Frequently Asked Questions
We have designed this section to help gaypedia’s members, owners, journalists and users to understand some of the functions we offer on the site:
4. What is a profile status and what is mine?
5. How can I get to my profile?
6. How can I change my address?
7. What is my address used for?
8. How can I change my username / login name?
9. How can I change my picture?
11. How do I become recognised as a journalist on gaypedia?
14. How can I add other members to my friends, message partners or blacklist?
17. Can I post my own free-text blog?
18. Where can I see all my posted blogs and reviews?
19. Where can I see venue, destinations, events and member specific blogs and reviews?
20. How can I search for members, venues, events or destinations on the site?
22. How can I change information of a venue?
23. How can I add a destination?
24. How can I change information of a destination?
26. How can I change information of an event?
27. How can I invite friends to the site?
28. How can I tell my friends that I found a great gay and lesbian site?
32. What do the balloons mean?
33. What information can other members and users see?
34. How do I subscribe/unsubscribe to the gaypedia newsletter?
35. How do I report inappropriate or offensive content?
36. How do I remove a blog or review?
37. What are peanuts and how do I get them?
38. What can peanuts be used for?
39. How can a member rate another member?
40. How can I choose who I interact with on gaypedia?
41. How do I let you know about suggestions I have for the site?
42. What is an album ? What are public / private images ?
43. How do I add a video to the site ?
44. Link your gaypedia profile to Twitter
45. Invite your gmail, Yahoo or other friends to gaypedia
46. What does the status mean ?
Becoming a member of gaypedia is free, really easy and will give you access to an extended group of features that you cannot access as just a user. You can click on “Register” in the top right corner of the home page left of the search box.
Joining up is simple and after only a couple of minutes your profile will be completed and you will be registered. To activate your account you will need access to the email address that you provided in your profile as we will send you an email that you should open and click on the activation link. It is possible that this email will go into your junk mail folder so please check there if you do not receive it within a couple of minutes. If you do not receive the email please send an email to member@gaypedia.com and we will re-send the notification email.
Members can only be individuals – if you represent a company or a bar, restaurant, publication, etc then join as a member and create a new venue (more about that later!).
Once you are a member, the fun starts !
A profile contains all the interesting things about you that you have decided to share with your gaypedia friends. Here you can review and update all your personal information. You also have the ability to
- Write about yourself – including your likes/dislikes
- Start your own wall
- Upload multiple photos
- Send / receive gaypedia mail
- Manage your favorites / reviews / blogs / friends
- Share other information
gaypedia members are very lucky! As a member you can take full advantage of the site and are able to:
- Make lots of gaypedia friends – just go to the profile of the member you would like to “meet” and click on the menu entry on top of the page
- Send and receive messages to/from other gaypedia members
- Chat publicly or privately with gaypedia members in our chat room
- See what your gaypedia friends are doing and where they are
- If you are in contact with someone you would rather not be then you can control your friends list by blacklisting such people
- Invite other members or friends to meet you during travels you have planned
- Let others know what you are doing by adding destinations, venues, events and other items to the site
We will be launching new gaypedia features on a regular basis and will let you know what they are in our regular newsletter. Come and try them out!
4. What is a profile status and what is mine?
All gaypedia members are assigned a status on the site (you cannot choose your own status!). We have members, owners (of venues), journalists and administrators.
When you first join the site you will be a member. Should a member also own a venue such as a bar, restaurant, hotel, club, etc as represented on gaypedia then such member can claim to be an owner. The owner status will prohibit any other member on gaypedia from updating venue information but will not prevent members from adding their reviews, photos or blogs about the place.
Journalists specialising in travel and interested in contributing to gaypedia can apply for a journalist status. Reviews and Blogs written by journalists will be shown with a frame around to show that this is an entry written by a professional travel writer.
You can easily find out what your status is by going to your profile page. Your details page will open and you will see your status at the top of the page on the left hand side, close to the image.
