Meet Swingers

Online Now: 2,116

Entertainment

Fun and Games

Information

Shopping

Site Stats

Members:
1,200,395
Msgs Sent:
111,573,944
Photo Ads:
628,106
User Pics:
475,543

If you are still experiencing technical problems after reading this page, please raise a support ticket.

General FAQs

Photo Ads


Forum


Chat Room

General FAQs

OK, nice site, but what do we do now?

People come here for different reasons, and occasionally we get people asking us how best to get involved. So, we'll simply say this. Check out the forum, check out the photo ads, and all the other sections of the site. When you've got the measure of what's happening on here and still feel like you want to join in, then get yourself registered for the forum and/or the photo ads system (they are separate and therefore require separate registration and logins), and then get involved. A good place to start would be The Cafe on the Forum, as you'll always get a warm welcome in there. Also, perhaps you could consider attending a Munch. A major strength of this site is that nothing is hidden, however, you can't actually post anything yourself until you've registered (for free!). See you in there! :-)

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I sent you an email via your ‘Contact Us’ page but you haven't replied.

Assuming you sent your email to the correct address outlined on the Contact Us page and that your query is NOT already covered on this help page somewhere, there may be another explanation. We receive and look at every message sent to the Help Centre.

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I need to report a site abuse.

Please see our report site abuse page.

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Photo Ads

How do I post/reply to a Photo Ad?

You first need to register before you can login and post a photo ad, or reply to one that is set to anonymous mode.

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How do I modify/update/delete my photo ad?

You need to login and in there you'll see a list of all your ads currently in the system. From there you can either update/modify/delete any current ads you have using the links below each one. Note: top tip - Your Ad will go back to the top of the lists when you simply click the ‘Update Ad’ link under the ad concerned - a simple way to keep your Ad ‘fresh’ and seen.

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How do I remove my account entirely?

You can select Cancel Account from the User Menu. However, if you have no photo ads in the system then you are effectively removed from the site as far as anyone or anything is concerned. Since we never spam or allow access to any information to any 3rd party, there is no need to remove account information. Just remove any photo ads you currently have running and that's it, you're history until you place another ad. Register, activate, place an ad, have some fun, delete the ad and walk away - it can be as simple as that.

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How can I tell how many ads I have running at the moment?

You need to login and in there you'll see a list of all your ads currently in the system. From there you can either update/modify/delete any current ads you have using the links below each one. Note: top tip - Your Ad will go back to the top of the lists when you simply click the ‘Update Ad’ link under the ad concerned - a simple way to keep your Ad ‘fresh’ and seen.

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I never received my activation link.

If you haven't received your activation link, first check your bulk-mail/spam folder to make sure it wasn't mistakenly put in there, if not then please read on.

When you registered your email address with us, an automatic activation email was definitely sent out to the email address you supplied. However, some ISP (Internet Service Providers) such as AOL actively block emails for various reasons, so it is often a hit and miss affair, but it is not our fault, and nor can we do anything about it. Also, some ISPs ‘queue’ emails, which can have the effect of delaying the email by up to 24 hours - so you must be patient. However, if you haven't received an activation email after waiting 24 hours then the best thing you can do is forget about using that email address with our site, but set up another email address with one of the recommended webmail services below (for free), and register again with that. We know these work with our site.

Other things to note:-

  1. Make sure you are careful with the spam blocking settings with these accounts or any accounts, as this can also sometimes block the activation email.
  2. Make sure you are actually registering your correct email address! For example, many people register @yahoo.co.uk when their actual email address is @yahoo.com or vice versa! If you did something like this, then simply re-register using your correct email address.
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I can't click on my activation link.

You need to go to the activate by hand page and type in your validation code from your email accordingly and then press the continue button.

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I've definitely registered and activated but I still can't login.

Your photo ads login details are completely separate to the forum, so do not confuse the two - both the forum and the photo ads system require separate registration and login details. Your photo ads login is your email address along with the password you registered with. If you have forgotten your password then go to our password retrieval page to get it sent to you automatically.

Failing that, perhaps you aren't allowing cookies on your computer. This is required by the ads system as explained fully at the bottom of the photo ads login page. Carefully read that info to learn how to allow cookies for your given browser.

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My email address is currently ‘Unverified’?

You need to activate your account using the link and/or instructions that were sent to your email address. If you didn't receive an activation email then please see here.

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I've forgotten my password.

Go to the password retrieval page and type in your email address there to get it automatically sent to you.

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How do I change my email address?

You need to login and select the My Account from the User Menu located on the right hand side of the site. Select Account Settings located near the top of your profile. This will show all of your account information, including your email address. Below this will be a link which you need to click titled ‘click here to change your email address’. This will generate a new page where you will be able to enter your new email address. We will send you mail to the new email address you specify (this is to check the address is yours), the email will contain a link to click and then you're done!

