Also see our Premium FAQ.
1. Where are you? The site hasn't changed.
2. I'm signed up for your email alerts, but I'm not getting them. What can I do?
4. I want to get involved. What can I do to help?
5. I click on the links and nothing happens. What's wrong?
6. How do I unsubscribe from the email alerts?
8. Can I put your emails on hold while I go on vacation?
9. Why do you send me to stories on Web sites that require a registration?
10. How do I stop the pop-up ads?
11. I have WebTV and can't see your emails?
12. I get your email Alerts, but the links don't work. What's wrong?
13. How do I change my email address for the BuzzFlash Alerts?
16. Why won't you post my commentary/mail/cartoon?
17. My ISP keeps putting your alerts in my spam folder. What can I do?
18. How do I submit to the mailbag?
19. How do I change my BuzzFlash Alerts email address?
Where are you? The site hasn't changed.
Unless the FBI shut us down on trumped up anti-terrorism charges, we're here. The lights are on.How are you accessing the web? Perhaps your company/ISP is blocking our URL. While we don't know why your company/ISP would do something like that, we do know it's possible [we know of a dot-com in California that blocks a rather unpleasantly named site (that lists companies that have gone under: f***edcompany.com), so its employees, while on the job, can't read nasty comments about the company made by previous staffers].
You might also try purging your cache/temporary files
- In Firefox for PCs, under "Tools," choose "Options" and then clear "cache."
- In Firefox for Macs, under "Firefox," choose "Preferences" and then clear "cache."
- In IE for PCs, under "Tools," choose "Internet Options." Under the "Temporary Internet Files" heading, click the "Delete Files" option.
- In Netscape for PCs, under "Edit," choose "Preferences." On the left side of the screen that appears, click the "Advanced" link, then the "Cache" link under that. When the right side of the screen changes, click the "Clear Memory Cache" and "Clear Disk Cache" buttons.
I'm signed up for your email alerts, but I'm not getting them. What can I do?
1. If our email list management provider, Constant Contact, is having trouble, hopefully they'll fix it in a short period of time.2. If we check with our provider and they're working okay and your email address shows up in our list, the problem usually isn't -- unfortunately for you -- on our end.
We recommend that you check with your ISP and find out if our emails are being blocked.
There have been instances that an overprotective ISP labeled our emails as spam. We're not sure why that happens, because our email list is opt-IN only -- we don't add people, they add themselves. So, we're as confused as you are.
If you've already checked with your ISP and they say they're not blocking our emails, then we're not sure what the problem is.
3. You can try resigning up, in case your name is accidentally dropped.
4. We also recommend that you sign up for a free email account (Yahoo, etc.) and use that address to receive the BuzzFlash emails. If you get them there and not at your other email address, than your ISP is blocking our email. We know that worked for some of our readers.
5. Put the BuzzFlash Alerts email address "alerts@buzzflash.com" in your email address book. That helps keep us out of the Spam folder. It's called "whitelisting" and you can find more information about that here:
www.buzzflash.com/alerts/BuzzFlash_Signup_Thanks.html
6. Do you use Yahoo Mail and you're not getting our Alerts? Try this:
More than likely, your "Bulk" folder (on the left side of your screen) has been collecting our Alerts as spam.
To train your email account to treat our Alerts as non-spam email, click on the "Bulk" folder, find one of our Alerts, open it, and then click the "Not Spam" button at the top of the page.
That should train your Yahoo mail to put the Alerts in your "Inbox."
If get the email alerts, why doesn't your computer recognize my email address when I try to order a product?
The system that processes credit cards for the BuzzFlash Marketplace and our email list management provider are different web companies.If you continue to have problems ordering, you can snail mail a check or money order to:
Support
BuzzFlash.com
P.O. Box 618354
Chicago, Illinois 60661-8354
Please make sure to include a note about the product you're ordering and, if available, your e-mail address.
I want to get involved. What can I do to help?
There are plenty ways of getting involved. A BuzzFlash Reader put this list together.
I click on the links and nothing happens. What's wrong?
We suggest that you clear out your browser's "cache" and/or upgrade your browser to the latest version.If that doesn't work, please send us the following information and we will forward it to our technical gurus.
- What kind of computer do you have?
- How much ram does it have?