5. How can I get to my profile?
You first have to log in at the top right of the page. Please enter your username and password and select whether you want us to remember you for the next 14 days. Once you have clicked “log-in” the system you will have access to the members’ areas of the site. Upon login the system will automatically take you to the profile page.
Should you already be logged in then you will find the profile button in the top menu bar of the page.
6. How can I change my address?
Once you are logged in, you can go to your profile. On the top of the profile page you will find a button "Personal information which will take you to your details page". Here you can change your content.
7. What is my address used for?
Your address will not be available to other members or even your gaypedia friends. It is up to you to share your address directly with people, but we would encourage caution and stress that this is at your own risk. gaypedia will only use your address to enable us to identify where you are based to help you get the most out of the site - in the future providing your proximity to venues, events, destinations and other members.
8. How can I change my username / login name?
If you have second thoughts about your user name and would like to change it then you will need to contact us. Just drop us a line at member@gaypedia.com and we will see what we can do for you but our philosophy is that anything is possible!
9. How can I change my picture?
Once you are logged in, you can go to your profile. Here you will find your personal pictures on the right hand side. Within the image box you will see a "Add/Remove Image" button. Once selected, you will be taken to the upload section for your images. Here you click the image you would like to set as a default and click the "Set as Default" button under the images. You have now selected a new profile image.
Should you as a member also own a venue represented on gaypedia then you can claim to be the owner. The owner status will prohibit any other member on gaypedia from updating your venue information and you get the change to better represent your place on our site.
To apply for the owner status is very simple. Please send us an e-mail to owner@gaypedia.com with the name of the place. After you have sent the e-mail we will get in touch with you shortly to discuss your status change.
Please understand that this process is designed to prevent fraud to the extent possible. Only owners should have the right to claim venues and we want to ensure that this is done properly.
Furthermore, please understand that we have an interest in fresh and up-to-date content. We therefore have to reserve our right to change your owner status back to a member status should you not frequently update the information about your venue.
11. How do I become recognised as a journalist on gaypedia?
Journalists who are interested in contributing to gaypedia can apply for a journalist status. Reviews and blogs written by journalists will be shown with a frame around the piece to show that this is an entry written by a journalist.
To get this status just drop us an e-mail at owner@gaypedia.com with the following information attached/included:
- The legal name of your company if applicable
- Your full name and function within the organization
- Your username on gaypedia.com
- Full address
- Prove that you are a journalist by either
- sending us two articles that you have written and which have been published in magazines or other relevant publications. Those articles need to be recent and have been published within the last 6 months; or
- providing us with a letter of recommendation by a publication you frequently write for
You do of course not need to provide the above information if we know you personally or if you have written about us before. In this case you should only send us an e-mail with your username and your full contact details.
Once we have received the above information we will decide on your journalist status. Should we have enough documentation we will change your status and notify you immediately. However, we reserve the right to either request additional information or deny your status change.
Please understand that this process is designed to prevent fraud to the extent possible. We are aiming to provide our members with decent quality content and have to ensure that only such members become journalists that have the qualification to provide professional content to our portal.
You might have seen the option “Meet me” when you set up your profile. Here you have the ability to talk about yourself. In future releases we will come back with a slick application that will allow meeting other members on gaypedia.
We want to ensure that our community is as safe as we can for all members that participate in “Meet Me” (see above). We have therefore introduced the concept of Trusted Member to ensure that certain profile information (including the physical address) is verified by us before we grant a member the Trusted Member status.
Members who request the “Trusted Member” status have a letter mailed to their physical address and confirm that they have received the letter. From time to time we might request additional information from the member.
To become a Trusted Member, you need to send us an e-mail to members@gaypedia.com with your username. We will then do the rest and get the process going.
Please note that we reserve the right to change your status back to a member status without prior consultation with you.
