FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Here are brief explanations for some of the questions that you may have
about our Classifieds Directory.
How does this system work?
On the front page for the eClassifiedsWeb Classifieds, you will see a number of sections, such as "Employment",
"Real Estate", etC. If you click on one of these sections, you will then be taken to the front page of that section, where you can view, post, modify, or delete ads within that section by clicking on the appropriate links in the navigation bar. You can search or browse through the ads immediately without registering. If you want to post, modify, or delete an ad, however, you will need to log on to the system. If you are a new user, you need to click on "Register For An Account". This is a quick and easy process that allows you to select a username and password. It also asks for your name and e-mail addresss so that it can e-mail you a confirmation notice when you post an ad. Once you have registered, you can then logon from now on with your username and password. Therefore, please make a note of your username and password, because you will need to know them if you ever want to modify or delete your
ad in the future.
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How does the logon process work?
If you want to post, modify, or delete an ad, you will need to log on to the system. If you have never logged on here before, please click on the "Register For An Account" button. This is a quick and easy process that asks for your name and e-mail address. You will also be asked to choose a username and password. Make sure that you make a note of your username and password, because you will need to know them if you ever want to modify or delete your ad in the future. Once you've filled in the information, click on the "Submit Information" button. If you have successfully registered, you will see an acknowledgement page. If not, you should see a page explaining why your registration wasn't successful. Normally, this would occur either when someone else is already using the username that you chose, if you forgot to fill in one of the fields, or if your password in the 2 password fields didn't match. If you successfully registered, click on the "Logon to the System" button. At the "Enter Your Lo
gon Information" page, enter your username and password and click on the "Logon To The System" button. In the future, anytime that you want to post a new ad, modify your existing ads, or delete an ad, you can go straight to the logon screen and enter your username and password.
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I forgot my username. Can I still logon?
If you ever forget your username, at the logon screen, you can click on the "Forgot Your Username?" button. When the next screen comes up, enter your e-mail address on the form and click on the "Submit Search" button. The script will e-mail the usernames (if any) associated with that e-mail address to the e-mail address that you entered. For obvious reasons, it will not tell you the password, so please make sure that you make a note of your password when you first register.
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I forgot my password. Can I still logon?
If you ever forget your password, at the logon screen, you can click on the "Forgot Your Password?" button. When the next screen comes up, enter your user name on the form and click on the "Submit Search" button. The script will e-mail your password to the e-mail address that you used when registering your account.
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Are the usernames case-sensitive?
Yes. Therefore, if you use the username "Joe", you must be sure to type in "Joe" when logging on in the future, as "joe" would not work.
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How do I post an ad?
While you are in any of the sections, click on the "Place Ads" link in the navigation bar and logon as described above. You will then be taken to the "Post a Classified Ad" page. Here, you will see a form with many fields. Most of these are optional, although filling in more information helps people who are looking for your specific information to find you. Required fields are denoted by an asterisk. When you have filled out the form, click on the "Preview Ad" button. A preview of how your ad would look will be displayed for you. To make changes, use your browser's Back function to go back to the "Post Ad" form. Otherwise, if you are satisfied with its appearance, click on the "Post Ad" button. You should then see an acknowledgement page if your ad was successfully posted.
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Do I have to use my real name when posting a message?
No. Even if you use your real name when you register (and we encourage that), you do not have to use your real name when you post an ad. The script will simply publish whatever you put in the name field. If you feel more comfortable, you can use a nickname or pseudoname.
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Can I put HTML tags anywhere in my posts?
No. You can not use HTML tags in the body of the message.
If you put HTML tags in your message, the script will just throw out everything in between the
<>'s.
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How do I add a photo, sound clip, or video clip to my classified ad?
If the administrator has turned this feature on, you have the option of uploading one or more photos of yourself, your car, your house, or some other item that you are trying to sell along with your classified ad. You also can upload a sound clip or video clip to your ad. If this feature is active, you will be provided this option after you have posted your ad. You can also access it later on by clicking on the "Modify/Renew Ads" link in the navigation bar and then selecting the Multimedia Manager. Click on the "Browse" button to select the file from your local hard drive. Photos must be in .GIF or .JPG format, and they must fit within the file size, width, and height limitations displayed on the upload form. Sound clips must be in the .WAV or .MID format, and video clips must be in the .MOV or .AVI format. If you do it correctly, the photo, sound clip, or video clip will then appear with your ad.
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How do I change the photo, sound clip, or video clip that I have posted with my ad?
Choose "Modify/Renew Ads" from the navigation bar. Once you have logged in (if you are not already logged in), click on the Multimedia Manager link. You will have the option of uploading new multimedia files and/or removing your existing multimedia files. Click on the Delete Multimedia File button. Enter the ad number of the ad that you want to modify and then click on the "Display Multimedia Files Associated With This Ad" button. You will then see a display of all multimedia files that have been included with this ad. Check the checkbox next to each photo, sound clip, or video clip that you want to remove and then click on Delete Checked Multimedia Files.
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What should I put in the "Text of Ad" box?
Please describe the item that you are trying to sell in as much detail as you can. If you're posting a classified ad advertising a car, tell people about the year, make, model, number of miles, options, etc. If you're posting a classified ad advertising a piece of real estate for sale or for rent, tell them about the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and other rooms; about the amenities; etc. If you're announcing a garage sale, be sure to tell readers the exact time and location of the garage sale and describe some of the items that will be available. For personal ads, tell people what you look like, what you do for a living,
what your hobbies and interests are, where you're from, etc. Also, don't be afraid to say what
you're looking for both in terms of physical or personality traits and in terms of the relationship.
