proof of ownership

[Skaperen]

i will not name the site i am having trouble with in order to not violate the terms here that protect this site. what i want to ask about is the general thoughts about the issue and other issues similar to it. those of you who actually run or provide support on web sites might have a valuable understanding of this.

many years ago i set up a free account at a website. i logged in with my password and verified that the free account was there and that the password was set up correctly. i have kept that password all these years. today, that site will not allow me to even try to login. i have to enter my user name first and it refuses to even ask for a password after that. i can't go into more detail because that may reveal the identity of the web site involved.

they do have a support forum but i cannot access it because it requires to be logged in. i know i should just create another account to get in there but i don't want to break any "one account per person" rules. besides, i don't think any staff participate in that forum.

they have an online form to get help but it requires "proof of ownership". i do not have any of the listed forms (partly due to so many years, mostly out of my control) but i do have one they do not list. that is the original password. all i need is for them to re-activate the account so i can login with my password.

my question here is: to what extent do you think of a password as valid proof of ownership over things like the original signup email or codes that have been sent to that email such as an email verification code sent at the time of account setup?

[CelticWarrior]

I would say knowing a password is NOT proof of ownership because passwords can be obtained illegally (hacking a database, email, etc.) or given by the actual owner in good faith.

Furthermore, what I think probably happened in your case is a normal account deletion or deactivation due to inactivity. Now, whether or not you're entitled to recover said account, it all depends on the specific terms of service and the method to recover it if allowed is entirely decided by the service provider, i.e., the website you don't want to divulge (and rightfully so).

[sudodus]

I would say knowing a password is NOT proof of ownership because passwords can be obtained illegally (hacking a database, email, etc.) or given by the actual owner in good faith.

Furthermore, what I think probably happened in your case is a normal account deletion or deactivation due to inactivity. Now, whether or not you're entitled to recover said account, it all depends on the specific terms of service and the method to recover it if allowed is entirely decided by the service provider, i.e., the website you don't want to divulge (and rightfully so).

+1

Particularly: "Furthermore, what I think probably happened in your case is a normal account deletion or deactivation due to inactivity."

[Skaperen]

does "normal account deletion or deactivation due to inactivity" mean i can't get it back? had it been active it could have by means of the password which could have been "obtained illegally (hacking a database, email, etc.) or given by the actual owner in good faith". under this idea, every account over X years old could be deactivated because its password ... how are these cases different in terms of proof of ownership?

[Skaperen]

+1

Particularly: "Furthermore, what I think probably happened in your case is a normal account deletion or deactivation due to inactivity."

then they should be able to say what happened. they could leave the account there in a flagged state (actually, they did) and have that response be automated once the login is successful (so they can continue the practice of not having real people do this) and have it say that their policy is ... or the terms and conditions are ... and that this account is permanently disabled for that reason.

they did leave the account there in some deactivated state. i verified that by trying to login with a made up name and got a different action that made more sense.

[wildmanne39]

No, I do not see a valid password as proof, a hacker could have that way to easy, I am speaking for myself not as a moderator here, maybe the other site also is now using a SSO and do not have actual passwords stored on there forum, anyway I had this happen to me after a site was hacked which may be the case here as well who knows but I had to create a new account.

[Skaperen]

i went ahead and created a 2nd account there. it was difficult to do and was doing lots of things to get me to upgrade to a paid account (that probably doesn't narrow things down very much). i did get the account created but their new web user interface was horrible. i've decided that a deactivated account is probably doing me a favor.