FAQs

  • Account Basics
  • Profile Extras
  • Privacy
  • Saying Goodbye
  • Communication
  • Troubleshooting
  • Other

Get help with your account or report a problem by contacting a BlackPlanet member advocate at: MemberAdvocate@InteractiveOne.com

Account Basics

How can I update information on my personal page such as my age, and location?

To change your personal information such as geographic location, age or gender please follow these steps:

  1. Click the Edit button next to your member name
  2. Click the Page Options link on the left side menu
  3. Click Edit Your Information at the top right side of the page
  4. Look for the information you want to change
  5. Enter the new information
  6. Click on the Save button at the bottom of this page

Your changes will now appear on your Personal Page!

How do I change my email address?
  1. Click on the My Account link that is located next to your member name.
  2. You will see a link to change your email address about half way down the page.

Remember if you update your email address you will have to verify it before you can send notes to other members!

How do I change My Username?

You cannot change your username once you have opened an account. This is our unique way of identifying you so the only way to get a different username is to open a new account.

What is my Page Log and how can I view it?

Your Page Log keeps track of who visited your Personal Page in the last 14 days. Entries are recorded chronologically showing the most recent visitors first. You can view your page log by clicking on the Page Log link on the left side of the home page.

How do I invite someone to be my friend?

It's easy. When you come across a Personal Page that looks inviting you can click on the “Add to Friends” list. The person you are inviting as your Friend must accept the invitation before he or she appears on your Friends list.

Having members on your Friends List makes it easier to communicate with them. Once they are on your Friends list they will see every bulletin you post and their names will be automatically added to your address book in notes.

The names of your Friends also appear on your Personal Page so others can see how many Friends you have.

What are you waiting for? Start inviting some Friends!

Can I change my birthday?

Currently you can not change your year of birth.

As part of our member safety program we added minimum and maximum ages to chat rooms. As a result, some members started altering their age to access certain rooms. As an added security measure we blocked your ability to change your birth year. We are sorry for any convenience this may cause you.

How do I edit my favorite links on my personal page?
  1. Click Edit
  2. Click Interests
  3. Scroll down and you will see the Favorite Links section

If you have favorite links they will be listed here and you can delete them. If you want to add them you can add from this section as well.

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Profile Extras

How do I add videos to my personal page?

To add videos, simply go to your personal page and click on the Videos tab. You can upload as many videos as you want in this section. Videos must be five minutes or less. Don't worry if your video is longer than five minutes — our handy editing tool will allow you to easily shorten your video.

Videos that you upload in the Video tab section of you Personal Page are not automatically added to your Personal Page. You must click on the “Arrange Your Page” link and add the video widget. Once the video widget is added you can decide which of your videos to display on your personal page.

How do I add blogs to my personal page?

You can now add a Blog to your personal page! This is your opportunity to share your thoughts with us! You can tell us what you are thinking about the news, your favorite movies, your favorite food, who you are going to vote for in the next presidential election or even what you think about Paris Hilton! You can allow all members to read and comment on your blog or you can keep your thoughts private or viewable by just your friends. The choice is yours!

You now have the ability to share your thoughts about so many things! Don't hold back! Go ahead. Start your blog now!

How do I upload a photo?

Steps for adding a photo to your Personal Page:

  1. Click Edit (next to your Personal Page)
  2. Click My Main Photo or My Photos
  3. Click Add a Photo
  4. When the box pops up click the Browse button
  5. You will now see the list of folders on your computer
  6. Find the one where your photos are located and click on your photo
  7. Click the Upload button
  8. Your photo will now be uploaded into our system

Once your photo is uploaded into our system you can use it any of your profiles.

Note: All social main photos must be approved so other members will not be able to see it right away. It can take up to 24 hours for approval.

How can I add a song to my personal page?

Songs must be in mp3 format and each song must be less than 10mb in size. As a general rule you can assume that 1mb is equal to one minute of a song.

How do I edit my Guestbook?

Your Guestbook is attached to your Personal Page. When you create your Personal Page for the first time, the Guestbook is automatically created. You can add a heading and description, and enable/disable your Guestbook by going to your Personal Page and clicking on Edit Guestbook link.

Once you are in the Edit Guestbook Mode you will see each section of the Guestbook listed. Click on whichever section you want to edit and use the easy to follow guidelines for designing your Guestbook.

To delete individual entries, go to your Personal Page, click Guestbook, and then select the “manage posts” link. Check off the posts you want to delete and then hit the “Delete All” button.

