Be sure you have things configured so you can accept cookies from PerlMonks. The problem can be either "Security" or "Privacy" options. The "Privacy" settings are pretty clear. Security settings are anything but clear.

PerlMonks must not be in "Restricted Sites". PerlMonks must be in a security zone that is configured to allow cookies (I think in IE 5.5, "User data persistence" had to be enabled for cookies to work).

Certainly IE 6.x has problems where changes to security/privacy can cause it to misbehave until it is restarted. So, after you verify/change all of the above settings, be sure to close all instances of IE and then try again.

While you are at it, you should also make sure that IE won't run JavaScript from PerlMonks. Otherwise you have a small chance of running into malicious JavaScript that could be inconvenient or potentially steal your PM password. You are only at risk for running JavaScript when visiting home nodes (we'll plug that hole soon I think) or when clicking on links without paying attention.

Good luck.

                - tye