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I can't see any pictures in the ads.

This problem has now been reported a number of times, and we've finally found out why. Some software is blocking them because they use a ‘pop-up style’ action when you click on them, in order to show you the bigger picture. Zone Alarm is one culprit (although there may be others). For Zone Alarm, you need to disable the banner/pop-up blocker bit for our site (allow www.swingingheaven.co.uk and photos.swingingheaven.co.uk) and hey presto, you can see them again.

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How do I make my pictures less than 50KB and JPG/JPEG format?

The easiest way is to use a modern version of "Paint" that comes with Windows. Start > All Programs > Accessories > Paint. Once you have it running you need to go to File > Open and then navigate to your picture on your computer to open it. Now simply reduce your picture down by going to Image > Stretch/Skew and bring the Horizontal and Vertical dimensions down to a suitable size. Now go to File > Save As... and make sure you select the ‘Save as type:’ as a JPEG and then press the ‘Save’ button (change the name if you don't want to overwrite the original). You should now be able to upload that new picture to your Photo Ad. If not, try reducing the Horizontal and Vertical dimensions down a little more until the picture you are left with is less than 50KB in filesize.

More powerful graphics software is available for freeware/shareware/demo/evaluation via download from the following list of sites. In each case you can do something similar to the above, but you need to read the Help if you have trouble achieving the same result, i.e. reducing your picture's size and/or converting it to JPEG format.

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Where's my Photo Ad gone!?

It could be for a number of reasons.

Perhaps your ad was out of date? If you put up an ad for a "meet us on the 12th" and it's now the 13th, a moderator may spot this and remove it to save cluttering up the system with out of date ads. If you don't want your ad deleted for this reason then please modify it before it's out of date, back to being a general ad for example.

Perhaps your ad was in the incorrect category? If you've only had your ad deleted and not been banned, think yourself lucky. It wastes a great deal of our time moving/deleting ads that are NOT in the correct categories. If you discover your ad has been deleted, make sure when you place another one that you put it in the correct category.

Perhaps you had more than one ad in the same category? If this was the case, please make sure you simply modify and update ONE per category, as per the guidelines.

Finally, are you sure your ad is gone? When you login to the photo ads system you will see a list of ads you currently have in the system. Check this, just in case you misremembered your ad number.

I'm afraid we can't recover deleted ads. Just get on and post another, paying particular attention to all the rules and category choice, or you may find yourself with all your ads deleted and yourself banned the next time.

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I've been banned from the Photo Ads, please help.

If you've been banned, then any ads you had in the system will have also been removed. What you now need to do in order to resolve this problem is read, understand, and then follow the instructions below.

Firstly, read our Acceptable Use Policy to get an insight as to why this may have happened. Now, if this was a mistake, you have our apologies (obviously). If not, then it could be that you had too many ads in the system, or perhaps you had ads in the incorrect categories, or perhaps you've put something up that was seen as against the rules - fake/stolen pictures, advertising (spam), timewasting, a telephone number, illegal content, pay-for services, etc. Whatever it was, please let us know the gist of the entire ad (be honest, else we'll only be back here again in a few days time). You can get in touch via the Help Centre.

Some people are quite annoyed that we haven't had the ‘courtesy’ to inform them when and why they were banned. To this we say, if you didn't bother to read the rules and abide by them, then why should we bother to waste anymore of our time than we need to? We haven't got a great deal of time to help those who abuse this site and its Acceptable Use Policy, mainly because we're too busy helping the people who are trying to use it responsibly!

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Forum

How do I post/reply/PM and view user profiles on the Forum?

You can view all the posts on the forum without registering, but in order to make one yourself, or use the messaging system, or view user profiles, you have to register a username and then login with it.

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I never received my activation link.

If you haven't received your activation link, first check your bulk-mail/spam folder to make sure it wasn't mistakenly put in there, if not then please read on.

When you registered your email address with us, an automatic activation email was definitely sent out to the email address you supplied. However, some ISP (Internet Service Providers) such as AOL actively block emails for various reasons, so it is often a hit and miss affair, but it is not our fault, and nor can we do anything about it. Also, some ISPs ‘queue’ emails, which can have the effect of delaying the email by up to 24 hours - so you must be patient. However, if you haven't received an activation email after waiting 24 hours then the best thing you can do is forget about using that email address with our site, but set up another email address with one of the recommended webmail services below (for free), and register again with that. We know these work with our site.

Other things to note:-

  1. Make sure you are careful with the spam blocking settings with these accounts or any accounts, as this can also sometimes block the activation email.
  2. Make sure you are actually registering your correct email address! For example, many people register @yahoo.co.uk when their actual email address is @yahoo.com or vice versa! If you did something like this, then simply re-register using your correct email address.
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I've definitely registered and activated but I still can't login.

