Shares to FB show old WP username as author

  • Resolved cindycloutier

    (@cindycloutier)


    8 years, 9 months ago

    Hi all,

    I discovered after trying to link to my site – https://www.thesweetmiddle.com – from Facebook for the first time that when the box that pops up (created in a Facebook post when you insert a link… it usually includes an image, title, and author) displayed my primary personal email address as the author. I did some digging and it seems that was because one’s username becomes the default author name.

    Given that WP says a username cannot be changed and that I hadn’t too much to lose if I just deleted the site and started from scratch, I did so, via my host’s website manager, deleting all files associated with the site. Starting from the beginning again, I created a WP username I want the world to see (my name), and as an extra measure, was sure not to include my primary email address anywhere as I set up the site again. But still, when I link to the blog from Facebook, my primary address appears… even though it’s nowhere to be found in my account information, my site, www.remarpro.com, wordpress.com, or even Gravatar.

    Anyone have a clue what’s happening? Thanks!

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
  • Moderator Samuel Wood (Otto)

    (@otto42)

    www.remarpro.com Admin

    Same URL as you had before? Facebook remembers things. ??

    Read this for information on how to make Facebook check again.

    https://ottopress.com/2011/using-the-facebook-debugger-tool/

    Thread Starter cindycloutier

    (@cindycloutier)

    Give that man a million bucks. Wish I’d have posted the question sooner!

    Still on topic… I guess this is now beside the point since you already saved the day for me, but if you have a moment: when I first visited the debugger, it showed all the old info (as you knew it would ?? ). When I clicked, “Fetch new scrape information,” the info updated and sure enough, when I link on Facebook, my name appears instead of the email address I wanted to go away. So, problem solved. But *why*? What exactly happens when you click that “Fetch new scrape” button?

    Thanks so much for the quick — and helpful — response!

    Moderator James Huff

    (@macmanx)

    Facebook caches all information shared on their servers, and the cache is automatically cleared after an undisclosed amount of time.

    Clicking Fetch New Scrape Information in the debugger manually forces their cache for the shared link to clear.

    Thread Starter cindycloutier

    (@cindycloutier)

    Thanks much, James… it’s nice to have the “why” of things to go with the “what” and “how.” I appreciate your help!

    Moderator James Huff

    (@macmanx)

    You’re welcome!

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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