (See above.) Other common problems are firewall issues (preventing Furcadia from connecting to the Internet) and server-wide problems. See Logon Failures & Their Solutions for information about connection problems.

If the server isn't down, and if your problem is not solved by resetting the password, retrieving the ini file, or adjusting your firewall, then it's possible that you might have been suspended, or someone changed the character's password and e-mail address. You will need to contact the Guardians for assistance. If possible, please speak with a live Guardian, who can walk you through what you need to do. (If you don't include the right information when you submit a ticket, it takes much longer to resolve these cases.)


Q: I think that my character was stolen. What should I do?

First, try resetting the password. (See above for instructions.) If that does not work, submit a ticket with the following information:

• The name(s) of your main character(s): this is used to verify identity.
• The name of the compromised character.
• How you obtained the character.
• If you created the character, the address to which it was registered when you created it.
• When you were last able to log into the character.
• The names of anyone that you have reason to believe might have changed your password, and if so, why.
• The names of your most recent alt trading partners.
• Whether you have ever shared your password (for any character) with another player, and if so, with whom.
• Whether you used the same password for multiple characters. (Don't disclose your actual password, just whether it was the same as your password for other alts; it helps to know any factors that might have put your characters at risk.)
• Whether you share a computer with any other Furcadia players.
• Whether the compromised character had any Digos on it, and if so, which Digos.

Q: I got an e-mail asking me to confirm my change of password, but I never tried to change my password. What does this mean, and what should I do?

This means that someone attempted to use the Change Lost Password service. Don't worry! Your password will not be changed unless you click the link in your e-mail. If you didn't request the new password, then don't click the link!

This doesn't necessarily mean that someone is trying to "steal" your character. Sometimes, players mistakenly believe that they still have a character but just don't remember the password, so they try to reset the password. This is harmless as long as you don't click the confirmation link. Repeated requests, on the other hand, may be a sign of wrongdoing. If you get several password change requests, you should submit a ticket with a copy of the e-mail and the full header information.

If you are worried about the security of your character, you should consider changing the password on your own with the Change Character Password service. See below for password safety tips.


Q: How can I keep my character safe?

Almost all cases of character "theft" or hacking involve a victim who was careless with his password. If you follow these tips, you shouldn't have any problems.

• Never reveal your character or e-mail passwords to anyone for any reason. Many problems are caused when players share their passwords with trusted friends who turn out not to be trustworthy. Moreover, DEP staff and Beekins do not need to know your password and will never ask for it. It is important that you not share your character passwords with other players unless you are okay with them seeing all of your other characters and, in the future, having access to your entire account (including features that allow the modification or enhancement of your account and characters).
• Use passwords that are not easily guessed. Using personal information (such as your name or pet) as a password is a bad idea. People who know you may guess these as passwords. Other bad passwords include: password, login, changeme, test, private, and anything on this list. In light of the recent hacking, DEP recommends that you not use dictionary words as passwords. The best passwords are at least 10 characters long and consist of random letters and numbers, such as iGz93MVaPY.
• Don't use the same password for more than one character. If you're using the same password for multiple characters, the loss of one character puts the other characters at risk.
• Use a strong password for your e-mail address, and make sure it's not the same password that you use for any of your characters. If someone gains access to your character's registered e-mail address, he can gain access to all characters registered to it.
• Don't share or trade alts. Many character and Digo problems are experienced by alt traders who use the same password on a traded character as they use for their other alts.
• If you share a computer with other Furcadia players or use a public computer, don't store your passwords in your ini files. Furcadia saves passwords by default, but you can turn off this feature by going to Start -> Furcadia -> Configuration and Troubleshooting. Click the Gameplay tab, and make sure that the box labeled "Save passwords" is not checked.

Q: How do I change my character's registered e-mail address?

Log into Furcadia with your character, and type setemail {address}. (Replace {address} with your e-mail address.) When you do this, Furcadia will send a validation e-mail to your new e-mail address within 24 hours. You must click the link to validate your new e-mail address. If you do not do this, your character will be frozen and eventually deleted.


Q: I didn't get a validation e-mail when I created my character or changed my address. What should I do?

If you have not received a validation e-mail within 24 hours, log into Furcadia with your character, and type setemail {address}. (Replace {address} with your e-mail address.) This will force Furcadia to send another validation e-mail to you. Make sure that your e-mail account accepts all mail from furcadia.com so that your spam filter does not block the e-mail.

Only try this once. (Every time you request a validation e-mail, you get a new confirmation number. If you try to confirm with an old number, it may cause problems.) If this doesn't work, it may be an issue with your e-mail service provider. Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail (including @live.com) have been known to identify mail from Furcadia as spam.


Q: How can I get a list of all of my characters?

The new Character Listing service allows you to see all characters that are registered to your e-mail address. Log into this service with your character's name and password. Then you will see a list of all characters that are registered to the same address. The list also tells you which characters have Digos and how many name slots you have left.

This procedure will only work if if you log in with a character that has not expired.


Q: How do I delete a character?

There is no way to delete a character immediately. Deleting the ini file from your computer does not delete your character from Furcadia's server. Normally, if you don't log into a character for six months, it will expire unless you have certain Digos on it. You can expedite the expiration process by logging into Furcadia and typing setemail deleted@furcadia.com. Since this is a fake e-mail address, you won't be able to validate it. Furcadia will then freeze the character, and it will be queued for deletion. If you use this method, it takes 30 days for a character to be deleted.


Q: How do I prevent my characters from expiring?

If you log into your character once every six months, it won't expire. You can also prevent characters from expiring by having wings, special avatars, portrait spaces, or at least $10 worth of DragonScales on the character. As long as the character has one of these things, it will never expire. Furcadia will send a reminder (to your registered e-mail address) about 30 days before your character expires. This gives you a chance to prevent the expiration by logging in.


Q: I want to have more than ten characters. How do I do this?

Each e-mail address can have up to ten characters registered to it. You can get around this rule by making a second e-mail address. It is also possible to have more than ten characters on a single e-mail address if some of those characters have Digos. Characters with wings, special avatars, portrait spaces, or at least $10 worth of DragonScales don't count toward the ten-character limit.


Q: My character is stuck in a corrupted dream, and every time I try to log in, Furcadia freezes. How do I get out?

Log out, and use the Return Your Character to the Vinca service. Next time you log in, you will be in the Vinca, and you can go wherever you want.


Q: I'm a Beekin, and I changed my e-mail address. Do I need to e-mail my group heads to tell them the new address?

No. Beekins use an automated system that sends mail to their members' current registered e-mail addresses. If you want your Beekin mail to go to another address, you must use the setemail {address} command to change your e-mail address.


Q: I am a Beekin, and I would like to transfer my Beekin badge to another one of my characters. How do I do this?

Complete the Name Change Application. You can only change your name once every three months, and the automated system won't work if you're moving your badge to a brand new name. You should only put Beekin badges on characters that you personally created; do not use a shared or traded character as your Beekin character.