Browse All Articles > EE Help -- Searchable Wik-EE
This article contains the text of all of the scattered EE Help pages, combined into one easy-to-search page. Press Ctrl+F
At the end of the article are member-added Wik-EE type entries that will, I hope contain any keywords/Search Terms (and descriptive help about those terms). Page Editors and Moderators are invited to add to the end of this article.
All Members: You are invited to post comments that include any keywords for which you searched but found nothing useful. Page Editors will monitor these comments and add WikEE text to this Article so that will never happen again.
This is a link to the official EE Help System: https://www.experts-exchange.com/help.jsp
Here is a list of EE Help topics: http://www.ee-stuff.com/help.php
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In the Expert Skin, the top four quadrants of the zone landing pages can be collapsed in order to move the Questions Awaiting Answer tab further up the page and help you answer questions faster. The Expert Skin also allows you to choose how many Questions Awaiting Answer you want to see on one page.
Learn more about Experts Exchange.
See a list of Community Support zones.
As a premium Service Member, you can enjoy features on our site that other members cannot.
These features include:
Sign up for a Premium Services membership today.
To maintain Expert status, receive 3,000 Expert points on a monthly basis by answering questions and/or writing articles.
As an Expert you can browse our site ad-free, create your own knowledgebase of useful solutions to use throughout your career, build lasting relationships and exchange knowledge with other worldwide technology Experts.
Learn more about how to become an Expert
See more information on how to create a filter.
It is important to work with the asker of a question to arrive at a solution. A list of guidelines helps Experts efficiently answer questions.
As an expert, if you run into issues with an asker that needs to be resolved by a third party, you can post a question in any of the Community Support zones or contact a Moderator for help.
We offer a number of convenient price plans for Corporate Accounts.
See Corporate Account Pricing for details.
- Read more information on creating a filter.
- Read more information on becoming an Expert and answering questions.
Below the text of any question is the Add To Knowledgebase button. You can add any notes regarding the question (doing so is not required however), and they are searchable. There is no limit to the number of questions you can add.
You can look at your question, comment and answer history by looking at your profile.
If you are logged in and can not see your billing history, please Contact Us.
If you go another 12 hours without a response, please use the Request Attention link, and the Moderators will assist you.
For more information, please see the section on Neglected Questions.
You can also cancel by contacting us or by following this link.
NOTE: When you cancel your Premium Services, you will still have use of them through the remainder of your billing cycle. Experts Exchange does not offer refunds.
You can also learn more about Corporate Accounts and review pricing.
Updating Expiration Date and CSC on Credit Card:
For Corporate Accounts, Experts Exchange currently accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Checks and Purchase Orders as forms of payment.
Experts Exchange is not able to accept money orders, Western Union payments or telex transfers.
NOTE: All memberships are recurring; that means that at the end of the billing cycle, we will attempt to process your membership using the form of payment you have on file with us. Your subscription does not automatically expire; you must cancel it.
You are able to sign up for a regular Premium Service membership or a Corporate Account membership via the sign up pages.
For more information, see the Free Trial Agreement.
You can cancel your account at any time during the free trial and still have full Premium Service until your free trial ends.
You are also able to sign up for an account that lets you earn your membership by answering questions. This membership does not require any credit card or billing information and you are able to browse Experts Exchange and participate in questions. You are initially given 125 question points to ask a question and you earn five question points per day.
With the free trial you have unlimited questions points and are able to search Experts Exchange and use all Premium Service features.
See: https://www.experts-exchange.com/help.jsp?hi=46
Depending whether you are a free administrator or a paid administrator you will reach the Corporate Administration page differently.
Depending whether you are a free administrator or a paid administrator you will reach the Corporate Administration page differently.
Depending whether you are a free administrator or a paid administrator you will reach the Corporate Administration page differently.
Depending whether you are a free administrator or a paid administrator you will reach the Corporate Administration page differently.
Checks and Purchase Orders:
As of December 11th, 2008 Experts Exchange accepts checks and purchase orders for Corporate Accounts only. To pay for your Corporate Account via check or purchase Contact Us via email or by phone at (805) 787-0603 ext. 258.
At this time, Experts Exchange does not accept money orders, Western Union payments or Telex transfers. If you would like to pay for your Corporate Account via any of these methods, please contact us and express your interest in them. We will inform you of changes to our accepted payment methods by email.
Depending on whether you are a Free Administrator or a Paid Administrator you will reach the Corporate Administration page differently.
If you are a Free Administrator simply login to your account and you will be redirected to the Corporate Administration Page.
If you are a Paid Administrator simply login to your account and click on the Edit hyperlink next to My Profile within the My Account box located on the right hand side of your homepage.
You will be redirected to the Account Info page where you can update your email address. Make sure to click the blue Update button located to complete the process of updating your email address. Individual license emails can only be edited by that user. Please direct them here for more information.
If you are having trouble changing your email, please contact us to further assist you.
Depending whether you are a free administrator or a paid administrator you will reach the Corporate Administration page differently.
Depending whether you are a free administrator or a paid administrator you will reach the Corporate Administration page differently.
The Edit hyperlink will take you to a page that allows you to edit your account information. Once you have gotten past the verify password page you will find tabs titled:
My Preferences
Password; add, change or delete email addresses; newsletter and marketing emails; HTML or text emails; time zone; default skin and search; and whether you want to see posted images as thumbnails or links.
My Profile
Name; age; gender (for your avatar on the Premium skin); preferred language; country; personal profile (visible to membership); optional information about your expertise, system, employment background, education, skills and accomplishments, and hobbies and interests.
Billing Info
This tab has two additional tabs and lists all of your billing information. On the Credit Card Information tab, you will see the last four digits of the current card being charged, information about your renewal date, receipt information, and the credit cards you have on file. On the Purchase History tab you will see a list of all of your previous purchases and you are able to print these receipts
For Experts (appears only if you have answered a question)
Clicking View will take you to your profile which shows your public information, your question, comment and answer history, the certificates and other awards you have earned, and links to your Member Rank and Zone Rank.
Questions you comment in are shown as Commented unless you are awarded points; they are then moved to your Answered questions list.
If your email address is not verified you will not be able to post any questions or comments on Experts Exchange.
Your email address is the only form of communication you have with Experts Exchange. You will receive all account and billing notifications, question alerts (comments/solutions posted, new questions asked, solutions accepted, etc.) and any other information Experts Exchange needs to send to you via email.
NOTE: Please keep your email address up to date so Experts Exchange can communicate any account or questions notifications with you.
See information on adding, editing and deleting your email.
Your account goes into a pending/locked status if Experts Exchange can not process your billing information. Usually, this happens if your credit card is expired or has been declined. Contact Us for further assistance.
Pending Qualified Expert Account
Your Premium Services have been suspended because you have not maintained the required 3,000 Expert points per month. You do have a one-month grace period and when that expires your Premium Services will be suspended. Once you earn your 3,000 points within the current month you re-qualify for your free Premium Service.
Suspended Account
If your account has been suspended, you will not be able to log in. Should your account be suspended, you will receive a notification; contact the Moderator who posted the notification for information on how to get your account back in good standing..
If you have discarded the email, you can also unsubscribe by editing your profile.
As you go through each of the criteria -- none are required -- you use the Update button for the query. Once you are done with all the options click on the Submit button.
When you create a filter, you are asked to name the filter, whether or not you want to receive the notifications, and how you want to receive them (immediately, hourly or daily). You can also "run" the filter at any time and see the list of open questions that meet your filter's criteria. There is no limit to the number of filters you can create.
A note about the hourly summary: Every night, Experts Exchange reindexes the stored filters and new questions, which takes nominally four hours. During that time, the hourly notifications are not sent; however, the new questions will appear on your list.
See more information on Ranks and Certificates.
Member Rank Member Rank is calculated in the three ways listed below. When you earn a Member Rank you will not receive a certificate badge, printable certificate, custom signature or Expert Rank Shirt.
Zone Rank Zone Rank is calculated in the three ways listed below. When you earn a Question Zone Rank or an Article Zone Rank you will be notified via email, and you will receive a certificate badge, a printable certificate, a custom signature and an Expert Rank Shirt.
Certificates You will receive a certificate when you earn a Question Zone Rank or an Article Zone Rank. For all Certificates you will receive a certificate badge on your Profile, a printable certificate, a custom signature and an Expert Rank Shirt in the For Experts tab found under Edit your Account.
See more information on Ranks & Certificates or Contact Us if you have more questions about points and awards.
If you post a solution to a Neglected Question and your solution is accepted, you will receive 200 point bonus before the grade multiplier is applied.
Examples
(50 point question + 200 bonus points) x "A" Grade (4) = 1,000
(500 point question + 200 bonus points) x "A" Grade (4) = 2,800
Note: The total of the point splits must equal the original amount you assigned to the question, and no comment can receive fewer than 20 points. The Comment that was posted first is the Accepted Solution, and the rest of the comments are Assisted Solutions.
Step 1: Question Title and Tags/Related Terms
This is the most important step in getting an answer to your question. Keep your title short and direct; include tags that are specific. You can also enter pertinent information about your system.
Step 2: Questions Description and Details
This is where you add the details of your question. You want to include enough detail to describe your problem, but not any extraneous detail. If you have tried solutions, list that. You can add images and code to your question.
Step 3: Select One or More Zones
The Wizard will suggest zones for you, but you are able to select or deselect any of them. It is a rare question that cannot be posted in at least two zones; most can be posted in three. Try to be specific, but being too specific can reduce the exposure your question gets, so always take advantage of being able to post in three zones.
Step 4: Assign Points
Points are your advertising; the more points you assign, the more likely you are to get a quick response. Points are not the reward you give for your answer. For example, if you ask how to do something, and an Expert tells you that you can't, that's the answer, and all of the points should be awarded, even if you don't like the answer
There are two versions of the wizard -- the Premium version that goes through the four steps on four pages, with a lot of explanation, and the Expert version that has all of the steps on one page.
If you feel like you need some help please see our Question Tips.
You have not verified your email address.
A verification email was sent to the address you used when you registered. If you have not followed the instructions to verify it, the registration process has not been completed. Contact us and we will help you resolve the issue.
You are not logged in.
Look in the upper right corner of the browser window. If you are not logged into the site, you cannot ask a question.
You do not have enough points.
If you do not have the Premium Services, the points for your question come from your Available Points. If you do not have enough, you can buy more points or you can upgrade your membership.
You have abandoned questions.
If you have open questions for which no comments have been posted for at least 14 days, they are considered "abandoned", and you will not be able to ask new questions (except in Community Support) until you either comment in or close your abandoned questions.
Your account is suspended or locked.
This can occur when your Premium Services subscription has expired and your credit card is declined. It can also occur if you have violated the Membership Agreement. Please contact us to resolve the issue.</DL>
The Moderators may take some actions, like adding to or changing the zones your question is asked in; that also sends a notice to the Designated Experts. They may also offer you some advice regarding your question; this is solely to help you get the answer you need.
Please remember that all of the Experts are volunteers, so sometimes they have real life issues that arise. They are not paid for answering questions; they earn certificates, T-shirts for those certificates and their membership to Experts Exchange. The most important reason for them being here and participating is because they enjoy being here and helping people.
A note about zones: There are about 970 Zones at Experts Exchange; the most important part of getting your question answered is asking it in the right Zone. For example, you could ask your Microsoft Access question in the Databases Zone, but you will get better results if you ask it in the Access Zone. See a complete list of all of the zones here.
**Note: The Community Support Zone is not for posting technical questions. If you post a technical question in one of these Zones a Moderator will advise you to repost and will close your question automatically.
Giving a higher grade has no impact on your Available Points.
The correct answer to some questions is "You can't do that."
Sometimes, you will get an answer that isn't what you want to read, but it still may be the correct answer, and you should award points to the Expert that gave you that answer.
Accept an Expert's comment as the solution
If an Expert has given you the solution to your question, or has led you to the solution, select this option.
Accept multiple solutions
If several Experts collaborated to provide a solution, use this option and split the points among them.
Accept your own comment as the solution
If you solved your problem with no assistance from any Expert, post your solution and then click the Accept As Solution button in your own comment. Your points are automatically refunded.
Accept your own comment, and award points to Experts for their assistance
If you answered your own question, but wish to award points to Experts for their attempts to help, use this option.
Delete your question
If you are not getting the kinds of responses that will lead to a solution, you should consider deleting your question and trying again. The Delete Question button is located near the text of your original post.
If you are not certain which selection to make, click the Request Attention button, and the Moderators will help you with the proper choice.
If someone disagrees, s/he will click the Object button. That causes a request for review to be placed in the Community Support zone, and the Moderators will work to resolve the issue.
If your question goes 24 hours, you can use the Request Attention button to ask the Moderators for more help.
The AutoDeleter
The AutoDeleter is an automated process that finds questions more than three weeks old that have had no responses and your points are refunded automatically. If your problem still exists, you can still see your question in your Question History.
Cleanup
The Cleanup team is a group of volunteer Experts that examines questions that have been abandoned and makes recommendations regarding them. If your question has gone three weeks without a comment and has no potential answer, the Moderators will usually delete it.
You requested deletion
If you clicked the Delete Question link, and no one objected, your question is automatically deleted.
Your question violated Experts Exchange Guidelines
Some of the common examples of inappropriate questions are:
There are two ways to answer questions, generally speaking. The more efficient way is to create a filter that includes the criteria for the questions you want to answer.
You may also visit the All Topics page, and find the zones you are interested in. You can browse to the landing page for each zone, and you will see a list of open questions.
Master: 50,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
Guru: 150,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
Wizard: 300,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
Sage: 500,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
Genius: 1,000,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
Savant: 10,000,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
Elite: 25,000,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
Technocrat: 50,000,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
Legend: 100,000,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
For more information on rankings, visit the Ranks and Certifications page. Experts Exchange is currently awarding shirts for any certificate earned; to redeem a shirt, click Edit in your profile, then click the For Experts button, and then click the Shirts button. They can take up to eight weeks to deliver in the US, so please be patient.
Understand the question: Take the time to clarify what the user is trying to find out.
Understand the author's goal: Technology can be daunting to a new user; he or she may be trying to do something in a very complicated way, when a very simple solution is available.
Understand the author's level of expertise: Occasionally, you'll find that your technically perfect answer gets overlooked in favor of the simple, less-correct solution. The reason: Your solution was too complex for the user's technical know-how.
