Error adding a backup email address: address already in use by a staged user

[stf]

When trying to add an additional email address to my profile, I am getting this error:

There was an error changing your email address. The address is already in use by a staged user.

So perhaps I made a mistake and signed up twice?.. But password reset with the other address doesn’t work:

Password Reset
No account matches ***

where *** stands for my email address.

What am I doing wrong? How do I recover the old account? How many accounts do I have and why?

Thank you!

[Moin]

Looking at the information about staged users, I think everything works as designed. But maybe no one thought about the case where the email address will be used as a second one.

@sam

Staged

A special placeholder account which is created automatically by the system for email integration

• No email digests are ever sent
• Automatically watches all messages it participates in and receives notifications of replies
• May reply via email to notifications
• Username and Name are automatically picked
• The account may still register with the same email and “take over” the staged account.
• Forgot password will do nothing… when you attempt to send a password reset to a staged account

Staged users are created when you send an email which becomes a message in the discourse forum. For example, sending an email to team@discourse.org will automatically be converted to a personal message to the @team.

I’m not sure if you have to register with the second email address before the two accounts can be merged. But someone else will be able to help you.

[JammyDodger]

Hello and welcome @stf

I’ll send you a PM to get some more details so we can figure out what’s going on.