14. How can I add other members to my friends, message partners or blacklist?
You can go to the members section of the site and search for members that meet certain criteria like for example
- All members in a certain region either by search selection or on a map
- By name
- Members that have been reviewed or blogged
Once you have found the member you would like to add as a friend, as a message partner or blacklist you click on the profile. When the profile is open you will find three buttons above the pictures where you can select what you would like to do – invite to be a friend, add to message partners or blacklist.
All reviews on gaypedia are specific to a venue, event or destination. The easiest way to write a review is to select a venue, event or destination you would like to write about. When you have opened the relevant item you will find a menu on the top of the page that will allow you to write blogs or reviews. Please click on the link and follow the instructions. It is that easy. Your reviews will be listed on your profile page as well as on the venue / event / destination page.
All blogs on gaypedia are either specific to a venue, event or destination or are free blogs. The easiest way to write a blog is to select a venue, event or destination you would like to write about or go to your profile page. When you have opened the relevant item you will find a menu on top of the page or, if in your profile, on the bottom right hand side. Please click on the link and follow the instructions. It is that easy. Your blogs will be listed on your profile page, the venue / destination / event page as well as in the News section.
17. Can I post my own free text blog?
Of course – write about anything you want to: music, fashion, news, your day – it is up to you! Recent blogs will be shown in the main News section of the site. Blogs can be tagged and sectionized to provide better overviews for other members.
18. Where can I see all my posted blogs and reviews?
Just go to your profile. On the right hand side you will find a tab structured table with all your reviews, blogs and ratings received. Click on the one you would like to see. You can also post blogs from here.
19. Where can I see venue, destinations, events and member specific blogs and reviews?
You can look at the reviews or blogs of any specific event, member or venue by going to that venue and looking for recent reviews or recent blogs in the middle column of the page.
20. How can I search for members, venues, events or destinations, on the site?
You have several ways to look for content on gaypedia. You can either search for content by using the homepage search, the search on top of the pages or the searches in the relevant content sections like for example in members, venues, events and destinations.
You have to be a member, journalist or owner before you can add any content to gaypedia. Once you are a member and logged in you can select Venues on the top menu of the site. The link will take you to the search section for venues. On top of the page, right under the bread crumb, you will find a button ("Add new venue"). The site will now lead you through the various steps necessary to add a venue.
22. How can I change information of a venue?
You have to be a member, journalist or owner before you can change any content on gaypedia. Once you are a member and logged in you can select Venues. The link will take you to the search section for venues. You can now search for the venue you would like to edit.
Once you are in the venue you will find an "Edit it" button on top of the page. When you click on this link, you will be able to modify the content for this particular venue.
Please note that this link will not be available if the owner of the venue has claimed this venue as his/her own. Then only he or she will be able to modify data for this particular venue. You will still be able to add blogs or reviews though.
23. How can I add a destination?
You have to be a member, journalist or owner before you can add any content to gaypedia. Once you are a member and logged in you can select Destinations. The link will take you to the search section for Destinations. On top of the page, right under the bread-crumb you will find a buttong for adding a new destination. The site will now lead you through the various steps necessary to add a destination.
It is important when you add a destination to make sure that the box you draw around the city on the map covers the entire destination and that when you have saved the destination you go to the Cities tab and select “Add city” for each relevant location listed.
24. How can I change information of a destination?
You have to be a member, journalist or owner before you can change any content on gaypedia. Once you are a member and logged in you can select Destinations on the top menu of the site. The link will take you to the search section for Destinations. You can now search for the Destinations you would like to edit.
Once you are in the Destination you will find an “Edit it” button on top of the page. When you click on this link, you will be able to modify the content for this particular Destination.
You have to be a member, journalist or owner before you can add any content to gaypedia. Once you are a member and logged in you can select Events on the top menu of the site. The link will take you to the search section for Events. Below the bread crumb you will find a button that will let you add an event. The site will now lead you through the various steps necessary to add an event.
