Help / Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

General Questions


1. What is DowneLink.com?
DowneLink is an online LGBT community that allows users to interact with one another through social networks and resources. The foundation of DowneLink is to provide a space for Downe people and their friends to exchange ideas, build friendships, and utilize local and nationwide services. As with any community, we hope to grow and introduce new and innovative services that will suit their wants and needs.

Whether it is meeting new people, keeping in touch with old friends, searching for the best cafes or discussing your views on life, DowneLink is your online gay community for communication and resources.
2. What does the term "downe" really mean?
The use of the word came out of the need to discuss or announce one's sexuality in a covert manner, like a code word. Derived from "Are you down?" and "downlow", downe eventually became an all encompassing term for those who identify as gay/lesbia/bisexual/transgender.
3. What is a hag/stag?
An individual who is straight that hangs out with gays/lesbians.
4. Is DowneLink free to register?
Yes. We rely on advertisers to assist us to keep this site running. In order for us to introduce our site to advertisers we need you, as a member, to cooperate by following our terms of service.
5. What is the minimum age to register on DowneLink?
You MUST be at least 18 years of age.
6. I emailed questions to DowneLink to assist me, but have not responded yet to my email?
We do our best to answer all our members' questions. Please make sure to type your valid email address correctly when sending us suggestions/comments/technical issues or we will not be able to respond to your questions. We have experienced a lot of messages bouncing back to us due to invalid email addresses. Always have a valid email address in your profile for us to contact you.
7. How can I help DowneLink?
You can help DowneLink by promoting us! DowneLink is all about friends and community, and the larger this community becomes, the deeper and richer the experience will be for everyone. The best way to start is to invite your friends to join! Click on "Invite" in the navigation bar to invite them! They'll automatically be added to your friend's list upon joining!
8. Someone on DowneLink is harassing me. What can I do about it?
The best thing to do if and when you encounter such a situation is simply ignore them. 99.9% of the time they will soon leave you alone. By NOT responding to offending user, most people will simply go away. You may also use the feature "Block User", which will prevent them from contacting you (via messages, blog and photos). If you cannot resolve the problem yourself, or if someone is threatening you, contact the DowneLink Team immediately.
9. Is it ok for a member to write inappropriate content, display nude images, etc., on their profiles?
No. We want our members to feel free to write whatever they want, but be considerate of others. If you, as a member, display any nude images or obscene language please remove them. Please contact us at info@DowneLink.com if you have an issue with a member not cooperating with our terms and we will resolve the problem. Copy and paste the URL address of the member's profile into your email. Members who still continue violating our rules after being contacted by us will have their account terminated.

Account Questions


1. What do I do if I forgot my password?
Go to the login page and click on "Forgot password?"
2. What is the maximum # of friends I can have?
1000 at this time. We will consider increasing it in the future.
3. What is missed connections?
A way for you to send a message to the entire network about an individual that caught your eye at a specific place, but never got a chance to come up to him/her. Here is a chance to describe what you saw and hoping that person will respond back.
4. How do I edit/delete my friends/testimonials?
1. Login to the site
2. Click on "Edit Friends" or "Edit Testimonials"
5. Does DowneLink provide tech support to help me add special features on my profile?
No. We apologize that we cannot provide you this type of service. We recommend you asking other members to help you out.
6. How do I cancel my DowneLink account?
1. Login to the site
2. Click on the 'Account Settings' page from the left hand navigation
3. Follow the instructions to remove the account
7. The cancellation page does not accept my password
The password is case-sensitive on the cancellation page so please make sure to enter the correct password.
8. How do I change my password?
1. Login to the site
2. Click on 'Account Settings' from the left hand navigation
3. Click on 'Change Password'
9. How do I edit a blog?
1. Click on the 'Blog's link tab from the top navigation
2. Scroll down to the blog that you would like to edit
3. Click the 'edit' link
10. How do I leave a testimonial?
1. Go to the friend's profile
2. Click on 'Add a testimonial'
3. Follow the instructions to send the testimonial
4. Once the testimonial is approved from your friend, it is posted on the profile
11. How do I change my notification settings?
To change your notification settings:
1. Login to the site
2. Click on "Account Settings" from the left
3. Click on "Change notification settings"
12. How do I change my password?
To change your password:
1. Login to the site
2. Click on "Account Settings" from the left
3. Click on "Change Password"
13. I can't remember my email and password
Please send us the following information so we can search for the account:
1. First and last name
2. Zipcode
3. Date of birth
4. Password, if applicable
14. How do I change info?
To change your basic info:
1. Login to the site
2. Click on "Edit Profile" on the left side
3. Navigate to the "Basic Info" tab
15. I don't have access to my email address to reset my password?
Since you do not access to your email account (to retrieve DowneLink password), we can reset your account but before we can do this, we need you to provide us with the requested information below. Please be aware we will investigate all claims regarding this account and this process may take at least one week.

