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Upgrade To Blog Comments

Graham Gillies | 12:24 UK time, Sunday, 25 October 2009

Over the next few months bbc.co.uk is upgrading its sign-in service to a shiny new one called ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD.

Some sites are already using it and the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's blogs are all going to be up grading next week. Excitingly we're going to have a sneak preview here on Cycling The Americas as we're going to be moving over to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD on Monday 26th Oct. Yes, that's this Monday!

If you have any problems with the new system after the changes on Monday then do email us at cyclingtheamericas@bbc.co.uk and we'll do our best to help.

As we think you might have a few questions about what this means for you, and what you'll have to do on Monday, there is a FAQ - answered by the team who've been working to make these changes to bbc.co.uk - at the end of this post.

What is ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD?

  • ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD is the new sign in system across the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ. It's already in use on new sites and services such as iPlayer message board and is currently being rolled out across all other services that require a user to register or sign in.
  • The intention is that by March 2010 it'll be the single sign in for all ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ online services. If you have an existing ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ membership account for blogs, message boards or other services at some point in the next few months you will need to switch to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD.

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD sounds good. What do I need to do to join?

  • If you've already got a ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ membership then it's a fairly simple process. When one of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ sites you regularly sign in to, (eg blogs), switches over to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD you'll be prompted to create a ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD when you try to log in. Just follow the instructions on screen.
  • If you've never had any form of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ membership just go to the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD homepage to create a ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD. NB: Until the switchover is complete you won't be able to sign in to non-³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD sites with your ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD. (For more help see the FAQ "I've just created a ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD but I can't sign in to some of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's services. Why?")

What was wrong with the old system?

The membership system we're replacing was built some years ago and it needs to be replaced. It won't support many of the services we expect to introduce in future and it doesn't function as a single sign in system across all of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Online. We think our new system will provide users with a much more satisfactory experience, though converting from the old system to the new will cause inconvenience, for which we apologise.

What are the benefits of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD?

Our aim is to provide users with a single sign on system for all the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ services they use across current and new platforms. For example, customisations and preferences you set on the website can be carried across to digital television and mobile services.

I've just created a ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD but I can't sign in to some of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's services. Why?

  • Some of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's services are still using the old ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ membership system and you won't be able to sign into them with a ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD until the service you want to use has moved to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD.
  • This will be between October and the end of February. Each site will be telling its users when it expects to make the change. NB: See the FAQ "My new ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD account won't let me sign into a site that's still using the old sign in system. What should I do?" to find out what you can do. (Below)

My new ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD account won't let me sign into a site that's still using the old membership system. What should I do?

If you'd like to comment or post a message on a site that's still using the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ membership system you can use your previous membership details. If you only have a ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD account you can create a separate account to use on sites that haven't switched over to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD as yet. Do that by going to the site where you'd like to post a comment and click on "Register". This account will only be needed for a short period and eventually your ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD will work on all ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ sites.

I've got lots of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ memberships. Can I make them into one ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD?

No. Read the FAQ "I've got more than one ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ membership. What are my options?" to find out more. (Below)

I've got more than one ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ membership. What are my options?

  1. You can choose to migrate one of your ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ memberships to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD and use that on all new sites using ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD. Eventually you'll be able to sign in to all ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ services with one ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD.
  2. You can migrate each account separately and create a new ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD for each one that links to your previous comments and so on. You will need a valid email address for each account.

I have several ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ membership accounts that I use depending on where I'm commenting or posting. Can I keep the different nick names that I have?

Yes. As long as you create a different ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD account for each one. You'll need a valid email address for each ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD.

Can I make changes to my profile when I switch over to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD?

In the migration process you'll be given the option of creating a display name that will appear on all your future comments and posts as well as on posts you made with your previous ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ membership.
If I migrate my ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ account to the new ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD will my posts and comments be affected?
All previous comments or posts will continue to appear on the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ websites. The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ membership that you migrated to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD will still be linked to these comments. Also if you make a change to your ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iD profile (eg: If you change your display name) it'll be changed on previous comments that you made using your ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ membership.

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