Please read the instructions below carefully before using the online form to
edit your details
(this is a secure server, although you may get a warning about an invalid
certificate - this is normal).
Introduction
You will need to use the online form:
- if the personal details (address, etc) which you supplied when you first
joined CamNet change in the future;
- if you want to change your password;
- if you want to set or change other properties of your account
(eg your mail alias, or your privacy preferences).
All these details are stored in a sophisticated database system
written by CamNet volunteers; the configuration information
needed to support the CamNet services for each user is automatically
extracted from this database, so changes take effect without the need
for human intervention. (See 'Database Updates below'.)
Security Issues
For obvious reasons, the online form is protected: before you can edit
your details you have to type your CamNet username and password in the
boxes provided.
If you forget your CamNet password and can no longer access your
account, please get in touch with us as soon as possible by some other
means
(eg by emailing support@cam.net.uk (sending mail does not require a password) and leaving
a telephone number) and we will issue a new
password to you.
NB: if you have told us about another email address (eg your work
email) at which we can contact you, please make sure that you use the
online form to update our records if this address changes in the
future (this will make it easier for us to contact you should we need
to while your account is inaccessible).
The online form allows you to set two aliases, each of which can be
use to personalise your account in a slightly different way, so that
you can to some extent hide the ugly 'abc123' account name and replace
it with your real name, the name of your business, or some other
persona. These are as follows:
- Your Mail Alias
- This can be used to replace the account name in your email address.
It can be set to any string of up to 25 characters (subject to certain
restrictions); once set, it enables you to
receive email as an email address like yourmailalias@home.cam.net.uk
as well as abc123@home.cam.net.uk.
Note that you will have to change the settings of your email software if
you want to make mail from you appear as if it comes from the alias,
but incoming mail sent to the alias will automatically arrive as normal
in your mailbox.
Typical examples of mail aliases would be Homer.Simpson,
revolutionrecordsltd, duckofjoy, and Cruella.
- Your Web Alias
- This string has a similar function to your mail alias, except that it
affects the appearance of your home web page; once set, your CamNet home
page will have a URL like http://www.cam.net.uk/home/yourwebalias/
as well as the fixed one like
http://www.cam.net.uk/home/abc123/.
You may choose your web alias to be the same as your mail alias, or you
might choose a name more representative of the topic covered on your pages
(eg the name of your company or club, say). The same sort of
restrictions apply as for mail aliases.
The restrictions on email aliases are as follows:
- The maximum length is 25 characters;
- The only characters allowed are letters (a-z, A-Z),
digits (0-9), the hyphen (-) and the dot (.);
- No swear words are allowed (see terms and conditions);
- No userids (eg abc123) existing or possible in this naming scheme;
- No existing valid email addresses (such as
mailing lists or volunteer logins), CamNet machine names,
or aliases already chosen by other members (NB the comparison is
case-insensitive, to prevent us having a pair of aliases which
differ only in case, and because CamNet email addresses are
case-independent, as on most systems).
The restrictions on web aliases are identical to these, except that
- The only characters allowed are letters and digits (ie no hyphens or dots).
If one of the above restrictions is breached (apart from (3), which cannot be
enforced automatically),
your details will be left unchanged.
In the case of (3) we are not responsible for deciding what should be
deemed offensive, but in extreme cases where an alias which seems deliberately
offensive (especially if we receive complaints about it from other members),
beware that our alias ombudsman Mr. Aerosol Q. Scunthorpe (email
stuck@home.cam.net.uk) will investigate the issue and will not
hesitate in disabling your account permanently and banning you from CamNet
altogether if he deems your alias to be unjustifiably naughty.
Mail Forwarding 
CamNet now supports email forwarding. If an email address appears in the email
redirection box, mail arriving at your CamNet account (either by account number or alias)
will be forwarded to that new address. If you give an invalid email address,
your email will all bounce back to its sender.
Database Updates
Due the nature of the CamNet system, any changes to your account details will take
up to 10 minutes to take effect. Please wait at least this long before reporting a problem...
Privacy Issues
You can also use the online form to indicate whether you want your contact
details to appear in the CamNet Online Directory.
You may have indicated a preference about this on the application form
when you first joined CamNet, but the online form allows you to change this
preference.
The COD field anticipates an automatically generated COD which never got implemented,
so this preference has no effect. However, a hand maintained version is available - email CamNet
Support if you would like your CamNet details entered.
If you've got this far, you should now be ready to
edit your details!
