FAQ

Date of last revision: 6/23/08

If you are having problems, or have a question, please see below before contating the
administrator. Thank you.

Who are you?
My name is Dean. I am a computer programmer by trade. After
discussing with many people the need for a way to inform people where
and when you were going for a hike, I decided to create this site.
My homepage is here.

How much does it cost?
Nothing, it is free. However donations are gladly accepted. See the
donate page for more info.

I donated 'x' dollars, now you have to do everything I say.
Uhh...no. While I do appreciate any donations I receive, this does not
make me anyone's servant, sorry.

Is my username and realname case sensitive.
Yes. Email addresses are not but usernames and realnames are.

It keeps telling me I need to login even after I login.
You need to have cookies enabled for this site to function. You also
need javascript enabled. Also, 10 minutes after the last page is loaded,
you are automatically logged off.

Why so much validation?
To try to prevent fraudulent use.
To protect from using the site as a email spammer.

I want to activate my account but don't have my validation code,
what do I do?
Contact the administrator with your name, username, email address,
and that you need your validation code and it will be sent to you.

I don't see any emails from the site.
Make sure your spam filter isn't blocking them or removing them.
If you are still having problems, contact the administrator with your name,
username, email address, and explain the problem.

I want to add an alternate email address to my account, and/or
a cellphone. Can I do this?
Yes. Login to your account and click on 'My Account'. Then click
on 'Change User Email(s)'. There you can add/modify your primary email
address, your alternate email address, and your cellphone including carrier.

What cellphone carriers do you support?
Currently we support the following carriers:
Alltel
AT&T (Cingular)
Boost
Qwest
Sprint/Nextel
T-Mobile (USA, don't know if international works with this)
US Cellular
Verizon
Virgin (US)
Virgin (Canada)

My carrier is not listed?
By all means, send us the name and we will see if we can add it. If
you know the domain name of your carrier (the part after the @ sign),
please include that so we get the right email address to send your messages
to.

I have added a contact email address to my account but it is not
getting notified when I don't return on time.
The person whose contact address was entered needs to validate
their address with the site before they will receive notifications. Have them
check their email for mail from the site telling them how to do this. If that
mail isn't there, contact the administrator with your name, username, email
address, the address of the contact, and explain the problem.

Sometimes it takes a while after my return date/time for
my contact addresses to be notified.
A check is performed every hour to see if any trips have been entered
with return dates/times at least two hours past due. If any are less than two
hours past due, it waits until the next check in one hour and checks again.
So it could be close to three hours before a notification is sent. If this
becomes too long, I will shorten the wait time.

None of the back buttons work.
You need to have javascript enabled for this to function.

How many trips can I enter?
You can enter as many trips as you like. Just remember to
fill out a return notification for each one when you return.

Why do I need to pick a time zone?
The server that houses this site is in the Eastern Time Zone so Eastern
Time will be used for all time calculations. Choosing your time zone when
entering a trip allows your time to be converted to Eastern. If you use a time
zone different from the one you are in the system will still work, but it might
send a notification earlier or later than required.

What if my time zone isn't in the list?
I tried to include many time zones in the list. If yours isn't there
you can use the one closest to you. Your notifications will be still work, they
will just be one hour off. Please use the contact form with a Problem/Issue of
Other and say time zone in the Other field to send the name of the zone and/or the
name of a city in the region, and the offset from GMT and I will try to add it.

How long past my return date/time will my contacts be notified?
Your contacts will not be notified until it is more than two
hours past your return date/time. Somewhere between two and six hours past
your return date/time your contacts will receive a notification that it is past
your return time. Only one notification will be sent per trip so as to not flood
your contacts inbox.

I need to change something about a trip I have entered, can I do that?
Yes. Login and go to Trip Management, then Edit Trip. You
need to select the trip you wish to edit, then you can change anything except
the Trip ID. If your your contacts have already been notified because it is
past the return date/time for your trip, you will not be allowed to edit it.

Why don't I see my trip in the Edit Trip list?
You can only edit trips that haven't passed their return date/time.
If your trip is not past the return date/time and you still don't see it listed,
use the contact form to ask the administrator about this issue.

How do I remove my account?
Contact the administrator and provide your account name. Say that
you would like your account removed and it will be taken care of. We are
sorry to see you go. If there is a problem we can solve to keep you here please
let us know and we can try to resolve it. Thank you for using the Trip Notifier.

I want to add an alternate email address to my contact information,
or a cellphone. Can I do this?
Yes. When you are verifying your email address to be a contact
for someone here, you can add an alternate email address or cell number
including carrier. Note: the person you are agreeing to be a contact for will
not be informed of your alternate contact address/number. It will only be used
by the system to contact you if you need to be contacted about a trip.

I want to add an alternate email address to my contact information,
or a cellphone but I have already validated my contact address. Can I do
this?
No. We are sorry, but this is not an available option at this
time. It is on the list to be added in the future.

I want to retract my address as a contact but don't have my
validation code, what do I do?
Send mail to the person whom you no longer wish to be a contact
for and ask them to remove you from their account.

I want to retract my address as a contact. What happens to
my alternate address/number?
Your alternate address/number will also be retracted/removed.

I want to remove my alternate address/number from being used
as a contactable address. How do I do this?
Contact the administrator with the person's name whom you are
a contact for, your email address, and the alternate address/number that you
no longer wish to be a contact for that person. Your email address must match
the one you have as the contact address.

What if they won't remove my address?
Contact the administrator with the person's name whom you no
longer wish to be a contact for, your name, your email address, and that you
no longer wish to be a contact for that person. Your email address must match
the one you want removed.

I want to remove my address from the nocontact list but can't
remember my question/answer.
Contact the administrator with your name, your email address
and a description of your problem and your question will be mailed to you.
If you still can't remember your answer, send another contact saying you got
your question but still can't remember your answer and it will be sent to you.
You must use the same address you are wanting to remove from the nocontact
list.

My account has been removed.
Either you requested it be removed, there was a problem with your
account, or a complaint was made that we were unable to resolve. If you wish
to have an account again, if it was removed on request, you should just create
a new account. Your username may even still be available. If your account
was removed due to a unresolved issue, use the contact page to offer to work
out a resolution and your email address may be removed from the banned
list after we work through what caused the removal.

I don't see 'xxx' feature.
I may be working on it or haven't thought of it. If you have a
reasonable suggestion, send it in and it will be considered.

I want 'xxx' feature.
See above.

I think this faq should answer 'xxx'.
If it is reasonable, send it in and it will be considered.

I suggested something but it hasn't been done yet.
If it was reasonable, it has been added to my todo list. Bear in
mind that I have a regular, full-time job so I can only work on this website
in my free time.