Global Penpals (FAQ)

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Global Penpals - FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Contents:

Why can't I log in?

Passwords are case sensitive. Some people don't realize they had their cap locks on when they typed their password. Be careful. (For more password info, see next question)
Unlike other sites, GlobalPenpals does NOT use your user name when logging on. You may use your USER ID (which is just numbers) or your EMAIL address to identify yourself. (of course, either way, you also need to type your PASSWORD in the 3rd box. Be careful that you are typing each item in the correct box).
If you try to log in with your email address and password and have no luck, then try using your user id and password instead. Maybe you have a typo in your email address.
If you still have no luck, try the "Forgot your password?" button.
If you still can't figure out the problem, perhaps your account has been deleted. Did you do something in violation of the user agreement? Read the 'PENDING' mode information to see if you may have fallin into one of those categories.

I forgot my password, what do I do?

Click the "Forget your password?" button. If you can remember which email address you used to sign up, then just type it in the box and click the "Mail Password" button. Now go check your email. Your password should be sent to you shortly.
If you have already done that and it did not send your password to you (but it said it did), then you probably made a typo in your email address when you signed up, so we can not contact you. Click "Contact webmaster" and beg for mercy. :-) (Or just provide me with as much info as you can to help me find your account and reset the password to something else for you).

Don't forget to update your information (correct your email address and change your password) as soon as you log in. You may have to also send another email to let me know you've done this if your account has falling into pending mode due to a bad email adderss.

Why can't I read my mail?
(It just keeps asking me to log in over and over when I click to read my mail).

This site uses cookies so that your browser can remember your log in information while you are logged on. Your browser may be set to deny cookies.
Internet Explorer 6.0: on the menu bar, click "Tools", then "Internet Options...". Click on the "Privacy" tab and you will see that your slide bar is probably all the way to the top. Just slide it down a notch or two (I keep mine just below half way but you don't need it that low to use this site).
Netscape 7.1: on the menu bar, click "Edit", then "Preferences..." Click on the little triangle beside "Privacy and Security" to expand the list. From that list select "Cookies". Now you can change your settings on the right hand side of the screen (anything other than "Disable cookies" should be ok).

My account is in 'PENDING' mode. What's THAT?

Pending mode means that you have violated the user agreement in some way, so your access is restricted until you correct the problem.
Restricted access means that you can not send messages to new people and you will not be visible to anyone else, so new people will not be able to contact you.
There are several reasons that you might be in pending mode. Look at the red letters at the top of your Member's Area (the first screen you see when you log in). It will tell you your problem and how to fix it.
- Bad Email Address: This is the most common problem. Whenever you get a message Global Penpals sends you an email to let you know. If this email bounces back, your account drops to pending mode. Bouncing messages can be a result of:
  - A typo in your email address: Solution: Edit your profile to correct your email address.
  - Over quota: Some email providers like hotmail don't let you keep very many emails in your account before they start bouncing new ones back. Just delete your old email to clear up some room.
  - Spam protection: If your spam protection is set too high, it may bounce emails that are automatically generated (like the ones from GlobalPenpals). Solution: Often just adding noreply@globalpenpals.org to you address book will let the spam protection program know that it is ok to receive mail from that address, but it's different for every service so you will have to check.
  - You are a spammer trying to hide your tracks: Just sit tight. You care more about money than about your fellow humans. You will be deleted and banned very shortly. Please consider a more ethical way to make money.
- Innapropriate content in your profile: Here are some, but not all, of the things that this refers to:
  - Sexual comments (or even inuendos): We have a LOT of young people on this site and even if we didn't, that's just not what people are looking for here. People who want sex already have MANY penpal sites dedicated to that. I have created this site for the OTHER people out there who are NOT looking for that. Please do NOT try to use this site to find a sex partner, you will not find a receptive audience.
  - Nasty url's in profile: sex sites, mlm-er's sites, or an affiliate sign-up pages, and other pages with more advertising than conent. None are permitted. You are permitted to include urls as a way to tell your new potential friends more about the type of person you are. A personal page is much more appropriate. Any means of making money, is not.
  - Misrepresenting yourself: Umm... don't do that. You may be in big trouble (for example: if you are a 40 year old man claiming to be a 12 year old female).
- You've been reported by a user: Spammers don't last long on here. Most messages they send are deleted before they are ever read thanks to some very diligent users who report abuse immediately.
  
  You may get a chance to apologise to that user and try to clear up any misunderstanding, or you may not (if the abuse was spam).

How do I REMOVE 'PENDING' mode?

IN ALL CASES: You MUST click the "Contact Webmaster" button and send me a note to let me know that the problem has been corrected. I need to remove 'PENDING' status manually, so if you don't tell me that the problem has been fixed, I will never know that it's ok to remove the 'PENDING' status.

If 'PENDING' status is not removed quickly, your account will be deleted on the next house cleaning (you probably only have a couple weeks to fix it and let me know).

I NEED A GIRLFRIEND, HELP ME!