If you want someone who is a specific age or looks a certain way or has certain political or
recreational interests, say so! Being honest about both what you're really like and what you
really want will help to avoid misunderstandings in the future. If you're posting a help wanted ad, tell people about the type of work, what skills, education, or experience is required, what the rate of pay is, the geographic location of the job, and any other information relevant to this particular position. If you're posting an employment wanted ad, tell potential employers about the type of work you desire, your skills, education, and experience, what salary level you are seeking, what geographic areas you would prefer to work in, and any other relevant information about yourself.
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Why didn't my classified ad show up?
Your classified ad most likely did not show up because either you were in the wrong section (such as
"Real Estate" instead of "Personals") or you specified search criteria that don't appear in your ad. If so, please verify that you are in the correct section and then broaden your search by leaving more of the search fields blank.
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How do I modify my ad?
In the navigation bar that appears on every page, you will see the "Modify/Renew Ads" link. If you click on this link, you will see a form (once you have logged in). Enter the ad number of the ad that you want to modify and click on the "Search for Ad to Modify" button. In the alternative, you can click on the appropriate links to have the program display all ads that you have posted here, or you can go to the Advanced Search form. [If you go to the Advanced Search form, narrow your search by filling in the fields with information specific to your ad (such as your name, etc.) and click on the "Search for Item to Modify" button. You should get a listing of all ads that fit your search criteria. Click on the radio button to the left of the ad that you want to modify and click on the "Display Modification Form" button.] The next page will display your ad with a modification form beneath it. The current information from your ad will already be filled in, so you only need to modify the fields that you want
to change. Once you have filled in the form, click on the "Submit Modification(s)" button. You should then see an acknowledgement page if your ad was successfully modified. If you tried to modify an ad that you did not submit, the script will deny your request.
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How do I remove my ad?
In the navigation bar that appears on every page, you will see the "Delete Ads" link. If you click on this link, you will see a form (once you have logged in). Enter the ad number of the ad that you want to delete and click on the Search for Ad to Delete button. In the alternative, you can click on the appropriate links to have the program display all ads that you have posted here, or you can go to the Advanced Search form. [If you go to the Advanced Search form, narrow your search by filling in the fields with information specific to your ad (such as your name, etc.) and click on the "Search for Item to Delete" button. . You should get a listing of all ads that fit your search criteria.] Click on the radio button to the left of the ad that you want to delete and click on the "Submit Deletion(s)" button. You should then see an acknowledgement page if your ad was successfully deleted. If you tried to delete an ad that you did not submit, the script will deny your request.
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Why didn't my search turn up any hits?
Your search criteria may have been too narrow. Go back to the search form and leave more of the search fields blank, or click on the "New Search" button and do a general search. For the broadest possible search, simply click on the "Browse Ads" link from the navigation bar.
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How do I navigate the search results page?
Unless you used the Advanced Search form and chose the Long Results format, your search results are displayed in the short "headlines" format. The left column (headed by "#") displays the number for each hit. The other headers represent the most important categories for this particular section. You can quickly re-sort your results in different ways by clicking on the category headers at the top of the table (for example, to sort by Date Posted, simply click on the Date Posted header; all of your search criteria will be maintained). To see more of your search results, you can click on the "See Next X Hits" button beneath the table or use the navigation bar beneath this button.
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How do I see the full details for a particular ad?
If you're viewing your search results from the short "headlines" format, you can see the details for any ad by clicking on the word "Details" in the row for that ad. This link is contained in the Details column on the right-hand side of the table. Or, if you would like to see the full details for all of your search results, you can go to the Advanced Search form and select "Long" in the Results Format field.
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What is that bar for at the bottom of the search results page?
It's a navigation bar, similar to the one used by the AltaVista search engine, that lets you quickly jump to other groups of your search results. That way, you don't have to keep clicking on the "See Next Group" button, like you do at most search engines, if you want to jump to other groups of search results. Each button represents a group of search results, with the number beneath the button representing the number of the last hit within that group. If your search results in more than 20 groups, only the first twenty groups are accessible through the buttons. To get to groups beyond the twentieth group, you would need to click on the last button, and once that group is displayed, keep clicking on the right arrow or the "See Next X Hits" button to see groups beyond that. The green button indicates the group of search results that is currently being displayed. All of the groups that you have not seen yet have a blue button, while the groups that you have already seen have red buttons. The arrow at the r
ight operates in the same manner that the "See Next X Hits" button does, in that it takes you to the next group. The arrow to the left takes you back to the group prior to the current one.
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What do all of those abbreviations in the personal ads stand for?
Below are some of the most commonly used abbreviations for personal ads and what they mean:
- M--Male
- F--Female
- W--White
- B--Black
- H--Hispanic
- A--Asian
- J--Jewish
- S--Single
- D--Divorced
- M--Married (not that we're encouraging this)
- Wi--Widowed
- G--Gay
- Bi--Bisexual
- C--Christian
- P--Professional
- NS--Non-smoking
- ISO--In Search Of
- y.o.--Years Old
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How do I contact someone who has posted a classified ad?
All of the classified ads will list either the e-mail address of the person who posted the ad or a "Reply to Ad" link. Some ads may also list a phone number. The e-mail listings are also links, so you can click on the person's e-mail address to send the person a reply message. If you see the "Reply to Ad" link instead, clicking on it will cause the program to display a form where you can send a message to the person who posted the ad. Your e-mail address will not be revealed to the ad poster, ensuring a completely secure, two-way private messaging system.
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