Keep your answers clear: Keep your comments to the point and clear; make sure your code is clean and free of extraneous detail. If you use a link, make sure it is a good one, and do not copy and paste a solution from someone else's site; there are laws regarding plagiarism, and most websites have terms of service regarding the use of their original material. Avoid using too many acronyms, and never use IM, chat, or "l337"-speak.
Use common sense: Changing a post a little bit and then posting it as a completely new solution, or repeating a previous post word for word is rude. If you have something new to contribute or you can expand or add to a previous comment, then make sure you give credit where it is due.
Read previous posts before commenting: It is important to read the entire thread so that you know the current situation. That will keep you from posting a duplicate answer or one that has already been shown not to work. If you basically agree with another comment but have something more to add, remember to give credit for the original suggestion -- mention that Expert by name -- in your post.
Be professional: Treat the asker and your colleagues as professionals. Check your ego and your attitude at the door; rudeness, derogatory comments, and sarcastic remarks are uncalled for and unnecessary.
Be prepared to follow up: Be prepared to give follow-up information and assistance to the asker. Abandoning a user in mid-question is almost worse than having the question abandoned by the asker.
Patience is a virtue: Frequently, an asker is under some time pressure, and needs an answer quickly; you won't help the situation by being impatient with him. Give him your attention; offer the best workaround you can if there is no direct solution.
Avoid criticizing: There's nothing to be gained by criticizing another Member when disagreeing with his/her suggestions. Don't take a critical comment personally; stay focused on the object -- solving the asker's problem.
Smile: Presentation counts. Sometimes it's not just the solution, but how the solution is presented. Stay positive with the user; make him/her feel like the two of you will solve the problem.
Test your solution when possible: Take the time to test your code to ensure that it works; you'll come across as a professional, and it will keep the thread a lot cleaner.
Below the box is another one titled Filter Properties Query. It shows the filter as it is being created. The eight tabs are:
You can set your filter to send you alerts for each question as it is asked, for hourly digests, or for daily digest. You can also select to have no alerts sent to you.
You can create as many filters as you need; when you want to see the filter results on the page, simply Run the filter. To change the parameters, click Edit.
If the Asker is trying to close or delete his question, then you should click the Object button, and clearly explain why you believe your comment should be selected as the Answer. The Moderators will be notified, and will work to resolve the situation.
As a general rule, an Article describes a problem, details a solution, and summarizes the circumstances in which the problem occurs and the solution resolves it. Most Articles are between 300 and 600 words long, consisting of material that is originally written by the author.
Before you write and submit your article, please read the following:
Articles guidelines
Article FAQs
Article Tips
You should first take a look at the section of the Articles Guidelines on Using the System. You should also write your Article in a text editor, rather than a word processor; word processors tend to insert special characters that might not render correctly.
Once you have submitted your Article, it will be reviewed by a Page Editor; if that doesn't happen within 48 hours, your article will be published automatically.
Your article may also be reviewed for the correct use of language, for spelling, grammar and so on.
When your article is being reviewed, you will receive notifications that the Page Editor has posted. It is in your interest to respond; their suggestions will help make your article better -- and until they are satisfied, your article will not be published.
Editor's Choice articles are the cream of the crop. No fewer than five Page Editors' approval is required for an article to be chosen, and the designation is reserved for only those articles that are exemplary. If your article is selected as an Editor's Choice, you will receive an additional 5,000 points.
If your article receives a Yes, this article was helpful vote, you receive 50 points. If it receives 10 Yes votes, you receive a bonus of 500 points and your article is designated a Community Pick.
If your article is designated a Community Pick by a Page Editor, you receive 500 points.
If your article is designated EE-Approved by a Page Editor, you receive another 4,000 points.
If your article is selected as an Editor's Choice, you receive another 5,000 points.
Contact one of the Zone Advisors for more information.
The article should describe the problem, then describe the solution to the problem, and finally, summarize the circumstances where one might encounter the problem.
Note: If you are posting a "Tips and Tricks" article, you should consider at least two or three related items in one article. For instance, a single Tip that takes 75 words to write up does not meet the publishing guidelines.
There are two ways to become a Designated Expert: earn a Guru certificate in a zone, or petition the Moderators for assignment. By earning a Guru certificate, you are automatically designated in that zone and will receive email notification for Neglected Questions.
If you have received a notification saying you are a Designated Expert and would like to add yourself to other zones or remove yourself from the assigned zones:
If you have any questions or would like to be removed from the Designated Expert
program, please contact the Moderators by posting in the Community Support zone.
Moderators may want to discuss with some members a dispute in posting styles.
If you receive an invitation, please visit the thread and participate as quickly and candidly as possible.
Experts Exchange's system does scan files, so zipping a file that is not permitted will still result in an error message if you try to upload it.
Its features include:
om as an accepted email address.
e.com. There is an archive of past newsletters here.
The Newsletter was redesigned in late 2008 and is completely compliant with Microsoft Outlook 2003 and 2007, GMail and most other email clients. Feel free to send us your critiques, or sign up to receive the newsletter if you are not currently getting it.
The names of the people who are following you, and those you are following are shown in your profile. You can also block people who are following you.
The most recent activities of the people you are following are shown in a list on the home page, and it can be filtered for individual members.
Community Support: This is where the Moderators live. You will get assistance here regarding questions, answers and other members. If you click the Request Attention button in any question, your request is posted here automatically.
New To EE: This zone is where new members can get more detailed advice about things like formulating your question, how to grade answers, and what zones to select.
Announcements: Information about new features and changes to Experts Exchange are posted here.
New Topics: In this zone, you can request new zones for addition to the Experts Exchange zone list.
Suggestions: Here you can request new features, or improvements to existing features at Experts Exchange.
EE Bugs: This zone is for reporting bugs with the Experts Exchange site.
Expert Input: Members use this zone to discuss policies and procedures at Experts Exchange.
Feedback: If there is an issue you wish to report to Experts Exchange that cannot be resolved by posting in one of the other zones, please post your issue here.
The Request Attention button automatically posts in the Community Support zone.
The Moderators' primary function is to respond to and resolve questions in the Community Support Zone. If you are aware of a problem, or need help in a question, the Community Support zone team will provide help for the following:
Note: With the exception of the Expert Input Zone, comments are limited to the person asking the question and authorized personnel. Comments made by others will be deleted.
If you need to contact an Admin or Moderator, their email addresses are username@experts-exchange.com. The Moderator team includes:
A list of Site Administrators is here.
You can reach Experts Exchange Customer Service by calling us at 805-787-0603 or by Contacting Us using our Contact Us form.
Customer Service Hours are 8 AM to 5 PM (PST) Monday through Friday.
For more information about becoming a Cleanup Volunteer, contact AnnieMod: AnnieMod "at" experts-exchange.com.
A related issue is the posting of email addresses in questions (if you want to post your email address in your profile, that is allowed.) The only people at Experts Exchange who have access to your email address are the office staff and the Administrators -- the Moderators and Zone Advisors do NOT have access to it. By posting your email address, you are subject to receiving email from anyone. The Moderators and Zone Advisors will automatically remove email addresses from questions.
When asking a question, if it is a clear-cut violation of the member agreement concerning the defeating of security of networks or defeating the licensing of software then the question will be deleted, and the violation will be noted in your profile. If the question is borderline or if it is not clear that your intent is innocent, a Moderator or Zone Advisor may request clarification.
If you are an Expert and you see a question that is either a clear cut or borderline violation, please report it using the Request Attention button. Please explain why you think a question is in violation, but also consider if the nature of the question could be innocent.
If you feel you are on the receiving end of improper behavior please report it using the Request Attention button found at the bottom of the body of the question.
Moderators will contact you regarding any question that appears to be an attempt at point passing or if they believe that point passing has already occurred. Additionally, other actions may be taken for repeated attempts to misuse the points system.
Accepting a solution that has already been suggested
Accept the comment of the Expert whose comment best solves your problem, or leads you to a solution. Don't skip over a response because you don't like the username or the way the answer is written.
Not accepting the right solution
If something works, then accept the answer. It frequently happens that two Experts will post a comment at about the same time; if the two posts are virtually identical you can award points to both users with the accept multiple solutions feature. Please do not select a solution that does not work, just to close the question.
Not closing your question
Click here to read about closing your questions. If you are contacted by a Moderator to close your questions please do so.
Experts Exchange sends you an email about your open questions every week. Please take the time to review the question, and if you have received a comment that has led you to a solution, award the points to the Experts. They are volunteering their time and knowledge to help you get a solution, so it is the least you can do.
If you have more than five "abandoned" questions -- questions that have gone more than three weeks without a comment -- you can expect to hear from the Moderators. They will ask you to deal with your questions, and will then monitor your account. If, after two messages to you, there is no substantial progress, they can take a number of actions including the suspension of your account. At that point, you will be required to contact the Moderators to have your account reinstated.
If you need some assistance or guidance in closing your questions, please use the Request Attention button.
If you are a student asking a homework question, be clear in your question that you want to work toward the correct answer while learning more about subject you are studying. The purpose of homework assignments is to help you to learn, and the Experts will help you find your answer.
Frequently, new users will ask several questions in one (because they don't have very many points), and then withhold awarding the points until one or more Experts have answered a few follow-up questions -- sometimes totally unrelated to the original question. Most of the time Experts will stop participating in your question and move on if this happens.
If you need to ask another question please do so in an entirely new question using the Ask A Related Question feature.
Although a personal web page may not seem like advertising, the difference between commercial promotion and personal promotion is often too close to judge. For this reason, Experts Exchange asks that you do not post your personal web page address as part of your signature.
However, if you are not authorized by Experts Exchange to do so, or if you are not specifically a party to the issue, you should not reply to questions in this Zone unless asked to do so by an Admin or Moderator.
The sole exception is the Expert Input Zone, which is open for community discussions.
You can earn a shirt on Experts Exchange by answering questions. Each time you earn a new certificate you earn a new shirt.
To help you earn certificates, you can set up filters in your Experts Tab to send you notifications when new questions are asked in areas you are knowledgeable in.
If for some reason you have discarded your email, you can navigate to the section in your member profile.
It can take up to 8 weeks from your redemption date to receive your shirt. If it has been 8 weeks and you have not received your shirt, if you are having trouble redeeming your shirt, or do not see the For Experts Tab please Contact Us.
How can I earn a shirt?
See: All About Shirts
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--------------------------------- Added by DanRollins:
BBCode / BB Code / Use EE Tag Formatting
As of this writing, EE is in the process of switching over from using the buggy/legacy Rich Text comment-editing feature to a cross-browser compliant system that uses embedded BB codes.
The system is currently in place in the Articles system. The same codes are used to write Articles and to embed formatting in comments posted to Articles.
You either use the Formatting toolbar...
![Toolbar above Comment input box]()
...or simply type the codes yourself. In any case, be sure to use the [Preview] option (near the [Submit] button) to verify that your output will be as desired.
Formatting Text
Underline: [u] to start, [/u] to end
Bold: [b] to start, [/b] to end
Italic: [i] to start, [/i] to end
Text formatting can be mixed and used within Steps, Bullets, and Quotes.
All formatting tags must be closed within the container they were started
Adding Links
[url="http://www.example.com"] to begin the link tag
[/url] to end the link tag
Example: [url="http://www.example.com"]Link name[/url] lends up looking like:
Link name
Links can be used within Steps, Bullets, and Quotes.
Links can have text formatting (bold and/or italic) within them.
Adding Steps
[step="number of step" title="title of step"] will format a step number and title.
[/step] will close the step formatting.
Adding Bullets
[bullet] will begin formatting a bullet point.
[/bullet] will close the bullet formatting.
Adding Subtitles
[subtitle] will begin formatting a subtitle.
[/subtitle] will close the subtitle formatting.
Adding Code Snippets
[code] will begin formatting the subsequent text as a code snippet.
[/code] will close the code snippet formatting.
Adding a Quote
[quote] will begin formatting the subsequent text as a quote (indented).
[/quote] will close the quote formatting.
Notes about line spacing:
Some elements (such as [subtitle]) end up showing with a fixed spacing above and below the text. In some cases, you can decrease the fixed spacing by omitting line feeds. For instance:
---------
---------
---------
Here's how that looked in the comment editor:
---------
Here's how that looked in the comment editor:
There are a number of related tips and hints in Harfang's great article:
Articles and Typography: a brief manual
Badges and Badgers
Some EEple images sport a "sheriff star" on the chest:
![EE Admins, Mods, ZAs, PEs,.. have "sheriff badges"]()
These are members who volunteer time to the EE Community, including...
Administrators (Admins)
Moderators (Mods)
Zone Advisors (ZAs)
Page Editors (PEs)
Cleanup Volunteers (CVs)
When you see a badge, please show some respect. These are often long-term members -- EE's been around since before there as even a Google (Remember when "Alta Vista" was your best shot at finding something? Remember the fake Alta Vista? If so you've got the right era)...
Anyway, these members know their way around EE and have shown an ability and a willingness to help you. So smile and ask a question :-)
Historical note: The term "Badger" originated about the time the Badger,Badger,Badger video swept through everyone's consciousness. The badge image actually came much later.
--------------------------------- Added by DanRollins:
You should feel absolutely free to click [No] when you get to a Solution that does not answer the stated question. In fact, you should even consider it your duty as a Member to do so. Every No vote that lowers the Rating of a bad answer makes it less likely that that answer will be seen by other EE users. Clicking Yes and No helps to effectively improve the overall quality of EE's enormous Solutions database.
Clicking Yes or No on a Solution does not affect Expert point distribution. It just improves the PAQ. So do it.
Adding your Yes vote to an article adds 50 points to the Author's Article Points total. But more importantly, it raises the article's internal rating so that it is placed higher in EE Search Results lists and is seen more often on Article Landing pages and in search engine results lists.
However! Please be cautious and considerate with your No votes on articles. For instance, if you ended up at an article that uses JavaScript instead of VisualBasic in its example code, and you wanted the latter, then you might think "no, that was not helpful, to me." In such cases, just don't vote. The article is still likely to be useful to others. It can hurt an author's pride to see No votes. Voting No on a good article -- out of spite or because you dislike the author for other reasons -- is pathetic and mean-spirited. Don't do it.
