(Frequently Asked Questions) about this site.

FAQ Category: Users and Sponsors
How do I register as a user & what advantages do I get?
How can I write an article for the site?
What does it cost and how do I become a site sponsor?
I can't sponsor you, but can I assist somehow in promoting this site?
How else can we assist you in running this site?

FAQ Category: Tips about using this site
How do I comment on articles?
How do I add this site to my favourites or change my home page to this site?

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How do I register as a user & what advantages do I get?
Click on the Sign-up link to the right (or click here) to register as a user on this website.
Enter your preferred username and your email address in the register box and press & Submit.
An email confirming your username and a password will be sent to you. To deter spammers there will be a short delay (usually no more than 12 hours) before you receive this email as all signups are checked by the site admin or a moderator. If you are using a webmail address (ie: Hotmail, GMail, Yahoo!) etc then it will speed up the process if you also send a short message confirming who you are using the Contact Us form - if you include a daytime contact phone number that would be great.
PLEASE NOTE: Your email address or phone number will be kept strictly confidential and will not be disclosed to any other party.

We want to make the sign up process as painless as possible and we do use
spam-catching technology on the site to keep the dreaded spammers at bay but for non-Australian email addresses we have to take this extra precaution as I'm sure you understand.

Registered users can comment on articles and posts (read this FAQ about this) and they will soon have access to free downloads like screensavers, desktop wallpaper etc.

Standard users can't write or edit their own articles or posts however but note that you can easily have your user status upgraded to a 'Contributor' so you can do this. See the next FAQ answer about this.

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How can I write an article for the site?
To be able to write articles for this site you simply need to have your user status upgraded to Contributor. I have decided after much thought to not include a simple discussion forum on the site because contributors can write articles and registered users can comment on them (if the author allows it) and so they become a discussion for important community or other issues in the same way as a forum discussion.

Also, it is easier for site visitors to view articles because they are accessible through the Categories menu and will usually appear as a recent article link on all site pages too. To become a contributor firstly, register as a site user. Once you have done that, use the contact page to tell me, briefly, why you want to be a contributor and what sort of articles you will be writing. I would love to have a good range of articles on the site ranging from community services through to hobbies and general musing on life. Tell us all about your gardening experiences or your prowess at sport - anything that you think others will enjoy reading!

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What does it cost and how do I become a site sponsor?
This site is completely not-for-profit and as such, depends on sponsorship to help cover the domain name fees and monthly hosting. To take the site further however, for example paying for print advertising etc, will require money that is currently not available. So, if you value having a community site for Shoalhaven Heads and you would like to become a sponsor, please contact me. Currently, annual sponsor fees are $60 per year and for this, your business gets (apart from the warm-fuzzies for helping to keep it afloat!):

1. A 165x260 graphic advert which appears at random throughout the site in the Site Sponsors area on all pages and also on the Sponsors page. This advert can be designed by you or I can do this for you at no extra charge if you can advise what text and graphics you want to appear on it.
2. A listing page with space for a couple of images, text and contact details, including a website link if you have one, for your business. This page is 'linked' to from both the Sponsor page advert and the random ads.

I use advanced SEO (search engine optimisation) techniques on all the sponsors pages as well to ensure maximum search engine ranking, but listing content is very important as well. I will advise you on what to include in your listing when you join.

If you can't sponsor the site, then please consider adding a reciprocal link to us on your home page or links page if you have one. Details on how to do this will be added soon. See below how to download some site link 'buttons'.

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I can't be a sponsor, but can I assist somehow in promoting this site?
Sure, there are a few ways to do this. Firstly, if you are able to use your network of friends or club contacts to tell people about this community effort and also to get people to sign up as contributors, that would be fantastic. I envisage the article area to be extensively used by all the wonderful community groups and clubs in the 'Heads. For those groups who want to get information quickly and easily out to their members or to promote and advertise themselves - this site could be invaluable to them. But, if they don't know about it, they can't make use of it can they? This is where advertising and promotion comes into it - but at this stage, I can't afford to spend my own money on this, so word of mouth is very important to the project.

Finally, if you have a website then please consider putting a link back to us - how? Easy, just place one of these buttons on your site (or ask your web designer to do it). Preferably on the bottom of your home page or if you have one, on a Links page.

Image #1

Image #2

Download this file and add whichever button code you prefer to your site. (You can email the file to your web designer if you can't do it yourself).

Thank you, it's very much appreciated.

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How else can we assist you in running this site?
I will eventually require site moderator(s) to help with maintaining the site. You won't need any web design skills (but that would be very handy). This work would mainly involve vetting new user sign ups, clearing spam comments (there will be a lot eventually to deal with but the software I use makes it fairly easy to do) and approving/editing contributed articles. If you have an interest in web design then this may be a way for you to gain some useful skills! If you have some time on your hands and you are prepared to help with some cold calling work to contact prospective sponsors or community group secretaries then that would also be very much appreciated.

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How do I comment on articles?
This is one of the best features of the site - most articles or posts can be commented on, so if you disagree or agree or simply have something to add you can easily do so. If the particular article can be commented on, there will be a Write a comment link below the article. Simply click on this and enter your comments in the box provided. All comments are subject to approval (mainly to prevent spam) but will appear within a few hours under the article concerned once approved.

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How do I add this site to my favourites or change my home page to this site?

To add to your favourites or Bookmarks:
Go back to our homepage then,
In Internet Explorer...
from the browser menu >> click on Favorites >> Add to Favorites
In Mozilla Firefox...
from the browser menu >> click on Bookmarks >> Bookmark this page (or press CTRL+D)

To change your homepage:
In Internet Explorer...
Go to the Web page you want to make your home page (shoalhavenheads.net.au).
On the browser Tools menu >> click on Internet Options >> General tab >> press the Use Current button >> Ok
In Mozilla Firefox...
Go to the Web page you want to make your home page (shoalhavenheads.net.au).
On the browser Tools menu >> click on Options >> Main tab >> press the Use Current Pages button >> Ok

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