Help
Twilighted FAQ
Why can't I login?
Very Important: Have you registered for both sides of the site? The ARCHIVE and the FORUM are separate sites and require separate registration. You can use the same username in both places if it is available, but you have to register twice.
Story Archives to read the stories - www.twilighted.net
Link for registration: http://twilighted.net/user.php?action=register
Forums a place to discuss stories - www.twilighted.net/forum/
Link for registration: http://www.twilighted.net/forum/ucp.php?mode=register
Unless the site is completely down or there are no members in the "Who's Online" section, login issues will be on your end. The authentication database is an all or nothing transaction. Meaning, it either works for everyone or it doesn't.
Since the problem is on your end, there is nothing we can really do on our end to solve your issue. Please do not email us about it. As much as we wish we could, we can't solve an issue on your computer.
However, we would like to offer some tips that may help you solve your issue. There are several contributing factors that could cause this (but not limited to these user-end issues):
IMPORTANT: If you are copying and pasting your password in, please make sure there is no space in front of or after the password text. It is very easy to inadvertently copy a space in front of or after the text. This is a very common occurrence that will prevent a successful log in.
Other possible reasons:
1. Your browser needs to be reloaded.
2. Your computer needs to be rebooted
3. You're logging in with your forum User ID and Password at the archive (stories) login page (i.e., the Front Page) when you should be using your archive credentials and vice versa (you need to register separately for the forums!).
4. You're typing in the wrong password (it's case sensitive)
5. Your browser does not accept cookies, 1st or 3rd party cookies.
Twilighted keeps logging me out!
Unfortunately, if you are getting logged out, this has to do with your computer and the security settings of your browser. Sometimes the situation can be resolved by assuring that you click the "Remember Me" box when signing in. You should also allow your browser to remember your password.
How do I change my pen name? How do I delete my account? How do I contact the administrators?
Log into your account and click the "CONTACT US" button on the top menu. Use the form there to send in your request so we can verify that the account is yours to change.
How do I change my password?
To change your password, click on Edit Bio and scroll all the way down.
I forgot my password! What do I do now?
To recover a lost password, click here and enter the email address with which you registered. Your password will be sent to you shortly. IF YOU HAVE AN EMAIL ACCOUNT FROM ONE OF THE FOLLOWING DOMAINS, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE EMAIL FROM TWILIGHTED--THESE DOMAINS TREAT EMAIL FROM TWILIGHTED AS SPAM AND DO NOT EVEN FORWARD IT TO YOUR SPAM FOLDER: att.net, sbcglobal.net, earthlink.net, bellsouth.net, pacbell.net, and many .edu domains. We are working with these service providers and our hosting service to remove these blocks, but the easiest fix is to create an email account with an unaffected, free service, such as gmail or hotmail, and re-register with that.
How do I submit stories?
If you have not already done so, please register for an account. Once you've logged in, click on Account Information and choose Add Story. The form presented there will allow you to submit your story.
What kinds of stories are allowed?
Please see our Submission Rules.
What are the ratings used on the site?
Please see our Ratings Guidelines in the Submission Rules.
What are the story classifications?
Stories are classified by categories, characters, and ratings.
I uploaded my story but I don't see it!
It goes into the validation queue first, where one of our validation betas will read it and decide whether or not to accept it based on quality (grammar, spelling, punctuation, writing style, plot, etc.). It can take two to four weeks before it gets approved or denied. You will receive an email at that time.
When I upload my story, the formatting disappears. What should I do?
Go to Account Info, then click on "Edit Preferences". When that comes up check the box next to: Using the tinyMCE WYSWYG editor. This will give you pretty little Word processing windows in place of every text box. In Word, select all of the text you want to post, then copy it. When you go to add a new story/chapter, look under the story text box for a button that looks like a clipboard with the letter "W" on it. If you hover over that button, it is called, "Paste from Word."Click this button and everything should paste perfectly. This allows you to keep all of your formatting. Pressing CTRL-V does not. Always preview your story before submitting to ensure the formatting is intact.
