Help Files / FAQ
Your available data seems a bit sparse !
What's so special about the stuff you're hiding from me ?
How do I join ? What will it cost me ?
Am I eligible for membership ?
Why does Webmaster want so much information about me ?
How do I know which of the horrendous passwords you’ve given
me I need to use and when ?
I’ve forgotten my password !
Why are you so obsessed with forcing people to reply to you ?
You included an acknowledgement link in a recent email but
when I clicked on it I received an error message.
Newsletters ? I haven't heard anything from you
since joining !
You haven't answered my question !
Your available data seems a bit sparse !
Actually we've got a lot of written data and thousands of photographs
- although we'd always welcome more if you're offering !
The majority of the stuff is reserved for members only so accessible only
from the Members' Index and to access that you need the members' credentials.
If you're already a member, just click on 'OK Members Index (Gateway)' - near the bottom
of our Public index so to reach that you may have to scroll down.
You'll then reach a page which reminds you that you're going to need the
members' credentials and offers you a 'hint' file (which I hope will make
no sense at all to non-members !) or the opportunity to request a password
reminder email. Or of course a link to the actual Members' Index - click on
that and you'll be asked to enter the members' credentials (and given the
chance to tick a little box so that your computer supplies them automatically
next time) and if you enter those correctly the Public Index will be replaced
by the Members Index which offers far more destinations.
If you're not already a member then please join us - it costs you
absolutely nothing. Just select 'Become a Member' from the Public Index'
What's so special about the stuff you're hiding from me ?
It's perhaps not that 'special'. It does however let you put up a list of
(most of) our members (there's an opportunity to opt out for the ultra shy)
and some quite personal details about them. We also offer members access to
our complete collection of several thousand photographs - many of which are
very personal to the families who took them. Some of the pictures are
available for anybody to view but our default action is to assume that their
owners have supplied them on the understanding that even though they are happy
to share them with their friends, the pictures won't be on public display.
How do I join ? What will it cost me ?
That's sort of covered above. But let's make it even clearer :-
Just select 'Become a Member' from the Public Index'. We might one
day arrange automatic joining but for the moment we ask you to send your
details to our Webmaster along with an explanation of why you want to join.
If your application is accepted you'll get an email with details of how to
access the Members' Index and your personal credentials for use within certain
applications.
There is no monetary contribution required. We would however like details of
your own time in Aden (or perhaps that of your parents, grandparents etc) to
extend our register. It's also likely that you'll want to spend many hours
reading the articles from other members, looking at their photographs &/or
contributing your own memories to the site.
Am I eligible for membership ?
Yes ! (probably)
To become a FULL member of the OK website you need to have attended one
of the British schools in Aden during the Colonial days ( 1839 - 1967 ).
Realistically, that probably means between 1948ish (when servicemen started
accompanied postings after WW2 & July 1967 (when most British families were
evacuated) but we're not going to turn down any one hundred & eighty year olds
who were there as kids in the Victorian era !
Most of our members attended Khormaksar Seondary school (hence the domain name)
but excluding younger brothers or sisters who attended one of the primary
schools seemed rather unfair. We also have people who attended the Convent
or the Catholic Boys' School and we also have a few who attended a UK boarding
school but spent holidays in the colony with their parents.
We have a number of Friends of the site : e.g. our parents, teachers,
scout leaders, local residents and in principle would welcome people who were
too young to have been there in our time but would like to know more about
their parents' (or even grandparents') lives.
Why does Webmaster want so much information about me ?
He doesn’t ! However, other people consulting the register may like to
see who else with whom they might have shared a classroom. The current
database contains many slight errors that spoil that process.
e.g. some people might say: “I arrived in Aden in 1961 (so I guess at
June 61 as that can’t be more than 6 months out but could so easily be 5
months off the real date) & left in 1963 (again, I’d use June). I was
12 (I ask for age on arrival but some decide I meant age on departure)”. I
use that to calculate which school year the person would have been in – but
even if I’ve been given fairly accurate figures, I can very easily put
them a year or two above or below their actual school cohort.
