FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I went to log in / make a post just like I always do, but I received this message:

Sorry, either your membership has not yet been approved or the board administrators have removed your ability to post to this board. We cannot allow you to perform this action as a result.

If you have posted in the past and are unaware of why your posting ability was removed, it is because of something you did on the forums.  Most probably you broke a rule which is listed on our RULES page.  First things first, read that rules page in it's entirity.  (You should have already done this.)  Then do a search for the last few posts you made.  You can probably figure out what the problem is from that.  Then email the Administrator.  (The email address is at the "contact us" link to your left.)  With the exception of rare server glitches, 99% of the time the fault is yours.

Things that are generally considered when handling issues after temporary banning:
*YOU broke a site rule.  This is not our fault, but we are having to mess with it because...
*YOU never bothered to read the RULES page and...
*YOU are one of a few thousand members to keep up with and most probably...
*YOU have not bothered to give us the one courtesy of sending in your member picture.  (We care little about the people who do not show us the one requested courtesy of sending in their picture, but want to use the site's resources for free anyway.)

So be prepared to be nice about your issue or you will find permanent banning to ensue.   Really, we have better things to do than play jack-a-round with you.

Logging in and out of the forums.  Members who use one private computer where others do not have access are encouraged to use the "login" link on the forums as a timesaver.  This permits our gatekeeper to pass you straight through the legal disclaimer whenever you desire to enter the forums.  Non-members and members who are not logged in will have to agree to this every visit to the website.

Browsers such as Internet Explorer may be used "at your own risk".

Although most people will not have issues viewing Film-Tech, browsers such as Internet Explorer, iCab, Bob's Bangin' Browser, etc may be used "at your own risk".  Film-Tech does not check the coding of the webpages on every version of every browser known to man, and therefore we cannot guarantee that the bizarre browser that you just happen to use will work.

The Opera browser is preferred by the Admin and that's what the site gets checked on.  It may be downloaded at www.opera.com for free (to rid the demo version of ads there is a nominal fee).  You may download version 6 here for the Windows platform. (Other OS users should check the Opera website.)

Internet Explorer will work fine with this site in general, but some commands may not work.  For the most part this site will communicate well with most all browsers and very few problems are reported.  Before emailing for assistance, make sure to try to view the webpage in question on an Opera or Firefox browser on Windows, or try Safari or Firefox on the Mac.  Also follow the firewall troubleshooting below.

Ok, ok, I'm reading the FAQ.  Now tell me what in the heck this is?

This is the result of a few members abusing the upload feature.  What was happening was a member would upload a picture which was supposed to be intended for display in the forums (a feature that was provided as a service to the members for preserving the integrity of the archives as opposed to linking to an outside web server), but they would then link their uploaded picture to their own website (usually porn) and Film-Tech was left paying the bandwidth bill.  So because of these fine upstanding citizens, we have had to tighten down the security on the servers.  (As a general note to all using the UPLOAD feature, your member ID and IP address is now logged so we will know who to come after next time this happens.)

The cause of seeing that image is because your browser or firewall is blocking the HTTP_REFERRER from being sent to the server, which verifies that the image is being displayed on www.film-tech.com as opposed to an outside site.   If you are using the Opera version 6 browser (which you can download in the above section), simply check the "enable referrer logging" box, click APPLY, then OK.  Then restart your browser.  You can do this by clicking FILE, then selecting PREFERENCES.  The following window will pop up.

Highlight the "privacy" in the lower left corner, then at the top center make sure the "enable referrer logging" is checked.  Then click APPLY and then OK.  Restart Opera and you should be fine.

Also note that if you are using a software based firewall, you MUST make sure that the HTTP_REFERRER is not being blocked.  Generally with a program like ZoneAlarm you can simply add www.film-tech.com to your "safe website" list.  Some variations of Norton/Symantec firewalls are also guilty of blocking the HTTP_REFERRER to be sent.  This is a local problem on your end.  We cannot possibly keep track of every variation of a firewall to provide troubleshooting assistance for.  Please first try adding the website to your "safe list" in your firewall and if that does not work for you, contact the technical support of your firewall product and ask them how to permit referrer logging to the website server. We can not assist with this. Please do not ask.

Every time I click on the  button I see a screen that looks like this.  What am I doing wrong?

If you see this screen that reads "ERROR 404: FILE NOT FOUND" when clicking on a link (such as to download a manual) it means that the file is missing.  Please follow the instructions on screen and send us an email so we may fix the broken link.  (This occasionally happens during server upgrades.)

If you are seeing a similar looking screen that reads "USER ERROR: BOOKMARKING NOT PERMITTED" when you click on the  button, then you have a firewall issue like was discussed above.

First things first, disable or unplug your firewall.  Does the site now work?  Assuming so, that proves the issue is on your end.  Below are the settings that users have reported work well for the program ZoneAlarm.

