I cannot create an account because my IP address is blocked

answered 2016-09-26 11:37:42 -0500

Sage (Wiki Ed)

updated 2016-09-26 11:38:10 -0500

Wikipedia sometimes blocks IP ranges — of entire college campuses, in some cases — because of persistent bad behavior from users. When your IP range is blocked, you cannot create a new account.

There are several ways around this.

1. Easiest: Create your account from a different location. If you originally created it at home, try it from a library or campus network — and vice versa.
2. Next easiest:Another user can create an account for you. They will need your email address and preferred username. To create an account for someone else, log in with your own account and then go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special.... You can check the box to generate a temporary random password, which will be sent directly to the new account's email address. (Normally, you can only create six or fewer accounts per day like this, so if an entire class is blocked, this may not be good enough.)
3. Hardest: Try to get the IP block lifted.
   • Ask your Context Expert for help; or
   • While logged out, click 'Talk', which will take you to a page with a title like User talk:24.13.14.162. Click 'Create' on that page, then add the following code — {{Autoblock}} — along with a message saying that you want to create an account and cannot do so. Then follow the instructions that appear after you save the page.