Frequently Asked Questions
We have compiled a number of the most frequently ask questions and have provided answers to help you quickly resolve the most common issues.
When I try to recover my password it says: "We're sorry, we can't reset your password because either the email you entered is not on file or your membership has lapsed. Please contact Login Support for assistance."
There are two reasons you may be receiving this error message. One might be that we do not have a valid email address on file for you either because you never supplied it or you have changed it and not reported the change to us.
The second reason may be because your Membership has expired. When a membership expires the system automatically blocks that account from Member Only areas. This is a security feature to prohibit hijackers from breaking into the system and could be the reason you received this message.
If your Membership has lapsed, you will only be able to retrieve your User Name. Either way, you will have to request a new temporary password by contacting Login Support under the Contact button. Please include your membership number and expiration date when requesting a temporary password.
Temporary login credentials were mailed to current and past members when our membership lists were imported into the new database. Temporary ID's are only issued to current members and those whose membership has recently expired. In the case of expired memberships, access is only granted to the registration screen.
If your Membership is current you can retrieve your User Name and Reset your Password. Please navigate to Resources/Forget Login Credentials? and request your Username and reset your Password. This will send your User ID to the email address on file. If you forgot your Password, there is no way to recover that as it is encrypted. However, you can create a new password for your account.
If your Membership has lapsed, you will only be able to retrieve your User Name. If this is the case, you will have to request a new temporary password by contacting Login Support under the Contact button. Please include your membership number and the email address used in your account.
This is extremely easy to do and you should change your password periodically for security.
Simply navigate to Members/Profile/Edit Profile Details and click the Contact Info tab. Locate the Username, Password and Verify Password fields and and make changes as you see fit User Name(ID) must be at least 6 alpha-numeric characters, upper and lower case. Passwords must be at least 6 characters and can be comprised of alpha-numeric and special characters such as " (){}*$ ".
Temporary login credentials were mailed to all email addresses on file in our membership lists. If your email address has changed since the last time you notified us, then the initial email was sent to an invalid address.
If this is the case, just send a note to Login Support along with your membership number and the email address you want listed in your records and we will issue temporary login credentials.
Only Members may post Classified Ads, but everyone can view them. Posting an ad and uploading images is simple if you follow these steps:
- Log in using your member ID and password
- Navigate to Community/Tutorials/Classified Ad Tutorial and read this short, easy to understand lesson on posting an ad
- Proceed to Classifieds and post your New Ad
If you happen to see a banner with the message below displaying across your screen, your computer has been identified as having generated spam. You may not be aware of this, but your computer may have been hijacked by a spambot and is being used as a zombie spam generator. This is not a joke.
Your IP address has recently been identified as a spammer. Your computer may be infected. Please use one of these free anti-virus scanners to detect and clean your computer: Microsoft Safety Scanner, HouseCall TrendMicro or Malwarebytes AntiMalware. You are seeing this message because this web site takes part in Project Honey Pot to fight spam. This message will continue to show up 8 days after the last time your IP was reported, even after you disinfect it.
It is really quite simple. You will need to navigate to the Profile Editor (Members/Profile/Edit Profile Details) and once there select the Portrait tab. Select the drop-down box and the second choice will be "Upload a new profile image". Select that and a Browse button will appear allowing you to browse to your local directory where your avatar image resides. Find the image you want and then click the Update button.
Note: Your avatar image must be no larger than 67 pixels on a side and our site does not support animated .gif images.
Of course you'll have to be logged in before you can renew your Membership. Once in, options for Membership renewal can be located by navigating to Members/Membership Renewal for direct access or the Members/Profile/Public Profile buttons. Your Membership Plan is detailed under the Membership Tab along with your expiration date and the Renewal button if renewal is available. The image below is representative of the Membership Renewal screen. Just click where indicated by the pointer.
You will also see a Renewal link whenever you are in any menu under the Members button. On the left side panel you will find a module titled Membership that also details your current membership along with a renewal link.
