Unexpected requests to sign in when visiting our main website

That's odd. Could I ask you to try again? We had a one-off glitch yesterday that affected various page loads; I can see, for example, that the title text on that page failed to load as well, and you got a placeholder string.

I've just tested on Firefox and that page was OK. If it's still a problem, try checking that your Firefox is up to date, clearing cache, disabling extensions, and/or using a private browsing window. If that's still an issue, you could use the following site and PM me the link or code that it provides (so that I can see your set-up in more detail).

https://www.whatismybrowser.com/

I don't recommend posting that information in a public thread such as this.

We are getting there! So I thought I'd put my details in to the "Tell us about yourself". I did step 1 and 2 then got to step 3

this is what happened on step 3. I'm using Firefox on a laptop.

(The form was no longer overlayed)

I've just been able to complete the form on the main website too - so I'm happy now.  I always just assumed that that form was repeating info that I surely must have given to get my account - but it seems not.

The form just appeared on the forum and I was able to complete it this time and it's gone now.

I've moved it 

Signing out of the forum/community won't help. That's because the issue is that you have a sign-in account for the main website https://www.autism.org.uk/ where you have created a password (and so signed in to that site) but not completed the questions that follow. That site is asking you to complete those questions. If you would prefer not to do that, please sign out of the main website.

Although you use the same email address and password, signing in here, to the community, is a separate action. That's what I was trying to explain in my first message at the start of this thread. I'm sorry that this has been confusing, and I can see a number of possible improvements, but I won't lengthen this by discussing them here.

Hi Apologies if this repeats what other people have said.

I was signed in to the forum and clicked on the "advice & guidance" tab but was met with the "Tellus about you" page.

I signed out of the forum (and waited for confirmation I had signed out) then clicked on the "advice & guidance" tab but was met with the "Tellus about you" page. (I was not signed in to any other websites using the same Google account).

I cleared my cookies and tried again but was still met with "tell us about you".

I went via Google (searched - NAS then clicked on link "What is autism?" as this is similar to what you would have on advice & guidance page) but was still met with "Tell us about you"

I'm using Firefox on a laptop.

Edit - apologies this was supposed to go in the other thread which you suggested but I was going back and forth between signing in and out that i've put it on the wrong thread.

I've sent two screenshots - they might take a bit to come through (by blown up, I meant zoomed in)

I'll email you for some screen shots. You should just get three very short form pages with Next buttons - basically one question per page - that you never see again once you have completed them (because you can update the information in My Account). And there's no particular reason for you to end up on a donate page unless you started there, let alone on one like you describe.

I filled in the form - it just comes back up again - the option to sign in or sign out no longer appears.  I fill in the form and then it gets stuck on a blown up donate page.

Former Member 

I would like to suggest that you do one of these things:

• If you wish, visit the main site, sign in, and complete the form to supply the remaining information about yourself, or:
• Sign out from the main site, so that you are not recognised next time you visit it.

Either of these things should prevent any future occurrences. Although I suspect that your sign-in session on the main site has now expired because you have not been using it - i.e. you still have an account, but you are no longer signed in there, so the system is not requesting your remaining details.

Just tried from the main site, I logged in - then it went to the create an account page, then it had logged me back out again and stuff was over the top of other stuff.  So I gave up and searched for the forum and logged back in there - I didn't follow your link though - I went through a search engine.

I think that the logo leads me somewhere I don't need to be.

Sorry if you have already answered some of this - I will have a proper read in a minute - but sometimes, to get back to threads, I have to choose a notification, let it lead me to a post and then click home in the top left of the post.  Yesterday I was trying to go onto the NAS website via a search engine and I was getting the create account page - I hadn't logged out of the forum though - I was trying to find the page on NAS branches to share to someone's thread, as you saw - I wanted to go on the page to check it was the right one.

Former Member

I am sorry for the flood of messages. I have just noticed your mention of checking your notifications. May I ask how you get back to the community after doing that? For example, do you click on the logo at top left (which would be an obvious way back to the main page)?

If you deliberately go to the main site, and then sign in there, as opposed to here on the community, do you get the form? If so, we may be closer to understanding this issue.

Hi Former Member

It wasn't rude at all. But this seems like new information to me, because you appear to be seeing inconsistent behaviour with a single sign-in account. If I understand it correctly, you only visit the community (and not the main website) while signed in, but you sometimes see, on the community, the unexpected form. However, you signed in today and did not see the form (because, otherwise, you could not have posted in this thread).

This is the first suggestion that I have seen of inconsistent behaviour of this kind. The other reports I have seen have implied that it was something happening every time, but to one or two specific sign-in accounts.

If you see it again, please do take a screenshot including the address/URL bar, and let me know anything you can recall about pages (on our sites, as above) that you visited before the form appeared.

That's a rather generic statement, used by many sites to try to explain in a few words why you might wish to choose to allow at least some cookies. To take some examples relevant to our site:

• You probably will agree that the site being able to remember that you are signed in, or which items you have already put into your shopping basket when you go to another page in the shop, improves your experience - indeed, your experience would be pretty awful without cookies
• You might agree that allowing us to see how our site visitors use the site, and which areas are most important to which types of visitor, helps us to improve the site for visitors in general, and therefore for you
• However, it seems possible in this case that cookies are allowing the site to remember that you are the unfortunate user who has this issue, and to give you the same problem when you visit again. You probably won't agree that that is a good thing 

Apologies to anyone who has been inconvenienced. If we can identify the issue, we should be able to resolve it.

More information about our use of cookies is in our privacy policy.

(Didn't mean that to sound rude - just saying that -shouldn't they recognise who I am and know that I have an account?)

Since we (and nearly everyone else) use cookies to maintain sign-ins, that should mean that you are not signed in unless you actively choose to do so - as I'm sure you realise. So you definitely should not see any messages about completing the creation/registration of your sign-in account by adding your name etc. as above - because, if you're not signed in, the system won't be able to associate you with an account.

Yes - it was better after I cleared my cookies.  Aren't cookies supposed to improve your experience though?