General User's Frequently Asked Questions

I am new to GaggleTN.com. Is there something that will help me get started?

Yes, we suggest that you download a copy of the QuickStart Guide. The QuickStart contains a handout explaining all of the important functions of GaggleTN.com.

Can I change my User Name?

Student users cannot change their User Name by themselves. Your teacher change your screen name for you. Ask your teacher and they will probably change the User Name for you.

Anyone with teacher access level or higher can change his or her User Name. After logging in with you original User Name, click on the 'options' button which is located at the upper left hand side of your screen. Type your new User Name into the 'User Name' field. Then click on the 'update' button.

There is a typo in my Full Name (i.e. John Smith) Can I change it?

Student users cannot change their Full Name by themselves. Your teacher change your Full Name for you.

Anyone with teacher access level or higher can change his or her Full Name. After logging in, click on the 'options' button which is located at the upper left hand side of your screen. Make any changes you want to the 'Full Name' field. Then click on the 'update' button.

How do I change my password?

After logging in with your original password, click on the 'options' button which is located at the upper left hand side of your screen. Type your new password into the 'password' field and into the 'verify password' field. Then click on the 'update' button.

It is important that you do not choose an obvious password. If other people can guess your password they can login as you and read your mail. We suggest that you change your password every 60-90 days or if you feel someone is logging on as you please change it as soon as possible.

What if I forget my password?

If you forget your password, you should ask your Teacher to give you a new password. No one on the system can see what your old password was.

Your teacher will have to assign you a brand new password. Once you log back in you can change the password to whatever you want by clicking the red Options button.

If you have a Staff, Teacher, or School Administrator account, you should also ask for a new password. Anyone with a higher access level on GaggleTN.com can give you a new password. For example, a School Administrator is higher than a Teacher account.

Educator's can give users new passwords by going to the user list screen and clicking on the user's name. Enter the new password in the two fields and press the Update button. For security reasons, there is no way to see the old password. You must assign a new password.

What is a password 'hint'?

A hint is something that will remind only you what your password is. It should not be something so obvious that someone else will be able to figure out your password.

Here are some examples of bad hints:

Any of the above passwords and hints would be very easy to guess. Someone else could login and send bad messages pretending to be you!

I am a teacher. Is there a special help section for me?

Yes there is a special 'Teacher Help' section. It is only available if you are logged in as an educator.

1. Go back to the main mail screen.
2. Look on the left side of the screen underneath where it says 'Group Admin' or 'Student Admin'.
3. Click on the 'Teacher Help' link.

How do I send an e-mail on GaggleTN.com?

Click on the 'write mail' button, this will bring you to the write mail screen.

1. Type an e-mail address in the 'To' field. If you are sending to more than one person separate their e-mail addresses with a comma. If you don't know the address click on the 'lookup' button (which contains a drop down menu) that will show you all the names from your personal address book. Select a name from the menu and click the 'Add to' button to put the person's name into the 'To' field.
2. The 'Add CC' button allows you to create a CC list for the e-mail. This will send it to additional people.
3. It is recommended that you give a subject to all of your messages. This is what appears in your inbox so the recipient knows what the message is about prior to opening it.
4. You may also send attachments with your e-mail. (Please see below for instructions)
5. Then type your message in the 'message' box.
6. Click on 'send.'

Why did I get a Failure Notice when I sent my message?

Whenever an e-mail does not go through you will receive a Failure Notice. This is an automatic response from the system.

The MAILER-DAEMON is not a person. You should not try to reply to these messages.

The failure message usually starts off with " Hi. This is the qmail-send program at gaggletn.com." The message will go on to explain why the e-mail was returned to you. Below is an explanation of the different reasons:

Sorry, I couldn't find any host by that name. (#4.1.2) <floop5@gaggletn.com > - This message means that the domain name is invalid or does not exist. In the case above the address should be 'gaggletn.com' instead of ".net'.

< michael@gaggletn.com >: Could not connect to database - This message indicates that the Gaggle system is having a problem. You should wait a while and then try re sending your e-mail.

< micaal@gaggletn.com >: unknown user - This error message means that there is no user on the system with the screen name 'micaal'. You should check to make sure that you typed the correct user name in the 'To' field. Most of the time you will discover that you made a mistake.