In general, vote No on an Article in these few specific situations:
When you view a Solution, you will see a "Rating" value at the top -- a number from 0.0 to 10.0. This value is generated using a sophisticated, proprietary algorithm. We are told that it is based on a complex calculation of many factors, including the grade given by the Asker, the closing survey that an asker completes when accepting an answer, the Yes and No votes on the "Was this comment helpful?" poll, the experience level of the Expert(s) who answered the question, and possibly a number of other factors.
The Rating affects where a Solution appears in a Search Results page. Of course, relevance (match to search terms) is the most important criteria, but highly-rated PAQs get a boost to the top. The topmost items of a long list are very likely to have been given an A grade, reader-survey Yes votes, and were probably answered by top-ranked Experts.
The Zones are arranged in a rough hierarchy, with the top-level being the items along the top of every EE page. These are called the "Core Zones." They are:
Microsoft, Apple, Digital Living, Hardware, Software, OS, Storage, Database, Security,
Programming, Web Development, Networking, and Other
As you might guess, there is much overlap between Zones.
Expert Exchange acronyms
Here's a pretty thorough list of "insider" abbreviations and acronymns. Thanks to Neminder for putting this together:
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See also:
EE Help Wiki (WikEE) -- A Directory of Member-Created Help Pages for Experts Exchange Users
http://www.ee-stuff.com/help.php
https://www.experts-exchange.com/help.jsp
EE Advanced Search and Saved Searches
EE Filters: The Short Version
Experts-Exchange Contacts: Customer Service
Ranks and Certifications
All About Shirts
Experts Exchange: Annual Expert Awards
Hall of Fame
Find Answers (How It Works)
Corporate Accounts
EE Privacy Policy
At the end of the article are member-added Wik-EE type entries that will, I hope contain any keywords/Search Terms (and descriptive help about those terms). Page Editors and Moderators are invited to add to the end of this article.
All Members: You are invited to post comments that include any keywords for which you searched but found nothing useful. Page Editors will monitor these comments and add WikEE text to this Article so that will never happen again.
This is a link to the official EE Help System: https://www.experts-exchange.com/help.jsp
Here is a list of EE Help topics: http://www.ee-stuff.com/help.php
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Text of EE help pages: Somewhat disorganized... but all searchable!
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Text of EE help pages: Somewhat disorganized... but all searchable!
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What's New?
Designated Experts & Neglected Questions
The five-phase upgrade to the Designated Expert and Neglected Questions systems is now complete. The upgrades include connecting the toolkit the Moderators use to the systems built by Experts Exchange that allow the Moderators to request additional attention from the Designated Experts for questions that have gone without comments. Among the changes are:.
Email notifications when an Expert qualifies to become a Designated Expert (Guru status in a zone, or over 300,000 points overall) or when a Zone Advisor or Moderator sets an Expert's status to be a Designated Expert.
Experts who have Designated Expert status can add or remove zones to the list for which they are eligible to receive bonus points and alerts.
The points for answering Neglected Questions have been increased.
Designated Experts who earn 15,000 points in a zone are automatically added as Designated Experts for that zone, but can opt out of the zone by editing their profiles.
Abandoned Questions
Askers of questions in which the most recent comment is by an Expert will now receive an email after three days reminding them to respond. After 14 days, the question will be marked as abandoned, and the asker will be blocked from asking any new questions until they respond to or close their questions that are marked as abandoned.Author Posted Comment Email
In response to user requests, we have changed the subject of the email notifications to distinguish between when the Author of a question has posted a comment and when another user has posted a comment.Zone Landing Pages
The zone landing pages have been changed to give more relevant content to members who browse through various zones. In addition to the familiar "Questions Awaiting Answer", you will now see a box that has the introductory paragraphs to some of the best articles written by Experts, along with a list of the most frequently viewed solutions related to that zone.In the Expert Skin, the top four quadrants of the zone landing pages can be collapsed in order to move the Questions Awaiting Answer tab further up the page and help you answer questions faster. The Expert Skin also allows you to choose how many Questions Awaiting Answer you want to see on one page.
How it Works
How Experts Exchange works can be summarized in 5 simple steps:
A member searches the millions of solutions in Experts Exchange's knowledgebase to answer their problem.
If their solution is not found, they ask a question about their IT problem.
Our community of experienced IT Experts immediately works to solve the problem.
The Asker accepts the solution and rewards points to the Expert that posted it.
The solution is stored in Experts Exchange's knowledgebase.
Finding your solution at Experts Exchange is simple. Save yourself time and money by finding solutions from the world's best Experts. Learn more about how Experts Exchange works.
New to Experts Exchange
About EE
Experts Exchange is an online resource where people solve their technology problems by collaborating with IT professionals. With over 10 years of experience, Experts Exchange has been an online IT resource that connects members to Experts around the world providing solutions to their technology issues. Experts Exchange has acquired a knowledgebase of millions of proven IT solutions in more than 950 unique technical zones and currently has over 50,000 Experts assisting in these various zones.Learn more about Experts Exchange.
FAQ
Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about Experts Exchange.Community Support
Most questions about Experts Exchange can be answered in the Community Support zones. The questions posted in these zones are automatically sent to Administrators and Moderators who will answer your questions.See a list of Community Support zones.
Customer Service
All billing and account issues can be resolved by our Customer Service team. Contact Customer Service Monday through Friday 8am to 5pm PST.Premium Service Members
What is a Premium Service Member?
Premium Services give users the ability to ask unlimited questions to over 50,000 Experts and to search millions of solutions. As a Premium Service member, you receive instant email notifications when comments are added to questions that you have asked or participated in. This allows members and Experts to collaborate to quickly find solutions. Premium Services give you full access to the world's #1 IT resource.As a premium Service Member, you can enjoy features on our site that other members cannot.
These features include:
Ad-free experience on Experts Exchange.
Unlimited points to receive answers to all of your questions.
Exclusive Expert skin for a faster, more professional experience.
Advanced options for powerful, refined search results.
My Favorites gives you the power to bookmark your favorite zones.
Becoming a Premium Service Member
Learn More about Premium Services.Sign up for a Premium Services membership today.
Qualified Experts
How to become an Expert
Become an Expert by initially earning 10,000 points. This is done by answering questions that range in point value from 50 to 500 points or by writing articles where you can earn a minimum of 500 points. See more information on how the question points work and how article points work.To maintain Expert status, receive 3,000 Expert points on a monthly basis by answering questions and/or writing articles.
As an Expert you can browse our site ad-free, create your own knowledgebase of useful solutions to use throughout your career, build lasting relationships and exchange knowledge with other worldwide technology Experts.
Learn more about how to become an Expert
Setting up a filter
The easiest way to answer questions related to your knowledgebase is by setting up filters in the Answer Tab. A filter is a custom built search query that is saved and used to find the questions you can offer answers to. Filters will quickly help you find questions to answer, helping you earn and maintain Expert status even faster.See more information on how to create a filter.
Answering Questions
Members of Experts Exchange earn certificates by answering questions and/or writing articles which continually earns them points. Take a look at a complete list of the certificates.It is important to work with the asker of a question to arrive at a solution. A list of guidelines helps Experts efficiently answer questions.
As an expert, if you run into issues with an asker that needs to be resolved by a third party, you can post a question in any of the Community Support zones or contact a Moderator for help.
Corporate Accounts
Corporate Accounts are annual group licenses that are designed so that you can purchase and manage as many licenses as you need with just one membership account. Once you have an account you can add single licenses as well. Corporate accounts allow all of your employees to have access to solutions that will solve any IT problem they may have.We offer a number of convenient price plans for Corporate Accounts.
See Corporate Account Pricing for details.
FAQ
This section contains Frequently Asked Questions on using Experts Exchange. You can quickly find answers to questions about the key functions of Experts Exchange, including how much it costs to be a member, account questions, how to post a question and much more. If you have additional questions please Contact Us.How do I close a question?
There are five ways:
Accept an Expert's Comment as the Solution: If an Expert has given you the solution to your question, or has led you to the solution, click the Select As Solution button on the comment that provided the solution.
Accept Multiple Solutions: If several Experts collaborated to provide a solution, use this option and split the points among them. You can do this by clicking on the Accept Multiple Solutions button on any of the comments that were helpful.
Accept Your Own Comment as the Solution: If you solved your problem with no assistance from any Expert, post your solution and then click the Accept As Solution button in your own comment.
Accept Your Own Comment and Award Point to an Expert for Their Assistance: If you answered your own question, but wish to award points to Experts for their attempts to help, click the Accept and Award Points button on your comment.
Delete Your Question: If you are not getting the response that will lead to a solution you should consider deleting your question and trying again. You should also delete your question if you are no longer having your issue or if the problem solved itself. You can do this by clicking the Delete Question button found by your question body.
If you are not certain which selection to make, click the Request Attention button, and the Moderators will help you with the proper choice.
What are the Premium Services?
As a Premium Service Member you get access to all of Experts Exchange including the following things:
Unlimited Points - Unlimited points allow you to ask as many questions as you want at any time. Most questions receive comments in under an hour!
Search - We've got more than 2.7 million proven technology answers. Finding your answer is as easy as searching.
Expert Skin - Fewer graphics allow for faster page loads.
Knowledgebase - Store a personal list of the questions, solutions and articles that are important to you.
Ad Free Browsing - Get the answers you need faster, without interruptions.
My Favorites - Quickly access your favorite zones to ask, search and answer questions.
How do I find questions to answer?
The easiest way to answer questions related to your knowledge is by setting up filters in the Answer Tab. A filter is a custom-built search query that is saved and used to find questions you can answer. Filters are a quick and easy way to find questions, earn points and maintain your Expert status. Once you have set up your filters, your results can be viewed in two ways:
You will receive Expert Alerts via email (if you chose that setting), each email notification will have links to new questions posted that match your filter.
You can view your filter results on the Answer Tab by clicking on the title of the filter, this will generate a list of all the questions that match your filter.
You can also view open questions on each zone landing page. You can go to the [Browse All Zones Tab to see every zone that Experts Exchange has to offer or click on each zone tab individually using the top navigation. Each zone will have a list of questions awaiting answers.
- Read more information on creating a filter.
- Read more information on becoming an Expert and answering questions.
How do I ask a question?
Click the Ask A New Question button; the wizard will step you through the process. There are a number of tips located here, and a complete description of how the Wizard works is here.What is the Knowledgebase?
The Knowledgebase is your personal list of questions that are important to you. The questions do not have to be ones you have answered or asked; they can be any question you want to keep track of. The link to your personal knowledgebase is located in the My Account box.Below the text of any question is the Add To Knowledgebase button. You can add any notes regarding the question (doing so is not required however), and they are searchable. There is no limit to the number of questions you can add.
You can look at your question, comment and answer history by looking at your profile.
Where can I find my receipts?
Click on the Edit My Profile link in the My Account box.
Click on the Billing Info tab.
You may be asked to enter in your password if you have not done so in the last few minutes.
Click on the Transaction History tab, here you will see all of your transactions.
Click on the print icon next to each transaction to print individual receipts or click on the Create/Print Receipt button, this will allow you to create a custom receipt or invoice with multiple purchases and additional information.
NOTE: You must be logged into your account to view your transaction history and print receipts, if you are not logged in you will not be able to view any billing information.
If you are logged in and can not see your billing history, please Contact Us.
Nobody has responded to my question. What now?
There is an automated system that kicks in when your question has gone 12 hours without a response; it alerts Experts that your question has been neglected, or it alerts the Moderators. You do not need to post for the system to work, although you will receive an email notification.If you go another 12 hours without a response, please use the Request Attention link, and the Moderators will assist you.
For more information, please see the section on Neglected Questions.
How many points should I assign to my question?
You can offer from 20 to 500 points for your question. For more specifics, please see this section.I posted my question in the wrong zone. What can I do?
If you just posted the question and there are no comments, you can delete it and try again. If there are comments, then click the Request Assistance button and ask the Moderators to move it for you.How do I post an answer to a question?
Simply scroll down to the bottom of the page, and enter your comment in the text box. For some tips on answering questions, see this section.How do I change my password?
Click on the Edit My Profile link in the My Account Box.
Click on the My Preferences tab.
Enter your new password in the Change Password and Verify Password fields.
Click the Update Information button at the bottom of the page.
How do I get more points?
If you are a Premium Services subscriber, you have Unlimited Points. If you do not have Premium Services, you can either earn them or buy them; please see this section for more information.How do I cancel Premium Services?
You can cancel your Premium Services subscription at any time.
Click on the Edit My Profile link in the My Account Box.
Click on the Billing Info tab.
You may be asked to enter in your password if you have not done so in the last few minutes.
Click on the Cancel Membership tab to start the process of cancelling your account
You can also cancel by contacting us or by following this link.
NOTE: When you cancel your Premium Services, you will still have use of them through the remainder of your billing cycle. Experts Exchange does not offer refunds.
How do I cancel my subscription?
You cancel your Premium Services subscription through the Billing Info button in your profile. Learn moreHow do I change my email address?
Click on the Edit My Profile link in the My Account Box.
Click on the My Preferences tab,
Click on the Add or Edit link next to your current email address.
On this page you are able to add, delete and edit your email address and create custom email groups.
NOTE: You will receive a verification email at the new address provided; until you have verified your email you will not be able to post questions or comments.
For more information click here.
On this page you are able to add, delete and edit your email address and create custom email groups.
NOTE: You will receive a verification email at the new address provided; until you have verified your email you will not be able to post questions or comments.
For more information click here.
How do I change my username?
You can't; once you have registered and chosen your username, you are not able to change it. This is clearly stated when you register at Experts Exchange. See this section for more information.What does it cost to be a member?
View our pricing structure logged out, or register for free and earn your Premium Services by answering questions.You can also learn more about Corporate Accounts and review pricing.
How do I add/edit a credit card on my account?
Adding a New Credit Card:
Click on Edit my profile located in the My Account box
Click on the Billing Info tab
You may be asked to enter your password if you have not done so in the last few minutes.
You may be asked to enter your password if you have not done so in the last few minutes.
Click on the Billing Information tab.
Click on the Add New Credit Card button.
Enter the new card iinformation and if this is the card you would like charged click the Make this my default Credit Card box
Click the Update button.
Your new card should be listed under Active Accounts. If this is the card you wanted charged there will be a checkmark next to it.
Updating Expiration Date and CSC on Credit Card:
Click on Edit my profile located in the My Account box
Click on the Billing Info tab
You may be asked to enter your password if you have not done so in the last few minutes.
You may be asked to enter your password if you have not done so in the last few minutes.
