Duplicate account pac1 & pat-callahan1

Hi, before we can merge the accounts, we need to verify that you own both accounts. We typically do this by verifying the ownership of the associated email addresses. But in this case, you have mentioned that you do not have access to one of the email addresses.

Alternatively, if there is a GPG key on a Launchpad account, we can confirm the ownership by verifying that you possess the private key. But the accounts do not have GPG keys added either.

So I don't think we can merge these accounts.

Hi pac1,

I will mark this question as answered.
It can be re-opened it if you get new information on this.

I can log in to both a accounts. If I add a gpg key to both will that help?

Hi Pat, if you are able to log in to both accounts, that should allow doing the account merge on your own by following the instructions in https://help.launchpad.net/YourAccount/Merging. Log in to the account whose email address no longer exists and request a merge of the other account. Doing so will send an email to that account's email address which you can use to confirm and complete the merge.

The instructions at https://help.launchpad.net/YourAccount/Merging
state:

  "You can't access the duplicate account's email address
  If you no longer have access to the primary email account registered in the duplicate account,
  obviously you won't be able to follow the link in any email that Launchpad sends to it.

  You can still ask us to merge the account manually, though.
  Make your request in Launchpad Answers from the account whose branding etc you
  want to keep. Give us the id of the duplicate account and
  tell us whatever you can to prove that it is your account.

  If we're not certain that the duplicate account is yours, we won't be able to merge it manually."

There are two problems.

 1. How can you confirm that an account is yours if you can't receive e-mails at the accounts address. Emails to the old address bounce.
I suppose I could change the account holder pictures on the accounts to something the admins can recognise.

but...

 2. It's not necessary to manually merge the accounts.

You can simply log in to the account and add another e-mail address. The trick is you have to log into the other account as well, and it's e-mail can't be the one you add. It's an error to have two accounts with the same e-mail addresses. (You do have more than one e-mail address, don't you? If you don't you can easily get one, do the merge and delete it.)

You'll have to verify the additional e-mail. Then you can set it to be the primary e-mail and delete the dead address.

So now you meet the criteria for the un-assisted merge and you can proceed with that.

Of course, that's a "bug/feature" of your sso. If you decide to leave it then fine, otherwise you need to have the user do something in the account that "proves" it's theirs. I would think longing in and posting the request and an answer from the account you want to merge with would be enough.

Hi Pat,

From what I can see, the documentation in https://help.launchpad.net/YourAccount/Merging is very clear. You just have to follow the instructions along with what I mentioned in an earlier comment.

Log in to the account whose email address no longer exists and request a merge of the other account. Doing so will send an email to that other account's email address which you can use to confirm and complete the merge.