[h4]Registration Issues[/h4]
  • Why do I need to validate my email?
  • I never got my email validation email!
  • I forgot my password. What should I do?
  • How do I change my user name, email address, and password?
  • Why does registration require my Zip Code and Birthday for registration?
[h4]Using The Site[/h4]
  • Forums, wikis, product reviews...which one do I use? How are they different?
  • Do you have tutorials on using the site?
  • Can I search for information?
  • Where is my forum signature?
  • How do I personalize my Profile and change my avatar?
  • What are subscriptions? How do I use them?
  • Can I remove someone else's public message from my profile?
  • What's the deal with tags? They seem important but how exactly do they work?
  • If I read something that violates the site rules or just isn't helpful, what should I do?
  • I love the community! How do I invite my friends?
  • Why did I receive an error when I tried to download an attachment?
[h4] [/h4][h4]Product Page & Review Questions[/h4]
  • What's Your List?
  • Items I "Had"? What does that mean?
  • I have a bunch of stuff that I want to add to my List, but it's not in the system.
  • The stuff I want to add doesn't fit in any of your current product categories
  • Can I review a product or item I'm connected to?
  • Can I delete a review once I've written it?
[h4]Internet Browser Questions[/h4]
  • The site doesn't appear properly in my browser.
  • I keep getting a popover asking me to allow access to my Clipboard.  I hate it!
  • Why can't I right click and use Firefox's spell checker?
[h2]Registration Issues[/h2]
Why do I need to validate my email?

In order to get e-mail digests of your subscriptions (stuff you care about around the site) and notifications of private messages and bulletin board posts from your fellow users, you must validate your email. We also may send a newsletter periodically to update you on the goings on of the community. You can choose to receive any, all, or none of these by clicking the "My Profile" tab at the top of this page, then the "Edit Account" button at the top of that page.

I never got my email validation email!

If it has been more than fifteen minutes, check your Spam folder in your email client to ensure that it was accidentally quarantined. To resend your verification email, log in.  On your logged in home page, if you have not verified your email you will see an alert next to your avatar that says, "Your email address has not been verified. Please click here to re-send."  If you're experiencing additional issues, please contact us.

I forgot my password. What should I do?

Head over to the login page.  Below the fields to enter your username or email address and password, you'll see a "Lost your password?" button.  From there, you can send a password reset email which will include a link to change your password.

How do I change password, email address, and my user name?

When you're viewing your own Profile page, there is a button that says "Edit Account." From there it's very easy to reset your password, email address, and other account details.  At this time, you cannot change your user name after you have registered.  For more information on how to edit your user profile, head over to our Community Profile Tutorial.

Why does registration require my Zip Code and Birthday for registration?

Have no fear, we will never sell your personal information on the black market. We are, however, legally required to make sure you're over the age of 13, hence the birthday requirement.  We also request your zip code as we have some ideas for really cool features later on that will make it all worth while, but rest assured, your information will be kept private.
[h2]Using The Site[/h2]
Forums, wikis, product reviews...which one do I use? How are they different?


There are countless stand alone discussion forums online as well as several prominent review engines and Wiki sites, but never before have these mediums for content generation been so effectively integrated as they are in our community. With so many options, which medium is appropriate for what type of content? While we believe it's ultimately up to you to decide, here's a bit of guidance. 

First, forums, Wikis, product pages (and reviews of those) are all separate features and different ways you can interact with the site and its members.  They are tied together across the site to make related information easier to find, but there are in fact many differences.
[h4]Type[/h4][h4]What is it?[/h4][h4]Suggested Use[/h4]
Forums
  • ideal place for group interaction
  • here each user can start new threads, respond to existing threads and posts, etc.
  • learn more about using the forums in our Discussion Forum Tutorial
  • ask questions to the community
  • post links to interesting articles and start a conversation
Wikis
  • "collaboratively editable articles"
  • wikis allow many individuals to work together to write and edit an article
  • learn more about writing wiki articles in our Wiki Article Tutorial
  • "How-to" instructions and guides
  • lists
  • informational articles
Reviews
  • personal opinions of products AFTER having personal experience with those particular products
  • learn more about writing reviews in our Review Tutorial
  • candid and respectful personal opinions
Don't forget to tag your threads and Wikis, so that it shows up on the appropriate product pages and other areas so that others can respond and contribute!  Learn more about tagging in our Tagging Tutorial.

Do you have tutorials on using the site?

Yes, we do!  Here is the complete list of tutorials:
  • Community Profile Tutorial - learn how to edit your Community Profile, edit Your List, change your avatar, edit your Account Details, and change your password. 
  • Discussion Forum Tutorial - learn how to start a new thread, reply to a post, reply with a quotation, edit your post, report posts, and export a forum post to a wiki.
  • Wiki Article Tutorial - learn what Wikis are, how to create a new Wiki article, edit an existing Wiki, revert a Wiki to a previous version, export a forum post to a Wiki, and report Wikis.
  • Review Tutorial - learn how to write a review and edit your reviews.
  • Messaging Tutorial - learn how to send private messages, write a private message on another user's profile, and delete public messages from your own profile.
  • Subscription Tutorial - learn how to add subscriptions, edit your subscriptions, and change your subscription settings.
  • Image and Video Tutorial - learn how to add images and YouTube videos to your forum posts and Wiki articles.
  • Add a New Item Tutorial - learn how to add a new item to the database, as well as how to edit existing product pages with images, links, descriptions, and more.
  • Tagging Tutorial - learn how to tag your forum posts and Wiki articles to make them easier for other members to find.
  • Search And Advanced Search Tutorial - learn how to use the basic search mode and the advanced search mode to find the forum threads, products, reviews, and Wikis you're looking for.
Can I search for information?