The mail you sent to [ soums11@quickdot.com ] is undeliverable. The user does not exist on our system. - This is the same error as above, but it is from the Quickdot mail server. The Quickdot mail server does not have a user named 'soums11'. You should check to make sure that you typed the correct user name in the 'To' field.

--- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors --- bigbird@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu - This is the same error as above, but it is from the UCF mail server. The UCF mail server does not have a user named 'bigbird'. You should check to make sure that you typed the correct user name in the 'To' field.

Sorry MAILER-DAEMON@gaggletn.com. Your mail to tacomacho could not be delivered because tacomacho is not accepting mail with attachments - This is a message from another mail server. The user at this other mail server is not allowed to receive attachments. Try re sending the message without an attachment. If the attachment is a text file, just paste the text into the e-mail.

How do I send an attachment with my e-mail?

After logging in and clicking on the 'write mail' button, sending attachments with GaggleTN.com is a two-step process:

1. Click the 'browse' button.
2. A new window will appear asking you to locate the file you want to open. Locate the desired file.
3. Click the 'upload' button to attach the file to your e-mail. This may take a while depending upon how large the file is that you are uploading.
4. Click on 'send.'

Your school master does have the ability to turn off the attachment option. If this option is turned off you will not see the 'browse' or 'upload' buttons. In addition all incoming messages with attachments will be sent to your Administrator for review.

I am having trouble receiving attachments. Are there some guideline you can offer?

The way that attachments come through depends a lot on the way your web browser is set up. The preference for helper applications specifies what the browser should do with each type of file it receives. For instance, browsers are set to immediately display jpeg and gif images.

We suggestion that you compress your images into either zip or sit files before you send them. This makes them smaller and makes them easier to read when uncompressed on the receiving computer. It's especially important if you are on a Macintosh since the file and creator type informatin gets lost when sent over the internet.

How do I set up my address book?

If you wish to add names & addresses to your address book that are in your class, school, or district, the easiest way is to click on the 'Group List' button. This will show you all the members of your group, school, or district. Check the names you want added to your address book and then click 'add.'

If you wish to add an address to your address book of someone outside of GaggleTN.com or your group, click on the 'addresses' button to first check your address book. If the person does not appear you may now add them at the bottom of the screen by typing in the e-mail address and the person's full name. Then click 'add.' The address will appear added to the list the next time you click on 'addresses.'

Who can I send e-mail with?

You should only send e-mail to people who you know and have been approved by your parents and/or teachers.

You can start by clicking on the red Group List button. This screen contains the e-mail address of everyone else at your school.

Sometimes when I send an e-mail I get a message back at the top of my screen in a red box . . . what do these messages mean?

"Your message has been diverted to __________"
This means that your message has been rerouted to your administrator's blocked folder. You may have used inappropriate message, sent a message to a person not on your approved list, or sent an attachment.

" Error creating message"
This means you probably have a punctuation mark such as an apostrophe in the subject field of the message. We are currently working on fixing this.

How do I save a message if I'm not finished but I need to log off?

If you wish to save your message to be finished at a future time just click on the 'drafts' button at the bottom of the message. (It is right next to the 'send' button) The message will appear in your 'drafts' folder the next time you log on.

I was wondering, if I don't have a Drafts folder where will my draft messages be saved?

The system creates a "Drafts" folder as soon as you save the first draft message.

Why do the web pages seem to be pulling from memory and not reloading from the site?

The browser is simply caching the page.

On Netscape:

1. Hold down the shift key and press the reload button. This forces the browser to go get a newer version of the web page.
2. Go to the Edit menu choose Preferences. At the bottom of preferences there is a choice for Cache. Choose "Check Every Time"

How do I fix the Javascript errors? or nothing happens when I click Select All.

The GaggleTN.com web site uses Javascript in several places. Javascript is a part of your web browser that enables interactivity. The GaggleTN.com web site will function without Javascript, but it is best to have Javascript turned on.

How do I turn Javascript on?

Netscape Navigator 3.0 or newer.

1. Go to "Edit" menu. At the bottom you will see a menu choice for
   " preferences". Choose this item.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the category list.
3. Click once on the word "Advanced."
4. Locate the check box for "Enable Javascript." Make sure this box is
   checked.
5. It's also a good idea to check the box for "Enable Style Sheets"
6. When your done click the "OK" button.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0+

1. Go to "Edit" menu. At the bottom you will see a menu choice for
   " preferences". Choose this item.
2. Under the "Web Browser" section you will see the choice for "Web Content."
   Click Web Content.
3. Select the "Enable Scripting" check box.
4. Click the "OK" button.