How long will it take to get the FIRST chapter of my NEW story validated?
On most days, we have over 400 chapters in the queue and it's at least a two to four-week wait to get a new story accepted and validated on the site. Once your story is accepted, the subsequent chapters will be validated much quicker, anywhere from 1-8 days depending on which beta you work with and her availability at any given time to validate. Betas work on a volunteer basis, and in addition to their beta duties, they have work, school, families, etc. that require their time and attention as well.
What is a Beta?
A beta reader (also spelled betareader, or shortened to beta) is a person who reads a written work with the intention of interacting with the author to improve grammar, spelling and overall readability prior to its public release. In essence, it is what the editor's responsibility is in the book publishing industry.
The author or writer, who can be referred to as the alpha reader, may use several "betas" prior to publication. The term "beta" is an appropriation from the software industry which uses the terms "alpha" and "beta" for software that are internal works in progress, and publicly released tests, respectively (though a "beta" version may still be tested internally). While the usage of both the concept and the term is strongest amongst fan fiction writers, it is growing in popularity with novelists, to the point where some have thanked their beta readers (sometimes even referring to them as such) in their acknowledgments. A beta reader, who may or may not be more personally known to the author, can serve as proofreader of spelling and grammar errors, or as a traditional editor, working on the "flow" of prose. In fiction, the beta might highlight plot holes or problems with continuity, characterization, or believability; in both fiction and nonfiction, the beta might also assist the author with fact-checking.
What is a Twilighted Beta?
A Twilighted Beta is very different. "Twilighted Beta" is a staff position and the main responsibility of a Twilighted Beta is to read the stories that are uploaded into the validation queue. If the story meets our high standards of excellence, you will receive an email letting you know that it was approved for publication on our site. If not, you will receive an email stating it was rejected.
What do Twilighted Betas do?
Twilighted Betas serve as jurors first and foremost, deciding on whether or not submissions meet our standards for quality and making minimal corrections/suggestions for improvement. They do not typically fulfill the role of a conventional beta with in-depth advice and/or story assistance. Twilighted Betas read every chapter of every story that is submitted. If a chapter has more ten errors per 1,000 words, the Twilighted Beta assigned to that story can reject the chapter and provide feedback and suggestions for changes, which the author will need to make before resubmitting the chapter.
How can I become a Twilighted Beta?
In order to find some additional qualified betas to help us validate stories submitted to Twilighted, we have developed a "Beta Test." If you are interested in becoming a VOLUNTEER Twilighted Validation Beta, please complete the form located on the forum in the BETAS/CRITIQUE PARTNERS section here.
http://www.twilighted.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=4709
Applicants must be:
1. 22 years or older
2. An accomplished writer with near error free submissions to Twilighted, or evidence of distinguished writing achievement in another arena
3. A member in good standing on the Twilighted forum
4. Able to commit at least 4-6 hours per week to beta work
Why did you pull my favorite story?
It's extremely rare for Twilighted to remove a story. We only remove stories if there is inappropriate content in them, or if they have been plagiarized. Most likely, if a story has been removed, it has been removed by the author.
You can contact the author through their author profile for further information with regard to why they have decided to remove their story. Please remember to be respectful with the author's decision.
If you cannot remember the author's name, you can try to find out what has happened to the story by visiting the "Find a Fic" thread on the forums.
I am not receiving any emails from Twilighted!
We are having some issues with some domains. It seems that when we migrated our server, we got a new IP address. Some of the domains are flagging the site's emails as spam before they even get sent to you. Until the domains accept the site as not spam, there is nothing to be done at the moment. We are working with our host provider to rectify this issue.
Currently there are issues with yahoo, bellsouth.net, att.net, earthlink.net, sbcglobal.net and quite a few of the University institutions. The best way to fix this is to create a free email account with gmail or hotmail and use that for Twilighted-these service provide reliable delivery of messages from Twilighted.
