Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Source?
   Our self-publishing product is a suite of templates which allow you to build your organization a web page by simply filling in the blanks..

2. What are the benefits of using Source?
   Publishing on the web is a great way to increase awareness of your organization. Sites published through Fayetteville Online are especially visible to your audience because they're linked to other news and information valuable to your community. Fayetteville Online will act as your Virtual host, so there's no need for you to have a any technical knowledge at all! We'll provide the tools you need to get your site up and running.

3. How long does it take to get approved?
   Usually less than a day during the week; sometimes as quickly as an hour. Approved members are notified by e-mail. The Fayetteville Publishing Company reserves the right to verify contact information and deny access if credentials are in doubt.

4. When can I update my page?
   Any time of day or night, from any place where you have access to the World Wide Web. All you need is the username and password you set up when you signed up with Source.

5. How do I get my group's logo to appear on my page?
   You must have an electronic copy of your logo, in either GIF or JPG format. The file must be no larger than 200 pixels in width and 200 pixels in height, and no larger than 16,000 bytes (16k) in file size. Use the "Edit This Page" function. Go to the "Upload Your Graphic / Logo" form and follow the instructions to send the GIF or JPG file from your computer to our server.

6. How much information can I put on this site?
   You can post an unlimited number of scheduled events, but there are size limits for each area of the page. These limits are expressed as numbers of characters; keep in mind that spaces between words should be included in this count.
   Here is the breakdown of how many characters you can put in the various fields:

   • Group Title: 128
   • Description: 768. (Only the first 160 characters, approximately, will show up on search results pages.)
   • News: 20,000 characters. After the first 768 characters, the news section breaks and the rest is displayed on a second news page.
   • Event Title: 160
   • Event Description: 512

    

7. What if my organization already has a web site?
   Many organizations have sites with unchanging information, but want an easy way to maintain current and time-sensitive information. Our newsletter template is perfect for that. You will also want to enter your events into the calendar so the public can find out what your organization has to offer.

8. What about HTML?
   You don't need to know any HTML to use this site. Currently, the site will treat most HTML code as regular text characters. But you do have some HTML options in the News portion of your Source page. Most HTML tags are not supported here. And in the events calendar database, no HTML at all is supported.

   When you edit the News section, you can use these HTML tags to format text, add line breaks and paragraphs, and insert links to other web pages:
     <P> to start new paragraph.
     <BR> to start new line.
     <B> or <I>, with end tag, to <B>boldface</B> or <I>italicize</I>.
     <A HREF> with end tag to insert a link. For example, this:
     <A HREF="http://source.fayettevillenc.com">Source</A>
   will look like this on your web page:   Source.

   Note: Using the P and BR tags is the only way to force line breaks and new paragraphs.

9. Where can I get help?
   You can send us e-mail at community@fayettevillenc.com or leave a voice mail message at 910-323-4848 ext. 430.

10. What's my Source URL (web address)?
    Once you sign up and your organization is approved you will receive the URL for your site in an email. The URL will be in this format: http://source.fayettevillenc.com/XXXX/ (where XXXX is a unique number assigned to your group). You can either publicize this address or simply direct people to http://source.fayettevillenc.com. Tell them to use the keyword search form to find your group's web page.

11. How long will it take until my changes become visible? And is there a limit on how often I can make changes??
    Your changes become visible to the public as soon as you click the "Continue" button at the bottom of the Edit page. And there's no limit to how often you can make changes to your page. In fact we recommend that you update your groups information often (at least once a week).

12. Who else has control of my page?
    Anyone with your username and password can change your page, so be sure to keep them secret. If you lose your username or password, it can be resent to your email address when you try to log in to edit your page. Fayetteville Online reserves the right to edit or remove any posting or an entire site without notice, but is not responsible for monitoring member activities. If you find something offensive in a member's site, please notify us at community@fayettevillenc.com and we will determine action accordingly.

13. What if I forget my username or password for editing pages?
    You can go to your group's page and click on the "Edit this page" link. Then click on the "recall" button. The username and password will be e-mailed to the contact for your group. These are case-sensitive, so be sure you enter capital and lower-case letters correctly.

14. How is the "Contact Information" used?
    If someone visiting your page has a question for your group, they need to be able to contact you by telephone or e-mail. Your e-mail address is especially important: The administrators of Source use your e-mail address to keep you informed about improvements and other developments that affect Source members. Make sure your e-mail address is correct -- check for typos!

