How to appropriate staged user account with different email?

#1

For various reasons, users might reply to a post via email, not realizing that they are not using the same email address as the one they are signed up with. (In my case, I signed up to Meta using google, and my Gmail address is being forwarded to my regular address.)

When I realized that I have unintentionally been posting under two different identities (a staged user and my real discourse account), I wanted to change the email address of my discourse account to the one of the staged user, thinking that that would fix the issue, but instead I got this:

Is there another way to merge those two accounts? If not, is there at least some way for me to reappropriate my email-address which is currently “blocked” by the staged user?

If none of this is possible, how about allowing users to appropriate staged users if they can prove that they have access to the staged users email?

Can I start a new topic by sending an email message?
#2

Supporting multiple email addresses for the same user is not possible at this time.

Account merging is technically difficult, and very hard to undo, so we have avoided it to date.

What the admin could do is change ownership of the individual posts one by one.

#3

While I’m not worried about my staged user posts here on Meta, does that mean there is no chance getting my email back?

#4

You can change ownership on affected posts, that works today.

#5

Sorry, I’m not sure how I’d do that? Do you mean I can do that as an admin on my forum? Fine. But how about here on Meta? And by extension ordinary users on any discourse forum?

#6

At the moment, you flag or message a moderator asking them to lend a hand.

1 Like
#7

Okay, good to know. But do I understand correctly that in order to “free” my email address (currently used by the staged user) the moderator would have to chsnge ownership of all posts by my staged user plus delete the staged user?

#8

Correct, that is what you would need to do now. I thought someone in the community is working on merge so that would solve the issue for you.

https://meta.discourse.org/t/ability-to-merge-users/9220/43?u=sam

4 Likes
#9