Gee can't wait to see my "pms" when I "sign up". Wondering what kind of rants I got... Dreading the fact I'll have to apologize for ignoring people that I didn't mean to ignore.
I am sorry if this is a dumb question but if I am logged in and a post does not have a mail box (envelope)symbol behind the posters name - what does that mean? Does it mean an alias is being used or perhaps a non paying (VIP) member? One more question - how do you know when an alias is being used? Thank you in advance for your help!
As far as I know, this, and only this is the way to tell.
Both non-VIP and VIP members have a mailbox symbol present, though non-VIP members can not send or receive mail.
This has caused some concerns because VIP members don't know to whom they can and can't send mail, which can make it appear that the non-VIP member is being impolite in not responding when, in fact, they never knew mail was sent.
It has been suggested many times that only VIPs have a mailbox icon, and that a scarlet A, or similar icon appear before the name of an alias so that people will know, but this is the way it's been since I can remember.
I was just wondering the exact same thing. So others can send me a message and not even relize that I am not getting it / ignoring them because I'm not VIP (yet) ? "Talk about giving me a bad name"
Also another question... once one becomes VIP, do they recieve also all past mail- so I can at least apologize for not responding?
When I joined TER, I did not pay for VIP, instead I wrote a bunch of reviews and got VIP status for several months.
When that lapsed, it was a few more months until I wrote enough reviews to get my VIP status back. When I did I was flabbergasted to find about fifty PMs waiting for me.
It took a long time to answer each one and apologize and explain what happened.
After that I decided to pay for the VIP to avoid a repeat of this, among other reasons.
It's a generally accepted principle among HCI experts that UI control elements should not be present if the user lacks permission to use them, and if they are present, they should appear disabled. Making nonfunctional controls appear normal, and then displaying a message informing the user that they are not permitted to use them, is considered abusive.
The only reason I can imagine for doing this is to try to persuade us to spring for a VIP membership, but if they did an analysis they'd find that it's actually counterproductive.
I know I feel less inclined to contribute every time I see "You are logged in, but you only have a basic membership. This feature is available only to VIP members. Learn More," and it's really annoying when they tell you to "just PM" somebody. I'm actually starting to feel proud to be a mere groundling. I think I'll stay this way forever!
I could maybe see where you are coming from if TER required that all VIP memberships be bought, but they don't.
Providers who register to their review profile get a free limited VIP membership that allows them to do everything except read other providers reviews.
All members can get free membership through review submitting as well as the problem report system and helping the site self-police (reporting suspected review fraud through the "contact us" feature will usually result in multiple day credit if it pans out).
Bide your time. Submit reviews. Take advantage of the problem reporting after you get VIP. You will have what you need.
I'm a provider. I have reviews, but I can't seem to even find them...then, how do I register them to my profile? I've sent emails but haven't gotten an answer back (not that it's been all that long), but other times I've sent questions, I haven't gotten an answer, but another email saying to write an email with a question somewhere else, etc. etc. Can anyone just tell me?
allows you to get a free limited VIP membership. Send an email to [email protected] requesting that you be registered. Include a link to your website and your review profile (which I've put below). Your email should come from the same email address as is on your profile.
Gee can't wait to see my "pms" when I "sign up". Wondering what kind of rants I got... Dreading the fact I'll have to apologize for ignoring people that I didn't mean to ignore.
Unfortunately it looks like your attempt to purchase VIP membership has failed due to your card being declined. Good news is that we have several other payment options that you could try.
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