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How to Generate Your Own Login Credentials

Are you a current NSS-CDS member? Did you supply us with a valid e-mail address when you signed up or renewed? If you did, you have everything you need to generate your own login credentials for the new CDS website. Your Username and password will enable you to do a variety of things, including:

  • Post and respond to comments on articles and stories.
  • Participate in forum discussions.
  • Find and connect with other CDS members through the website.

As the website matures, your Username and password will enable you to access other features as well.

No current e-mail address on file? Go to the Contact Us page. Select Website Login Problems from the drop-down menu. Include a valid e-mail address in the Your e-mail address: field. For Subject:, say something like This is my correct e-mail address. The Message: field is required by the form, so put something there, however brief. If you are a current member, we will send you the e-mail with the one-time link to create your password.

Your Username

We tried to keep this as simple and as straightforward as possible. Your Username (login name) is simply your first and last name, with no middle initial and a space in between words (i.e. John Smith). We did this for three reasons:

  • Obviously, it’s easy to remember.
  • Your Username is also what members see when they look up your profile on line. (Alex Jones is more recognizable than ajones.)
  • Use of real names encourages responsible behavior when posting to articles and forums. (Let’s face it: It’s more tempting to call a fellow member a “farm-animal-stupid, drooling goober” when you are posting as CaveDestroyer69 than it is when you have to post using your real name.)

Usernames contain no middle initials, punctuation, titles or abbreviations. For example:

  • William H. Johnson is simply William Johnson.
  • Richard Crane, PhD. is simply Richard Crane.
  • Dr. Sarah Kildare is simply Sarah Kildare.

If you are better known throughout the cave community by your middle name, you will most likely find that reflected in your Username. For example, not everyone knows who H Hires is, but we all know Lamar Hires.

If you have a two-word or hyphenated last name (surname), enter it as such. (i.e., Wilson von Daniken, Victor Carson-Smythe. etc.)

Creating a Password

User Login

One of the many things we like about Drupal, the content management system that runs our new website, is that it did not force us to send out several hundred separate e-mails to individual members, telling them what their unique Username and password is. Instead, this is a do-it-yourself proposition.

Here are the steps to follow:

  • At the top of the left-hand column, locate the User login..
  • At the bottom of the login field is a link that says Request new password. Click on the link..

The User account page will appear. Request new password will be highlighted, as shown below.

Request New Password
  • If you know the e-mail address you used when you joined or renewed, enter that into the field shown above.
  • If you are uncertain about the e-mail address you used, or the system tells you that this e-mail address is not on file, try your Username as outlined above.

The system will send you an e-mail containing a one-time link back to the website. This link will take you to a page where you can create your own unique password, as well as add other information to your member profile. (Remember to click the Save button at the bottom of this page when done, or you will have to repeat the process.)

Note: The system will not reveal your password to us — or anyone else, — nor will anyone from the CDS ever ask you for your password.

Troubleshooting

If the system accepts the e-mail address you enter, you should have little difficulty creating a new password. If you have to enter what you believe to be your correct Username, and no e-mail arrives in your mailbox, here are some possibilities.

  • The Username you entered is different from what we have on file (i.e., you entered Joseph Smith but we have you as Joe Smith). If you think this might have happened, try possible variations on your Username.

And if All Else Fails: Go to the Contact Us form. Select Website Login Problems from the drop-down menu. Share your pain. We will try to fix it.

Your Member Profile

At the same time you create your password, you can add to or update information on your member profile. At one time, the Section spent several hundred dollars a year printing and mailing directory of members with potentially sensitive contact information, such as street addresses and phone numbers. For a variety of (what should be obvious) reasons, we don’t do that any more.

What you add to your member profile is entirely up to you. We recommend limiting it to your city, state or province, and country (unless you feel it is important that other members have something like your phone number).

By default, your member profile contains a link to a personal contact form. This enables other members to send you e-mail — without revealing your actual e-mail address in the process. You can disable this feature by unchecking the appropriate box.