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Privacy

What are my privacy settings?

We have many privacy settings in place that allow you to choose what information you want others to know about you.

You can set your personal page to private so only those on their Friends list can view it. After you design your page click on Privacy Settings. The first option asks you if everyone can view your page or just your friends. Select which option you want and click Save Changes at the bottom.

There are additional privacy settings you can choose including the following:

  • You can set your online status so no one knows you are online.
  • You can select to see members in your age range when you search for members in the Member Find area.
  • You can block notes from members based on gender and age ranges.
  • You can opt not to allow others to search by your real name or email address.
  • You can choose whether or not you want to display your age on the site.

All of these options are located under the Privacy settings tab in the My Account section.

How can I hide myself so no one knows I visited their page?

You can hide your page views so that other people don't know you visited their page by doing the following:

  1. Click on My Account
  2. Click on Account Info
  3. You will be in the My Account setting section

You will see an option for recording your visits in other member's page logs. If you click “No” they will not know you visited their page.

How do I hide my last log in?

Don't want others to see when you last logged in? No problem. Now you can hide this information. Click the Edit button in your personal information widget, uncheck the “hide last login” box and save you changes.

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Saying Goodbye

How do I close my account?
  1. Click on My Account
  2. Click on the Close Account tab
  3. Select the reason for closing
  4. Click the Close account tab and your account will be closed
How do I delete my dating profile?
  1. Click on the Dating Tab
  2. Click on My Profile
  3. Click on Edit Profile
  4. Click on Options
  5. Check off the Delete box
  6. Save Changes

Your dating profile will be deleted.

How can I delete someone from my Friend Center?

Do you have a friend who is so busy on the site that their activity is always appearing on your Friend Center? If this annoys you we have a solution! Now you can click on the My Friends link and remove this person from your Friend Center. If you do this you will no longer see any of their activity. This person will remain on your Friends list and you will still have all the privileges that being friends offers such as viewing bulletin posts and Friends Only pictures. And if you change your mind its just as easy to add them back to your Friend Center.

How can I stop receiving alerts?

Many members want to receive an email every time they have a new notes, new Friends invites or guestbook posts. However some members would rather not be notified.

You can choose what alerts you want to receive by clicking on:

  1. My Account
  2. Account information
  3. Email preferences

You can select which alerts you do not want to receive by clicking the "Turn Off" link. As soon as you select this you will stop receiving the instant alerts via email.

How do I delete photos?
  1. Click on the edit link next to your member name
  2. Click on My Photos link
  3. The photos you have on your Personal Page are listed
  4. If you hover over a photo you will see several options including the ability to delete your photo. Click Delete next to any photo you would like to remove and other members will not be able to view it.
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Communication

How can I remove myself from your email list?
  1. Click on My Account
  2. Click on the Email Preferences tab

Once in this section turn all the alerts off by clicking on the off buttons. If you want to get removed from everything check the box that reads “I do not wish to receive any e-mails.”

This option is located at the bottom of the page.

How can I remove myself from the new member find areas?

If you make your page private you will not show up in the new member find areas. To make your page private click on Edit next to your member name, Privacy settings, and select the option to only allow your page to be viewable by your friends.

How come my photo is not showing up in the chat room?

There could be two reasons for this:

  • Your photo may be pending approval. All photos now require approval and our goal is to have a 24 hour turn around time. However there may be some delay if you uploaded your photo on the weekends.
  • Additionally, you must make sure you have a main photo selected. To make sure you have a main photo selected click on the “My Photo” link on the left section of the home page. This will take you to the media manager section of the site.
    • Select whichever photo you want to appear as your thumbnail as the main photo.
    • Click Finish and your main photo will be saved.
    • You will need to log out of the site and log back in for your photo to appear in chat.
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Troubleshooting

How do I clear my cookies?

Sometimes members see an old version of the site or the home page is not updating. If this is happening to you you may need to to get rid of temporary internet files in order to see the updated site. This process is called clearing your cookies.