* An image of yourself holding a handwritten sign with the word "DowneLink.com" and the date. Please email it back to info@downelink.com so we can verify against the photos in the account.
16. My friends' count is off
Sometimes the count goes out of sync. When you add a new friend the count is recomputed to the current/correct value.
17. I can't see my new messages/friend requests/testimonials
This could be an issue with the browser cache setting. Please clear your browser cache and follow the instructions below if you are using Internet Explore on Windows:

1. Go to: Tools menu > Internet Options
2. Under Temporary Internet files, click the 'Settings' button
3. Note the value selected for 'Check for newer versions of stored pages'

The value selected should be 'Automatically'. If not, please select the value, click 'OK', and then 'OK' again to exit.

If the above does not work, try holding your keyboard Shift key and hitting the F5 button at the same time to refresh your browser.
18. Someone is using my unauthorized photos
In order to verify your identity, please send us an image of yourself holding a handwritten sign with the word "DowneLink.com" and the date. We can then remove the profile that uses your identity without your permission.

Please be sure to include the web address/URL to the profile.
19. Upload photos from your mobile device
Now when you capture something crazy or funny going on with your camera phone you can instantly share it on DowneLink.

1. From your mobile phone, go to http://m.downelink.com

2. Login and click on the "Profile" link and then "Edit Photos"

3. Locate your Mobile Upload address. This email address will be your personal upload address. Any images sent to it will be automatically placed in your album. Each phone has slight differences in how you can send images from your phone. Please refer to your cell phone provider if you have specific questions as to whether your phone or plan supports that feature.

4. From your phone, select the picture you are uploading to your account. Depending on your phone and provider there should be an option to send a "Picture Message" using this photo. This may also be referred to as sending an MMS message.

5. Address the message to your Mobile Upload Address - which will be in the format of accountID.PIN@uploads.downelink.com. Save the Mobile Upload address in your phone contact list or phonebook so that it can be set up once and easily recalled whenever you'd like to send another photo.

6. Once sent, the picture should appear in your album within a few minutes.

Note: If you are not able to login to the mobile site you can still retrieve your personal Mobile Upload address via your Account Settings page on the regular site.

Profile Questions


1. How do I add music/video to my profile?
Adding sounds/vidoes to your profile page is easy and requires only a basic knowledge of HTML. Simply go to "Edit Profile > Personality & Interests " and enter the desired HTML coding where appropriate. If you do not know HTML, just ask other DowneLink users.
2. I'm trying to upload an image, and I am getting an error message.
Please make sure:
1. The image you are attempting to upload is in one of the following formats: gif and jpg.
2. The filename does not have weird characters, i.e. my~!image~~.jpg
3. The file is less than 1MB. If none of these work, go to http://www.download.com/ and download a copy of the free software program called IrfanView. You can use this tool to resize your image to than 1.5MB.
3. My testimonials/friends are not showing on my profile?
The HTML code in your profile (personality & interests fields) is incomplete/incorrect. Please review and modify your HTML code to fix this issue.
4. I'm putting HTML code in my profile and it's not showing up.
DowneLink filters out potentially malicious code, including all javascript, so be sure to not include JavaScript. In addition, make sure that your HTML code in your profile is properly closed."
5. I can't set my default photo. What can I do?
This could be an issue with the browser cache setting. Please follow the instructions below if you are using Internet Explore on Windows:

1. Go to: Tools menu > Internet Options
2. Under Temporary Internet files, click the 'Settings' button
3. Note the value selected for 'Check for newer versions of stored pages'

The value selected should be 'Automatically'. If not, please select the value, click 'OK', and then 'OK' again to exit. Now, try to set a default photo.

