Alternate Account Ownership Validation
Title
Alternate Account Ownership Validation
Short, concise description of the idea
Make it possible to prove you own an account other than with an e-mail address.
Full description of the idea
This is something I've seen come up several times on the Support Board (after submitting a similar request of my own). People have lost passwords to older accounts and no longer have access to the e-mail a reset link would be sent to. Alternate solutions should be provided, such as security questions or even hints defined by the user during registration, that would allow a user to validate their ownership without the hopelessness of no longer having access to a particular e-mail. This is done with "big name" e-mail services and even bank accounts, so security should not be an issue.
An ordered list of benefits
- Less fuss over lost accounts and/or passwords.
- Those of us with otherwise condemning material on the Internet may be able to put those skeletons back in the closet to protect ourselves from unwanted prying eyes, such as when applying for a job that might run Internet searches before hiring. I believe everyone reserves the right to do this.
- Potential risk of abuse.
- Possible dead end if the user also forgets their answers to security questions, or does not understand their own password hints.