[carrotleads]

well the OP mentioned changing the password to long unrecoverable string.

How did he manage to come back? did he store pwd somewhere? pull strings at YC??

How?

[etfb]

Made a new account? I don't know.

It's kind of crazy that there's no "forgot password" option. I can understand not allowing account deletion, because you don't want to break conversations by having someone's comments mass-deleted, but not having a password retrieval mechanism is just foolish. Amateur hour incarnate. This does not look like a system designed by someone who's making a real commitment.

[mhartl]

I've wondered the same thing. He returned under the same username, so it looks like he recovered his password somehow. Matt is a Y Combinator alumnus, so it's possible he talked to PG directly.

[mattmaroon]

There is a password reset feature. It works via typing in the wrong password. Go to the login page, type in a wrong pwd, and it magically appears.

If I recall correctly PG told me that at a YC event. Damn you PG! :)

[etfb]

Aha! So there is. So it's not bad implementation, just bad UI design.

So the trick is:

- Change your email address to something like [e-mail].

- If you get a confirmation message to your old address, delete it.

- Change your password to jkhvouyflkjbv7897t^%REjhvljyyf.

- Go to the mailinator address to confirm the change.

- Clear your browser history.

Then you're free of HN forever! ... Or until you make a new account.