Can I change the color scheme of Twilighted?
You do have two other options for viewing stories on Twilighted.
Option 1:
Make sure you have the Table of Contents enabled first by going to the Account Info area of the archive and selecting "Edit Preferences," then check the box next to "Display table of contents for stories" and click "Submit."
Then when you go to the main page for a story (by clicking on its title), there is a little printer icon at the top right. It is right next to the number of reviews and the star rating for the story.
If you click on that printer icon, it will bring up another window that gives you the entire story in black text on a white background.
Option 2:
1. Login
2. Go to "Account Info"
3. Go to "Edit Preferences."
4. Under "Skin," select "White"
5. Click "Submit."
6. To change it back, you need to clear your cache (remove all cookies) while you are on that edit preferences screen, then close your browser, reopen it and go back to the edit preferences screen-select the "Twilighted" option under "skin" and click "submit."
How do I add a story/author to my favorites?
Log in to the story archive, then under "ACCOUNT INFO," click on "Edit Preferences." Make sure the "Contact When Favorites Are Updated" box is checked. Then, on the stories that you wish to favorite, under the summary you will see "Add Story to Favorites" and "Add Author to Favorites." Click on the one you want and it will open a new window. Scroll down and just beneath the summary, you will see the "Add Story to Favorites" and "Add Author to Favorites" (in red font) again. There is a white comment box with a "submit" button under that. Click submit and it will be saved to your favorites.
How do I remove a story from my favorites?
1. Click "Account Info" under the Twilighted banner. This will be the second from left option in white letters.
2. Click "Manage My Favorites"
3. Find the story you wish to remove from your list, and under the summary (and banner if one is present) you will see :
Categories: Eclipse Characters: Bella, Edward, Jacob
Challenges:
Series: None
Chapters: 1 Completed: Yes Word count: 9876
Options: Edit | Remove Favorite
4. Click Remove Favorite and it should be removed from your list.
How do I receive email alerts for the stories and authors I have favorited?
Go to the "Account Info" tab, then "Edit Profile." There is a box that needs to be checked off to receive an email alerts.
How do I load a banner?
HOW TO LOAD A BANNER ON THE FORUMS
- You must save the image to your computer, then upload the image to an external image hosting site such as tinypic or photobucket
- Copy the IMG link that is created from your upload. Should be something like this: [img]the%20link[/img]
- Paste into your "signature" in the User Control Panel under the Profile tab.
HOW TO LOAD A BANNER ON THE STORY ARCHIVE
-You must save the image to your computer, then upload the image to an external image hosting site such as tinypic or photobucket
- Copy the URL link that is created from your upload.
- Go to the main page of your story where you "edit" the summary
- In the "summary" click on the little "tree" icon and a new window will pop up
- Paste the link to your banner under the "Image URL" using the unique web address of the image
- Click "insert" and the banner should show up in the summary window now.
The banners in the FORUM are too large!
We do not censor or limit the bandwidth of the signatures/banners used unless it's material we've deemed as having inappropriate content. You can turn off the banner settings in your forum profile. There is a checkbox in the profile settings.
How do I get rid of the white boxes that appear in my chapter when I upload it?
Copy and paste the entire chapter from the preview page onto a Word doc, then when you go into the edit chapter page, click the Word icon on the toolbar for the Story Text box, then press CTRL-V to paste the chapter onto the clipboard. Click Insert, and the chapter should appear in the Story Text box. Proceed to Add Chapter like you would normally do when adding a chapter. The white highlighting should be gone.
Where can I find Twilight iFic podcasts?
http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/ific/id311584077
Captcha image not loading/there is no alphanumeric image to type in when I register on the forum.
If you are using AOL, switch to a different browser. If it still does not work, there is a Symantec client firewall that blocks captcha images--if you disable it, (should be an icon in the system tray), the image will show up.