Click on the Billing Information tab.
Click on the Edit button next to the card you would like to update.
Enter in the new information for this card
Click the Click the Update button.
How do I print my receipt?
To view all previous purchases to our subscription plans Log into the site.
Click the Edit hyperlink next to My Profile within your My Account box located on the right hand side of the page.
You will be prompted to enter your password (if you have not done so within the last hour) then click the Continue button.
On the next page you need to click on the Billing Info tab.
On this page you will see a Purchase History tab
You will see all of your previous purchases on this page
To print receipts for any purchase click the button with the printer symbol next to your purchase number.
What type of payment methods do you take?
For Premium Service Memberships, Experts Exchange currently accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express and PayPal as forms of payment.For Corporate Accounts, Experts Exchange currently accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Checks and Purchase Orders as forms of payment.
Experts Exchange is not able to accept money orders, Western Union payments or telex transfers.
NOTE: All memberships are recurring; that means that at the end of the billing cycle, we will attempt to process your membership using the form of payment you have on file with us. Your subscription does not automatically expire; you must cancel it.
Is the Free Trial available to everyone?
The Free Trial Membership is available to first-time members only. If you have ever had any type of account on Experts Exchange this membership is not available to you.You are able to sign up for a regular Premium Service membership or a Corporate Account membership via the sign up pages.
For more information, see the Free Trial Agreement.
Why do you require a credit card for the Free Trial?
A credit card is required for the free trial for your convenience, if you choose to continue your membership when the free trial ends we will need a payment method on file. All memberships are recurring until you cancel.You can cancel your account at any time during the free trial and still have full Premium Service until your free trial ends.
You are also able to sign up for an account that lets you earn your membership by answering questions. This membership does not require any credit card or billing information and you are able to browse Experts Exchange and participate in questions. You are initially given 125 question points to ask a question and you earn five question points per day.
With the free trial you have unlimited questions points and are able to search Experts Exchange and use all Premium Service features.
What is a Corporate Account?
Corporate Accounts are annual group licenses designed for multiple users within an organization. Each licensee receives unrestricted access to the world's leading technology resource, including our knowledgebase of more than 2.3 million proven technology solutions and the ability to collaborate with the smartest IT professionals from around the globe.What types of Memberships Plans are available for Corporate Accounts?
Corporate Accounts benefit from significant discounts with the potential to save you thousands of dollars. Create your account today and save over 42% off our monthly rate.See: https://www.experts-exchange.com/help.jsp?hi=46
How do I upgrade to a larger subscription plan?
You can upgrade your Corporate Account to a larger account size at any time. To upgrade, log in to your administrator account and follow the instructions below.Depending whether you are a free administrator or a paid administrator you will reach the Corporate Administration page differently.
If you are a free administrator simply login to your account and you will be redirected to the Corporate Administration page.
If you are a paid administrator simply login to your account and click on the Edit hyperlink next to My Profile within your My Account box located on the top right hand side of your page.
You will be then prompted to enter your password and then click the Continue button if you have not done so in the last hour
You are now on the My Account-My Preferences page. Click on the Corporate Tab located next to Billing Info to be redirected to the Corporate Administration page.
Once you are on the Corporate Administration Page click on the Add Licenses tab located next to Import Licenses.
Click on "Upgrade Membership" located to the left of Add Licenses.
Your current Membership Plan will be displayed on top of the available plans. Please click on the radio button of the plan that you would like to upgrade to. (If you would like to know the prorated payment details of upgrading your Corporate Account to a larger account, please click on the Details hyperlink and a box will appear with your prorated information).
Click the Upgrade Now button located under the P.O. Number field.
Once your account has been upgraded, you will be redirected to the Account Info page where you will see the total number of licenses added to your account.
I am the Admin for my Corporate Account. Why can't I participate in the site?
When you register your Corporate Account, the administrator account is automatically registered as a free license so that you may perform administrative duties only. If you would like to become a paid administrator so that you may also use the subscription to the site, login to your administrator account and follow the instructions below.
As a free administrator you are redirected to the Corporate Administration page once you are logged in. On this page, you will see your account information. On the Account Info tab please click on your administrator username. Your username will appear as a hyperlink.
Under Confirm New Password you will see "Admin License Type". Click on the radio button next to "Paid License" and click the "update" button.
Once your account has been updated, you will be redirected to the Account Info page where you will see your administrator username and email address as one of the active licenses.
What is the difference between the Administrator and the licensees?
Your corporate administrator controls the Corporate Account settings and can create new licenses, edit existing licenses, purchase new licenses and may or may not have access to the site depending whether they are a free or paid administrator. A corporate licensee has complete access to the site including unlimited access to 2.3 million solutions and 243,000 Experts, a personal knowledgebase, and history record.How do I activate licenses on my Corporate Account?
To activate a new license on your Corporate Account you will need to login to your administrator account and follow the instructions below.Depending whether you are a free administrator or a paid administrator you will reach the Corporate Administration page differently.
If you are a free administrator simply log in to your account and you will be redirected to the Corporate Administration page.
If you are a paid administrator simply log in to your account and click on the Edit hyperlink next to "My Profile' within your "My Account" box located on the top right hand side of your page.
You will be prompted to enter your password and then click the Continue button if you have not done so in the last hour.
You are now in the "My Account-My Preferences" page. Please click on the Corporate Tab located next to Billing Info to be redirected to the Corporate Administration page.
Once you are in the Corporate Administration Page click on the "Activate Licenses" hyperlink located within your License Summary box.
On this page type in the Username, Email Address, and Password for the Licensee you would like to activate in the fields provided. Please remember that usernames cannot be changed.
Click on the Activate button located under the confirm password filed. You will be redirected to the Account Info Page where you will see the username you have just created.
How do I deactivate a license?
To deactivate a license on your Corporate Account you will need to login to your administrator account and follow the instructions below.Depending whether you are a free administrator or a paid administrator you will reach the Corporate Administration page differently.
If you are a free administrator simply log in to your account and you will be redirected to the Corporate Administration page.
If you are a paid administrator simply log in to your account and click on the Edit hyperlink next to "My Profile" within your "My Account" box located on the top right hand side of your page.
You will be prompted to enter your password and then click the Continue button if you have not done so in the last hour.
You are now in the "My Account-My Preferences" page. Please click on the Corporate Tab located next to Billing Info to be redirected to the Corporate Administration page.
Once you are in the Corporate Administration Page click the "Edit" button located on the left of the member you would like to deactivate.
You will be redirected to the "Edit Licenses" tab where you will see the username and email address fields.
Click the "Deactivate" button located directly below the Confirm New Password fields. You will be redirected to the Account Info Page where you will see the license deactivated at the bottom of the active licenses within the License Summary box.
How do I add individual licenses to my account?
You can add individual licenses to your Corporate Account at any time. To add licenses, login to your administrator account and follow the instructions below.Depending whether you are a free administrator or a paid administrator you will reach the Corporate Administration page differently.
If you are a free administrator simply log in to your account and you will be redirected to the Corporate Administration page.
If you are a paid administrator simply log in to your account and click on the Edit hyperlink next to "My Profile' within your "My Account" box located on the top right hand side of your page.
You will be prompted to enter your password and then click the Continue button if you have not done so in the last hour.
You are now in the "My Account-My Preferences" page. Please click on the Corporate Tab located next to Billing Info to be redirected to the Corporate Administration page.
Once you are in the Corporate Administration Page click on the Add Licenses tab located next to Import Licenses.
Enter the number of licenses you would like to add to your Corporate Account in the field provided. (If you would like to know the Prorated Payment Details of adding licenses to your Corporate Account, please click on the Details hyperlink and a box will appear with your prorated information.) The total amount charged to your credit card on file will be displayed in the Total field.
Click the "Add Licenses" button located next to the Upgrade Membership button. You will be redirected to the Account Info page where you will see the total number of licenses added to your account.
What if my company requires an invoice before purchase?
If you require an invoice before purchasing your Corporate Account, you can create one by following the instructions below.
Go to http://www.experts-exchange.com/ and click on the "Sign up Now" button
On the middle of the page under select your subscription plan you will see two fields; Need an Invoice for an upcoming purchase? And Need Multiple Accounts? Click on the "Create a Corporate Account" hyperlink next to Need Multiple Accounts?
You will be redirected to the Corporate Account Sign Up page. On this page select the subscription plan you are interested in without entering your email address or password and click on the "Create a Custom Invoice" hyperlink located next to Need an Invoice for an upcoming purchase? Directly underneath the subscription plans.
Add all invoice details on the fields provided and click on the "Create Invoice" button located next to the back to order page button.
A popup will appear, select the "Open with" radio button box. You must have the most current Adobe Acrobat Reader Version to be able to open this file. And then click "OK."
To print invoices click the button with the printer symbol or save the file.
How do I upgrade my Limited service account to a Corporate Account?
You can upgrade your Limited service account to a Corporate Account at any time. To upgrade, login to your account and follow the instructions below.
Click on "upgrade now" located above Ask a New Question.
You will be then prompted to enter your password and then click the Continue button if you have not done so in the last hour.
You are now on the Upgrade to Premium Services page, to upgrade to a Corporate Account please click on the "Create a Corporate Account" hyperlink located next to "Need Multiple Accounts?"
You are now in the Corporate Account buy page, please click on the radio button of the workgroup you would like to purchase and confirm your billing information.
Finally, click on "Upgrade Your Account"
You will now be redirected the "Corporate Administration" page where you will see your License Summary and are able to change your account settings.
How do I upgrade my Premium Service account to a Corporate Account?
You can upgrade your Premium service account to a Corporate Account at any time. To upgrade, login to your account and follow the instructions below.
Click on "upgrade now" located under Ask a New Question in the Corporate Accounts Ad box.
You will be then prompted to enter your password and then click the Continue button if you have not done so in the last hour.
You are now in the Corporate Account buy page, please click on the radio button of the workgroup you would like to purchase and confirm your billing information. You are able to change your credit card information if needed by clicking on the "change" hyperlink located next to the Credit Card Number (If you would like to know the prorated payment details of upgrading your membership to a Corporate Account, please click on the Details hyperlink located underneath choose the number of licenses heading and a box will appear with your prorated information).
Finally, click on "Upgrade Your Account"
You will now be redirected the "Corporate Administration" page where you will see your License Summary and are able to change your account settings.
What payment methods do you accept?
Credit Cards: Experts Exchange accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover credit cards.Checks and Purchase Orders:
As of December 11th, 2008 Experts Exchange accepts checks and purchase orders for Corporate Accounts only. To pay for your Corporate Account via check or purchase Contact Us via email or by phone at (805) 787-0603 ext. 258.
At this time, Experts Exchange does not accept money orders, Western Union payments or Telex transfers. If you would like to pay for your Corporate Account via any of these methods, please contact us and express your interest in them. We will inform you of changes to our accepted payment methods by email.
How do I change my Corporate Account email address?
You must be logged in to edit your email address.Depending on whether you are a Free Administrator or a Paid Administrator you will reach the Corporate Administration page differently.
If you are a Free Administrator simply login to your account and you will be redirected to the Corporate Administration Page.
If you are a Paid Administrator simply login to your account and click on the Edit hyperlink next to My Profile within the My Account box located on the right hand side of your homepage.
You will be prompted to enter your password and then click the continue button, if you have not done so within the last hour.
Go to the Corporate tab, this will take you to the Corporate Administration Page.
Once you are on the Corporate Administration Page click on your administrator username link located under your payment method information.
You will be redirected to the Account Info page where you can update your email address. Make sure to click the blue Update button located to complete the process of updating your email address. Individual license emails can only be edited by that user. Please direct them here for more information.
If you are having trouble changing your email, please contact us to further assist you.
How do I cancel my Corporate Account?
You can cancel your Corporate Account at any time and have full access to the site until the end of your current term. To cancel, login to your account and follow the instructions below.Depending whether you are a free administrator or a paid administrator you will reach the Corporate Administration page differently.
If you are a free administrator simply log in to your account and you will be redirected to the Corporate Administration page.
If you are a paid administrator simply log in to your account and click on the Edit hyperlink next to "My Profile" within your "My Account" box located on the top right hand side of your page.
You will be prompted to enter your password and then click the Continue button if you have not done so in the last hour.
You are now in the "My Account-My Preferences" page. Please click on the Corporate Tab located next to Billing Info to be redirected to the Corporate Administration page.
Once you are in the Corporate Administration Page click on the "Cancel" hyperlink located next to Member Since: MM/DD/YYYY underneath the Account Info tab header.
You will be redirected to the Membership Cancellation Page. Click on the "Cancel My Membership" button located next to Do Not Continue with this Cancellation.
Follow the instructions provided on the page and click on the "Cancel My Membership" button located next to Do Not Continue with this Cancellation.
Your page will reload with a short questionnaire, please answer all questions for quality assurance purposes, and then click on the "Cancel My Membership" button located next to Do Not Continue with this Cancellation.
You will be redirected to the Membership Cancellation Success page where you can print the page if you wish. An automated email confirmation will be sent to your email address on file. If you do not receive the email please contact us as your cancellation may not have been fully processed.
How do I import a license to my Corporate Account?
To import an existing account as a license to your Corporate Account login to your account and follow the instructions below.Depending whether you are a free administrator or a paid administrator you will reach the Corporate Administration page differently.
If you are a free administrator simply log in to your account and you will be redirected to the Corporate Administration page.
If you are a paid administrator simply log in to your account and click on the Edit hyperlink next to "My Profile" within your "My Account" box located on the top right hand side of your page.
You will be prompted to enter your password and then click the Continue button if you have not done so in the last hour.
You are now in the "My Account-My Preferences" page. Please click on the Corporate Tab located next to Billing Info to be redirected to the Corporate Administration page.
Once you are in the Corporate Administration Page click on the "Import Licenses" tab located next to the Activate Licenses tab.
Type in the Username or Email Address of the member you would like to import to your Corporate Account in the field provided and click the "Request Import" button
Your page will reload and a note will appear with the following message: "Your request to import <USERNAME address email>has been sent."
The member will receive an email asking them to accept the invitation to the Corporate Account. Please have the user check their email or login to their account to view this message. Once the user has accepted the invitation you will see his username and email address as an active license in your License Summary on your Corporate Administration Page. (Imported Corporate Account members will be credited in the amount equal to how much time was left on the account prior to upgrading to a Corporate Account.)
