Getting Started

With all of the new AskWoody Loungers brought in by way of the Windows Secrets Newsletter, I get lots of questions about getting started on the site. Here are three just right off the bat:

TP: I cannot find any way to post a question in the forum. I have searched for my topic and do not find an answer so I would like to post a question. Can you help me?

Excellent question. As you say, the first step is to look for your question, to see if it’s been asked (and answered!) before. You can use the Search box down on the right side. Or you can use your favorite search engine — in Google, you could say something like “sound doesn’t work site:askwoody.com”

If you find a topic that’s close to yours, you can add a post (called a “reply”) to that topic by scrolling down to the bottom of the page, filling out the “Reply To” box, and clicking Submit. The first few replies you Submit are moderated – reviewed by a living, breathing human – before they appear on the site, so be patient.

If you have something that’s a completely new topic (“What is the effect of gamma rays on man-in-the-moon marigolds?”), you need to find a home for it – a forum. Scroll down the list of forums on the right and click on the link to a likely-sounding forum (“Android for Windows Wonks”?). You see a list of topics. To add your own question – your own topic – to the list, at the bottom, type a short title, then describe your problems in the box. When you’re done, click Submit. Again, your first few posts will be moderated before it appears, and that can take time.

GL: How do I change my password?

In the upper right corner, click on your username or your picture (“avatar”). Then click Edit. The password change boxes are under “Account.” by the way, you can see the status of your Plus Membership subscription there, too, under

WB: How do I put a picture on my account?

Go to Gravatar, sign in, upload a pic, and you’re done. That’s all it takes. Gravatar (which is owned by the same people who own WordPress) links your WordPress account’s email address to their database on Gravatar. If the email addresses match, your picture appears — and not just on this site, but on every WordPress site.

HI: Why can’t I use my email address as a username?

You can.  After seeing some feedback from our more attentive readers, I’m not going to allow posts from accounts where the account name is an email address. There are GDPR considerations. Read on.

The accounts we imported from the Windows Secrets Newsletter mailing list all had usernames that are email addresses — that’s the only identifier we could pick up. There’s a danger in using your email address as a username. First, even if you try to mask it (by setting a Display name, for example), your email address appears every time you post something on AskWoody. All anyone has to do is hover their mouse over a post. Second, it’s not a good idea to spread your email address all over the place. Spiders — which very helpfully crawl the web and index things — may pick up your email address. Also, there’s lots of confusion when it comes time to change passwords — a “Who’s on First” experience when your username is also your email address.

I strongly recommend that you change your account if you have a username that’s also your email address. Since you can’t change your username directly (WordPress doesn’t allow it, for good reason), the only way is to contact me at CustomerSupport@AskWoody.com. I’ll step you through the changes. Your current subscription goes along to the new account. I guarantee it.

Your privacy is very important. To me.

UPDATE: Some of you are sending messages to CustomerSupport that come from email address that look like outlook_8350261C1BB1228. When I reply, those messages are bouncing back. If you haven’t heard from me in a couple of days, send me mail from a “real” email address! It’s Microsoft’s problem, but it’s knocking me out for several of you.

Now it’s your turn. Have a burning newbie question? Or an answer or recommendation? Click on the “Comment on the AskWoody Lounge” link up at the top of this post and fire away….