If and when your membership expires, you will receive an email stating the same and you will have to contact Login Support for a temporary Password to renew.
There is a simple, but comprehensive tutorial on how to set up your own Member's Gallery, found under the Community button. Please pay close attention to the section about selecting the proper category.
This could be caused by one or more add-on applications or extensions to your browser. Try turning off any Ad Blockers or other protection extensions and try again.
It has come to our attention that a number of people may be using Internet Explorer in development mode and are unaware of it. If the browser mode is emulating an old, out of date version, the site will not render properly, pages may disappear, menus may not function properly, graphics may be distorted, etc. There are a number of versions of IE that are not supported anymore and should be upgraded.
IE6 and IE7 are not supported and will fail on this site. If your browser is emulating one of these versions, that could be the reason you're having difficulties viewing the site. You really shouldn't be using either version as they are very old technology and are a wide open door to your computer from internet hackers. Supported and recommended browsers are found above on question #4.
How can you tell if Internet Explorer is in Development Mode? It's very easy; simply press F12. This will bring up a new window and at the top line to the right, you will see two items; Browser Mode and Document Mode. By clicking either one of these links, a menu will drop down. Choose the option that matches the version of your browser, usually the bottom selection of both modes (don't choose compatibility mode). This choice is for the most up-to-date version of your browser. Close that screen and refresh the browser. If you're using IE8 or IE9, you should be able to view the site properly now.
To avoid the never ending issues with Internet Explorer, it would be wise to switch to Firefox. Firefox doesn't pay us to say that, it just works.
This site has been developed for the latest HTML5 and CSS3 web standards. If the graphics are not displaying properly, then most likely the browser you are using is out of date. We suggest you upgrade to a newer version or change to a different browser altogether. Doing this will not only allow you to view this site as it was designed, but may also introduce you to a web you have never seen.
Another more serious reason to upgrade is for protection against web attacks that older browser technology simply cannot provide.
Browsers that can display this site and an increasing number of other sites developed for HTML5 and CSS3 are:
Windows Apple Linux Firefox 3.6 for XP, Vista, 7
Firefox 9.x for XP, Vista, 7
IE8, IE 9 for XP, Vista, 7
Safari 5.x above for XP, Vista, 7
*Google Chrome for XP, Vista, 7Safari - Mac
Firefox 3.6 OS X
Firefox 9.x OS X and above
*Google Chrome for Mac OS X 10.5 and upFirefox 3.6
Firefox 9.x and above
*Google Chrome Debian/Ubuntu/Fedora/openSUSEClick the Browser of your choice to download and install. Browser versions older than the above listed versions are not supported by this site and will exhibit display issues. Our recommendation for Windows XP users would be Firefox as it is the most Web Standards compliant browser available at this time (July, 2011).
More than likely this isn't the first time someone advised you to upgrade your browser. It's time to let it go.
You know you need to do it - go ahead, click the link now.
*Unfortunately, we must withdraw our support for Google Chrome until such time as they reverse their decision not to remove code that corrupts web site styling.
Over 500 recent e-mails have been returned or blocked. This is particularly problematic for Members with Earthlink / Mindspring addresses, but other ISPs may block our email as well. If you do not receive our monthly eRolling newsletters or have not received the Welcome e-mail containing your Username and Password or subscription notices, please check that you have placed VCOA.org on your white list.
If your white list allows ambiguous addresses, put in *@vcoa.org. If you must place in individual addresses, you may receive e-mail from the following addresses:
- info@vcoa.org
- registrar@vcoa.org
- forum@vcoa.org
- member.registration@vcoa.org
- websupport@vcoa.org
- newsletter@vcoa.org
Making these additions to your spam blocker White List will ensure you receive eRolling, Membership Renewal and Expiration Notices, Classified Ad notices and other important e-mail from VCOA.org.
VCOA does not rent, sell or otherwise distribute e-mail addresses from Members or any other source. You will never receive spam from VCOA.org.