I am the new administrator to our Corporate Account but I do not have the username and/or password to our Corporate Account. How can I get this information?
If you are the new administrator for the account and do not have the username and password please contact us so that we may assist you directly.How do I find out if the company I work for has a Corporate Account with Experts Exchange?
Hundreds of companies already count on Experts Exchange as their one-stop technology resource. Current clients range from Global Fortune 500 corporations to universities to private IT consulting companies. To see if your company has a Corporate Account with Experts Exchange view our Current Client List.The company I work for has a Corporate Account with Experts Exchange. How do I access it?
To access your company's Corporate Account please provide us with your contact information so that we may forward it to the company's administrator. They will contact you if they would like to add you to their Corporate Account.What and where is my profile?
A link to your Profile is located in the My Account box in the upper right corner of your browser window. You can also reach it by clicking on your username.The Edit hyperlink will take you to a page that allows you to edit your account information. Once you have gotten past the verify password page you will find tabs titled:
My Preferences
Password; add, change or delete email addresses; newsletter and marketing emails; HTML or text emails; time zone; default skin and search; and whether you want to see posted images as thumbnails or links.
My Profile
Name; age; gender (for your avatar on the Premium skin); preferred language; country; personal profile (visible to membership); optional information about your expertise, system, employment background, education, skills and accomplishments, and hobbies and interests.
Billing Info
This tab has two additional tabs and lists all of your billing information. On the Credit Card Information tab, you will see the last four digits of the current card being charged, information about your renewal date, receipt information, and the credit cards you have on file. On the Purchase History tab you will see a list of all of your previous purchases and you are able to print these receipts
For Experts (appears only if you have answered a question)
Expert Signatures tab (visible only if you have earned a Certificate) allows you to create a custom signature for emails.
Expert Certificates tab shows the certificates you have earned and allows you to print them.
Expert Shirts tab shows the t-shirts you have earned; the date, zone, rank you have earned the t-shirt in, and provides the mechanism for redeeming them.
Goodies tab has our limited-edition wallpapers.
Clicking View will take you to your profile which shows your public information, your question, comment and answer history, the certificates and other awards you have earned, and links to your Member Rank and Zone Rank.
Where are my Open Questions?
Your open questions are visible by clicking the link in the My Accounts box, located in the upper right corner of the browser window. You can also see all of your Asked questions, Commented questions and Answered questions by looking at your profile.Questions you comment in are shown as Commented unless you are awarded points; they are then moved to your Answered questions list.
About your email address
When you register at Experts Exchange you are automatically sent an email verification. If you do not see the email please check your email filter. If you still can not find it please Contact Us for further assistance.If your email address is not verified you will not be able to post any questions or comments on Experts Exchange.
Your email address is the only form of communication you have with Experts Exchange. You will receive all account and billing notifications, question alerts (comments/solutions posted, new questions asked, solutions accepted, etc.) and any other information Experts Exchange needs to send to you via email.
NOTE: Please keep your email address up to date so Experts Exchange can communicate any account or questions notifications with you.
See information on adding, editing and deleting your email.
Why is my account pending/suspended?
Locked/Pending Paid AccountYour account goes into a pending/locked status if Experts Exchange can not process your billing information. Usually, this happens if your credit card is expired or has been declined. Contact Us for further assistance.
Pending Qualified Expert Account
Your Premium Services have been suspended because you have not maintained the required 3,000 Expert points per month. You do have a one-month grace period and when that expires your Premium Services will be suspended. Once you earn your 3,000 points within the current month you re-qualify for your free Premium Service.
Suspended Account
If your account has been suspended, you will not be able to log in. Should your account be suspended, you will receive a notification; contact the Moderator who posted the notification for information on how to get your account back in good standing..
Why doesn't my temporary password work?
If you copy and paste your temporary password, a space may have been added that reads as an extra character. You should manually enter your temporary password for it to work correctly. If you are still having trouble, please contact our Customer Service Department.How do I change my username?
After registration it is not possible to change the username. If you wish to change your username, you will need a different email address and you will lose any question and answer history; they cannot be transferred to a different account.How do I unsubscribe from the newsletter or marketing emails?
To unsubscribe from the newsletter and/or the marketing emails, follow the Unsubscribe hyperlink at the bottom of the email.If you have discarded the email, you can also unsubscribe by editing your profile.
Click on the Edit My Profile link in the My Account Box.
Click on the My Preferences tab.
From here you can choose your settings for newsletter and marketing emails, make sure to click the Update Information button at the bottom of the paget.
The Simple Search
There are two simple search systems at Experts Exchange. The default search uses Google's engine; this can be changed by editing your profile to one built by Experts Exchange. The simple search looks for your terms on any part of the Experts Exchange page, and the results include a list of zones so you can narrow your search.The Advanced Search
At the left, you will see a list of criteria: Terms, Members, Activity, Zones, Points & Grade, Question Type, Display and Custom Query. Below is a list of what each one does. The technology used to create filters is the same as the Advanced Search. There is also a specific help page for the Search system.As you go through each of the criteria -- none are required -- you use the Update button for the query. Once you are done with all the options click on the Submit button.
Terms: The "what"; the words that describe what you're looking for
Members: The "who"; either the username or member ID number for one or more members
Activity: The "when" and "how" of anything that has happened in the question
Zones: The "where" of the question you're looking for
Points & Grade: Details if you want to limit your search range
Question Type: Details if you want to limit your search to only open or closed questions
Display: How many questions per page of results
I want to find questions to answer.
Click on the Experts tab and create a filter. You can think of the Filters as a "saved Advanced search" that can send you notifications of new questions asked.When you create a filter, you are asked to name the filter, whether or not you want to receive the notifications, and how you want to receive them (immediately, hourly or daily). You can also "run" the filter at any time and see the list of open questions that meet your filter's criteria. There is no limit to the number of filters you can create.
A note about the hourly summary: Every night, Experts Exchange reindexes the stored filters and new questions, which takes nominally four hours. During that time, the hourly notifications are not sent; however, the new questions will appear on your list.
I have a question about a solution.
If you have found a Previously Asked Question that doesn't quite answer your question, click on the Ask A Related Question button. For more information, please see this section.I have a better solution than the one posted.
If you believe your solution to a problem is better than the one accepted as the answer, please feel free to post it in the thread. However, no points will be awarded for your comment in a closed question.Can I contact an Expert directly?
There is no system built into Experts Exchange's programming for contacting an Expert. Many Experts do have their contact email addresses posted in their profiles, but please remember that Experts Exchange does not condone the use of emails or other personal contact to answer a question posted, and will not allow points to be awarded for questions that do not have a posted solution.How do the points work?
There are two (2) kinds of points on Experts Exchange, Question Points and Expert Points.
Question Points are points that you use to ask questions on Experts Exchange, if you have a Premium Service Membership you have unlimited question points.
Expert Points are points that Experts recieve when they answer your question and you choose their answer as your solution. The Experts use these points to earn Ranks, Certificates and Experts Exchange shirts.
When you close your question, the points you offered are multiplied by a factor dependent on the grade you give:
A grade uses a factor of 4
B grade uses a factor of 3
C grade uses a factor of 2
So if your question is worth 300 points, and you give a B grade, the Expert will receive 900 points. Those points are added to his overall Expert Points total, and to his Expert Point total for each of the zones you ask your question in.
See more information on Ranks and Certificates.
How do I get more points?
With a Premium Services account, you have Unlimited Points. If you do not have Premium Services, you can either earn them or you can purchase 1,000 points for $12.95. In the My Account box in the upper right corner, click the Buy Points link or go here.Why do Experts want points?
The Experts on Experts Exchange are all volunteers. The points they earn get them their Premium Services membership, certificates and t-shirts for the certificates earned. The points you award them is part of their motivation, so please keep this in mind when setting the point value for your questions.What are Ranks and Certificates?
Ranks are earned by answering Questions and posting Articles on Experts Exchange. An Experts rank shows their contributions to the site as well as their level of knowledge in the IT field. Each Member Rank can only be earned once on the site and each type of Zone Rank is accompanied by a certificate and can only be earned once in each zone.Member Rank Member Rank is calculated in the three ways listed below. When you earn a Member Rank you will not receive a certificate badge, printable certificate, custom signature or Expert Rank Shirt.
Overall Member Rank - This is your overall total points (Question & Article) earned on the site and is displayed on your EEples Rank Shield in your Profile.
Article Member Rank - This is your total Article points earned on the site and is displayed on the Member Rank tab only.
Question Member Rank - This is your total Question points earned on the site and is displayed on the Member Rank tab only.
Zone Rank Zone Rank is calculated in the three ways listed below. When you earn a Question Zone Rank or an Article Zone Rank you will be notified via email, and you will receive a certificate badge, a printable certificate, a custom signature and an Expert Rank Shirt.
Overall Zone Rank - This is your overall total points (Question & Article) earned in a zone and is displayed on the Zone Rank tab only.
Article Zone Rank - This is your total Article points earned in a zone and is represented by a certificate as well as on your EEple's Rank Shield in any Article or Article comment in the zone where you earned the rank.
Question Zone Rank - This is your total Question points earned in a zone and and is represented by a certificate as well as on your EEple's Rank Shield in any Question or Question comment in the zone where you earned the rank.
Certificates You will receive a certificate when you earn a Question Zone Rank or an Article Zone Rank. For all Certificates you will receive a certificate badge on your Profile, a printable certificate, a custom signature and an Expert Rank Shirt in the For Experts tab found under Edit your Account.
See more information on Ranks & Certificates or Contact Us if you have more questions about points and awards.
When I answer a question that is cross-posted where do I get the points?
When your comment is accepted as a solution to a question that is cross-posted, you receive points towards certificates in each zone that the question is posted in. However, the points are added to your overall total only once. On your Answer History, only one of the Zones will appear. However, the points are awarded in all of the zones listed in the question itself.What are Bonus Points?
Bonus Points are points that are awarded to Neglected Questions.If you post a solution to a Neglected Question and your solution is accepted, you will receive 200 point bonus before the grade multiplier is applied.
Examples
(50 point question + 200 bonus points) x "A" Grade (4) = 1,000
(500 point question + 200 bonus points) x "A" Grade (4) = 2,800
Can I split the points?
You split the points among some or all contrbuting Experts. Each comment box has a button that says Accept Multiple Solutions. Click that, and you will see a page that allows you to assign points to any of the comments in the thread. There is a grade box at the bottom of the page.Note: The total of the point splits must equal the original amount you assigned to the question, and no comment can receive fewer than 20 points. The Comment that was posted first is the Accepted Solution, and the rest of the comments are Assisted Solutions.
How do I ask a question?
To ask a question click on the Ask a New Question button found on the right hand side of your browser window. The Wizard is a four-step process:Step 1: Question Title and Tags/Related Terms
This is the most important step in getting an answer to your question. Keep your title short and direct; include tags that are specific. You can also enter pertinent information about your system.
Step 2: Questions Description and Details
This is where you add the details of your question. You want to include enough detail to describe your problem, but not any extraneous detail. If you have tried solutions, list that. You can add images and code to your question.
Step 3: Select One or More Zones
The Wizard will suggest zones for you, but you are able to select or deselect any of them. It is a rare question that cannot be posted in at least two zones; most can be posted in three. Try to be specific, but being too specific can reduce the exposure your question gets, so always take advantage of being able to post in three zones.
Step 4: Assign Points
Points are your advertising; the more points you assign, the more likely you are to get a quick response. Points are not the reward you give for your answer. For example, if you ask how to do something, and an Expert tells you that you can't, that's the answer, and all of the points should be awarded, even if you don't like the answer
There are two versions of the wizard -- the Premium version that goes through the four steps on four pages, with a lot of explanation, and the Expert version that has all of the steps on one page.
If you feel like you need some help please see our Question Tips.
Why can't I ask a question?
There are four possible reasons:You have not verified your email address.
A verification email was sent to the address you used when you registered. If you have not followed the instructions to verify it, the registration process has not been completed. Contact us and we will help you resolve the issue.
You are not logged in.
Look in the upper right corner of the browser window. If you are not logged into the site, you cannot ask a question.
You do not have enough points.
If you do not have the Premium Services, the points for your question come from your Available Points. If you do not have enough, you can buy more points or you can upgrade your membership.
You have abandoned questions.
If you have open questions for which no comments have been posted for at least 14 days, they are considered "abandoned", and you will not be able to ask new questions (except in Community Support) until you either comment in or close your abandoned questions.
Your account is suspended or locked.
This can occur when your Premium Services subscription has expired and your credit card is declined. It can also occur if you have violated the Membership Agreement. Please contact us to resolve the issue.</DL>
How do I know when I get an answer?
When someone comments on your question you will receive an email notification informing you that a possible solution has been added to your question. Experts Exchange is a collaborative site, where you and the Experts work towards a solution, so it is critical that you respond to the notification promptly. If the comment does not solve your problem, post a comment in your question explaining what you did, and what the results were.How long should I wait for a response to my question?
If your question goes 12 hours without a response, it is tagged as Neglected, and a notice is sent to Designated Experts asking them to take a look at it. After 24 hours, you can click the Request Attention button, and ask the Moderators to review your question and get more help for you.The Moderators may take some actions, like adding to or changing the zones your question is asked in; that also sends a notice to the Designated Experts. They may also offer you some advice regarding your question; this is solely to help you get the answer you need.
Please remember that all of the Experts are volunteers, so sometimes they have real life issues that arise. They are not paid for answering questions; they earn certificates, T-shirts for those certificates and their membership to Experts Exchange. The most important reason for them being here and participating is because they enjoy being here and helping people.
Can I create identical questions?
It is best to not ask the same question more than once. Repeating the same question causes confusion and it often violates the points-per-question maximum of 500 points. If you want your question to be seen by more Experts, make sure to select multiple Zones when you ask it, or click the Request Attention button (make sure you have responded to all posts first). If your question does not get a satisfactory answer, close it before opening a new similar or related question.I posted my question in the wrong zone. What can I do?
If there are no comments in your question, you can delete it and start over. If there are comments, use the Request Attention button to ask the Moderators for assistance.A note about zones: There are about 970 Zones at Experts Exchange; the most important part of getting your question answered is asking it in the right Zone. For example, you could ask your Microsoft Access question in the Databases Zone, but you will get better results if you ask it in the Access Zone. See a complete list of all of the zones here.