If this does not work, please contact the DowneLink Team at info@DowneLink.com .

Technical Questions


1. How do I make sure I receive downelink.com emails?
To make sure you receive all your DowneLink emails, please add no-reply@mail.downelink.com and info@email.downelink.com to your address book.
Detailed instructions by email provider are listed below.

Yahoo!

Mark DowneLink as "Not Spam":
  1. Check "Spam" or "Bulk" Folder for a message from DowneLink
  2. Open message
  3. Click "Not Spam" button at top of email
View screenshot

To add DowneLink to your address book:

All-New Yahoo! Mail:
  1. Go to "Contacts" in the mail menu on the left side
  2. Click on the blue "Add" next to contacts
  3. Type no-reply@mail.downelink.com in the email field and hit "Save"
Yahoo! Mail Classic:
  1. Click on "Contacts" tab at the top of the page
  2. Click on the "Add Contact" button in upper left corner
  3. Type no-reply@mail.downelink.com in the email field and hit "Save"
View screenshot

AOL

Mark DowneLink as "Not Spam":
  1. Check "Spam" Folder for a message from DowneLink
  2. Open message
  3. Click "Not Spam" button at top of email
To add DowneLink to your address book:
  1. Go to "Contacts" in the mail menu on the left side
  2. Click on "Add Contact"
  3. Type no-reply@mail.downelink.com in the email field and hit "Save"
View screenshot

MSN & Hotmail

Add DowneLink to your safe list:

If you're using MSN Hotmail:
  1. Click Options
  2. On the left side of the page, click Mail, and then click Junk E-Mail Protection
  3. Click Safe List
  4. Type no-reply@mail.downelink.com, and then click "Add"
If you're using Windows Live Hotmail:
  1. Click Options
  2. Click Allowed and Blocked Senders under Junk e-mail
  3. Click Allowed senders
  4. Type no-reply@mail.downelink.com, and then click "Add to List"
View screenshot

To add DowneLink to your address book:
  1. Go to "Contact List" in the mail menu on the left side
  2. Click "New" at the top of the page
  3. Type no-reply@mail.downelink.com in the Personal E-mail field, and then click "Save"
View screenshot

Gmail

Mark DowneLink as "Not Spam":
  1. Check "Spam" Folder for a message from DowneLink
  2. Select the message, and click the "Not Spam" button that appears at the top and bottom of your current view
  3. Marking a message as "Not Spam" will automatically move it to your inbox
View screenshot


To add DowneLink to your contacts:
  1. Click "Contacts" along the left side of any page
  2. Click the "New Contact" button in the top-left corner of the Contact Manager
  3. Type no-reply@mail.downelink.com in the email field
  4. Click "Save" to add your contact
View screenshot

Comcast

To add DowneLink to your contacts:
  1. Click on "Address Book" link in the left menu
  2. Click on "Add Contact" at the top of Address Book
  3. While adding the contact, type no-reply@mail.downelink.com into the email field of the "Internet" page. Select the tabs at the top to navigate to the "Internet" page
  4. Click on "add" once the required information is provided. Contact gets added successfully

Verizon

To add DowneLink to your contacts:
  1. You can start adding a contact a few different ways:
    1. When a DowneLink message is displayed, click the "Add Contact" button in the upper right portion of the preview pane. This will create a new contact and populate it with the name and email address of the message's sender
    2. Select "New Contact" from the "Contacts Menu" in the Dock
    3. In the Contacts window, click the "New" button located on the lower left corner of the Window
  2. When you create a new contact, a panel with several sections appears. Type no-reply@mail.downelink.com in the email field and save the contact

* If you cannot find your answer on this page, click here to send us a message. Please provide as much information as possible about your issue (step-by-step to reproduce the problem) so we can assist you.

 
DowneLink Mobile! Visit m.downelink.com on your mobile device or click here to get a link sent to your mobile phone.