Getting in
There is no password. There has never been a password. Here is the whole system.
- You enter your subscriber email on the tool page.
- We email you a link.
- You click it once. You are in.
That is it. A few details worth knowing, because they explain almost everything people write to us about:
The link we email you works for about 3 days. If you find it in your inbox next week, it will have aged out. Ask for a new one, it takes ten seconds.
Once you click it, that browser stays signed in for 30 days. You will not be asked again during that month on that browser.
Opening any tool link from a STEMsaic newsletter signs you in automatically. No email entry, no waiting. If you have a recent issue in your inbox, that is the fastest door in the building.
The email comes from noreply@notify.cloudflare.com. That is our sending service, not a stranger. Add it to your contacts now and you will never think about this again. Hotmail and Outlook are the two that most often file it away quietly, so check the junk folder and the Other tab there first.
If you see one of these messages
"This tool is part of STEMsaic. Subscribers get access to the interactive tools included with their tier."
What it means: Nothing is wrong with your account. The tool simply does not know who you are on this browser yet, which is the same thing that happens on a new laptop or after a cleared cache.
What to do: Put your subscriber email in the box and press Send my link. Use the exact address your STEMsaic newsletter arrives at. If you have ever subscribed with both a work address and a personal one, it is almost always whichever inbox the newsletter actually lands in.
Not subscribed yet? Get Story Stacks free. Free is a real tier here, not a trial with a clock on it. It includes the complete Story Stacks guide and all eight of its tools.
"The 30-day sign-in on this browser has ended."
What it means: you were signed in, your 30 days ran out, and the browser let go. Completely normal. It is a clock, not a problem.
What to do: enter your email, click the fresh link we send. Your next 30 days start immediately. Nothing about your subscription changed and nothing was lost.
"You need an internet connection the first time you open a tool on a device."
What it means: the tool tried to reach our server and could not get an answer. Your internet may be perfectly fine. Office networks, hotel wifi, university VPNs, and conference wifi block outside connections all the time, and a captive login page you have not clicked through yet will do it too.
What to do: try one of these, in this order.
- Reload the page.
- If you are on wifi that made you agree to terms, open any other website first to clear that screen, then come back.
- If you are behind a work or campus network, try your phone on cellular data. If it works there, the network was the issue, not you.
Worth knowing: this only applies the first time a tool loads on a device. Once you are signed in, the tool runs offline. Sign in at home before a flight and it works at 30,000 feet.
"That access link didn't check out."
What it means: The link is past its 3 days, or it got broken on the way to you. Mail programs and chat apps split long links across two lines, and only half of it travels. Either way this is the link's problem, not yours.
What to do: Let that one go and get a fresh one. Enter your email, press Send my link, and click the new link straight from your inbox rather than copying it. If you do have to paste, paste the whole thing, including everything after the question mark.
"This tool is included with a higher STEMsaic tier than your current subscription."
What it means: we recognize you. Your subscription is active and fine. This particular tool sits above your current tier.
What it does not tell you is which tier, so here it is. See "Which tier do I need?" below for the whole map. The short version: all 8 guides and every tool open with the Science:Society Community, and the workbooks come with a Lab seat.
If you upgraded in the last few minutes and still see this, your browser is holding an older sign-in. Click "Use a different email" on that screen and enter your email again to pull a fresh one.
New device or browser
This is the single most common surprise, so it gets its own section.
Sign-in belongs to a browser, not to you. Signing in on your laptop does not sign in your phone. Chrome on your desktop does not sign in Safari on the same desktop. A private or incognito window starts with no memory and forgets everything when you close it.
This is not a limit on your account. There is no device cap. Sign in on as many browsers as you want, as often as you want.
Fastest way to add a new device: open any tool link from a STEMsaic newsletter on that device. It signs you in on the spot. No email entry, no waiting for a link.
Second fastest: enter your email on the tool page, then open the email on that same device and click the link there. Clicking the link on your phone signs in your phone. Clicking it on your laptop signs in your laptop. The link signs in whatever opens it.
One thing to avoid: requesting a link on your laptop and then clicking it on your phone. That signs in the phone and leaves the laptop exactly where it was. Request from the device you want to use.
If you clear your browser history or cookies, you will be signed out. Get a new link, you are back.
Which tier do I need?
| Tier | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | The complete Story Stacks guide (Guide 1) and its tools, plus 5 premium newsletter posts each month |
| Science:Society Community | $24/month or $199/year | All 8 guides, every interactive tool, and the members' room |
| NSF CAREER Broader Impacts Lab STEM Partnership Lab |
From $750/year | Everything above, plus the workbooks, private track channels, and working sessions |
Three things people ask before they upgrade:
Free is not a teaser. Story Stacks is the whole guide, every issue, every tool. Free subscribers also open 5 premium newsletter posts a month, so you can read across the paid guides before you decide anything.
If a specific tool sent you here, any of the eight guides and all sixty-eight tools open with the Science:Society Community. A workbook, the sequenced version of a whole guide, comes with a Lab seat.
A Lab is where your own work gets on the table. Private track channels, working sessions, and your partnership or your CAREER plan treated as the live case study alongside other members.
After you upgrade, open the tool again. If it still shows the upgrade message, click "Use a different email," enter your email, and the fresh sign-in will carry your new tier.
Questions people actually ask
Why is there no password?
Because passwords are the thing that breaks. Your email is your account. Ask for a link, click it, done. Nothing to remember, nothing to reset.
I never got the email.
Check junk and spam, and on Outlook or Hotmail check the Other tab too. The sender is noreply@notify.cloudflare.com. Wait a full ten minutes before requesting another one, because rapid repeat requests can slow down sending. If ten minutes pass with nothing in any folder, the address you typed is probably not the one your subscription is under. Try the address your newsletter arrives at.
It says my email is not subscribed, but I get the newsletter.
Then the subscription is under a different address than the one you typed. Open a recent STEMsaic newsletter and look at which of your addresses it was delivered to. That is the one the gate wants.
How long does the link last?
About 3 days. After that it stops working and you will see the "didn't check out" message. Request a new one.
How long do I stay signed in?
30 days per browser, from the moment you click the link. Renewing is free and takes ten seconds, on every tier including free.
Do I have to sign in on every tool?
No. Signing in once opens every tool your tier includes on that browser for the full 30 days.
Can I use the tools offline?
Yes, after the first load on that device. The first time a tool opens it needs to reach our server. After that it runs without a connection until your 30 days end.
Can I use them on my phone or tablet?
Yes. Each device signs in on its own. See "New device or browser" above.
Can I share a tool with a colleague?
Send them the link freely. It will ask them for their own email, and their own subscription decides what opens. Sharing the link is welcome. Sharing a sign-in does not work, since the sign-in lives in your browser and not in the link you would be sending.
I upgraded and the tool still says I need a higher tier.
Your browser is still holding the older sign-in. On that screen, click "Use a different email," enter your email, and click the new link. The fresh sign-in carries your new tier.
Nothing on this page fixed it.
Then it is ours to fix, not yours. See below.
Still stuck
Reply to any STEMsaic newsletter email. That reply reaches us and it is the most reliable way to be answered, because it arrives already carrying the email address your subscription is under.
Two things to include, and they will save a round trip:
- The exact message on your screen.
- Whether you were on a phone, tablet, or computer, and whether it was home, work, or public wifi.