Writing.Com 101

My Account

Your My Account section is a very important area which allows you to customize many aspects of your account and experience on Writing.Com. This area can be accessed by either clicking on the My Account link in the navigation under the Writing.Com logo and selecting Account Info, or more simply by clicking on your username directly under the Writing.Com logo. In the My Account area, you're provided with six tabs:

Account Info
My Activity
My Favorites
Skins & Themes
Costumicons
Options

Account Info    ^TOP
The "Account Info" tab provides you with an overall snapshot of your account, including:

Your Username
Your Handle
Membership type and expiration date (if any)
Gift Points
Number of Reviews Sent
Number of Ratings Sent
Average Rating Sent
Community Recognition score
Merit Badges Received
Awardicons Received
Portfolio Size
Base Portfolio Views
Number of Forum Posts
Number of Interactive Chapters written
Number of Product Reviews
Public Portfolio URL
WdC Email Address
Last Login date and time
Number of Logins
Account Created date
Links to important Writing.Com policy information (Member Agreement, Privacy Statement, and Copyright Policy)

Several of the details on this page are links that will take you to the appropriate area of your account responsible for managing that feature. For example, clicking on the link for Your Handle will take you to the Options tab (see below), where you can change your handle; clicking on the link for your Gift Points will take you to the My Gift Points section; etc.

My Activity    ^TOP
The "My Activity" tab keeps track of your involvement on Writing.Com, with links to the following:

Message Forum Posts
Reviews Sent and Received
cNotes Sent and Received
Survey Form Responses
Interactive Story Chapters
Campfire Creative Invites
Polls Completed
Product Reviews

Each of these links will take you a new page that lists every addition or contribution you've made in that area. For example, clicking on "cNotes Sent and Received" will take you to the My cNotes section (also found under the My Account menu); clicking on "Interactive Story Chapters" will take you to a page with a list of all the chapters you've added to any Interactive Story items on Writing.Com.

My Favorites    ^TOP
The "My Favorites" tab is a convenient way to access those Items and Authors you have saved to your list of Favorites. For more information on Favorites, please see: "My Favorites and Fans" .

Skins & Themes    ^TOP
The "Skins & Themes" tab is currently under development. At the moment, you can move your mouse to the left of the Writing.Com graphic header to find the "SKINS" button. Click this button to access the Skins menu, which allows you to scroll through the different Skins that are currently available to decorate your Writing.Com header area. More functionality is coming soon!

Costumicons    ^TOP
The "Costumicons" tab is a convenient way to change the image on your portfolio case. For more information on Costumicons, please see: "Costumicons" .

Options    ^TOP
The "Options" tab is where you can customize all the settings for your account, to tailor your Writing.Com experience to your personal preferences. Each of the following links will take you to a new page with those specific account options:

Personal Display Options: Allows you to change your Writing.Com handle and WdC billboard (for Preferred Authors and above).

Tool Links New Tab/Window: Controls whether clicking on Item tools (like "Edit") will open in a new tab/window, or your current window.

Public Review Checkbox Default: Allows you to set whether your reviews, by default, are public or not.

Basic Spam Filtering: Always on by default, this is where you can turn Spam filtering off.

Deny Item Transfers: Prevent other users from transferring Items to your account.

Notification Options: Manage your notifications of various activities regarding your account

Blog Comment Notifications: Receive email notification whenever someone comments on your blog, or another blog you've commented on.

Forum Reply Notifications: Receive an email notification whenever someone replies to a message you've posted in a forum.

Notebook Reply Notifications: Receive an email notification whenever someone replies to one of your Notebook posts.

Review Notifications to Offsite Email: Receive an email notification to your offsite email address whenever you receive a review of one of your Items and haven't been on Writing.Com for the specific number of days.

Manage Newsletter Subscriptions: This page contains check boxes next to each of the official Newsletters published weekly by Writing.Com. Checking the box and then the submit button will subscribe you to each newsletter, which is delivered to your inbox automatically every week. To unsubscribe from a newsletter, just uncheck the box and click the submit button again. For more information on newsletters, please check out: "Writing.Com Newsletters" .

Manage Signature(s): This page allows you to manage your signatures. By default, every member can create one signature to be automatically placed in emails and forum posts. Signatures are limited to 500 characters in length, but can include text and WritingML.