Of course! At any time, you can search all of the site, from discussion forums, to Wiki articles, from reviews to images. At the top of every page, you'll see the search bar. Type in your keywords and click "Search."  You also can use the Advanced Search form to narrow down your search results.  Learn more about using search in our Search and Advanced Search Tutorial.

Where is my forum signature?
Membersmay post up to three lines of text in their signature file.

To edit your forum signature, navigate to the My Profile tab.  Below your image gallery, you will see a section called "Your Forum Signature."  Below that is the "Edit Signature" button.  Click here, format your signature (text, links, bolding, and italics only), and click save.
 

How do I personalize my Profile and change my avatar?

Personalizing your community profile and adding items to Your List are two of the best ways for you to tell the rest of the community about yourself.  Feel free to answer any or all of the profile questions, add items to your List, and change your avatar.  Learn more about how to personalize your profile in our Community Profile Tutorial.

What are subscriptions? How do I use them?

Our members create A LOT of content, but not all of it will be for you - that's why you can subscribe to what's interesting. You can subscribe to specific threads in forums, to individual wiki articles, or to tags, or users so you receive updates of all of their content.

One very powerful feature of the subscriptions is that you can actually subscribe to whole categories of products/content. You can just subscribe to a category tag and it's as though you subscribed to every single item underneath that heading. Browse here to see what categories you can subscribe to.

We don't want to inundate anyone, so you can determine the frequency with which you receive these updates. When you're logged in, go to your profile and click "Edit Subscriptions" - here you can set the frequency of each subscription to Immediate, Daily, Weekly, or Never. Learn more about subscriptions in our Subscription Tutorial.

Can I remove someone else's public message on my profile?

Of course - if you're logged in and looking at your own Profile, each public message should appear with a "Delete" button underneath it. Clicking that link will delete the unwanted message immediately.  Learn more about private messages and public messages with our Messaging Tutorial.

What's the deal with tags? They seem important but how exactly do they work?

Tags are a vital component of our system - they are the means by which we can tie together the forum, wiki, review, product profile, and other content. Learn more about how tags work and how to use them in our Tagging Tutorial.

If I read something that violates the site rules or just isn't helpful, what should I do?

Most all content in the site has the option to rate or vote it up. This helps the best content rise up above the mediocre (or downright bad) content.  Beyond that, you can flag or report a forum post or Wiki article with the "Report to Admin" button.

I love the community.  How do I invite my friends?

In the header, you'll see the "Invite Friends" button when you are logged in.  Simply enter their email addresses in the "To:" box (multiple email addresses separated by commas) and we'll send off invites from you to your friends.

Why did I receive an error when I tried to download an attachment?

Only users in certain user groups are allowed to download attachments.  If you received an error message that says "Sorry, you don't have the required permissions to download attachments.", then you are not in one of those user groups.
[h2]Product Page & Review Questions[/h2]
What is Your List?

Your List is a way of organizing the items you Own, Want, and Had. When you want to add an item to Your List, simply go to that item's product page, and click "Add to Your List."  You can create new lists from your user profile at any time.

Lists are a means to connect you with other members with similar interests and experience who you can hopefully learn from or at least enjoying talking to. We also compile everyone's List data to provide you with unbiased statistics about what products the community is actually using.  Learn more about editing Your List with the Community Profile Tutorial.

Items I "Had"? What does that mean?

If you used to own a product, but don't anymore, that means you "had it!"  The "Had It" category allows you to reflect this knowledge to your fellow users.

I have a bunch of stuff that I want to add to my List, but it's not in the system.

At any time, you can add a new item to the database. It is, however, very important that you don't add a duplicate of something that we already have. If it's just a different color of something else in the system, please don't add it. If we really don't have it and it fits within the existing categories, then go for it! Clicking the "Add Item" links throughout the site will prompt a wizard that will take you through the process of adding it to the correct product category. Check out a step by step guide to adding items with the Add A New Item Tutorial.

The stuff I want to add doesn't fit in any of your current product categories.

If we are not covering a product category that you think is vital to this community, please let us know via our feedback form. We need your help to make this the best resource possible!

Can I review a product I'm connected to?

The focus of our community is user generated content. To preserve its integrity, you should not review your own products or business or a business at which you have been or are currently employed. 

Can I delete a review once I've written it?

At this time, once you post a review, you cannot delete it.  However, you can always edit it! 
[h2]Internet Browser Questions[/h2]
The site doesn't appear properly in my browser.

If you're having browser problems, please check to see if you are using an A-Grade Browser.  Our site performs optimally on the browsers listed in the A-Grade Browser Support Chart.
 

I keep getting a popover asking me to allow access to my Clipboard.  I hate it!

Unfortunately, this is an issue with Internet Explorer 7 and 8.  To deactivate this popover, you will need to change your browser security settings:
 
  1. Go to Tools -> Internet Options.
  2. Go to Security tab.
  3. Select “Internet” zone, then click on “Custom level…” button.
  4. Scroll down to “Scripting” section (at the bottom few).
  5. Under “Allow Programmatic clipboard access” option, check or select (tick) Enable. Default action for this option is Prompt, which cause the pop-up message whenever there is any attempt to access the Clipboard.
  6. Click Ok twice to exit from Internet Options.

Why can't I right click and use Firefox's spell checker?
Because we use a fully WYSIWYG (What you See is What You Get) editor, the right click is needed to be able to pull up image and table properties, cut and paste, etc.  However, fear not.  There is a work-around to be able to keep using it.

If you hold ctrl (PC) or Command (Mac) when you right click in Firefox, it will treat the right click as though it's outside of the text editor.

This is an extra step for folks, but the idea was to provide the power of the context sensitive menus in the editor (to align images, add borders, color table cells, etc.) but also enable you to take advantage of Firefox's spell check.