**Note: The Community Support Zone is not for posting technical questions. If you post a technical question in one of these Zones a Moderator will advise you to repost and will close your question automatically.
How many points should my question be worth?
Points are used to indicate the urgency or difficulty of a question; the more points you offer, the more likely you are to get a quicker response. The points are not a reward for an answer; they are your advertising. The maximum number of points that may be offered for a question is 500.How do I increase points?
Go to your open question and using the Increase Points feature located near the comment box, type in the number of points that you want your question to be worth, and hit enter. This will automatically change the number of points that your question is worth.What if my question fits more than one zone?
You can cross-post your question in up to three zones, and doing so increases the number of Experts who will see it -- so you should always take advantage of cross-posting whenever you can. A complete list of all of the zones is here.What's the right grade to give?
Grading at Experts Exchange is not like school. It's more like the "10-point Must" system in professional boxing; in other words, an answer is worth an A, unless it doesn't resolve your issue. If it requires you to do a little more research, or figure out one more piece of code, then it's worth a B. If you think it's not worth a B, the custom is to offer the Experts an opportunity to earn a better grade.Giving a higher grade has no impact on your Available Points.
The correct answer to some questions is "You can't do that."
Sometimes, you will get an answer that isn't what you want to read, but it still may be the correct answer, and you should award points to the Expert that gave you that answer.
How do I close a question?
There are five ways:Accept an Expert's comment as the solution
If an Expert has given you the solution to your question, or has led you to the solution, select this option.
Accept multiple solutions
If several Experts collaborated to provide a solution, use this option and split the points among them.
Accept your own comment as the solution
If you solved your problem with no assistance from any Expert, post your solution and then click the Accept As Solution button in your own comment. Your points are automatically refunded.
Accept your own comment, and award points to Experts for their assistance
If you answered your own question, but wish to award points to Experts for their attempts to help, use this option.
Delete your question
If you are not getting the kinds of responses that will lead to a solution, you should consider deleting your question and trying again. The Delete Question button is located near the text of your original post.
If you are not certain which selection to make, click the Request Attention button, and the Moderators will help you with the proper choice.
What happens when someone objects to the way I want to close my question?
When you try to delete a question or to accept your own comment as the answer, the other participants have the opportunity to object or to try to give you enough information that you will select their comment as the Answer.If someone disagrees, s/he will click the Object button. That causes a request for review to be placed in the Community Support zone, and the Moderators will work to resolve the issue.
I accepted the wrong solution. What do I do?
Click the Request Attention button, and ask the Moderators to change the grade for you.How do I see my open questions?
Click the link titled My Open Questions in the My Account box, located in the upper right corner of the browser window. You can view a list of all of your questions by clicking on the Question History link.No one is answering my questions!
There are any number of reasons this could be happening, from your question being in the wrong zone to a three-day weekend. Please see our Question Tips, and if you need assistance, click the Request Attention button in your question.What is a Neglected Question?
If your question goes 12 hours without a comment, a notification is sent to Designated Experts to encourage responses; if there are no Designated Experts for the zones in which your question is asked, the Moderators are automatically notified; they will take steps to find people to assist you.If your question goes 24 hours, you can use the Request Attention button to ask the Moderators for more help.
Why did my question get deleted?
Your deleted questions are always visible in your profile. There are four ways your question can be deleted:The AutoDeleter
The AutoDeleter is an automated process that finds questions more than three weeks old that have had no responses and your points are refunded automatically. If your problem still exists, you can still see your question in your Question History.
Cleanup
The Cleanup team is a group of volunteer Experts that examines questions that have been abandoned and makes recommendations regarding them. If your question has gone three weeks without a comment and has no potential answer, the Moderators will usually delete it.
You requested deletion
If you clicked the Delete Question link, and no one objected, your question is automatically deleted.
Your question violated Experts Exchange Guidelines
Some of the common examples of inappropriate questions are:
Those containing inappropriate language
Those that threaten or flame other members
Attempts to get answers to homework or test questions
Questions concerning the defeating of security of networks or defeating the licensing of software
Questions that exist solely to award points to another member
Double posting of your question
Posting questions with more than one account
What is a Related Question?
If you have found a question that mostly answers your question but is lacking some information you need, you can click the button that says Ask A Related Question. When you do so, you must change both the title and the text of the question, but in addition to sending the normal alerts to those Experts who have filters looking for your question, it will send a notification to all of the participants in the question you found.How can I change a grade?
If you feel you have graded a solution incorrectly, click the Request Attention button and the Moderators will change it for you. If another member disputes the grade you have given, you will be asked to explain your reasoning; please respond to those requests.How do I answer questions and become an Expert?
It's pretty simple: Register as an Expert at Experts Exchange, and post comments to help members find solutions to their technology problems. If you are already a member at Experts Exchange, simply answer questions to earn 10,000 points (about seven questions) to earn your Qualified Expert status.There are two ways to answer questions, generally speaking. The more efficient way is to create a filter that includes the criteria for the questions you want to answer.
You may also visit the All Topics page, and find the zones you are interested in. You can browse to the landing page for each zone, and you will see a list of open questions.
Why should I answer questions?
By answering questions and earning an initial 10,000 points, you can earn Premium Services. Once earned, you will see a "You Qualify" link in your profile to qualify yourself as an Expert, or you will qualify yourself upon your next login. To maintain Qualified Expert status and Premium Services, Experts must earn 3,000 points per month. You can also earn certificates for reaching specific levels in individual zones. The zones and point breakdowns are as follows:Master: 50,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
Guru: 150,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
Wizard: 300,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
Sage: 500,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
Genius: 1,000,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
Savant: 10,000,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
Elite: 25,000,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
Technocrat: 50,000,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
Legend: 100,000,000 Expert Points in a single Zone
For more information on rankings, visit the Ranks and Certifications page. Experts Exchange is currently awarding shirts for any certificate earned; to redeem a shirt, click Edit in your profile, then click the For Experts button, and then click the Shirts button. They can take up to eight weeks to deliver in the US, so please be patient.
Are there guidelines for answering questions?
Unlike many other sites, Experts Exchange is collaborative; the Asker of a question and Experts work together to arrive at a solution. The following guidelines will help make your career at Experts Exchange much more satisfying.Understand the question: Take the time to clarify what the user is trying to find out.
Understand the author's goal: Technology can be daunting to a new user; he or she may be trying to do something in a very complicated way, when a very simple solution is available.
Understand the author's level of expertise: Occasionally, you'll find that your technically perfect answer gets overlooked in favor of the simple, less-correct solution. The reason: Your solution was too complex for the user's technical know-how.
Keep your answers clear: Keep your comments to the point and clear; make sure your code is clean and free of extraneous detail. If you use a link, make sure it is a good one, and do not copy and paste a solution from someone else's site; there are laws regarding plagiarism, and most websites have terms of service regarding the use of their original material. Avoid using too many acronyms, and never use IM, chat, or "l337"-speak.
Use common sense: Changing a post a little bit and then posting it as a completely new solution, or repeating a previous post word for word is rude. If you have something new to contribute or you can expand or add to a previous comment, then make sure you give credit where it is due.
Read previous posts before commenting: It is important to read the entire thread so that you know the current situation. That will keep you from posting a duplicate answer or one that has already been shown not to work. If you basically agree with another comment but have something more to add, remember to give credit for the original suggestion -- mention that Expert by name -- in your post.
Be professional: Treat the asker and your colleagues as professionals. Check your ego and your attitude at the door; rudeness, derogatory comments, and sarcastic remarks are uncalled for and unnecessary.
Be prepared to follow up: Be prepared to give follow-up information and assistance to the asker. Abandoning a user in mid-question is almost worse than having the question abandoned by the asker.
Patience is a virtue: Frequently, an asker is under some time pressure, and needs an answer quickly; you won't help the situation by being impatient with him. Give him your attention; offer the best workaround you can if there is no direct solution.
Avoid criticizing: There's nothing to be gained by criticizing another Member when disagreeing with his/her suggestions. Don't take a critical comment personally; stay focused on the object -- solving the asker's problem.
Smile: Presentation counts. Sometimes it's not just the solution, but how the solution is presented. Stay positive with the user; make him/her feel like the two of you will solve the problem.
Test your solution when possible: Take the time to test your code to ensure that it works; you'll come across as a professional, and it will keep the thread a lot cleaner.
How do I create a filter?
Click on the Answer tab, and you will see a box titled Expert Tools containing a button titled Create Filter. You will see eight tabs along the left side. As you click the appropriate ones and set the content, you must update the filter; otherwise, the criteria is not added.Below the box is another one titled Filter Properties Query. It shows the filter as it is being created. The eight tabs are:
Terms: The "what"; the words that describe what you're looking for. You can select specific words, and also select the asker of the question. The default is an "OR" query, meaning that if you ask for several words, the filter will find questions containing any of the words.
Members: The "who"; either the username or member ID number for one or more members, either by inclusion or exclusion.
Activity: The "when" and "how" of anything that has happened in the question. The activity field allows you to specify ranges of dates in which questions are asked, answered or have comments.
Zones: The "where" of the question you're looking for. You can select from the entire zone list the ones you want to search.
Points: Details if you want to limit your search range. You can specify a range of values from zero to 500 (the maximum).
Question Type: You can select In Progress (open questions), or Awaiting Author or Expert response, or the Neglected Questions.
Display: This sets the length of the list shown on the Expert tab.
Custom Query: You can create your own query; however, your created query will essentially be the same as if you use the filter creation system. For more information see the Advanced Search help page.
You can set your filter to send you alerts for each question as it is asked, for hourly digests, or for daily digest. You can also select to have no alerts sent to you.
You can create as many filters as you need; when you want to see the filter results on the page, simply Run the filter. To change the parameters, click Edit.
How do I turn off the new question notifications?
To turn off the new question notifications, go to the Expert tab, and Edit the filter that is sending the notifications. In the Filter Properties Query box, set the alerts to None. Note that clicking the On and Off buttons shown next to the filter does not stop the notifications.How do I turn off the notifications for a question I commented in?
Go to the question. At the bottom of the question text is a link/button that will say Unsubscribe. Clicking that will remove you from receiving the notifications. If you are the asker of the question, you will not be able to unsubscribe until you have closed the question.What is a Designated Expert?
A Designated Expert is a member who has either earned a Guru certificate in a zone, or has been assigned Designated Expert status by a Moderator. A more complete description is here, but essentially, Designated Experts receive bonus points for answering Neglected Questions.What is the PAQ?
PAQ is an abbreviation for Previously Asked Questions. When a question is closed, it is added to the PAQ.I have a helpful comment for a closed question.
You are welcome to post your comment in the thread, but if it has been closed, it is unlikely that the question will be reopened, or that you will be awarded points for it.I gave a good answer, but I'm not getting the points. What do I do?
If the question has been closed by the Asker, and he has awarded the points to another Expert, you can click the Request Attention button, but unless there is an obviously serious error, the Moderators will tend to accept the decision of the Asker; after all, she/he knows what worked for her/him.If the Asker is trying to close or delete his question, then you should click the Object button, and clearly explain why you believe your comment should be selected as the Answer. The Moderators will be notified, and will work to resolve the situation.
Articles
This section contains information about the Articles feature. You can learn more about Articles, what they are and how they function.As a general rule, an Article describes a problem, details a solution, and summarizes the circumstances in which the problem occurs and the solution resolves it. Most Articles are between 300 and 600 words long, consisting of material that is originally written by the author.
Before you write and submit your article, please read the following:
Articles guidelines
Article FAQs
Article Tips
Types of Articles
Most submissions are regular articles. The basic definition of an article is simply that it provides a piece of code or technique, along with a written explanation, that helps resolve an issue. Generally, articles will take one of the following forms:
FAQ: Like most FAQs, these articles answer common questions related to a common IT or tech-related problems.
Tutorials: These articles give step-by-step instructions for accomplishing a task.
Reviews: These articles give a synopsis and evaluation of a recently published or released work, piece of software or piece of hardware.
Best Practices: These articles are more like guidelines or a 101 document.
Tips and Tricks: These articles offer up tidbits of useful knowledge to help make your tech life a little easier. There will usually be several in a single article.
Resources: These articles are generally lists of links to other reputable and useful sites. They are subject for review, and must be approved prior to being posted.
How do I post an Article?
You post your Article by clicking the Articles tab, and then the "Write Article" button.You should first take a look at the section of the Articles Guidelines on Using the System. You should also write your Article in a text editor, rather than a word processor; word processors tend to insert special characters that might not render correctly.
Once you have submitted your Article, it will be reviewed by a Page Editor; if that doesn't happen within 48 hours, your article will be published automatically.
Who reviews my Article?
Your article will be reviewed by at least one Page Editor, who will look through it to make sure of the following:
It is technically accurate.
It is not copied from someone else's site. Plagiarism is a serious violation of the Membership Agreement, and will be cause for your Article being deleted immediately.
It covers the criteria for an article listed above.
Your article may also be reviewed for the correct use of language, for spelling, grammar and so on.
When your article is being reviewed, you will receive notifications that the Page Editor has posted. It is in your interest to respond; their suggestions will help make your article better -- and until they are satisfied, your article will not be published.
When will my Article be published?
Your article gets published in two ways:
It is approved by a Page Editor ...OR...
48 hours elapse with no Page Editor reviewing it.
You are expected to respond to Page Editor suggestions for your article. Once the article meets Experts Exchange's standards and is approved by the Page Editor, it is published and you receive your points.
What are EE-Approved and Editor's Choice?
EE-Approved is a designation awarded by the Page Editors to show that your Article is of superior quality: Either it discusses something new, or provides a unique and original solution to a particularly interesting problem. If your article is selected as EE-Approved, you will receive an additional 4,000 points.Editor's Choice articles are the cream of the crop. No fewer than five Page Editors' approval is required for an article to be chosen, and the designation is reserved for only those articles that are exemplary. If your article is selected as an Editor's Choice, you will receive an additional 5,000 points.
How do the Article points work?
When your article is published, after Page Editor review, you receive 500 points.If your article receives a Yes, this article was helpful vote, you receive 50 points. If it receives 10 Yes votes, you receive a bonus of 500 points and your article is designated a Community Pick.
If your article is designated a Community Pick by a Page Editor, you receive 500 points.
If your article is designated EE-Approved by a Page Editor, you receive another 4,000 points.
If your article is selected as an Editor's Choice, you receive another 5,000 points.
What if I find something wrong with an Article?
