Pinguinite: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I sign in?
The first time you attempt to post an article or comment or access some
privileged function, the site will check to see if you have signed in.
If you have not, you'll be directed to a "sign in" screen where you may
enter your screen name and password. After you sign in, you'll have
privileged access.
How do I register to post?
To register, visit the Register page
and enter the requested information. All fields must be completed.
After you do so, the system will send you an email with your confirmation
code. If you've entered your email address correctly, you should receive
the email within a few minutes.
The email will contain a special web address for you to visit. Once you do
so your account will either be confirmed immediately or, if the site requires
Administrative approval of accounts, your request will be forwarded on to the
site moderators for final approval.
I registered a screen name but didn't get any confirmation
email. Why not?
The confirmation email is sent immediately, and usually received immediately,
but there could be delays related to occasional internet problems having nothing
to do with the website. If you believe you have entered the address incorrectly or
that there is some other problem, you may either notify the site moderator or
owner to inquire, wait for the account you registered to expire
(72 hours) at
which time you may reregister with the correct address. You may also register with
a different screen name immediately without waiting. Remember, if you did not enter
your address in correctly, we have no way of contacting you.
I forgot my Password. Can you tell me what it is?
Your password is encrypted in a way that we can't tell what it is, but if
you do forget your password, contact us and we can reset your password
to something different, after which you may log in and change your
password to something only you know.
I'm entering my Screen Name and Password but it's telling me it's not
right. What do I do?
You're probably entering one of those incorrectly, but we're happy to assist.
Just contact us and let us know the problem and and we'll square you away.
Every time I sign in I'm told everything is fine, but when I click
"continue", I'm asked to sign in again. What's wrong?
This means you are signing in properly, but that your web browser is not
accepting or returning "cookies" as it should. Make sure your browser is
set to accept cookies from this site. Some users experiencing this problem
have had it resolved after rebooting their computer. This problem could
also occur if your computer's clock is set to a date in the future and setting
it to the correct date fixes the problem. Contact us if you're unable to
find a solution.
How do I check to see if anyone has replied to one of my posts?
Just visit the "Latest Comments" page and enter your screen name (or just a
unique part of it) into the "To" field and click the "Go" button. You'll
receive a listing of only those posts that are directed to you, with the most
recent post displayed first. You can also click the "Check Pings" link that
may be displayed on various pages throughout the site.
If you see messages posted to other screen names in the listing, it's probably
because your screen name is similar in part to other registered screen names.
If that happens, enter your entire screen name in the "To" field, check the
"Exact Match" box and search again. That will give you a more exact search.
In the "Setup" page there is a "Bozo Filter". What is that for?
As you post more and more, you may encounter personalities from which do not
wish to hear. If so, you may enter those screen names into the Bozo Filter.
After you do, you will no longer see their comments on the threads or on the
Latest Comments page even if they ping you (address a post to you). You also
won't see articles posted by them.
Persons you place in your "Bozo" list will not know you have done this unless
you tell them.
In the "Setup" page there is also a Category Filter. What do
I do with that?
The category filter is there to allow you to only see those articles and
comments in topics that you are most interested in. If you decide to use the
category filter, you will still see any comments from those categories in which
you are pinged when you do a ping search.
On the Latest Comments page, I see "Subscription Pings"?
What are they?
Subscription pings are an easy way for members who are interested in a specific
topic to be pinged whenever an article or comment of related interest is posted.
The person who owns the Subscription Ping List can simply ping the name of the
List, and then all those subscribed to that particular List will see the post
when they check pings just as if they were pinged by their screen name.
You can choose to subscribe outright to any existing Ping list or
you can see a listing of only those subscriptions to that list by
using the drop down menu on the Latest Comments Page.
How can I create a Subscription Ping list?
Visit the Setup link and then click the "Subscription Pings" button. There
you can both create and manage your own Subscription Pings Lists, add
co-owners. A co-owner is someone you authorize to activate the ping list.
You may also add members (responsible use is strongly encouraged -- do not add
persons against their will).
On that page you can also modify your own subscription to other Subscription
Ping Lists created by others.
Be advised that Ping List Creation may be restricted from certain persons by
site moderators, so use responsibly.
I've set up some content filtering in my setup page and it works, but
when I leave and come back, the filters don't work anymore. What's wrong?
You need to signed in before the filters can activate. If you are not signed in,
the web server won't know who you are or which filter belongs to you. For best
results set your bookmark to go directly to the "Sign-in" page so you can sign in
before you do anything else.
Do I have to enable "cookies" on my browser?
A pair of cookies will be set only if you sign in (necessary only to post articles
or comments or access any priviledged function) and that cookie will expire
when you close your web browser, or after one week, depending on whether you
opted to allow your browser to remember your ID and password for longer than
one session (see the "setup" page to activate).
But yes, cookies are required to access any privileged function.
Where can I learn more about Pinguinite?
All the application software for Pinguinite was completely designed and written by
Neil McIver. The language used is Perl, utilizing CGI scripts. The database is
Mysql, and the operating system is Linux. Various forum hosting plans are available
for a reasonable fee. Visit Pinguinite.com
for more information.
Thank you!
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