Upgraded members and above may include images in their signature.
Premium members and above may have multiple signatures assigned for use in different forums and book entries.

Privacy Options: Manage your privacy within the community.

Session Privacy: Set whether or not you show up as "online" on the Current Users and IM User List pages.

Instant Message Availability: Set whether or not other users can send you Instant Messages when you're online.

Public Rating and Review Counts: Sets whether or not other users can see the number count of reviews and ratings you've given.

Paid Membership Info Privacy: Sets whether or not other users can see what type of membership you have, and when it expires.

Content Rating Options: This page allows you to filter item listings with certain content ratings. There are drop-down boxes which allow you to:

Exclude Items from Public Listings By Their Content Rating: Items won't show up in searches or on public pages

Block Items By Their Content Rating: Items won't be accessible to your account. Blocking items requires a passcode which must be re-entered in order to remove the blocking. You will also be asked to enter your IP address (provided on the page) as a confirmation of Writing.Com's content policies. While these Content Rating Options can be used to block adult content or objectionable material (as parents might want to do for their children, for example), they should not be considered a substitute for parental supervision on this or any public internet site.

Site Display Options: Manage your preferences on many variations of the site's displays.

Content Rating Warning Size: Adjusts the size of the warning area that appears in items rated 18+ or above.

Scrolling Messages Settings: Sets the size of Scrolling Messages, and whether they're on or off.

Image Limiting: Adjusts the number of images you can see on each Writing.Com page or email.

Rollover Preference: Sets whether or not hovering your mouse cursor over certain areas will show information.

Site Navigation Activation: Determines whether the Site Navigation menu on the left-hand sidebar expands when you click, or hover your cursor over it.

Content Width: Determines the width of the main content column (center column) of Writing.Com. Can be a fixed width, or fluid to the edge of your browser.

Darken Background Color: Determines the background color of Writing.Com. The default is white, but pale yellow and gray backgrounds are also available.

Personal Information: This page is where all of your personal information is stored and can be changed at any time, including:

Offsite email address
Name
Birthday
Mailing address (optional; required to receive physical gifts from the Writing.Com Shop and will never be shown to other Writing.Com members other than Staff)
T-shirt size
Allow anonymous (whether gifts can be sent to you from anonymous members)

Block / Ignore Members: This page allows you to enter the usernames of other WdC members that you'd like to block or ignore.

Blocking usernames (up to 50) will prevent those members from reading or reviewing your items, and they will receive a blocking notice if they attempt to email or IM you.

Ignoring usernames (also up to 50) will prevent you from seeing their items, posting, or activity on Writing.Com. You will not see them on IM lists, who's online pages, or any of their forum posts or blog replies.

Edit Basic Membership Options: These are settings available to anyone with a Basic Membership or higher.

My NotePad Launch: Determines whether your NotePad is launched in the same window, or a new one.

Stay Logged In (Keep Cookie): Determines how long your account will stay logged into Writing.Com before requiring you to re-enter your username and password.

Edit Upgraded Membership Options: These are settings available to anyone with an Upgraded Membership or higher.

My Favorites Launch: Determines whether your Favorites are opened in the same window or launched in a new one.

Google Search and Ad Control: Turns on or off the Google Search and Ad Control area.

My Blog Reminders: Sets whether or not (and how often) you receive email reminders to update your blog.

Mobile View: Turns on or off the mobile version of Writing.Com for handheld devices such as the iPhone.

Edit Premium Membership Options: These are settings available to anyone with a Premium Membership or higher.

My Columns: Adjust settings for the right-hand sidebar.

Quick Functions: Turns on/off the use of IFRAMEs (floating frames) ("On" is recommended)

Screen Resolution: Select the display setting that most closely matches your computer's display resolution.

Edit Premium Plus Membership Options: These are settings available to anyone with a Premium Plus membership.

Quick Surf: Removes page headers and footers for faster loading.

Professional Portfolio: Makes your entire portfolio advertisement-free to any viewer.

Authorized Secondary Account: ASAs are additional, secondary accounts that members can create and maintain for various purposes. For more information, please check out: "Authorized Secondary Accounts (ASA)" .1

Recommended Reading

1. Free and Paid Membership Benefits
2. Navigate Writing.Com

Footnotes
1  Written by Jeff