Occasionally, people have trouble connecting to the game system(s). This is almost always to do with the cookies involved with our single sign-on system (The JASIG Central Authentication System, or CAS). This guide provides some procedures for fixing these problems. 
 

1. Always visit the game lobby with a fresh browser. 
     * What is a fresh browser? 

                 * You have just started the browser when it wasn't running before, or, 

                  * You had a browser running, but you quit, and then started it again. (on a Mac, closing all the browser windows is not the
                     same as quitting the browser, choose "Quit" from the browser's menu). 

       *Why 

                 * Browsers keep a thing called a "session cookie" for sites they have visited.  These cookies get reset when you quit the 
                   browser. 

                 * The ECCO system, and the associated CAS server, use these cookies, so an old session cookie can sometimes cause
                    problems. This is especially true if you are or have attempted to use more than one identity (username/password). 

2. When visiting https:/globalecco.org, logging in, and then visiting the game lobby page, some users experience 
    errors or a perpetual redirect for credentials. 

                 * Try applying item (1) above. 

                 * Try using an "incognito" or "anonymous" browser window (this is the same thing as applying (1) above) 

                 * Try simply visiting the game lobby directly, https://ecco-lobby.t.globalecco.net  

3. Don't try to be more than one person at a time. 

                 * What does this mean? 

                        * You are attempting to log in to a lobby or to Global ECCO as more than one person using the same browser. 

                 * When does this come up? 

                        * You are trying to play a multi-player game against yourself, so you try to log in to the lobby as more than one
                           person. 

                        * You are using a browser that was recently used by someone else.  

                        * You are switching from one identity to some other identity. 

                 * Solutions 

                        * See item (1) 

                        * Use a different browser for each identity (i.e., use Chrome for one player and Firefox for the other) 

                        * Use separate computers for each identity. 

4. Other Problems 

                * Dark Networks and Balance of Terror heat up my laptop 

                       * Use a computer that has fans (i.e., not a Macbook Air) 

                * Dark Networks and Balance of Terror stop working after a while. 

                       * Use a computer that has fans (i.e., not a Macbook Air) 

                * Things simply don't work 

                       * Our system hasn't been designed for mobile.  Make sure you are not using mobile technology (a cellular WIFI
                          hotspot, for example) or a tablet. 

                       * Make sure your local network administrator hasn't blocked our addresses.