Subscriber FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

1. What does my subscription include?
2. How often does the PoolLetter come?
3. How long does my subscription last?
4. How do I subscribe?
5. Why do you need my phone number?
6. Why am I still getting the free version of the PoolLetter?
7. Why are some of my subscriber PoolLetters almost identical to the free PoolLetter?
8. Why doesn't my password work?
9. What's the difference between the Forum and the subscriber-only pages?
10. Why can't my password and user ID be the same for the Forum and the subscriber pages?
11. How do I get to the Forum?

1. What does my subscription include?
   
   
   • ALL the PoolLetters. Non-subscribers only receive every other PoolLetter.
   • Access to ALL previous PoolLetters. At present, this amounts to more than 55 letters, average 10+ pages each.
   • Access to Subscriber Only Guides. There are a number of subscribers only guides pages. Possibly the most valuable is the "better shocking" page, though it does not apply to everyone.
   • A PRIORITY response email address for me. If you email me using this address, I'll do my best to respond individually and personally. For the most part, non-subscribers are simply asked to post to the forum.   back
     
     
2. How often does the PoolLetter come?
   
   Hm-m-mh. Ideally, every week in swim season, and once per month during the off-season. In reality, much less often, during the last 18 months (2000/2001). I hope to get one out at least every two weeks during the 2001 swim season.   back
   
   
3. How long does my subscription last?
   
   In theory, all subscriptions end June 30, of the next year. So, if you subscribe in December 2000, your subscription would end June 30, 2001. If you subscribe in January 2001, it would end June 30, 2002.
   
   In practice, because I haven't sent out as many PoolLetters as I'd planned, I've extended all subscriptions entered between July 1999 and October 2000 at least till June 30, 2001. Whether recent subcriptions will be extended will depend on whether I can get my publication rate up to speed.    back
   
   
4. How do I subscribe?
   
   Go to the subscription page.   back
   
   
5. Why do you need my phone number?
   
   Email addresses change . . . much more frequently than phone numbers or street addresses. If your email address changes, and you forget to tell me, I'll call to get an update, but ONLY if I have your phone number. I don't give out, or sell phone numbers or other personal info.   back
   
   
6. Why am I still getting the free version of the PoolLetter?
   
   Send me a note, and tell me, and I'll fix it.   back
   
   
   
7. Why are some of my subscriber PoolLetters almost identical to the free PoolLetter?
   
   See #1, above. Even though it's explained in several places, subscribers have continued to be confused about why they ever receive free version PoolLetters . . . so I've stopped calling them that. As a result, ALL PoolLetters received by subscribers will be called "Subscriber PoolLetters", even though half of them will be nearly identical to the free version PoolLetter.    back
   
   
8. Why doesn't my password work?
   
   Password failures usually occur for one of three reasons:
   
   
   • I sent a bad password or ID. This has happened, but represents less than 10% of all password problems.
   • You typed the password incorrectly. This is almost always the cause. In looking at the error logs, recently, I saw a sequence of attempts like this: New-Sub1, new-sub1, New-sub1, New_sub1. None of these worked, because the ID (before it expired) was New_Sub1.
   • You've confused your Forum password and ID with your website subscriber password and ID. Eventually, all subscribers will have the same password for the forum and for the website pages. Most of you currently do not. However, the ID for the Forum and the website subscriber pages will NEVER be the same.    back


9. What's the difference between the Forum and the subscriber-only pages?
   

The subscriber only pages include the archive of all past PoolLetters, and a number of subscriber only guides. The forum (now at PoolForum.com) is completely separate.    back



10. Why can't my password and user ID be the same for the Forum and the subscriber pages?
    
    The simplest answer is that I'm not a good enough programmer/system admin to make that work.    back
    
    
11. How do I get to the Forum?
    
    Go to www.poolforum.com.   back