You can do one of two things:
You can post a comment to the Article, noting the error. The author can then revise the article appropriately.
You can write a new article that explains why the other article isn't correct or complete.
Contact one of the Zone Advisors for more information.
How long does my Article have to be?
The recommended length of an article is at least 300. Most high-quality articles are much longer.The article should describe the problem, then describe the solution to the problem, and finally, summarize the circumstances where one might encounter the problem.
Note: If you are posting a "Tips and Tricks" article, you should consider at least two or three related items in one article. For instance, a single Tip that takes 75 words to write up does not meet the publishing guidelines.
What can I write about?
You can write about anything for which Experts Exchange has a zone. However, the Articles system is not for what would otherwise be considered a blog post; your article should not be an argument or statement of opinion, but rather a solution to a IT or tech-related problem. Articles that are not tech related won't be considered for the standard 500 points an article receives upon publication.Why was my Article deleted?
The most common reasons an article is not approved by the Page Editors or deleted are:
Plagiarism, posting copyrighted content
Content that has considerable errors, information that is intentionally false or misleading
Spamming, flaming, soliciting, promoting, advertising for commercial purpose
Content that outlines illegal, unethical activities
Explicit, defamatory or malicious content
Libelous content or statements that violate third party rights
Clear misuse of the EE points system
Repeated violations may cause your account to come under administrative review.
Designated Experts
Designated Experts receive email notifications when a question goes more than 12 hours without a comment posted. Designated Experts are assigned by zone, and receive bonus points based on the original value of the question if their solution to a Neglected Question is accepted as the answer or as an assist.There are two ways to become a Designated Expert: earn a Guru certificate in a zone, or petition the Moderators for assignment. By earning a Guru certificate, you are automatically designated in that zone and will receive email notification for Neglected Questions.
If you have received a notification saying you are a Designated Expert and would like to add yourself to other zones or remove yourself from the assigned zones:
Click the Edit link in the My Account box located in the upper right corner of the website
Click the For Experts tab
Click the Designated Expert tab
Here you will see the list of zones you have been assigned. To add yourself as a Designated Expert in any other zone, simply use the zone tree to check the zones you would like to be added to. Once you have selected zones, be sure to click the Submit button to save your settings. You may opt-out of your participation in any zone by clicking the Delete link from the list of zones below the zone tree. You may re-add yourself to any zone at anytime.
If you have any questions or would like to be removed from the Designated Expert
program, please contact the Moderators by posting in the Community Support zone.
Neglected Questions
Your question is tagged as Neglected when it has gone 12 hours without a comment. At that point, Experts Exchange sends a special notification to Designated Experts, who earn bonus points for helping you (the points do not come from your account). If you do not get a response within 24 hours, use the Request Attention button, and the Moderators will help you.Private Discussions
A Moderator or Zone Advisor may invite you to a Private Discussion thread. These threads are hidden from public view and are generally used to help resolve issues on the site that are better kept out of the public zones. A Zone Advisor may want to discuss an issue within the context of a single zone that does not affect the rest of the site, or severalModerators may want to discuss with some members a dispute in posting styles.
If you receive an invitation, please visit the thread and participate as quickly and candidly as possible.
File Upload
The File Upload system at Experts Exchange allows you to attach files to your questions. Currently, the file types that may be uploaded are bmp, doc, gif, jpeg, jpg, log, mdb, pdf, png, txt, xls and zip, and there is a maximum size of 5mb.Experts Exchange's system does scan files, so zipping a file that is not permitted will still result in an error message if you try to upload it.
Rich Text
The rich text feature is only available when posting a response in a question; it is not available when posting the original question. The default setting is for Plain Text, but you can change this by editing your profile. You can also change it for individual posts by clicking the link in the comment box.Its features include:
Bold, italic and underscored text: Highlight the text, and click the appropriate button.
Ordered and unordered lists: Highlight only the items -- not the list heading -- and click the appropriate button.
Links to another page or site: Highlight the text and click the T button. To link to an external site, enter the entire URL (for example,
http://www.google.com
To link to a question at Experts Exchange, enter http:// followed by the question page. For example,
http://Q_12345678.html
http://www.google.com
To link to a question at Experts Exchange, enter http:// followed by the question page. For example,
http://Q_12345678.html
Aligning text to the left: Highlight the paragraph and click the appropriate button.
Pushing the text to the right: Highlight the paragraph and click the appropriate button. The text will be pushed to the right side of the window; however, it will not be flush right.
Checking the spelling in your post: Note that the spell-check does not work on code snippets or on files that have been uploaded.
There are also Undo and Redo buttons.
Notifications
Experts Exchange sends out email notifications on virtually everything: New questions (if they match your filters), comments posted in a question, changes in your account status, your open questions, and myriad other situations. So please make sure you have whitelisted noreply@experts-exchange.cNewsletter
The Experts Exchange newsletter is issued every other week (except around the winter holidays, during which time the schedule is a little more flexible). To subscribe, Edit your profile and change the setting to Yes; you should also whitelist the server newsletter.experts-exchangThe Newsletter was redesigned in late 2008 and is completely compliant with Microsoft Outlook 2003 and 2007, GMail and most other email clients. Feel free to send us your critiques, or sign up to receive the newsletter if you are not currently getting it.
Hall of Fame
The Hall of Fame box on each page has been updated to include 25 Experts and allows you to see a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly total for all the top Experts.Share-it!
The questions pages have a new feature called "Share-it!" located next to the "Printer Friendly" button. The "Share-It!" button allows you to share a logged in version of a solution with your friends. Not only can you share questions via email, it also lets you instant message a solution and create custom links to post on social sites.Follow A Member
The Follow feature allows you to read the posts made by your favorite Experts. To use it, go to the member's profile, and click the Follow button.The names of the people who are following you, and those you are following are shown in your profile. You can also block people who are following you.
The most recent activities of the people you are following are shown in a list on the home page, and it can be filtered for individual members.
Customizable EEples
You may notice some new faces around the site; same names, but definitely new faces. With the October 1st release, you now have the ability to customize your EEple for all to see. Male or female, you can choose the color and style of your hair, facial hair and clothing as well as select various skin colors. Go to your profile and customize your EEple today!What are the Community Support zones?
Most of your questions about Experts Exchange can be answered by posting a zero-point question in the Community Support zones:Community Support: This is where the Moderators live. You will get assistance here regarding questions, answers and other members. If you click the Request Attention button in any question, your request is posted here automatically.
New To EE: This zone is where new members can get more detailed advice about things like formulating your question, how to grade answers, and what zones to select.
Announcements: Information about new features and changes to Experts Exchange are posted here.
New Topics: In this zone, you can request new zones for addition to the Experts Exchange zone list.
Suggestions: Here you can request new features, or improvements to existing features at Experts Exchange.
EE Bugs: This zone is for reporting bugs with the Experts Exchange site.
Expert Input: Members use this zone to discuss policies and procedures at Experts Exchange.
Feedback: If there is an issue you wish to report to Experts Exchange that cannot be resolved by posting in one of the other zones, please post your issue here.
The Request Attention button automatically posts in the Community Support zone.
What are the Moderators and Admins?
The Administrators and Moderators are members who volunteer their time to resolve various issues at Experts Exchange. The Administrators were selected to assist, coordinate and supervise the Moderators and Zone Advisors; they also supervise the Cleanup program, and work with Experts Exchange on special projects.The Moderators' primary function is to respond to and resolve questions in the Community Support Zone. If you are aware of a problem, or need help in a question, the Community Support zone team will provide help for the following:
Interpretation and enforcement of the Membership Agreement
Arbitrating requests for deletion and closure
Assisting new users in getting their questions answered
Announcements and instructions about new features and processes
All these services are free to all members of Experts Exchange; you may post zero point questions to Community Support.
All these services are free to all members of Experts Exchange; you may post zero point questions to Community Support.
Note: With the exception of the Expert Input Zone, comments are limited to the person asking the question and authorized personnel. Comments made by others will be deleted.
If you need to contact an Admin or Moderator, their email addresses are username@experts-exchange.com. The Moderator team includes:
A list of Site Administrators is here.
What are the Zone Advisors?
Zone Advisors are Experts in all the specific Technology Areas. They are not Moderators, but their role at Experts Exchange is just as important. They are Experts, usually at or near the top of their Zones, who have agreed to take on responsibilities above and beyond those of normal Experts. Among other functions they:
Assist members in getting answers
Provide guidance to new users
Contribute to the newsletter
Ensure the accuracy of answers
If you need to contact a Zone Advisor their contact information is found in their profiles. The Zone Advisors, with their general areas of expertise, are listed here.
What are the Page Editors?
Page Editors are Experts in the various Core zones. Their responsibilities are related to the Articles system; among other functions they:
Work with Authors to ensure technical accuracy
Provide input regarding the completeness of Articles
Contribute Articles to the system
Determine which Articles are awarded EE-Approved and Editor's Choice status
If you need to contact a Page Editor their contact information is found in their profiles. The Editors, with their general areas of expertise, is shown here.
What are Expert Contributors?
The Expert Contributors are members who assist us in making sure that the zones suggested by the Question Wizard are appropriate to your question. They do this by performing ongoing edits to a list of keywords for each zone; the Expert Contributors also help determine if a suggested new zone should be included.Customer Service
Most issues at Experts Exchange can be resolved by the community volunteers listed above, but the exception is anything to do with billing and your account.You can reach Experts Exchange Customer Service by calling us at 805-787-0603 or by Contacting Us using our Contact Us form.
Customer Service Hours are 8 AM to 5 PM (PST) Monday through Friday.
Cleanup Volunteers (CVs)
The Cleanup Volunteers make recommendations for closing out old questions so the Moderators can finalize them. You can assist the Cleanup Volunteers by commenting when they ask for recommendations on a question where you have participated. You can view a full list of Cleanup Volunteers here.For more information about becoming a Cleanup Volunteer, contact AnnieMod: AnnieMod "at" experts-exchange.com.
Designated Experts (DEs)
Designated Experts are assigned by zone to receive notifications about Neglected Questions. For more information see this section.Hall of Fame
Members of the Hall of Fame are the best of the best -- the Top 100 experts of all time. Most continue to be active and continue to provide service.Moderator Communication
There are many questions that Moderators look at each day, so when a Moderator makes a request of you -- to close your open questions or to refrain from posting something you've posted -- please respond promptly.About using email to solve your problem
The use of email to resolve a question at Experts Exchange is prohibited, because it gives the emailing Expert an unfair advantage over the other participants in a question. The same applies to the use of Remote Access to resolve a problem. Points cannot be awarded for a solution that is not posted on the site.A related issue is the posting of email addresses in questions (if you want to post your email address in your profile, that is allowed.) The only people at Experts Exchange who have access to your email address are the office staff and the Administrators -- the Moderators and Zone Advisors do NOT have access to it. By posting your email address, you are subject to receiving email from anyone. The Moderators and Zone Advisors will automatically remove email addresses from questions.
About hacks, cracks and keys
Experts Exchange does not condone piracy or script kiddie exploits and will do everything possible to eliminate the sharing of this kind of knowledge on the site.When asking a question, if it is a clear-cut violation of the member agreement concerning the defeating of security of networks or defeating the licensing of software then the question will be deleted, and the violation will be noted in your profile. If the question is borderline or if it is not clear that your intent is innocent, a Moderator or Zone Advisor may request clarification.
If you are an Expert and you see a question that is either a clear cut or borderline violation, please report it using the Request Attention button. Please explain why you think a question is in violation, but also consider if the nature of the question could be innocent.
About copyrights
Copying and pasting a web page or other document is considered copyright infringement in most cases. If you want to refer to someone else's work the preferred method is to post the link with a brief description of it. Posts that consist entirely of work copied and pasted from other sites will generally be deleted unless it's from your own work.About multiple accounts
Each Experts Exchange user should have only one user account. If you receive email regarding the possibility of your having duplicate accounts, please respond as soon as possible so that we can clear up the issue.About behavior
Experts Exchange has a "culture" all its own and does its best to make the site as user friendly as possible to ask and search for the best technical and IT solutions in the world. We ask that you treat others the way you want to be treated, and consider what you would think -- and do -- if you were on the receiving end of the comment you are about to make.If you feel you are on the receiving end of improper behavior please report it using the Request Attention button found at the bottom of the body of the question.
About the Lounges
The Lounge and the Expert Lounge are unmoderated Zones. Except in extreme circumstances, the Moderators will not take any action with regard to posts in either. There is an expectation of professional and polite discourse in the Expert Lounge.About point passing
Point passing is loosely defined as the creation of a question for the sole purpose of awarding points to another user or yourself.Moderators will contact you regarding any question that appears to be an attempt at point passing or if they believe that point passing has already occurred. Additionally, other actions may be taken for repeated attempts to misuse the points system.
About accepting the wrong solution
Experts Exchange recognizes that sometimes a member may select the wrong solution to his/her question. The Moderators will work with you to get the correct answer selected without finding you in violation of the Member Agreement as long as the selection was not done in a vindictive manner. There are 3 ways to "Accept the wrong solution":Accepting a solution that has already been suggested
Accept the comment of the Expert whose comment best solves your problem, or leads you to a solution. Don't skip over a response because you don't like the username or the way the answer is written.
Not accepting the right solution
If something works, then accept the answer. It frequently happens that two Experts will post a comment at about the same time; if the two posts are virtually identical you can award points to both users with the accept multiple solutions feature. Please do not select a solution that does not work, just to close the question.
Not closing your question
Click here to read about closing your questions. If you are contacted by a Moderator to close your questions please do so.
About abandoning your question
About the worst thing you can do at Experts Exchange is to not close your question; with the systems that are in place, there is no real excuse for it. Simply put, if you consistently abandon your questions without closing them, the Moderators will be contacting you about the problem, and there are consequences.Experts Exchange sends you an email about your open questions every week. Please take the time to review the question, and if you have received a comment that has led you to a solution, award the points to the Experts. They are volunteering their time and knowledge to help you get a solution, so it is the least you can do.
If you have more than five "abandoned" questions -- questions that have gone more than three weeks without a comment -- you can expect to hear from the Moderators. They will ask you to deal with your questions, and will then monitor your account. If, after two messages to you, there is no substantial progress, they can take a number of actions including the suspension of your account. At that point, you will be required to contact the Moderators to have your account reinstated.
If you need some assistance or guidance in closing your questions, please use the Request Attention button.