Here is how you do it For Microsift Internet Explorer. See your browser's help files for Firefox, Chrome or Safari:

  1. Click on the Start button at the bottom left side of your computer
  2. Look for a button that says Settings. (If you don’t see it go to step 4.)
  3. Look for a link that says Control Panel
  4. A window will pop open – look for the icon that says Internet Options. Click on it.
  5. Another window will pop up – in the middle of this window you will see something that says Temporary Internet Files
  6. There is a button that says Delete Internet cookies
  7. A box will pop up and say Delete all cookies in internet file folder? Click Yes.
  8. Next – click on the Delete Files button (right next to the delete cookies button)
  9. Another window will pop up and there will be a box that says Delete Offline content, click the little white box so a check mark goes into it
  10. Click Ok
  11. Next, look for the box that says Clear History
  12. Click on the button in that window that says Clear History
  13. Another box will pop up and ask if you are sure you want to clear your history
  14. Click yes
  15. Click ok at the bottom of the window

When you are done, log in again and you should be able to access the site once again.

How come my video is not working?

Some IFILM users find that nothing happens when they click on the green "Watch Now!" links. The IFILM Player does not launch, and therefore, the video clip you've selected is unable to play.

This is typically caused by Pop-Up Blocker software installed on your computer. Pop-up Blockers are sometimes unable to recognize that the IFILM Player is user requested, so they prevent it from opening. Pop-up blockers are included in software from AOL, MSN, Internet Explorer, Netscape, Norton Utilities, Alexa and many more. If you experience this problem playing video clips, try disabling your pop-up blocker. You should be able to view the videos.

Why am I getting a “Login/Illegal Action” message when I am trying to log in?

Please understand that when you receive the “Illegal Login” message, it does not mean that you are using the wrong username or password. This message just means that you might have certain programs or security settings set on your PC which are not allowing you to log into the site.

If you are using a PC outside of your home, then you are most likely behind a firewall which will stop you from logging into the site. You will need to speak to the “System Administrator” at that location about giving access through the “Firewall.”

  • Are you behind a “Firewall”?
  • Are you using any type of “Security or Anti-Virus” program, and if so what is it?
  • Internet Explorer users please ensure you add BlackPlanet.com if you don’t already have it listed.
How come I am seeing a blank screen when I log in?

If you are accessing the site using Firefox your settings may be blocking you from viewing photos. Here’s how you can change your settings:

  1. Click on Tools
  2. Click on Options
  3. Click on Content
  4. Check off “Load images automatically”
  5. Click “OK”
I filled out all of my information. How come my dating profile is still not complete?

In order for your dating profile to be 100% complete you must have a statement about yourself in the “About Me” section and you must have at least 2 photos in your profile. One must be your main photo and the other should be in your gallery.

Once your dating profile is 100% complete you will receive 600 Member Points. After you receive your points you can click on the Member Points tab to redeem them for a free month of dating.

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Other

What do I do if someone stole my picture?

If someone is using your photos or is impersonating you we can shut the page down. Before we do this we need proof that your photos are being used by someone else.

Here's how to prove you are the correct owner of the photos. Take a picture of yourself holding a piece of paper with today's date written on it. Email this photo to us and be sure to include the member name of the person who is using your photos.

Once we can verify the photos are yours we can remove the page displaying these photos.

Send photos to the following email address: MemberAdvocate@InteractiveOne.com.

How do I contact the BlackPlanet.com Member Advocate?

To contact the BlackPlanet.com Member Advocate please write to: MemberAdvocate@InteractiveOne.com.

Can I invite my friends to join this site?

Yes! And it's so easy to send an invitation!

Click on the “Invite your friend” link located at the top right side of the website.

If you know your friends email addresses you can enter them one by one. If you prefer you can also import contacts from your AOL, Yahoo, MSN, and Google address books.

Enter an optional message, click the invite button at the bottom of the page and your invites are sent!

There is no limit to the amount of friends you can have so what are you waiting for? Start inviting your friends!

How do I report a copyright violation?

We respect the intellectual property rights of others and we prohibit users from uploading, posting or otherwise transmitting on the Company Sites or the Services any materials that violate another party’s intellectual property rights. If you believe that any material on the Site infringes upon any copyright which you own or control, you may send a written notification of such infringement to our designated Copyright Agent below.

Chief Operating Officer
c/o Interactive One, LLC
850 Third Ave, Third Floor
New York, NY 10022
Fax: (212) 505-3478
dmca@interactiveone.com

Pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, to be effective the notification must be in writing and include all of the following:

  1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
  2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site is covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site.
  3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material.
  4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted.
  5. A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
  6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
  7. When we receive proper notification of alleged copyright infringement, we will take such action as is appropriate under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Get help with your account or report a problem by contacting a BlackPlanet member advocate at: MemberAdvocate@InteractiveOne.com

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Terms of Service

Questions about what's allowed on BlackPlanet.com? Check our Terms of Service.