|
|
Main »» Registration and Usage
| How do I register? | Go to the Registration Page and complete the form.
There are four required fields on the registration form: Username, Cloud 9 Membership #, Email and Password.
Username is your your nickname for the site, up to 25 characters, alpha-numeric only.
Password - Must be at between 3 and 20 alpha-numeric characters. (no spaces) (a-z, A-Z, 0-9 only)
When you submit the registration form successfully, an automatic email will be sent to the address you used to register. This email contains what's called an activation key. Your activation key is a special URL that you must visit in order to activate your account. Once your account has been activated you may log in to the Members Portal. | | Back to Top | | I'm having trouble logging in. What do I do? | Problem:
Some members upon logging in receive a "Thank you for logging in" message, yet upon returning to the main page are no longer logged in.
There are several possible reasons for this:
1) A default AOL browser is being used to access the site.
2) Cookies are being rejected by the browser.
3) Firewall security settings are set extremely high.
4) Caching of webpages is not allowing the visitor to see the actual website.
5) The IP address assigned to the internet connection changes frequently.
6) A Netscape 4 browser is being used to access the site.
Solutions:
1) AOL:
The default AOL browser is commonly reported to have difficulties handling many types of dynamically generated websites.
It has been reported that the most recent version of AOL (8.0) has addressed many of these issues. So the simplest solution is to upgrade to the latest version of AOL.
If this isn't an option, then the next best solution is to use an alternative to the default AOL browser while signed into AOL. Many AOL members don't realize that it is not mandatory to use the default AOL browser with an AOL account. Since version 4.0, AOL has come bundled with a version of Internet Explorer. Any browser will work, but using IE is the simplest option. Here's how...
Once signed in to AOL, simply minimize the AOL browser by clicking on the "Minimize" icon in the extreme upper right of the browser window (either the Flat line (PC) or the Yellow button (Mac)). On either the desktop or the Quick Launch bar, find the Internet Explorer icon (the big "E"). Double-click on it to open the browser. It will probably go to the AOL Homepage automatically. Type the address to this website in the Address bar and hit the Go button or green arrow. Now you should be able to login just fine.
If for some reason you must use the default AOL browser, please read the following suggestions and try to apply them to your browser.
For our AOL members, we apologize for this inconvenience. Websites with dynamically generated content such as Cloud9Ranch.net will see greater support from AOL as time goes on. While we have tried to keep this website as universally compatible as possible, many of the community tools offered are simply not supported by all browsers and platforms. We appreciate your understanding.
2) Cookies:
This website uses Cookie Sessions to keep track of login status. Please enable cookies in your browser in the "Preferences" or "Internet Options" area. If you have a very high security setting for cookies and wish to keep it that way, then simply give permission to allow cookies from Cloud9Ranch.net. We only use the cookies here to temporarily track login and logout status - they are safe to accept.
3) Firewalls:
Some firewalls have very strong security settings which may hinder the ability for this website to communicate with your computer. The default settings for WinXP and Zonealarm should be just fine - anything set higher than this could cause difficulties. For most computers not actively on a public network (like an office or library), a setting of "Medium" is more than sufficient protection. However, if you do keep an increased security level on your firewall, simply lower it manually while visiting our website; or if your software allows, simply assign Cloud9Ranch.net as a friendly website.
4) Cache:
Most browsers use a feature called "Cache", which is another term for Temporary Internet Files. These files are a copy of a visited webpage stored locally on your computer. It is designed to speed up the access and load time of webpages on an analog modem connection. Unfortunately this can cause problems when accessing websites with dynamically generated content. Sometimes a visitor will actually be seeing a previously stored version of the page on their computer instead of the most recent version of the page. So if a member logs in and caching is enabled, they could be returned to the previously cached main page from before they logged in. The Login process worked, but they aren't seeing the most recent version of the home page.
To fix this... in the browser's "Preferences" or "Internet Options" area, find the settings for Temporary Internet Files and either disable all caching of pages (good setting if you have a broadband connection), or set the feature to Check for newer versions of stored pages upon every visit to the page. It's also a good idea to regularly clean your Temporary Internet Files cache, since every page you vist is stored there. I keep my browser set to "Empty Temporary Internet files when browser is closed" in the Advanced options area, and I've never encountered a problem because of it.
5)IP Address:
When connecting to the internet, a computer is assigned an IP Address by the Internet Service Provider, much
like a phone number (245.10.45.220 for example). Cloud9Ranch.net keeps track of login and logut sessions by assigning cookies on your computer to specific IP addresses. Because of this, when the IP address assigned to your computer changes you are logged out of the site automatically. Simply login to the site again, and the new IP address will be recognized as yours.
6) Netscape 4.x:
Although the site is viewable and relatively usable with a Netscape 4 browser, many features of the site will simply not work. There is no solution other than upgrading to a more recent version of Netscape, which is highly recommended and easy to do. You'll be much happier afterwards.
This website is using XHTML Transitional code, along with some javascript and dhtml features. Most of the latest browser technologies are compatible with this code, including Internet Explorer 6, Netscape 7, Mozilla 1.3, and Opera 7.3 (highly recommended). | | Back to Top | | I use Norton Firewall 2003 and can't log in. What do I do? | | See the instructions for creating special rules. You must allow referer information to be passed between pages at this site for proper authentication. | | Back to Top | | How do I change my avatar? | 1. First, click on the View Account link in the upper left column to view your personal profile.
2A. To upload your own, custom avatar graphic, click the Upload My Avatar button, and follow the instructions.
Custom avatars may be up to 48x48 pixels and 8Kb file size. The graphic should be either in .gif or .jpg format. (generally .gif works best for avatar graphics)
2B. To select or change your avatar from the available list at this site, click the Edit Profile button instead, then scroll down and click on the avatar link to display the list of available avatars.
| | Back to Top |
|
|
| |
