Grex New Account Request Form

(Note: Grex does not allow bots or bouncers of ANY kind)
This page allows you to request a new account on Grex. Accounts will be created immediately without any delay for validation. You can also create accounts by logging in to Grex as ``newuser''.

NOTICE: Currently most Grex services require that you either ssh or telnet to cyberspace.org or dial-up Grex at (734) 761-3000. If you do not have telnet access, and you do not live close enough to Ann Arbor to want to dial in, then you will still be able to access Grex's conferencing system though Backtalk, but you won't have access to E-mail or any of the other Grex services.

Interested in using eggdrop or other IRC-bots on Grex? Click here before registering.

Sorry about all the bright red shouting about eggdrop. But even with these messages here about five dim bulbs a day still create accounts and immediately try to install eggdrop on them. This fills our disk, clogs our net connection, and strains our faith in the rationality of folks on the net. However, you'll find that we really are very nice about just about every other subject.

Press this button, or the one at the bottom, to submit your completed form: .

Account Identification

Your Full Name:

This is your name as you wish it displayed to other users on Grex. Though we prefer that you give your real name, you are not required to.

Desired Login ID:

Your login ID is a short name (no more than eight characters long) which will be your public identifier and email address on Grex. More information about login IDs is available.

Desired Password: Same Password Again:

Select the secret password that you will give when you log onto your Grex account. It should not be an english word, it should have at least one upper-case letter, at least one lower-case letter, and at least one number or symbol in it. It will not be displayed as you type. Enter it exactly the same way twice to ensure you didn't make a typo the first time. More information about passwords is available.
Note: We get three or four people every day asking us to reset passwords that they forgot. Please write yours down in a safe place until you've used it often enough for it to become second nature. They are much easier to forget than you'd expect.

Account Configuration

In this section you may select various details about how your account is to be set up. If you don't understand some of these, don't worry about it. Just select the first option, and you will probably be fine. All of these can be changed later.

Prefered Login Shell:
Menu - best choice if you aren't very familiar with Unix.
Lynx - friendly shell based on the text-mode web browser.
BBS - login directly to the PicoSpan bulletin board system.
csh - standard Unix C-shell.
tcsh - Enhanced version of csh
sh - standard Unix Bourne Shell.
bash - Bourne Again Shell (Warning: this is amazingly slow on Grex)
ksh - Korn Shell

Your shell is the command interpreter that will be started up for you when you log in. More information about shells is available.

Prefered Text Editor:
pico - best choice if you aren't familiar with any of the others.
vi - Standard Unix visual editor.
emacs - Gnu's Emacs visual editor.
joe - Joe's Own Editor - similar to WordStar.

Users can access any text editor, but one should be selected as the default one to use. Unless you are familiar with one of the others, choose "pico".

Default Terminal Type:
vt100 - DEC vt100 emulation. (This works for most people)
ansi - ANSI standard terminal emulation.
vt220 - DEC vt220 emulation. (Better than vt100)
other - enter terminal type name:

Some features on Grex won't work right unless you designate what kind of terminal your computer emulates correctly. There are hundreds of choices, but for most people, "vt100" will work fine.

Prefered Backspace Key:
Backspace (Control-H)
Delete

More information on selecting backspace keys is available.

Prefered Interupt Key:
Control-C
Delete
Control-E

Your interupt key stops whatever command you have running on Grex. The choice of which key you want is entirely a matter of taste. Control-C is the most common.

Personal Information

The rest of this form asks you for various personal information. It's a nice way to let other Grex users know a little bit about you. If you choose, it can be kept private so only the system administrators will be able see it.

None of this information is required on an account application. However giving us some other way of contacting you, such as a phone number or an alternate email address will help a lot if you have problems with your account, such as a lost password. To protect our users, we cannot change passwords unless we can validate that the person requesting the change is the person who took out the account. If you forget your password, we will probably not be able to help you without some kind of contact information here.

Your Telephone Number:

What other e-mail addresses can you be reached at (if any)?

Date of Birth:

Sex:
Female
Male
None of your business

What kinds of things are you interested in?

What kinds computers do you use?

Privacy: Who may see the information in this section of the form?
All users.
Grex staff only.

To reset the form, press this button: .

Press this button to submit your application: .

Note that this will immediately begin the creation of the account. Because creating accounts is a mildly complex process, it may take a few minutes. Be patient.

Last updated 1/21/98. We welcome your feedback.