- How much free space is available on your hard drive?
- What operating system do you use?
- What browser do you use?
- What is the version of that browser?
- How often is your browser set to check for changes on Web sites you visit?
- How do you connect to the Web (dial-up modem, DSL, cable, etc.)
You can also try this trick (courtesy of Web Page Design for Designers):
Okay, you are certain that you have uploaded an updated page to the server but your browser still displays the old one, what's going on?You
know about the browser's cache and you have gone into the preferences
dialog and cleared the cache files - but the browser still shows the
old page when you know
you've changed it.
You close down the browser and launch it again, that should get rid of the old page - but it doesn't - it still shows up!
Frustrating, isn't it?
Try this. Simply add a question mark to the end of the URL line this...
http://www.wpdfd.com/editorial/wpd0902.htm?
and hit the enter key. That should do the trick!
Why just the links?
Our job is made much simpler and legally safer if we point you to the articles, instead of copying, formatting, and posting them to the BuzzFlash site.How do I unsubscribe from the email alerts?
The fastest way to unsubscribe is to use the link at the bottom of any email alert.If you still choose to have us remove you manually, you can always email BuzzFlash at alerts@buzzflash.com with the words "Unsubscribe from Alerts" in your subject line.
Please allow 2-3 business days for us to complete your request.
Can I put your emails on hold while I go on vacation?
You can manage your account and remove yourself from the lists. Use the "Update Profile/Email Address" link at the bottom of your email alerts.
One other thought. Depending on your email program, you may be able to automatically "filter" or forward emails from us to your "trash" or an "auto delete" folder or to a new folder that you can scroll through at your leisure after you return to work. Check your email program's help documents for those features.
And have a nice vacation.
Why do you send me to stories on Web sites that require a registration?
Many of the major papers in the U.S. (New York Times, L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Post, for example) require registration to view some or all of their articles. If we were to never link to stories from sites that require registration, we'd have a lot fewer articles to share.
We know that a lot of people don't like sites that require registration because those sites use "cookies." If you're worried about cookies or curious what they are, check out the information below
The
Cookie Controversy
http://www.cookiecentral.com/ccstory/
Internet
Cookies
http://dsl.snet.net/features/network/articles/2000/02220101.shtml
More
About Cookies
http://www.privacytoolbox.org/browsing/cookies.shtml
If you don't want to register for every site, you can find fake registration information here:
How do I stop the pop-up ads?
BuzzFlash doesn't have anything to do with those ads and can't stop pop-up ads from other sites. However, a BuzzFlash Reader alerted us to some software that may be of assistance to you:
"Individuals can use a FREEWARE program called NAVISCOPE to block Internet Pop-Ups---and much more! A full list of the program's features and capabilities is available at http://www.naviscope.com/, and of course, it can be downloaded there as well. Although I use it with Windows ME, it's only 'officially' available for Windows 95, 98, and NT and Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, and Opera. (I haven't tried it with Mozilla). Installation is quite simple."
Also, a while ago, Earthlink announced a program called Pop-Up Blocker. You can read more about it here: http://support.earthlink.net/support/DLOADCENTER/popup_blocker/.
BuzzFlash does not endorse or guarantee the effectiveness of the above software.
Here's
an interesting article from Wired on Pop-Ups and Pop-Up stoppers:
http://www.wired.com/news/business/
0,1367,54903,00.html?tw=wn_ascii
I have WebTV and can't see your emails?
Our WebTV/MSNTV Alert subscribers (less than 1% of our visitors) have problems seeing the BuzzFlash Alerts (page is very dark/words too light). According to the WebTV/MSNTV tech support staff we spoke with, WebTV/MSNTV does not support HTML in email.They do, however, recommend that you upgrade to the latest version of the software. They also recommended that you visit the WebTV/MSNTV community chat rooms and ask other WebTV/MSNTV users if they have a workaround (which the tech support guy thought was available, but was not supported by Microsoft).
You can find contact information and answers to many WebTV/MSNTV questions here: http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/MSNTV/FAQ.asp.
We are working with our email list management company to find a solution that will send you plain text emails in lieu of the text/HTML versions. Until that solution becomes available, our best recommendation would be use your WebTV browser to secure a Yahoo or Hotmail account and use that address to receive the BuzzFlash Alerts.
