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What is ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD?

ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD is the new sign in system across the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½. It's already in use on new sites and services such as iPlayer message board and is currently being rolled out across all other services that require a user to register or sign in.

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The intention is that by March 2010 it'll be the single sign in for all ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ online services. If you have an existing ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ membership account for blogs, message boards or other services at some point in the next few months you will need to switch to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD.

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ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD sounds good. What do I need to do to join?

If you've already got a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ membership then it's a fairly simple process. When one of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ sites you regularly sign in to, (eg blogs), switches over to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD you'll be prompted to create a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD when you try to log in. Just follow the instructions on screen.

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If you've never had any form of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ membership just go to the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD homepage to create a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD. NB: Until the switchover is complete you won't be able to sign in to non-ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD sites with your ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD. (For more help see the FAQ "I've just created a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD but I can't sign in to some of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s services. Why?")

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What was wrong with the old system?

The membership system we're replacing was built some years ago and it needs to be replaced. It won't support many of the services we expect to introduce in future and it doesn't function as a single sign in system across all of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Online.Ìý We think our new system will provide users with a much more satisfactory experience, though converting from the old system to the new will cause inconvenience, for which we apologise.

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What are the benefits of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD?

Our aim is to provide users with a single sign on system for all the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ services they use across current and new platforms. For example, customisations and preferences you set on the website can be carried across to digital television and mobile services.

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I've just created a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD but I can't sign in to some of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s services. Why?

Some of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s services are still using the old ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ membership system and you won't be able to sign into them with a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD until the service you want to use has moved to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD.

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This will be between October and the end of February. Each site will be telling its users when it expects to make the change. NB: See the FAQ "My new ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD account won't let me sign into a site that's still using the old sign in system. What should I do?" {link} to find out what you can do.

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My new ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD account won't let me sign into a site that's still using the old membership system. What should I do?

If you'd like to comment or post a message on a site that's still using theÌý ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ membership system you canÌý use your previous membership details. If you only have a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD account you can create a separate account to use on sites that haven't switched over to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD as yet. Do that by going to the site where you'd like to post a comment and click on "Register".Ìý This account will only be needed for a short period and eventually your ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD will work on all ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ sites.

I've got lots of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ memberships. Can I make them into one ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD?

No. Read the FAQ "I've got more than one ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ sign in. What are my options?" to find out more.

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I've got more than one ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ membership. What are my options?

1.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý You can choose to migrate one of your ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ memberships to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD and use that on all new sites using ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD. Eventually you'll be able to sign in to all ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ services with one ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD.

2.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý You can migrate each account separately and create a new ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD for each one that links to your previous comments and so on. You will need a valid email address for each account.

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I have several ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ membership accounts that I use depending on where I'm commenting or posting. Can I keep the different nick names that I have?

Yes. As long as you create a different ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD account for each one. You'll need a valid email address for each ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD.

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Can I make changes to my profile when I switch over to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD?

In the migration process you'll be given the option of creating a display name that will appear on all your future comments and posts as well as on posts you made with your previous ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ membership.

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If I migrate my ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ account to the new ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD will my posts and comments be affected?

All previous comments or posts will continue to appear on the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ websites. The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ membership that you migrated to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD will still be linked to these comments. Also if you make a change to your ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iD profile (eg: If you change your display name) it'll be changed on previous comments that you made using your ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ membership.