Why is my account frozen and how do I fix it?

You have exceeded the storage limit you have been allotted. You need to delete mail from your Inbox, Sent, and Drafts folders. Mail in your Deleted folder does not count toward total file storage. Once you have deleted your old mail your account will be fully functional again.

Your account may also be full if you have been storing lots of files in your Digital Locker. You should delete any unncessacry files from your Locker.

For educators, any mail in the Blocked folder does not count toward the total.

How do I create a new folder?

Click on the 'User options' button. Scroll down and you will see a section labeled 'Create Folder.' Type the name of your folder in the white box and click 'Create.'

How do I delete a folder?

Click on the 'User options' button. Scroll down and you will see a section labeled 'Delete Folder.' Click on the pull down arrow and choose the folder you wish to delete. Click 'Delete.'

Why can't I delete messages in my Deleted folder?

Messages remain in your deleted folder for at least 30 days at which time the system automatically deletes them. (Teacher access level and higher users can permanently delete messages in the Deleted folder.)

How does the Digital Locker work?

The Digital Locker is a file storage system. For example, you can store files here to download later from home. You can make these files private or public if you want to share them with other users.

To use this feature, select Digital Locker from the Jump To menu. Click the 'Browse' button and navigate to the place where your document is located. Choose the file you want to upload. Choose the access level you want to give this file. Click 'Upload.' You will then see the file in your list.

You can change the access level or delete the file at a later date. When you delete a file, it is marked as deleted but will remain in your storage for up to 30 days. Files in your Digital Locker count toward your total used storage space. Files marked for deletion do not count towards your storage space.

What does the file access mean in Digital Lockers?

Private access gives only the user access to that file. Public access means that anyone from your school can view the file. Class Only means that members of your class can view the file. Teacher+ means that anyone with an access level of teacher or higher can view the file. School Admin+ means that anyone with an access level of School Administrator or higher can view the file.

Why can't I access the Message Boards or Chat Rooms?

Your school may have limited access to those features. Please check with your teacher. (If you do have access you will find these options under the 'Jump To' menu.)

How do I use the Message Boards?

From the Jump To menu select Message Boards. You will then see the three main categories of message boards that you can choose from. They are your school's message boards, your district's message boards and the GaggleTN.com-wide message boards. Click a link to see the boards in that category.

Click on the message board in which you want to make a post. You can either post a new topic or reply to a topic already posted.

To post a new topic, click 'Create a New Message Topic.' Type your subject in the box and then type your message in the box below. When done, click 'Post Message.'

If you want to reply to a topic already posted, click on the topic and then click 'Reply to Msg.' Type your message in the message area and then click 'Post Message.'

How do I use the Chat Rooms?

From the Jump To menu select Chat. You will then see the three main categories of chat rooms you can choose from. They are your school's chat rooms, your district's chat rooms and the GaggleTN.com-wide chat rooms. Click a link to see the rooms in that category.

Click on the chat room in which you want to participate. A Java applet will begin to load. When it loads, your user name and the names of the other users in the room will appear in the list at the right. Now you can start typing your chat messages.

From the menus you can choose the color and font of the text messages that you send.

How do I block the chat from another user who is bothering me?

If another user is annoying you, the Block button will make it easy to ignore their chat. Blocking a user prevents their chat from appearing on your screen.

Highlight the other person's name from the list of users. Click the 'Block' button. To undo the block, just highlight their name and click the 'Block' button again.

What does the Alert button do on Chat?

The Alert button allows you to send a message to the teachers letting them know that someone was abusing the chat system. It allows you to send a description of the offensive behavior and it sends the last few lines of chat from that person.

Alerting another users will give them ten chat points and incur three chat points for yourself. When a person reaches 100 points in a given week, their access to chat will be temporarily disabled.

What does the Warn button do on Chat?

The warn button allows you to send an anonymous message to another user letting them know that they are getting out of line with their chat. It's a private way to say "please cool it."

Warning another user will give them five chat points and incur three chat points for yourself. When a person reaches 100 points in a given week, their access to chat will be temporarily disabled.

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