26. How can I change information of an event?
You have to be a member, journalist or owner before you can change any content on gaypedia. Once you are a member and logged in you can select Events on the top menu of the site. The link will take you to the search section for Events. You can now search for the Event you would like to edit.
Once you are in the Event you will find an “Edit it” button on top of the page in the event menu line. When you click on this link, you will be able to modify the content for this particular Event.
27. How can I invite friends to the site?
Just send the following link to your friend http://www.gaypedia.com/en/account/signup.
28. How can I tell my friends that I found a great gay and lesbian site?
Very simple… just tell them to visit www.gaypedia.com....
gaypedia has its own chat function, letting you “speak” with other gaypedia members in real time.
You will find the chat tool in the main menu of the site (top of the page). Click on the button and you will see a list of ongoing chats you can participate in on the right hand side of the page.
We have one general chat called gaypedia that all members are automatically invited to. If you would like to chat there, just click on gaypedia and start writing your messages. On the right hand side you will be able to see which other members are currently participating.
One tip: you can click on one of the participating members and see additional information about that member (picture, gender, age, location).
You also have the ability to create your own personal chat room with a member. Simply click on the member and invite him/her to your chat.
Once you have created your personal chat room you will see the members that are participating in your chat on the right hand side. In this version of gaypedia only one member can be invited but we will change that soon.
You can delete your chatroom by clicking the red X right next to it on the top of the chat window and also by closing the chat window. All chats are reset once the last member participating or the administrator of a chat has left the chat room with exception of the public chat room "gaypedia" which will continue indefinitely.
The Top 5 section of the site is designed to show you the most popular places on the site. The site will show you the best rated restaurants, bars and hotels and will also give you an idea which events are happening while you are planning to go out.
In addition you will have the ability to receive general information on the destination that you may find useful.
If you are interested in seeing the Top 5, then you simply have to go to the bottom of the page where we have posted a link for you.
BTW, you can also see Popular Places for every destination you search. That page will show you all really cool rated venues / events for the destination you are exploring. Go to the destination search for Popular Places.
32. What do the balloons mean?
We used balloons on our old site. The concept still exists but currently we do not show any.... wait for our next few updates :-)
33. What information can other members and users see?
Users will not be able to see any information about members unless they register as a member themselves.
Members who are not friends can only see summary information about you. Friends can see more, including your birthday for example if you provide it.
34. How do I subscribe/unsubscribe to the gaypedia newsletter?
Edit your profile information and you will be able to update newsletter subscriptions. If you cannot find it, just e-mail us at member@gaypedia.com and we will take of the newsletter for you.
If you are not a member of gaypedia you can still receive the newsletter by entering your email address on the home page under “Sign up for our Newsletter”.
35. How do I report inappropriate or offensive content?
If you come across inappropriate or offensive content then you can either send an email to member@gaypedia.com or you can go to the venue, destination, etc and at the top of the page you will find a button that lets you report improper content.
36. How do I remove a blog or review?
Sorry but you can only alter blogs and reviews and not delete them. However, should you really need to delete reviews or blogs, let us know under member@gaypedia.com and we will take care of it for you.
37. What are peanuts and how do I get them?
Members get awarded peanuts for many things that they do on the site. For example:
- Inviting a friend: 10 peanuts
- Adding a destination: 10 peanuts
- Adding a venue: 8 peanuts
- Adding an event: 5 peanuts
- Adding a review: 1 peanut
- Adding a blog: 1 peanut
We will be running competitions and/or promotions from time to time when you can earn more peanuts. So, start collecting now….
38. What can peanuts be used for?
That would be telling….all will be revealed in due course…
39. How can a member rate another member?
You can rate a member by logging in, clicking on that member and then selecting the number of stars that represent the rating. Five stars is highest and one star is the lowest.
40. How can I choose who I interact with on gaypedia?
You can only message members when you a member or have a friend.