I get your email Alerts, but the links don't work. What's wrong?
One thing you might want to check is whether the links are opening a window behind your email program. If you click the first link and then return to your email program to check the second link, many times the URL will open in the window behind your email program, not allowing you to see that it has changed.If you're sure the links just aren't working, please forward the entire email to us at alerts@buzzflash.com so that we can dig through the code and try to find a solution.
How do I change my email address for the BuzzFlash Alerts?
The easiest way is to unsubscribe your old email address (using the instructions at the bottom of every Alert) and re-subscribe your new address using the BuzzFlash Alerts sign-up form.If that doesn't work for you, send an email to alerts@buzzflash.com with your old email address and your new email address. Please make sure to label them so we know which email address is being replaced.
Do you offer an RSS feed?
No. But, you can add the BuzzFlash Headlines to your site with our Headline Syndication script. Everything you need to know is right here:http://www.buzzflash.com/about/syndicate.html
How are we to indicate whether a piece is contributed for the Mailbag and when it is meant for the Contributors section? Is that just a decision that is made within your organization?
As of January 24, 2005, you can use the online form to submit to the Mailbag. Readers can submit contributors pieces to buzzflash@buzzflash.com. Please include "Contributor Submission: [Title of your submission]" in the subject line. Sometimes mailbag items are so compelling or on topic that we feel they require more exposure and are added to the contributor section.
Please also read our submission policy below.
Why won't you post my commentary/mail/cartoon?
BuzzFlash receives a lot of submissions from our readers, 20 to 30 a day (that doesn't include the 500-1000 other emails we get). If we decide to post your work, we'll try to let you know -- it's something we like to do. However, we really don't have the staff to respond to every submission and provide feedback if we don't think it's right for us. Believe me, we'd love to be able to do that -- we get a lot of submissions that are good, but not quite there, or they're good, but not timely enough, or they're good, but we just have so much stuff we're already committed to posting that we don't have time to get to anything else.If
am email to us is within the word count and timely, we try to post
it in the mailbag. Because of the number of emails we post in the
mailbag (30-70) every day, we do not email
you to let you know something you sent has been posted there. We'd
love to, but we just don't have the staff.
Please understand that we're not personally ignoring you nor
do we wish you any hard feelings. We
have
3
million
visitors
to
BuzzFlash
each
month
and our first priority is giving them the best and the timeliest political
information available. Sometimes,
that includes your commentary, mail, or cartoon.
My ISP keeps putting your alerts in my spam folder. What can I do?
Generally, if your ISP (Internet Service Provider -- AOL, Earthlink, SBC, etc.) flags the BuzzFlash Alerts as spam, you should contact your technical support, tell them that we're not spam, and send them to the Alerts sign-up page to read about our double opt-in system (the best for stopping fraudulent sign-ups).For Yahoo Mail users, the next time you find an Alert in the Yahoo spam filter (the "Bulk" folder), be sure to open the Bulk folder, view the BuzzFlash Alerts email and, at the top of the window, click "Not Spam." That helps train the filter to not grab the Alerts.
How do I submit to the mailbag?
As of January 24, 2005, we ask that you submit your Mailbag submissions with this online form.
Important Note: If you email us directly, because we can't always determine your intentions, we need to ask a favor of you when you send us email. If you DO NOT WANT YOUR EMAIL PUBLISHED in the Mailbag or in the Contributors section, please write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the Subject line or at the top of your email. That way we'll know it's just a comment to BuzzFlash.
Additionally, if you submit a mailbag item and DO NOT WANT YOUR NAME associated with your submission, sign your email "A BuzzFlash Reader." If you send email unsigned, we will post your name with your submission, or, if that's not available, your email name (not the full address, just what's on the left side of the email address).
Please try and keep your word count under 400.
If your letter includes hypertext links, please include the entire URL.
We can only post a small percentage of what is sent to us. The opinions expressed in the Mailbag are not necessarily those of BuzzFlash. Thanks again for your email and your patience.
How do I change my BuzzFlash Alerts email address?
You can manage your account and remove yourself from the lists. Use the "Update Profile/Email Address" link at the bottom of your email alerts.If you need us to change your BuzzFlash Alerts account, please email us with both your old and new email address.