Something has happened to my profile. For example, instead of my photo, there is a number 2. Everything else seems to have disappeared from my profile.
There are other changes as well. It’s as if I were a newcomer. Sorry, I don’t have the tech savvy to describe this any better.
Is this a site-wide blip, or is it just me? I’m on a smartphone, so something might have happened when I closed the cover, or something. Thank you.
Likely just you. Maybe you didn’t save your initial config or made additional changes that you didn’t save?
Thanks. I didn’t change anything deliberately. I don’t know what happened. Sorry, I don’t understand what you’re saying.
My user name was islandlight, but in this thread it shows as a long number. My accountability thread shows the number 1 where there used to be hearts. Lots of things are different.
This has happened to me as well. You have entered anonymous mode. You can get out of it by clicing on your number and them when you see the no access icon click on it till it changes you back
Thank you both. @amwassil No, it isn’t checked.
@HeleneS What does the no access icon look like? Maybe I’m looking in the wrong place.
Well, now it seems to have changed back to normal. Kind of. I’ll carry on and hope for the best. Thank you again!
@islandlight – I am glad that it went back to normal, Laurie, eeek! I would not like that if that happened to me either. I haven’t had it happen but I have noticed this sort of thing happening to others on here in the past and they were always able to get it sorted (I remember Ruina helping a person fix it before when it happened to them.
I have noticed the site doing a considerable lag lately (the past week or so) when I was trying to make a post at times; and buffering a bunch, and sometimes posting it twice, which is probably from me clicking it again while it was buffering I realize, but still, laggy.
Thanks, Susan. Yes, the site is slow lately, but I just wait.
I figured out what the no access icon was. A circle with a line through it. I wish they had words instead of icons! I’m so behind the times.
Sometimes people want to discuss a sensitive or embarrassing topic, without giving away their identity. For this, the Discourse programmers have provided a feature called “anonymous mode.”
If you click on your avatar at the top right of the forum screen, you will see a number of icons: a banner (for access to your bookmarks, an envelope (for sending a private message), a spy (for entering anonymous mode), and a cog (for editing your profile). If you hover your cursor over these icons, hints will pop up to indicate their function.
When you click on the spy icon, the system puts you in anonymous mode, assigns you a username made up of a long string of random letters and numbers, changes your avatar to a generic Gravatar, and changes the spy icon to the international icon for do not enter: 
Clicking on the do not enter icon should take you back out of anonymous mode. You may have to click more than once/exercise some patience for this. If all else fails, log out and then log back in using your proper username.
Welcome back @islandlight! Nice to see you’ve gotten it straightened out.
(…though we’ll miss ole’ 2e106c376e0a655ae50b. But that’s what memories are for 
)