You have the ability to select who contacts you by blacklisting certain members. Just open their profile page and select the blacklisting link on top of the page. Once blacklisted, they will not be able to contact you on gaypedia.
It should be noted that the chat room does not contain any restrictions. You can freely chat with all members as long as they do not blacklist you or you do not blacklist them. However, you have the ability to create a private chat room which will allow you to only invite your friends.
41. How do I let you know about suggestions I have for the site?
We would love to know what you think about the site, including an suggestions for the future, comments on the site and bugs you might find (not too many we hope). Just drop an email to member@gaypedia.com.
42. What are public / private images?
On gaypedia, whenever you upload images, the system will create an album. This album can contain one or many images, depending on the group of people you want to review those images. gaypedia allows you to set this album to be private. A private album image can only be seen by friends you have made on the site and flagged as such. For how to set a member as a friend please refer to 14.
43. How do I add a video to the site ?
In all text editors where you can write text you will also find an add video button on the right hand side. Click on it and submit your link to YouTube or Google Video. We will be re-working this within the next few releases and make it more user friendly.
44. Link your gaypedia profile to Twitter
You can now link your gaypedia profile to your Twitter account. Go to your profile and click on "Settings" in the top right hand corner menu bar. Within the settings you have to go to "Social Networks". Once you have provided your username and have activated the flag, your gaypedia wall will be updated with your Twitter entries every ten minutes.
45. Invite your gmail, Yahoo or other friends to gaypedia
gaypedia now allows you to automatically send invite e-mails to your gmail, Yahoo or other contacts. If you want to use this function please go to your profile and click on "Invite Friends" in the top right hand corner menu bar. Select which mailbox you want to use, enter username and passwords and gaypedia will show you your contact lists that you can then chose from.
46. What does the status mean ?
gaypedia is making the most of the time you spend adding information. Therefore the more relevant content you add, the more peanuts you gain, the more peanuts you gain, the higher up the gay social ladder you will go.
What about you ? Check your peanuts and see if you are where you should be:
0-50 peanuts - Closet-case: You've signed up but that's about it. You're prepared to stand by the sea but won't dip your toes in. You usually like to hide away from the rest of the world or are a natural spammer and just came to the site to sneakily promote lousy content.
51-100 peanuts - Newbie: You're new to Gaypedia or haven't done much on the site yet. Fresh to the world of gaypedia and still learning the ropes it won't take long before you're covering every Global Gayru's movements.
101-200 peanuts - Home-O: You visit gaypedia regularly, have added some material but you're not wizened users or travelers. Slightly abstract in the details you provide on your profile, you may have dropped in on a few profiles but still you prefer to stay home.
201-500 peanuts - PNP Gay: You're a party and play gay. You come and check out what's going on with gaypedia regularly. Occassionally adding events, sharing information and frequently traveling, you use the site to advance your knowledge and experience in gay travel.
501-1000 peanuts - Pride Punk: Pride Punks regularly go to the gay scene and travel, maybe in wider society known as scene queens, you're part of a group of people who are active on gaypedia and regularly contribute valuable information. You're not afraid of holding a gay flag on the street and you don't mind going to the local newsagent or off license to ask where the nearest gay bars are.
1001-3000 peanuts - Fire-Islander: Simpy put - A-listers, taken from the area of NY, these gaypedia members travel, add info, share and update gaypedia a lot. In fact they're nearly addicted and provide the most valuable information. They know what's hot and what's not, have been there, done it and are so in tune with gay life that they know instantly where in the world their heart should take them next.
3001-above peanuts - Global Gayru: As it stand, everyone follows the Gayru, not just a source of information, not a guide for advice. No - if you're not sat right next to teh Global Gayru then you've already missed the fun. As a Gayru you are the ultimate expert of global gay events, entertainment, rights, and where to be at the right time.
In time your peanuts can be traded in for bonus options on gaypedia.
If you want to explore more details on how to gain peanuts, please refer to Section 37 (Peanuts)
Find out more...