It's surprising how many people ask exactly that question. It's a little out of place in this FAQ but I wanted to have a more complete answer to direct people to.
- First: You don't NEED a girlfriend. You NEED air, water and food. You don't even WANT 'a girlfriend'. You want the things that (you think) a girlfriend will provide you with. [Examples: an ego boost, a hug, someone to help get you out of the house, someone to love, just another way to show off to your friends or be like your friends?] You should find out specifically what those things are and find other ways to get them before taking such a big step that might not be the right one.
- Second: If you NEED a girlfriend, then right now is probably the worst time to try to find one. You are bound to only see what you want to see instead of appreciating her for the qualities she actually does have. bad move.
- Third: This isn't a dating site. It's a friendship site. I know that a lot of people think the only purpose of friendship is to find a life-partner, but (sorry for being so opinionated here) those people are just plain wrong.
  
  You are not in violation of the user agreement to look for boyfriends or girlfriends on this site, but please realise that many people here just want friends and will be put off by people who are pushing for something else.

Why am I not getting any 'you have new email' messages?!

If you are not getting any messages in your email to tell you that you have new mail on GlobalPenpals even though you ARE getting messages on GlobalPenpals, check the following:

Did you TURN ON your email notification setting? (Note: If your email address had been bouncing email (over quota or server down, whatever reason) then your notices may have been turned off for you to prevent the system from receiving lots ofbounces notices. You will need to turn them back on yourself in this case)
If your notices are turned on, but you still aren't getting them, take a look in your "SPAM" or "JUNK" folder. Your email notice is automatically generated so many spam-detection programs may accidentally treat that message as spam.

Look in your junk folder to see if the messages have been sent there. If so, click the link below to white list GlobalPenpals (that means that you are telling your email client/service that you WANT to get mail from GlobalPenpals).

White List Instructions

How do I get a user's email address?

You don't. Email addresses are not accessible on this website. We do that to protect our user's from spammers and other potential harassment.
Please don't ask support to get it for you because we can't and won't.
To contact people on this website: click on thier name or picture to view their profile. On the left side of their profile, near the top you will see a link "email: Send an email to [user nick name]" (You only see this if you are logged in. So if you aren't logged in, please log in first). Just click that link to go to a page where you can write a message to them. When you're done, click "Send mail" and the website will send the message to them, for you.
To reply to a message: When you are reading a private message from another user (Meaning the messages you see when you click the "Mail button at the top of the screen), you will see many links at the top of the message: "[Go Back] [Reply] [View Profile] [Delete] [Block User]". Just click "[Reply]" to send a message to that user.

What are levels?

Levels represent each user's experience and commitment to being a good penpal.
There are currently only 3 levels. They are designed to help protect our users from spammers by limiting new user access until they have proven that they are really serious about making friends.
Level 0: All users start at level 0 when they first sign up. It's only temporary though and the website will automatically jump you up to level 1 as soon as you complete the sign up process. The things that you have left to do are shown to you in the "ACTIONS COMPLETED" completed box on the main page. If there's an "X" beside it, then you should click that link and do what it says. The 4 actions are:
1. Confirm your email address.
  (Easy, just click the link in the email that was sent to you when you signed up)
2. Fill in your profile details.
3. Write a little bit about yourself for your profile.
  (Don't worry. If you don't want your profile to be public, you can make it private afterwards if you want. But you need to create it anyway so we know you're a serious pen pal)
4. Read the user agreement and answer the easy question beside it.
  (It's not a hard agreement to read. It mostly just says "BE GOOD!")
Level 1: Yeah! You have finished signing up. Now you can write to people and use all the features on this website. Since you are a new user, there is a limit of just 3 messages per day (*Replying* to your friend's messages is not counted in that though. We'd never make your friends wait to hear from you). Every day the website examines all the level 1 users to see who has been logging on regularly and writing to new friends often so that it can separate the good friends from the poor friends. If it sees you've really been making good use of your level 1 access, then after a couple weeks (or maybe even days depending on your use), it will automatically raise you to level 2. Note: If you feel that you've been a great friend to the other users on this website and have been keeping your profile updated, logging on regularly and doing all the things that a good pen pal should do BUT the website STILL hasn't raised your level after several weeks, please feel free to contact support so that we can check your account and find out why the level up program is holding back on you. (It's a new program, so it may be overly conservative at first).
Level 2: If you are level 2, then the website thinks you're a good person that can be trusted. You're daily message limit is removed at level 2. In the future there will be special features that only level 2 users will be able to access. Level 2 is currently the highest level of access available on this website.

Why is my picture totally black in the search results?

The picture you uploaded is not a JPG. The program that makes your search result picture from your main picture can only correctly resize TRUE jpeg files. Changing the extension of a .bmp or .gif file won't make it .jpeg file. The resulting picture will be totally black (if it even lets you uplaod the picture at all).
There's a lot of great picture views out there that will let you convert your .bmp and .gif pictures to true .jpeg files simply by loading the pictures and selecting "Save As", then underneath where the new name is typed you'll see a drop-down menu that you can change to several different formats. Choose .jpg or .jpeg to ensure it's truely saving your picture in the proper format. Then upload your .jpg file and you'll notice that you look much better in the search results.