Frequently Asked Questions

Top Community FAQs

How do I update my TechRepublic profile?

When you’re logged in to the site, on the top right-hand side of any page, click My Account and then My Profile. There are Quick Links a little bit down on the right-hand side for updating your personal information and changing your password.

How do I set my profile picture? What is Gravatar?

We use the service Gravatar to display profile images. The process for setting up your avatar is very straightforward. Go to Gravatar.com and create an account with the same email address that you use at TechRepublic. Associate an avatar with your email address. That’s all there is to it. Your Gravatar will automatically show up on TechRepublic within about 30 minutes.

How do I mark spam and other offensive posts?

Click the Alert/Flag link directly below the comment you wish to flag, and then select why you are flagging the comment by picking from one of the choices in the drop down menu. You can also offer a Brief Explanation, but that’s not mandatory. Oh, and don’t forget to click the Submit button.

How do I add/remove a Contact?

A contact is a TechRepublic member whose posts you’d like to follow.

To add a contact, click on the member’s username to get to their profile. Click the “Follow” link below their avatar and membership information.

To see a list of all your Contacts, click My Account at the top right of any page and then select Contacts. You can sort your Contacts list by username or the date they were added.

To remove a Contact, simply select the “Unfollow” link that you’ll see next to their avatar and membership information.

How can I enhance my posts with formatted text?

Our forums do not allow HTML. We do however allow limited BBCodes:

Bold use [b] Bold [/b]

Italic use [i] Italic [/i]

Underline use [u] Underline [/u]

What is the After Hours Forum?

The After Hours Forum is the Community hang-out. Here is where you can get to know your peers better and discuss how best to grow your tomatoes or even share your favorite music authors.

What is thread-jacking?

Thread-jacking is when you hijack someone else’s thread. Remember that most people want to read what TechRepublic members have to say to the original question posted and don’t have time to wade through the off-topic comments.

How do I subscribe to a Discussion?

Simply click on where it says “+Follow”. This will subscribe you to that particular discussion. When new comments are added, you will receive an email alert.

Can I ask questions about retrieving passwords?

If your problem is related to granting access to a system, program, email, or web site (such as a password or finding a back door) TechRepublic will not be able to help you, as we do not have the means to validate you are the legal owner of what you are trying to access.

What if additional information is needed to answer my question?

Respondents may respond directly to your question requesting additional information. Please reply back to questions regularly if members request additional information as this will aid in getting your question answered more quickly.

What is a Private Message (PM)?

The Private Messaging feature in TechRepublic allows members to send a private message to their own *contacts using a form based email system.

You can ONLY send a private message to those who are:

• Also a Contact (follower) of the yourself (meaning you both must be following one another) and
• as long as the recipient does not have contact permission levels blocked

To send a Private message to one of your contacts, go to My Account/Send a Message. Click on the “To” field to expand the menu, to display your list of available contacts. Only members you are able to send a private message to will display here. Once a valid contact has been selected from the list, input a subject, message and hit send. This will send a real email to the recipient (which means it will display your own email address to the recipient).