The most common problem MacFIBS users have is forgetting or mistyping their user names or passwords. Unfortunately, the FIBS server provides no feedback when it receives an invalid user name or password. Historically, this has caused considerable frustration among FIBS players.
MacFIBS now detects when the login fails, and presents a window indicating this:
If you see this window after trying to connect, open the Connect window or the Preferences window and verify your user name and password. I recommend keeping your user name and password written down somewhere, as it is easy to forget them over time. And remember, user names and passwords are both CASE SENSITIVE so "SUE", "Sue", and "sue" are not the same. One of the most common causes of user name or password problems is failing to enter them exactly as they were created.
If you have (really) forgotten your password
One of the most common pleas for help I receive is from players who have forgotten or lost their passwords.
Unfortunately, this is a problem that I usually cannot fix. Passwords are stored on the FIBS server in an encrypted form, and it is impossible for me or anyone else to retrieve a password if you have forgotten it.
Please understand that I (fergy) have no role or responsibility over the server software; MacFIBS is only a pretty graphical interface to FIBS. I did not create FIBS (the server), and I do not have any administrative control over it. This separation between FIBS and MacFIBS is frequently confusing to MacFIBS users, and I hope that you understand the distinction.
If you have a Preferences file from an earlier version of MacFIBS still in your System > Preferences folder, I may be able to retrieve your password from it, because the password is stored in a non-encrypted form on your Mac so you don't have to always enter your password. Contact me at pdferguson@mac.com is you would like help with this.
Creating a new account
Often the only solution when you have forgotten your password is to create a new FIBS user name. There is no charge for this, but you will start again at 1500 points and 0 experience. You cannot get your old experience points or rating transferred to your new account.
Your old account will be deleted automatically by the FIBS server after approximately three months of inactivity.
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