Adding www.film-tech.com to your "trusted site" list as well as setting "cookie control" to OFF is mandatory for this program to interface properly.

To reply to a discussion topic, please make sure that the topic is currently being displayed on your monitor.  On THAT screen, click the  button to make a post.  After posting, the thread will be moved to the top of the list and your post will be added to the end of the thread.  Unless you are starting a completely new discussion, NEVER use the  to reply to an existing discussion.
To edit your posts, click the small "edit" icon beside the time/date stamp.

You will be taken to a screen with your text at which point you may modify it to correct typographical errors and such.  Then click "submit" and your post will be altered to the revisions you just performed.  Please note, closed threads can not be edited.  Also, you may only edit your own posts.

To quote other posts, click the QUOTE button on the posting screen (look for the red arrow in the picture below).

A popup screen will appear where you may paste the text being quoted, then simply click OK and the appropriate code will be inputted into your post.

PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE THE POST ABOVE YOURS!  There is no good reason to do this.  As this forum is in a linear format, quoting the post directly above yours only forces people to skip it.  If someone asks a question "How do I..." you do not need to quote that person by typing "Joe asked how do I..."  It is obvious who you are replying to.  Trust us on this one.  It's just annoying.

To link to another website, click the URL button on the posting screen (look for the red arrow in the picture below).

A popup screen will appear where you may type the link, then simply click OK and the appropriate code will be inputted into your post.

At this point do we need to explain how the BOLD, LIST-START, etc buttons work?  Let's hope not.

Member's email addresses, make sure you are logged in and click the small "mail" icon beside the time/date stamp.  You will be taken to a screen with a link to that member's email address.  On most email programs you can simply click on the address and a new mail screen will pop up for you to compose an email to that member.  Some email programs will require you to manually type in the address though. Do note that member's email addresses are blocked from "inactive members".  This helps to protect you from spam and to protect our servers from spam harvesters.  As a result, entering your email address within the body of your post is prohibited.   Attempts around this policy will result in your removal from the forums.  Please be sure and keep your profile email address up to date, because if one of our Moderators or the Admin needs to contact you and your email address is invalid, you will be automatically booted from the forums.  "Inactive members" are defined as follows:  1 post per 30 days is required for all members with a picture.  1 post per 7 days is required for all members without a picture.  Non-members are not permitted to access member emails.  Again, this is to protect our members from spam, and yes we do give preferential treatment to those members who send in their picture.

Your email address may not be included in your post or signature unless it is in the For Sale forum.

To retrieve basic information on a member, click the small "who?" icon beside the time/date stamp.  This will bring up that member's profile information.  All members are encouraged to please fill out their own profile information and keep it up to date.  Do note that your personal information such as phone number or address is not viewable to the members or the public and never will be.  The restrictions to access member profiles are the same as for email addresses in the paragraph above.

To have your member picture appear beside your name, go to this thread regarding member pictures in the Yak forum and follow the directions.  If you do not have a means to scan in a photo, email us and we will provide a USPS address to mail the photo to.

Do note that if you send in a picture of yourself with someone else, that other person(s) WILL be cropped out of the shot.  The purpose of a member picture is to show YOU, not someone you were taken a picture with.  Also, please make sure if your picture has other people in it that you identify which person you are.

To add a picture to your post, (this is not for adding your "member picture" - see above) there are two choices:

Option #1, you may use the "UPLOAD" feature of this website.  For instructions on how this works, simply click the "upload" button in the navigational frame on the left side of the website.  Make absolutely SURE that after you post a picture you go back and PLEASE LOOK AT THE POST YOU JUST MADE.  If you mistyped something in your post, your picture may not be displaying and at that point you can simply use the EDIT feature to correct it.  If after making a few attempts you still cannot get the picture to appear properly, email a moderator for assistance.  Don't forget to include the forum and the name of the thread as well as your full name as it appears on the forums in the email.

Option #2, if you do not have a suitable program to resize a picture to less than 550 pixels wide or a program to convert to .jpg or .gif file types (or if you need another type of file uploaded such as .pdf), you may email the picture to Brad Miller as an attachment.  (Click "contact us" for the email address.)  When submitting a picture in this manner, PLEASE make sure to include the name of the particular forum that the thread is in, the full name of the actual thread and finally, your name so we can find where to place it.  Also, you should type "PICTURE HERE" into your post where you desire the picture to be placed.  Be prepared as this could only take a few minutes to many hours to get your picture up.  The preferred method is to use option #1.

It is important to note that our forum will no longer permit any image links served from off site.  This means you may not upload an image to another webserver and display it on the forums.  Also not permitted is linking to html pages on other servers containing images whether they comply with the self-upload restrictions or not.  (Occasionally the need for a high resolution image is desired.  For these types of situations, you need to email them in so they may be served on a seperate page from the Film-Tech servers.)  Why so stringent about this?  This policy is to preserve all images that are associated with a discussion for future viewing in the archives.

