You need to keep your account activity ongoing ..

basically, over the first month of your membership if you don't show a general interest in the site, then the site-team can only assume that the site isn't for you ..

these guidelines should help to keep your account active:

1. Comment on at least 3 works (other than replies to your own work) on a weekly basis.. not only does this encourage others to comment, but it helps the site to grow .. nobody wants to be a member of a site full of zombie members!! Furthermore, it only takes 10 minutes out of your week to accomplish this (they don't have to be essays, just a comment that shows that you've actually shown some interest in someone elses work).. and you may even put a smile on another member's face for actually taking the time to read their work ..

2. Post poetry for others to read - we all understand that we go through bouts of writers block .. if you're experiencing writers block, then why not read and comment on someone elses work .. this can help to inspire you to write something new and break the block!! Write a blog .. anything .. just keep your account active..

3. If for any reason you want to put a hold on your account, send a message to bad robot with your reason .. this way we'll know not to delete your account ..

4. If you have shown a general interest in the site and you have been a high contributor in the past, then your account will never be deleted. This doesn't mean that if you've posted 1000 poems on the site that you're classified as a high contributor, because it doesn't .. you need to show community spirit by actually commenting on others too..

this is all for YOUR sites benefit .. and will help promote a healthy community

Clear your cache and your cookies, refresh the page and try signing in again ..

If this doesn't work then, chances are your account has been deactivated and deleted (especially if you haven't had much to do with the site in a while) .. non-active members are generally purged from the site .. we prefer a lively community to a zombie one ..

New member registrations need to be approved by an administrator before a member is able to physically sign in to the site .. this can take from anywhere inbetween 1 hour and 24 hours

Chances are you have signed up with a hotmail account which is notorious for losing generated emails ..

First of all, check your bulk mail folder for the registration notification email .. as most of the time it can be found in this folder.

NB. The best email to sign up to Freaklings with is a Yahoo email account as you will always find your password notification in the bulk folder..

Click on the "Retrieve Password" link below the member login form .. you will be directed to a form where you can retrieve your password either by entering your user name or registered email address.

Freaklings has a points system as member rewards for active participation in the site to encourage members to stay active..

Runners-up of contests will now be awarded 100 points for their efforts in contests .. the site team will also be awarding on the spot rewards for detailed comments on art and poetry and general activity on the site .. in other words if you're an active member, your efforts will not go unnoticed!

When you reach 1000 points you may trade in your points to bad robot here to obtain full membership for one month .. you can also gift points to other friends/members if you don't wish to keep any points you accrue ..

You can see a tally of all points to each member who has been awarded points here

Hopefully this is a small incentive to keep the site active .. remember if everyone signed in and posted just one comment a day the site will grow and become a hive of activity

Popular tags are simply the most popular tags that users have submitted to their work on the submission form ..

these tags aid in searches of similar works by clicking on the word associated with the theme or style of the work ..

users may submit up to seven tags on their works, and only tags that are relevant to the works are allowed so the search remains efficient ..

The popular tags block comes in handy for inspiration which is why it appears as a cloud in the right hand frame of the site at all times ..

you can find all user submitted comments by clicking on the Comments List link ..

you can also find all comments by member by clicking on a members profile and following the View all Comments link

Messenger is generally for quick messages or instant messaging purposes.. if you want to quickly ask another member a question or say hello, then you can do so from any page within the site in the right hand bar ..

Freaklings Mail is for more detailed messaging .. you can access your mail from the main menu and you are notified of new mail at the top of every page when you receive new mail .. all of the messages received as well as sent messages are recorded in your inbox and outbox and you can also see in your outbox if your sent messages have been read by the recipient ..

You need to click on "The Big List" link to the right of your screen in the menu .. scroll down until you find the "Suggest a member for front page feature" link .. this will lead you to a form to fill out for the purpose of featuring the member.. please note that not all suggestions end up on the front page, but all are read

If you find a post that violates any of the rules or which you think is offensive .. eg. hate/rascist or pornographic etc.. there is a link in place on each of the posts to flag the work as being offensive, which will temporarily hide the work from public view until one of the site team members can review the work, which usually takes 24 hours .. please only use the flag as offensive link if you feel it is justified as if it is used in any other manner, such as harrassing another member it could result in the person flagging being banned.

