Frequently Asked Questions

Managing Your Profile/Account

Participating in the Forums

Understanding How the Forums Work

More Resources



Managing Your Profile/Account

  • Create an Account - It's is as easy as 1-2-3, but first you must select a forum to join from the "Forums" tab and complete your registration. Click here for more information on how to set up your account.
     
  • To Sign In, click on the "Sign In/Join" button at the top right of your screen and select the green Sign In tab from the dropdown menu. On the Sign in page, the "Sign In" button below and to the right of the Password field should be green. If it isn't, put your cursor at the end of your password in the password field, press space and then backspace, and the button will become green. This is a known issue for Chrome users and is noted in our queue of fixes. Select the Remember me check box to be automatically signed into the site when you visit any page until you clear your browser history.
     
  • Add new Forum(s) - Once you've created an account, log into the E-Democracy site then select the additional forums you want to join. Click here for more information.
     
  • Password - First check the Sign in button to see if it's green. If it's not, put your cursor at the end of your password and hit "enter." This should activate the Sign in button. If this isn't the issue and you've forgotten your password, please reset it from the Sign in page or use this link (password reset) and then log in. You may use your current password (and just reset it) or change your password at this time. You may also use any of your registered e-mail addresses to log in.
     
  • Member Profile - Your profile will show the Forums you belong to, the most recent messages you have posted, and the profile data you choose to list. Click here for instructions on how to update your profile.
     
  • Subscription Settings: Daily Digest, One Email per Post, and Web Only - Once you have logged in you can update your e-mail settings by clicking your "profile" link on the top right tab. Then select "Change Email Settings" from the Drop Down menu to change your email address, and open "Group Settings" to set your delivery settings for every forum you have joined — one email per post [default], Daily Digest, or Web only. To change your delivery settings, click on the green "Change" button to select the option you'd prefer. Select Web only to unsubscribe. More information: Manage your email settings.
     
  • Unsubscribe/Delete my Account - To unsubscribe, log in and click on your profile link at the top right of any page. Select "Change Email Settings" from the drop down menu and scroll down to open your "Group Settings." Another way to do this is to select the Forums option at the top of any page, select "View All" from the "Find a Forum" panel in the drop down menu and you will see the options to change your email settings or leave the forums you have joined as well as forums you can join (below).

    We can completely delete your account from the back end if you have never posted to a forum. If you have posted, your account is needed to maintain an accurate record of what was said in "public life" like the expectation with a print letter to the editor (see our Forum Content Removal Policy). The content of your public profile may be edited as long as your real name remains intact. Adding a simple space within your name may reduce your profile's visibility on Google. Email support@e-democracy.org for assistance.
     

Participating in the Forums

  • Posting Messages - There are two ways to post messages to your forum(s): by email and via the website. Learn more.
     
  • Checking Posts - The easiest way to see if your post has gone through is to login to the website using the Sign in/Join button at the top right. The "Sign In" button below and to the right of the Password field should be green. If it isn't, press "Enter" from the Password field to activate it. Once you're in, click on your name at the top right, and select "View and Change Your Profile" from the dropdown menu. Scroll down to see your posts.
     
  • Searching the site - You can search the E-Democracy site on many levels. Learn more.
     
  • Posting Blocked/Moderated - Most forums limit people to two or three posts in 24 hours. Most new members will find their initial posts moderated as a spam protection measure until such time as your volunteer Forum Manager manually unmoderates you. (More information.)
     
  • Posts Not Coming Through - Whether you participate in a forum by Email or the Daily Digest, sometimes you need to whitelist our domain to make sure the messages get through. If you have done this and you are still not getting forum messages you may need to reverify your email address.
     
  • Reply to the Author - Only those who subscribe to receive forum posts by email can reply to individual authors. Those who monitor the forums via the website can Request Contact with the author. Exception: If the author is a Yahoo! user, the Request Contact method would apply.
     
  • Attaching Photos & Files - Attachments can be posted using either email or the web. By email, simply attach files as you would to any email. From the web, use the "Choose File" button to upload the file. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
     
  • How do I contact my Forum Manager? - If you subscribe to your forum via email, use the same process described above in Reply to the Author, and send an email. If you monitor the forum via the website, you will find the Forum Manager's email address in the left panel at the Group Home page. If you do not see it there, notify support@e-democracy.org.
     
  • Making an Email Address Public - E-Democracy doesn't post email addresses to the website to protect members from robots and spammers, even when they're included in the body of a message. The email address does get delivered to members subscribed to receive each post by email. If you want an email address to show up on the website, modify it by putting "at" in the address. Example: support at e-democracy.org.
     

Understanding How the Forums Work

  • Are all Posts Public? - Most everything. As noted in our privacy policy, we are a "public life" project by design. Forums and profile fields are public unless something is clearly labelled private. Outside of our main forums, we do host some private online groups which are not open to all and they are labelled as such. As some neighborhood/neighbourhood forums serve smaller population areas we are aware that some users are concerned about being overexposed via Google Search. If this concerns you, we encourage you to limit your posting as openness and accessibility are central to inclusively reaching more community members. Further, as a web-friendly "e-mail list" platform and as stated in the "Post visibility: public" notice where you post via the web, posts will include your direct e-mail address. Other e-mail-based users may reply to you privately. This is standard for all e-mail lists across the Internet.
     
  • Delete/Edit Posts - Because messages and files are sent out via email as well as being displayed on the web, we cannot alter or delete any post or file once it has been added to the group. (Deleting posts from the online forum, even ones that contain errors, causes confusion for members that already have an email version of the post.) Instead, if there's a change in meaning (not minor errors, like spelling), we encourage you to post another message correcting your previous one. Learn more.
     
  • Use GroupIDs to Join/Leave Forums. - Yes, there is a faster (more "techie") way to Join/Leave the forums. Learn more.
     

More Resources

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