To change your profile, click on the "my profile" link at the top right hand corner of the forum screen.  Then click "view/update profile".  Then you may change anything in your profile and re-submit it to the system.  Members found to be inputting false information or not keeping a full city/state/country in their profile will be removed.

Please note, if you change your email address the system will automatically email you with a new randomly generated password for security reasons.  You can always simply go back into "my profile" and change the password to something you can easily remember.

Please also note that some members may be locked out of their profile from time to time for being a coot.  To date this has only been in effect for one special member.

To change your password to something you can easily remember, follow the instructions above under "to change your profile".

To change your email address in the system, follow the instructions above under "to change your profile".  THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO KEEP UPDATED!   As mentioned above, if one of our Moderators or the Admin needs to contact you and your email address is invalid, you will be automatically booted from the forums.

I am already registered, but I changed my email address and cannot remember my password.  What can I do?  First of all, send us a friendly email regarding the problem.  Remember that it is YOU are the one who made the mistake by forgetting your password or changing your email address without updating it in the system, so please understand you are creating manual lookup work for us by not keeping up with your own login info.

You will need to provide your name and any variations of that name that you may have registered with (Robert, Rob, Bob, etc or any possible initials or middle name or whether there is a Jr or III or something of that nature).  We also need to know any possible email addresses you may have originally signed up with to do the research.

To have your password automatically emailed to you by the system, click on "my password" and follow the prompts.  Your password will be emailed to you within approximately 2 minutes.  Please note that not all email programs check for new emails every minute or two, so it may be necessary to manually force your email program to check for new mail received.

Smileys in posts.  You've probably seen others use smilies before in email messages or other bulletin board posts. Smilies are keyboard characters used to convey an emotion, such as a smile or a frown.  Simply click on the desired smiley as you are typing your post and it will appear.

To add a signature at the bottom of your posts, click on the "my profile" link at the top of any bulletin board page and you will be able to edit or add a signature. Once you have a signature stored, you can choose to include it any post you make by checking the "include signature" box when you create your post. (This is automatically selected.)  You may also change your signature at any time by changing your profile.

Note: please do not ramble on and on in your signature.  Keep it short and sweet or we will remove them.  Also note linking to your website or posting your email address in your signature (or your posts) is prohibited unless you are representing a reputable cinema company, such as John Pytlak and Kodak.

Film Handler statuses are nothing more than fun (and cheezy) member titles that are based purely upon the number of posts that person has made and does not necessarily reflect the actual expertise of the member.  ALL members start out as "Film Handler" and then as they participate and accumulate posts, they turn into "Expert Film Handler" and "Master Film Handler", etc.   Occasionally we will give a specific member a custom title.  This is purely at our discretion.  If you do not have a member picture, don't even consider asking.

Email notification can be activated on any new post, reply or on any existing post you have made.  When making a post there is an "email notification" box near the "submit" button that can be selected.  When checked, the Film-Tech server will automatically send you an email any time a reply is added to that particular thread.  This can also be activated on an existing post where you have participated.  Simply click on the "edit" icon beside the time/date stamp, check the box and re-submit the post to the system.  Likewise, the feature can be turned off at any point by editing the post and un-checking that box, then re-submitting the post to the system.

Searching the forums.  You may search for specific posts based on a word or words found in the posts, user name, date, and particular forum.  You may also search for posts made by a particular member.  Just click on the "search" link at the top of the forum pages.

Cookies.  This bulletin board uses cookies to store the following information: the last time you logged in, your username and password, and your "topic view". These cookies are stored on your browser. Cookies are not used to track your movement or perform any function other than to enhance your use of the forums.  Cookies do however permit members to instantly jump through the legal agreement screen when you remain "logged in" to the forum.  If your browser does not support cookies, or you have not enabled cookies on your browser, many of these time-saving features will not work properly.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO LOG OUT if you are using a public computer!  Otherwise other people can gain access to your account and may post things under your name.  Don't expect for us to be willing to remove things said under your name if you are not responsible enough to log out after using a public computer.

To enter the chat room, you must be a member of the Film-Tech Forums.  If not, please register per the instructions at the register link.  To enter and participate in the chat room simply click on the "chat" link from the navigational menu to your left and enter your name and forum password.  If you are not permitted access, although doubtful, it is possible the coding on your member file has an error on it.  Please email Brad Miller your name and password and request this be checked.  (Click "contact us" for the email address.)

Why can't certain pages within the Film-Tech website be bookmarked?  Simply put, bookmarking is not allowed on Film-Tech.  All notices are put on the front page of the site and with bookmarking enabled, many visitors will miss the new or updated items.  In addition this is for various legal reasons concerning the forum and reviews.  This policy will not be changed.  Please do not ask.

Please make sure you read the RULES page!