To change (almost) anything in your record, switch to the members’ register
(for which you need to enter the general credentials as at that stage you’re
not doing anything that any other member couldn’t) then select the option
to ‘Amend your database record’. When asked, enter your personal credentials
(you wouldn’t want me to let any other member mess about with your record !)
& hit the *Submit* button. A table will appear that lists everything we
know (or have guessed !) about you. Correct anything you want by typing
the new data into the respective box. That includes the opportunity to
dump the default settings for user.name & password & substitute
something with which you’ll be more comfortable. When finished, hit the
submit button - which now carries a form of words that makes it
clear that you consent to the OKs storing your information – and your
corrected data will now be in the register.
How do I know which of the horrendous passwords you’ve given
me I need to use and when ?
Every OK member has been given two sets of credentials. One of them is
common to everyone and stops casual surfers from using the website facilities
that we don’t want to share with outsiders. They are needed to access
the members index. You’re stuck with using the credentials supplied but
there’s really no need to memorise them – just select the ‘word’ from your
password notification email, copy it (being careful not to include any blank
spaces before or after) and paste into the ‘sentry’ window. Check the little
box on the window & your computer will provide them automatically
on future visits.
The other set are specific to the member. If you’re not happy with them, you
can use them once (copying & pasting as described above) then alter the values
to something that suits you. You can make it as simple as you like – but
please don’t blame webmaster if you make it so simple that somebody else
guesses your credentials & enters some duff gen about you !
I’ve forgotten my password !
Just try reaching the members’ index without them. On the way you’ll
reach a window that first says “Click here if authorised” but scroll down
a bit & you’ll see a link that offers to send you a password. Enter your
email address & forename (christian-name if you are one but not all
members are) and we’ll email you both sets of credentials along with
another explanation of how to use them. Displaying them on screen for you
might seem ‘more helpful’ – but that would let anybody ask for someone
else’s password to be displayed !
Why are you so obsessed with forcing people to reply to you ?
I suppose it must look that way. Sorry.
In fact, I just want to be sure that everyone to whom
I send an email gets it. It isn't really an option
to write "If you have NOT received this email then please contact me with
your new email address" ! I therefore have to start with a list of ALL
members and cross off those whom I know have received emails to build a
short list of people we may have lost. Only then can we set about trying
to find them again.
You included an acknowledgement link in a recent email but
when I clicked on it I received an error message.
The process worked properly for most people who have used it. A few email
clients have split the long line that I wrote into two shorter lines and
then treated only the first section as a link - but that of course
becomes a link that doesn't work properly ! However, even
though you will have seen an error message, I should get an email
alerting me to the error and can usually get enough information from that
to set your response field manually. If not, when you get fed up with multiple
reminders, just email me & I'll reset it for you manually.
Newsletters ? I haven't heard anything from you since joining !
Unfortunately, a percentage of all automatically generated emails tend not
to be delivered ! Usually that's because the recipient's ISP has (wrongly !)
classified the email as 'Spam' and shunted it off to a spam folder.
Only 'cure' is to check your spam folder - usually by logging into the ISP's
website and selecting webmail. That should give you access to any spam folder.
If you find something there that shouldn't be, there should be a button you
can click to mark it as 'safe' or 'not spam' (or something else ?)
Once you have done that, future emails from the same sender should
be delivered normally.
It's not just OK emails that are affected thus
so everybody should try & check their spam folders regularly.
You haven't answered my question !
The OK website is still in its infancy (albeit that we've been planning it
for half a century !)
Perhaps nobody else has asked it yet ? Maybe the Webmaster just doesn't know !
Please copy the email address from the box below and send your query to our
Webmaster. If he knows the answer it will appear here soon; if not, it will
take a while to consult all the members but one of them is bound to know.