About homework
Experts Exchange appreciates that there are many student members who are interested in getting help with homework problems. Most Experts will guide a student to the answer by working through the problem in a collaborative manner, but they are not likely to give you the answers to a certification examination, so don't be offended if someone asks if your question is homework.If you are a student asking a homework question, be clear in your question that you want to work toward the correct answer while learning more about subject you are studying. The purpose of homework assignments is to help you to learn, and the Experts will help you find your answer.
Asking a number of questions in one question
The idea at Experts Exchange is to ask a question, assign a point value to it, get a solution from several suggestions, select the best one, and award the points for it.Frequently, new users will ask several questions in one (because they don't have very many points), and then withhold awarding the points until one or more Experts have answered a few follow-up questions -- sometimes totally unrelated to the original question. Most of the time Experts will stop participating in your question and move on if this happens.
If you need to ask another question please do so in an entirely new question using the Ask A Related Question feature.
About using your business name in a signature
If you post your company name in a manner which appears to be advertising, you are violating the Membership Agreement. You are permitted to put the information in your profile.Although a personal web page may not seem like advertising, the difference between commercial promotion and personal promotion is often too close to judge. For this reason, Experts Exchange asks that you do not post your personal web page address as part of your signature.
About posting in the Community Support zones
The Community Support zones are reserved for communicating with the Moderators and Experts Exchange staff.However, if you are not authorized by Experts Exchange to do so, or if you are not specifically a party to the issue, you should not reply to questions in this Zone unless asked to do so by an Admin or Moderator.
The sole exception is the Expert Input Zone, which is open for community discussions.
Shirts
How do I earn a shirt?
You can earn a shirt on Experts Exchange by answering questions. Each time you earn a new certificate you earn a new shirt.
To help you earn certificates, you can set up filters in your Experts Tab to send you notifications when new questions are asked in areas you are knowledgeable in.
How do I redeem my shirt?
Once you earn a new certification you will receive an email letting you know that you can redeem your shirt. Click on Redeem Shirt in that email to be taken to the section in your member profile where you can redeem your shirt.If for some reason you have discarded your email, you can navigate to the section in your member profile.
Go to Edit your profile. (Located in the My Account box in the upper right corner of your homepage)
Go to the For Experts Tab.
Go to the Shirts Tab.
Click Redeem next to the shirt you would like to redeem.
Choose your shirt size and fill in the needed information.
Click Submit and review your information.
Click Complete Order once you verify your information.
It can take up to 8 weeks from your redemption date to receive your shirt. If it has been 8 weeks and you have not received your shirt, if you are having trouble redeeming your shirt, or do not see the For Experts Tab please Contact Us.
How can I earn a shirt?
What sizes are available?
I haven't received my shirt
See: All About Shirts
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BBCode / BB Code / Use EE Tag Formatting
As of this writing, EE is in the process of switching over from using the buggy/legacy Rich Text comment-editing feature to a cross-browser compliant system that uses embedded BB codes.
The system is currently in place in the Articles system. The same codes are used to write Articles and to embed formatting in comments posted to Articles.
You either use the Formatting toolbar...
...or simply type the codes yourself. In any case, be sure to use the [Preview] option (near the [Submit] button) to verify that your output will be as desired.
Formatting Text
Underline: [u] to start, [/u] to end
Bold: [b] to start, [/b] to end
Italic: [i] to start, [/i] to end
Text formatting can be mixed and used within Steps, Bullets, and Quotes.
All formatting tags must be closed within the container they were started
Adding Links
[url="http://www.example.com"] to begin the link tag
[/url] to end the link tag
Example: [url="http://www.example.com"]Link name[/url] lends up looking like:
Link name
Links can be used within Steps, Bullets, and Quotes.
Links can have text formatting (bold and/or italic) within them.
Adding Steps
[step="number of step" title="title of step"] will format a step number and title.
[/step] will close the step formatting.
Adding Bullets
[bullet] will begin formatting a bullet point.
[/bullet] will close the bullet formatting.
Adding Subtitles
[subtitle] will begin formatting a subtitle.
[/subtitle] will close the subtitle formatting.
Adding Code Snippets
[code] will begin formatting the subsequent text as a code snippet.
[/code] will close the code snippet formatting.
Adding a Quote
[quote] will begin formatting the subsequent text as a quote (indented).
[/quote] will close the quote formatting.
Notes about line spacing:
Some elements (such as [subtitle]) end up showing with a fixed spacing above and below the text. In some cases, you can decrease the fixed spacing by omitting line feeds. For instance:
---------
Here's a Subtitle
With text below---------
Here's a Subtitle
With text below---------
Here's how that looked in the comment editor:
---------
[subtitle]Here's a Subtitle[/subtitle]
With text below
---------
[subtitle]Here's a Subtitle[/subtitle]With text below
------------------
item 1
item 2
item 3
---------
item 1
item 2
item 3
---------
Here's how that looked in the comment editor:
---------
[bullet]item 1[/bullet]
[bullet]item 2[/bullet]
[bullet]item 3[/bullet]
---------[bullet]item 1
[/bullet][bullet]item 2
[/bullet][bullet]item 3[/bullet]
---------There are a number of related tips and hints in Harfang's great article:
Articles and Typography: a brief manual
Badges and Badgers
Some EEple images sport a "sheriff star" on the chest:
These are members who volunteer time to the EE Community, including...
Administrators (Admins)
Moderators (Mods)
Zone Advisors (ZAs)
Page Editors (PEs)
Cleanup Volunteers (CVs)
When you see a badge, please show some respect. These are often long-term members -- EE's been around since before there as even a Google (Remember when "Alta Vista" was your best shot at finding something? Remember the fake Alta Vista? If so you've got the right era)...
Anyway, these members know their way around EE and have shown an ability and a willingness to help you. So smile and ask a question :-)
Historical note: The term "Badger" originated about the time the Badger,Badger,Badger video swept through everyone's consciousness. The badge image actually came much later.
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Reader Polls
EE has two "crowdsourcing" reader polls where any EE Member can click Yes or No to indicate satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a posting. You can only vote once (more specifically, only your first vote is registered). You cannot "take back" a vote.Was this comment helpful?
Click Yes to raise (slightly) the "Rating" value of a question. The Rating of a Solution (aka, a closed question, aka a PAQ) determines, in part, how high it will be listed in a Search Results page.You should feel absolutely free to click [No] when you get to a Solution that does not answer the stated question. In fact, you should even consider it your duty as a Member to do so. Every No vote that lowers the Rating of a bad answer makes it less likely that that answer will be seen by other EE users. Clicking Yes and No helps to effectively improve the overall quality of EE's enormous Solutions database.
Clicking Yes or No on a Solution does not affect Expert point distribution. It just improves the PAQ. So do it.
Was this article helpful?
Click [Yes] when you think an article is well-written, accurate, and useful, and especially if it answered the question that its title and first paragraphs indicate that it should answer.Adding your Yes vote to an article adds 50 points to the Author's Article Points total. But more importantly, it raises the article's internal rating so that it is placed higher in EE Search Results lists and is seen more often on Article Landing pages and in search engine results lists.
However! Please be cautious and considerate with your No votes on articles. For instance, if you ended up at an article that uses JavaScript instead of VisualBasic in its example code, and you wanted the latter, then you might think "no, that was not helpful, to me." In such cases, just don't vote. The article is still likely to be useful to others. It can hurt an author's pride to see No votes. Voting No on a good article -- out of spite or because you dislike the author for other reasons -- is pathetic and mean-spirited. Don't do it.
In general, vote No on an Article in these few specific situations:
The article contains verifiable mistakes, especially in coding examples. In such cases, you should first post a comment and allow the Author a chance to correct the mistake. And click Request Attention to get a Moderator to look at it.
The article is poorly-written and hard to read. But have some tolerance: Many excellent articles are written by EE Members who speak English as a second language. If the content of the article is still good, despite a few idiomatic grammar issues, then vote Yes or don't vote.
The article simply does not answer the question implied by its title and first paragraphs. This is a very legitimate reason to vote No. Ask yourself: "Will most other people also find that this does not answer the question? Does it offer bad (or useless) advice?" And in that case, you can do those people a favor by decreasing the article's rating by voting No.
All No votes are always anonymous. But if you have a legitimate reason to vote No, you should be honest and open enough to post a comment indicating why you voted No. If the article is that bad, then think of it as an opportunity: You can and should write a better article on the same topic!
Article Comments
You can and should post comments at the end of an article. You can add to the value of the article when you have additional, related advice for readers. Post an article comment whenever you find a flaw or any kind of error, or even if you have a different opinion (e.g., on a Review-type article).PAQ Rating
Although EE is famous and successful for its interactive Question-and-Answer system, it is EE's Solutions database -- also called "the PAQ" (Previously-Asked Questions) -- that draws people to this site, and that is where most answers can be found.When you view a Solution, you will see a "Rating" value at the top -- a number from 0.0 to 10.0. This value is generated using a sophisticated, proprietary algorithm. We are told that it is based on a complex calculation of many factors, including the grade given by the Asker, the closing survey that an asker completes when accepting an answer, the Yes and No votes on the "Was this comment helpful?" poll, the experience level of the Expert(s) who answered the question, and possibly a number of other factors.
The Rating affects where a Solution appears in a Search Results page. Of course, relevance (match to search terms) is the most important criteria, but highly-rated PAQs get a boost to the top. The topmost items of a long list are very likely to have been given an A grade, reader-survey Yes votes, and were probably answered by top-ranked Experts.
Zones / Categories
EE uses a "Zone system" to categorize questions and Solutions. Its primary purpose is to provide a means for EE's Expert volunteers to monitor for questions that they can answer. When you ask a question, you must specify at least one "Zone," but you can specify additional Zones so that the question will be seen by a larger group of Experts.The Zones are arranged in a rough hierarchy, with the top-level being the items along the top of every EE page. These are called the "Core Zones." They are:
Microsoft, Apple, Digital Living, Hardware, Software, OS, Storage, Database, Security,
Programming, Web Development, Networking, and Other
As you might guess, there is much overlap between Zones.
How do I select the right Zone?
It can be difficult to decide which Zone(s) to select for your question. Also, it can be difficult to find the right zones, even if you know they exist! EE updates and improves the zone system continually, but it remains a source of usability problems. Here are some tips that might help:
Before asking your question, navigate to the Landing Page of what looks like the best Zone (use the drop-downs from the Navigation bar at the top of every EE page). The zone you are in will be a pre-set default when you ask your question. So that's a starting point.
Before asking the question, go to the All Topics page to get a feel for the EE Zone hierarchy. You may find several different (even widely-separated) parts of the tree where your question will fit.
If you find a question that is close to the one you have, then locate and click the "Ask a Related Question" link (near the bottom of every Solution page). That will pre-set the zone in your new question to be the same as what was used in the related question.
If you have trouble locating the right Zone, then ask your question in a "general" (high-level) zone. If it fails to get much action, then click the Request Attention link below the question text. Eventually a moderator will look at your question and re-zone it.
Expert Exchange acronyms
Here's a pretty thorough list of "insider" abbreviations and acronymns. Thanks to Neminder for putting this together:
EE - Experts Exchange; it denotes either the site itself or the ownership and management
TA - Topic Area; called "zone" on the site, they were called Topic Areas for so long that a lot of people still call them that
CS - Community Support; it refers to either the specific topic area or to the Moderators, who handle the questions in the CS topic area, as a group, or to the group of CS topic areas. Also, CS-G: Community Support-General
ZA - Zone Advisors are members who "watch" their TAs, helping members get answers to their questions. Because they're mostly more senior members, they are familiar with which Experts know what subjects.
PE - Page Editors are members who provide editorial and technical assistance to the authors of Articles (Note: at a point in the past, ZAs were called PEs).
MC - Member Comment; a comment left in a profile by either a Moderator, Administrator or Zone Advisor that is sent directly to the member. They're only visible to the Member and the Mods/Admins/ZAs, so don't worry that a lot of people are going to see it.
PAQ - Previously Asked Question; when a question is PAQed, it is closed, and points are refunded or awarded. PAQ also refers to the database of stored questions and answers. (historical note: an earlier meaning was "Points After Question" which came from the very early days when one paid points to see a solution).
CV - Cleanup Volunteer; a member who spends time going through abandoned questions making recommendations about their closure.
RFA, RA - Request For Assistance or Request Assistance; this refers to both the button in a question that allows a member to ask for the Moderators to look at a question, and to the request that is automatically posted in the CS zone.
NQ - Neglected Question; a question is marked as neglected when it has gone 12 hours without a comment being posted. When a question becomes neglected, one or both of two things happens: a request for the Moderators to find the asker more help is posted automatically in CS; and a notice is sent to DEs (see below) asking them to look at the question.
DE - Designated Expert; members who have a Guru certificate can choose to become Designated Experts in the zones they have the certificate in. When they accept, they will receive notifications of NQs (see above) in those zones, and are eligible to receive bonus points for answering the questions. DE status can also be assigned by a Moderator, but it still must be accepted by the Expert.
OFD - Open For Discussion; a week after a question is closed, comments posted to it are OFD comments. They cannot be accepted as the answer (since the question is closed), and they appear at the bottom of the thread. You shouldn't use them to ask a new question either.
SME - Subject Matter Expert. A new acronym gaining a little traction, it refers to an Expert who does not have any particular privileges, but who is recognized by the ZAs and PEs as someone with expertise in a zone (added: ...especially in regards to vetting articles).
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Wik-EE: Member-Added SEE ALSO Links to pages related to how EE works
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Wik-EE: Member-Added SEE ALSO Links to pages related to how EE works
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See also:
EE Help Wiki (WikEE) -- A Directory of Member-Created Help Pages for Experts Exchange Users
http://www.ee-stuff.com/help.php
https://www.experts-exchange.com/help.jsp
EE Advanced Search and Saved Searches
EE Filters: The Short Version
Experts-Exchange Contacts: Customer Service
Ranks and Certifications
All About Shirts
Experts Exchange: Annual Expert Awards
Hall of Fame
Find Answers (How It Works)
Corporate Accounts
EE Privacy Policy
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Comments (4)
Commented:
Thank you for your effort and hard work.
Commented:
Not as helpful as, say, if they fixed the actual help system.
Commented:
Commented:
Also, I am pretty sure the line
EE's been around since before there as even a Google
*should* say
EE's been around since before there even was a Google
Hope that helps, and thanks.