Is it free?
The Secret Level does not charge any fees of any type for any content or services on the site. The only thing you have to lose is your spare time.

Why do I have to be 13 or older to register?
Thanks to COPPA, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, we cannot collect information (such as an e-mail address) from any user under the age of 13 without a parent's permission. The amount of paperwork and tracking required to prove the identity of the parents is substantial for a site of this size, and could increase costs so much as to cause the site to shut down. You'll find that most sites (even those with much more financial backing) have the exact same restriction.

How do I activate my account?
When you register, you'll have to enter a valid e-mail address that you can receive mail from. An activation key is then mailed to that address, and you'll have to either click on the link in the mail or type it in manually. Registration ensures that each account can be tracked back to the owner of an e-mail account, and allows you to recover your password should you forget it.

Why didn't I receive my activation key?
Whenever you sign up for the The Secret Level message boards, you must use a valid, working e-mail address that you can receive mail from. If you don't receive your activation key after signing up, there are several likely reasons why this has happened:

• You didn't provide your correct e-mail address. 90% of the bounced confirmation notices we receive are due to people providing invalid or non-working addresses. Remember, your e-mail will look something like "yourname@domain.com", and your address very probably does not begin with "www.".
• You're blocking external mail. If you use AOL or Compuserve 2000, you can set up your mail filters to block all external mail, which means that your confirmation key will never get to you. Change your settings to accept mail from non-AOL sites in order to receive your confirmation e-mail.
• Your mailbox is full, or your mail server is having problems. You need to make sure you can receive mail before signing up.

How can I get my activation key re-sent?
Simply log in to your account, access your User Preferences page (by clicking on your username in the blue bar at the top of the screen), and click "Re-Send My Activation Key". You'll be able to enter in a new e-mail address as well if you mis-typed it the first time.

Why doesn't my activation key work?
You'll receive an error message in one of two circumstances:

• You already activated your account. Try logging in to your account and check your authorization level (it's listed next to your username in the blue status bar). If your authorization level isn't "0", then your account is already active.
• You didn't enter the activation URL correctly. Some e-mail programs can cut off the last digits of the URL, and that entire URL is required in order to activate your account. You may need to type in the URL by hand and make sure that you enter the entire string in order to activate your account.

Why I can't stay logged in to my account?
You must have cookies enabled to use the message boards. The cookie that is used to stay logged in is not persistent, and is simply used to track your session on the site so you don't have to log on to every page. Some browser security settings can stop your browser from using cookies, so you may need to adjust your system settings.

In Microsoft Internet Explorer, in the Tools menu, select "Internet Options", go to the Security Tab, and on the Custom Settings screen make sure that "Allow per-session cookies" is enabled.

In Netscape, in the Edit menu, select "Preferences", go to the "Advanced" menu, and on the cookies screen make sure that you have not disabled cookies or that "The Secret Level.com" is not in your blocked cookies list.

How do I post messages or create topics on the boards?
Once you've created your account, activated it, and logged in, you should see a link in the blue menu bar near the top of the screen saying "Create New Topic" or "Post New Message" wherever you're allowed. If you don't see either of those links, then the problem may be that you're not logged in with an active account, or the message board you're reading doesn't allow you to post or create topics at your level.

Why do I have to use a certain e-mail address to register?
In order to sign up for The Secret Level, all you need is a working e-mail address. Unfortunately, since it's possible to get hundreds of different free addresses, there have been people who create multiple accounts on the boards for the sole intention of causing major problems and offending other users. When this happens to an extreme, it becomes necessary to "block" certain ISPs from being able to use alternate e-mail addresses to sign up.

For example, if you are connecting from AOL or Compuserve, you must use an AOL or Compuserve e-mail address to sign up. Similar restrictions apply to several other ISPs around the world, and are always been added and removed as problems arise and disappear.

If you do not have an e-mail address that ends with one of the required extensions for your ISP, then you cannot sign up for the boards normally. If you have an e-mail address that was properly assigned by your ISP, yet it's not in the "allowed domains" list when you sign up, you can contact The Secret Level with this information.

I got a message saying I'm using a "proxy server". What does that mean?
A proxy server is a server that basically funnels Internet traffic through a common point. The main problem is that there are thousands of "open" proxy servers on the Internet that actually disguise the IP address of the user, letting them be relatively anonymous when creating accounts. We've found over the years that when people are allowed to sign up without any kind of accountability for their actions in this manner, they more often than not wish to abuse the system and not use it for any constructive purpose.

If you are using one of these proxy servers for your own privacy, you will need to disable it at least for the initial sign-up and log-in process on the site. While we do understand your desire for privacy, our need for security simply outweighs it in this case, and our privacy policy does prevent us from using any information you give us unless you break the rules.

If you were not aware that you were using a proxy server, you should contact your ISP's support staff or system administrator and ask them for assistance.

If you are using a closed proxy server (one that does not mask identities and cannot be used from external sites) and feel that the block is in error, please contact The Secret Level with the full details of the situation, and the matter will be investigated.

What do I do if I forget my password or username?
Use the Lost Password form to have your username and password mailed to you. There's a link from the Log In page to the form if you need it, and it will send mail based on the "Private E-mail" listed for your account (which defaults to the account you signed up with).

I got an e-mail or IM from someone at The Secret Level asking for my password. Should I give it to them?
Nobody from The Secret Level will ever ask for your password, under any circumstances. If someone claims to be from The Secret Level in e-mail or IM and is asking for your account information, it's more than likely that it's someone trying to break into your account.

For more information...
Try the following help files:
Getting Started
Board Basics
Rules and Standards
Additional Features
Getting Additional Help