Support ticket systems must die.

I'm having trouble with another forum. I registered ages ago and never posted.

When I went to log in a few days ago, it kept telling me I'd entered an incorrect password, or my account was inactive. So I went for password recovery. Entered my details correctly, but it said my account was inactive so it wouldn't send me an email to change my password.

I've emailed the admins to try to resolve it. They use one of the aforementioned ticket systems. I told them everything they needed to know, including a URL to my user profile with my login name in it.

I got a reply just now, asking me what my login name is. Its in the bloody email I sent! So I clicked on the support ticket link to try to tell them this, and its asking me to log in!

I can't! THATS THE WHOLE SODDING POINT!

ARGH!

</rant>

Name and shame please.

Reflexive.com, surprisingly...

Yeah, i hate those ticket systems too.

They probably get a lot of spammers. I had a similar problem on the PB forum but it was resolved very quickly once I contacted them.

Not quite as bad as registering for an account with games published by EA. (For those who haven't experienced that, they seem to check whether the account name is taken against every account ever, but they only let you log in with an account created for the particular game).

I should say, though, not all support ticket systems are bad. Launchpad Answers, for example, has a lot of potential for delivering support to end users since it connects directly to the bug tracker and the blueprints system. If someone asks a question that is found to point to a software bug, then that question is linked to it :)

Ticket systems are not good.
Sometimes they answer with only a 'YES' to your question while at the same time will use a dozen words to remind you that you have to follow their rules.

On average ticket systems aren't that bad, but when they go wrong, they really go wrong.

Gfk: Classic. I feel your pain.


When I got locked out by Sprint's online billing system, I had the option to reset the password. Except instead of emailing you on your registered address like a normal website, they will only send a text message on your phone.

Except my phone doesn't have text messaging -- It's actively disabled on Sprint's side on my plan.

Cue eternal tech support phonetag.

I have seen how your average helpdesk works and I have to say that ticket system is probably the best way to handle massive amounts of information that is needed to be stored.

Emailing and FAQs work if you run just a forum with under 100 to 200 users. After that you need something bigger.

Well, I emailed them again and they've apparently activated my account manually now.

Trouble is, its ages since I registered and I can't remember my password. I failed to remember it five times in a row and its locked me out for 30 minutes now. Bloody thing didn't even say there was a limit on the number of log in attempts.

The password recovery worked but I still have to wait half an hour.

God damn it! :/ Its like an enigma, wrapped in a mystery, wrapped in blisterpack, wrapped in a dvd shrink-wrap, wrapped in a lie.