15. How can I send e-mail to members and other people interested in my organization?
    Invite members and others to sign your Guest Book, where they add their names and e-mail addresses. You yourself can add guestbook entries for your friends, if you know their e-mail addresses. You can send out a newsletter, bulletin or other e-message to every address in your Guest Book. Go to the "Administrative Functions" page by clicking on "Edit This Page" and entering your password. Click on "Send E-mail to your Guests." It will be sent out within minutes, and you'll receive e-mail confirmation of its delivery.

16. How do I view the names in my group's guestbook?
    Go to the "Administrative Functions" and choose "Export Guest Records." If there are entries in your guestbook, they will be displayed in your browser. To save the contents into a file, click on the FILE tab at the top of your browser. Then select Save File or Save As. Give the file a name and select "Plain Text (*.txt) as the file type. Note the directory in which you are saving the file.

17. What do the "Organization Hit Counts" measure? Do we know how frequently someone learns about our group by searching the groups and calendar databases?
    The answer to the second question is No. Many people learn about a group or a scheduled event by searching the databases from the Source home page. This search activity is not measured at this time. However, if someone clicks to your group's page from the search query results, this visit to your page is measured, as explained below.
    Monthly page views are organized so you can see how many visits each section of your site receives:

    • Main page views reflect how many times someone has visited your group's main page.
    • Contact page views reflect visitors to your main page who click on "Contact us."
    • Guestbook hits register when a visitor clicks on "Sign guestbook" from your main page. These are the only categories affected by public users.
    • Authorized hits show how often someone with your group's password has entered the administrative portion of your site -- including either your group's contact person or an administrator with Fayetteville Online.
    • The Counter category tracks the times someone has selected "Organization Hit Counters" from the page editor.
    • All is a total of hits received in all these categories.

     

18. Can my group post photos on our Source page?
    Fayetteville Online allows your group to create photo albums. All you need to do is click on the "Edit this page" link. Once you log in, click on "Edit PhotoAlbums." Once you are on the PhotoAlbums Editor page you can either create a new photo album or edit an existing album.
    • To create a new album:
      Click on the "Add a New Photo Collection" link. You will then have a form that says "Attributes." Enter a "Title" for the album. The "Description" box, which is also on that page, is where you should enter the text you want to show up under the Album Title on your main Source page. It should be a short sentence or two describing the photos that are included in that particular album (i.e., You may want to name an album "Christmas Party" and describe it as, "These are pictures taken at our organization's December 15th Christmas party.") Once you create an album, it will automatically send your browser to the "Edit PhotoAlbums" page, which is described below.
    • To edit an existing album:
      Click on "Edit PhotoAlbums" in the PhotoAlbum Editor page (if you just created a new album, you will automatically be sent there) . Choose the album you want to edit. Then make the changes needed. You can add photos to an album, edit an existing photo, or move the position of a photo in the album.
    Organizations can create 5 albums and each album can contain up to 50 pictures. Photos must be in either .gif or .jpg formats (jpgs must be "standardized," or "baseline." "Progressive" jpgs will not be viewable) . Your pictures can be no larger than 400 pixels wide by 500 pixels high, must be 72 dpi and cannot be larger than 81,920 bytes.
    Please be aware that any pictures you post should be the property of your group, or else you should have written permission to duplicate them. It is illegal to copy pictures from other sources, including other Internet sites, and republish them without the express written consent of the copyright holder.

19. Do you have any tips on making the most of Source?
    Use Source as a promotional tool for attracting prospective members, etc. by taking advantage of being located in the Fayetteville/Cape Fear's best and largest online database for local community groups.

    • Post upcoming events for members as well as the general public for increased participation .
    • Update frequently (we suggest once a week as a minimum).
    • Inform your members about this resource (talk about it in your newsletters).
    • Place the link source.fayettevillenc.com on your group's Web site for your members to easily access the information you post on Source.
    • Use Source for raising awareness of your group in the community and as a tool for recruiting prospective members.
    • Use the automatic update feature built into Source for those regularly scheduled weekly/monthly meetings and events (however, be sure to keep these automatic updates current).
    • Remember to list your contact information and keep it updated so prospective members can reach your organization for further information.
    • E-mail your most important events that you would like featured on the NetTown web site. Normally, a 2-week lead time before the event(s) is necessary.

 

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