Click on the Submit Works link and you will find the appropriate link to create a blog

Groups can be formed by any full member via the Submit Works link .. they serve a couple of different purposes ..

Members are able to form either private groups (whereby they are the only member of that group - this is useful if you wish to hide your works at any stage)

or members are able to form public groups where other members are able to join .. these are handy if you wish to discuss or post your works in groups of like-minded poets or artists ..

there are several different options to choose when creating a group and handling subscription requests from other members ..

open - subscription requests are accepted immediately.

moderated - subscription requests must be approved.

invite only - subscriptions must be created by an administrator.

closed - subscriptions are fully administered by an administrator.

NB. When you select closed, users will not be able to subscribe or unsubscribe .. only create a 'closed group' if you wish to be the only member of that group ie. for the purpose of being able to hide your works ..

Once your group is created it will be added to the 'Groups Directory' which can be accessed via the Groups link in the primary menu ..

Administrators of groups generally need to maintain and manage the group, so to have an active group on Freaklings it is advisable not to create a group of interest unless it is something you really want to do

If you have published or self published a book and you are obviously the author .. you may promote it on Freaklings by writing a synopsis and review .. the book review submission allows a link to purchase your book from your site (eg. lulu or amazon) and it allows other information such as isbn if available, book cover photo, copyright information, author information etc. It is a very useful tool to use if you would like to promote your book to other members ..

However, you must have a paid subscription to be able to use this service.

Click on the Submit Works link in the right hand menu .. this will bring you to a list of categories that your member level allows you to submit to .. click on the category that you wish to submit a piece of work to.. eg. if you want to submit a poem, click on the 'Poetry' link .. then you are ready to submit your piece .. please be sure to place your work under the relevant sub-category or it may not be listed on the front page, which means less exposure to members.

You need to be a subscribed (paid) member to be able to submit your artwork or photos

Chances are your work has been flagged by another member as being offensive .. this will temporarily hide your work until a site team member can review the complaint, which is usually done within 24 hours. Administration will not tolerate members who flag things unnecessarily and it will be seen as a form of 'flaming' or harrassment, therefore please only use this feature if it is absolutely justified.

Purchasing a subscription which upgrades you to a full member costs $10 for 6 months or $15 for 12 months ..

Memberships are automatically upgraded at the time of purchase

1. Submit art and other personal images into the gallery section of the site .. you receive unlimited space .. images are also displayed on your profile

2. Ability to create your own groups

3. Ability to make your works private (out of view from other members) .. you need to create your own group to achieve this

4. Change your username

5. View post access counter - enables you to see how many views each piece has had when you click on the works

6. no ads (please note that ads have temporarily been deactivated on the site - but they will return)

7. Submit a book review if you have published or self-published your poetry

8. Submit tutorials for other members .. share your knowledge

9. View revisions to works

10. Use advanced search tools

There is a link on the front page, you just need to click on the 'subscribe' image and you can also find a link on The Big List too.. or simply click here

if you have any problems you can contact bad robot with your queries

Absolutely not .. the team at Freaklings understands that circumstances do change, therefore we have not implemented the auto-renew subscription feature .. if you wish to renew your subscription when it runs out, you will need to pay your fees again at the time of expiry

Yes .. your payments are transmitted over a secure payment gateway .. and all of your details are encrypted and remain safe. The Freaklings administration have no access to your credit card or paypal account details.

No you don't need to have a paypal account to pay via credit card.

we currently only accept payment via paypal, which can either be drawn directly from your paypal account or you can pay via credit card.

yes .. as soon as you make payment via paypal your membership is automatically upgraded.

yes .. however, you need to be a full member to do so as you need to create your own private group to either post hidden works or move your viewable works into your own hidden section

Click on 'My account' in the menu which will take you to your profile page .. above your profile you will see an "edit" tab .. when you click on that tab it will bring you to a page where you can change all of your user settings, including your password, avatar, guestbook settings etc .. on top of that page are some other tabs. To edit your profile you need to click on the 'Personal Info' tab and the 'About Me' tab