How many logins does Firefox/Mozilla need to have? None of my previous four work.

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Last reply by VerizonSucks

6 years ago

8/27/17, 9:40 AM

It seems like every time I try to do something now, I am asked to log into a different site. So far I have logins for Support.mozilla.org, bugzilla.mozilla.org, addons.mozilla.org, and mozilla.com. I can't determine how to log in on the home page for a addon to make a comment. I wanted to maybe help someone.

I had used all the same password at one time but changed that over time. Also some sites want a user name and some want a email address. At least that's how it was when I last changed them.

After I try all the combinations and permutations, I clicked on the forgot my password line. I got a warning about losing data because of syncing, so I decided to simply try to create a new account . Of course it came back and told me that both my email address and user name were already in use.

It would seem that some where along the line if there is some magic account that all the Firefox/Mozilla logins would be consolidated into one. All the former logins are because Firefox grew like topsy, along with all the cosmetic changes, maybe the logins got sorted out, but I can't tell.

What happens if I try to get a new password? Does that work for all the various logins? As far as I know I never set up any sync account on Firefox, is that the account we are talking about here, or is it another, separate login?

The big question is how many separate logins are there in Firefox/Mozilla and what are they?

It seems like every time I try to do something now, I am asked to log into a different site. So far I have logins for Support.mozilla.org, bugzilla.mozilla.org, addons.mozilla.org, and mozilla.com. I can't determine how to log in on the home page for a addon to make a comment. I wanted to maybe help someone. I had used all the same password at one time but changed that over time. Also some sites want a user name and some want a email address. At least that's how it was when I last changed them. After I try all the combinations and permutations, I clicked on the forgot my password line. I got a warning about losing data because of syncing, so I decided to simply try to create a new account . Of course it came back and told me that both my email address and user name were already in use. It would seem that some where along the line if there is some magic account that all the Firefox/Mozilla logins would be consolidated into one. All the former logins are because Firefox grew like topsy, along with all the cosmetic changes, maybe the logins got sorted out, but I can't tell. What happens if I try to get a new password? Does that work for all the various logins? As far as I know I never set up any sync account on Firefox, is that the account we are talking about here, or is it another, separate login? The big question is how many separate logins are there in Firefox/Mozilla and what are they?

Chosen solution

Yes, it can be a bit confusing. Different groups of people created each sub-website / sub-domain at different times, thus each started out with different registration systems. Over the last 12 years I accumulated like 10 different "accounts" related to Mozilla & Firefox - but I started using the same email address and password for most of them once I saw a pattern to the silliness of what was happening (like the 3rd or 4th new registration system) - like around 2007 when this support forum went into beta testing.

Mozilla did create a decentralized authentication system for the web based on the open BrowserID protocol which was prototyped by Mozilla and standardized by IETF. It was launched in July 2011, but after failing to achieve traction, Mozilla announced in January 2016 plans to decommission the service by the end of the year. It was named Persona. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Persona

The Persona concept was rolled into Firefox Accounts in 2015 or 2016. But Mozilla has been slow in rolling it out across all Mozilla sub-domains - IMHO.

Unfortunately Google released its own Account system shortly after Persona went live, and along with 2 other "competing systems" Persona never received enough users to make it viable. Hell, this specific forum was never made compatible with Persona. How the hell to you get users when "you" don't use it yourself.

Bugzilla and Addons websites use the Firefox Account registration and sign-in system along with the Sync service. There has a an effort underway to get all the unrelated Mozilla services converted over to using the Firefox Account system, but it has been slow going.

I have no idea how many Firefox / Mozilla registration & sign-in systems there are now, and how many use a Firefox Account, but my guess is that most now do use a Firefox Account. There's been many new or enhanced newsletter systems instituted in the last few years, and from what I have seen they all use a Firefox Account.

This support forum still uses its own (related to its original separate) sign-in and registration system, and a change any time soon is unlikely.

When it comes to Sync, IMO it would be best if you had 2 different Firefox Accounts if you are going to use Sync. My thoughts are that Sync uses the password for a users Firefox Account for creating the encryption key; when the need arises to clear corrupt data from a Sync account the password for that account needs to be changed. That would affect every other Mozilla sub-domain that the user has connected to that Firefox Account, which would then need to use the new password. Unless my thinking about this went astray ...

Overall, I have tested Sync extensively since the original Weave service (when it was an add-on for Firefox, before Sync became a default feature in Firefox back in Firefox 4.0). At one time had 3 separate Firefox Accounts that all had different data sets (in separate Profiles) for testing purposes. So having multiple Firefox Accounts isn't a problem - you just need to not cross-contaminate multiple Firefox Accounts when using Sync.

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Answer 1 · 2017-08-27 09:40:32

the-edmeister

Moderator

8/27/17, 10:42 AM

Chosen Solution