Your forum login details are completely separate to the photo ads, so do not confuse the two - both the forum and the photo ads system require separate registration and login details. Your forum login is your username and password pair (chosen by you when you initially registered for the forum). If you've forgotten your forum account password then you simply go to the Forum section of the site and click on the "Log in" link at the top and then on the "I forgot my password" link. Here you then type in your username and email address and you'll be issued with a new password via email automatically. Once logged back in you can change your password to a more memorable one by clicking on your Profile link.

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PMs (Private Messages): Inbox, Sentbox, Outbox and Savebox.

PMs are Private Messages between forum users. Once you've registered and logged into the forum you will see a PMs link at the top. You will also see a PM link on other forum users' posts and profiles. These enable you to Message a user in private - a little like sending them an online email.

All PMs you receive go into your Inbox. All messages you send go to your Outbox UNTIL they are read (received) by the intended recipient, at which time they move from your Outbox to your Sentbox. This is an easy way to tell if someone has read your PM yet or not. Your Savebox allows you to save messages for keeping, you just hit the Save Message button on any message you want to go in there.

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How do I create and use that little picture (avatar) to go next to my posts?

Select Forum Settings found in the Account Settings located near the top of your profile. The avatar section is located on the right hand side and details instructions on how to customise your forum profile.

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Why has my post/thread been locked/deleted!?

Firstly, please carefully read our Forum Posting Guidelines to gain some insight as to why this may have happened. Also, refamiliarize yourself with the forum registration terms you agreed to, paying particular attention to this section: You agree that the webmaster, administrator and moderators of this forum have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic at any time should they see fit.

Usually when a post is locked the reason is given by the Moderator who locked it. If your post/thread was deleted then it was most likely considered so pointless or such an infringement of the AUP that it should no longer remain on the site.

The possible reasons your post/thread was locked or deleted are too numerous to mention here, so we simply ask you to accept the decision and move on. What we certainly do NOT want to see is yet another post asking why your previous one was locked or deleted.

If you think your rights as a forum member have been abused and you want to have the matter looked into, please see our abuse page and send us as much information as possible, including your forum username and the link to, or content of, the post in question.

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I've had my forum account deactivated, please help.

Firstly, please carefully read our Forum Posting Guidelines to gain some insight as to why this may have happened. If you want to appeal to have your account reactivated then please send an email to the Help Centre stating your forum username, your case, and any other information you feel is relevant to being allowed back.

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Chat Room

I can't get into the chatroom, please help!

First off, you're going to have to be more specific than that :-)

Is it that when you click on the ‘Enter the Chatroom’ link that the window appears to have no chatroom in it, or is just a grey box that never loads? If so, please read, The chatroom doesn't load.

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The chat room window opens but is completely black.

You need to reload the chat room page by pressing F5 on your keyboard, you may need to do this several times.

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If access to the chat room is still unsuccessful.

Please ensure that you have tried the communication test and that you version of Flash is up to date by going to the following page and to install the latest Flash Player.

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I receive an "auth failed" message when the chat room loads then nothing happens.

This problem occurs due to security software installed on your machine such as Norton, MacAfee, Zone Alarm and so on. Basically the chat room requires your log in information on the site but certain security programs withhold your details, thus causing the auth failed message.

Please uninstall or change the settings of such programs and attempt to access the chat room again.

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If access to the chat room is still unsuccessful.

Please ensure that you have tried the communication test and that you version of Flash is up to date by going to the following page and to install the latest Flash Player.

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I've tried all the above but still cannot access the chatroom!

If the above doesn't help you then please message the Help Centre by clicking here. Please include a description of the problem you are having including any error messages noted.

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How do I register to use the chatroom?

In order to join the Swinging Heaven Chatroom you have to be using a registered Username and Password. Simply select the Chatroom link at the top of the site and follow the on screen instructions.

If you have read and followed the registration instructions carefully, and you still can't get in, try the Help Centre.

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How do I PM (Private Message) someone in the chatroom?

Simply single click the member that you wish to speak to, listed in the chatters section on the right hand side of the chat room. If you are unable to see the specific member that you wish to PM, use the scroll bar to view up and down. Once the member has been selected, under the text bar near the bottom of the chat room should display 'whispering to '. If not, then follow the above stages again.

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How do I change my password?

You need to select My Account from the User Menu located on the right hand side of the site. Select Account Settings located near the top of your profile. This will show all of your account information, including your password but in a hidden format for security reasons. Below this will be a link which you need to click titled 'click here to change your password'. Input your old password in the first field, enter your new desired password in the second field, and then repeat your new password again to confirm. You now need to complete the process by clicking the change password box.

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I've been banned from the chatroom, please help.

All chat room bans are temporary, lasting 24 hours. After this duration you will be able to resume the feature as normal. If you have any concern regarding the ban, then contact can be made Help Centre. However please provide us with in depth information including your username, which room you were banned in, the date and time of the banning, and any other relevant information.

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