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123Acu.net
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Information and Frequently Asked Questions
1 What's New? 2 Navigating this Web-Site 3 Locate: Finding Acupuncture Offices 4 Updating Existing PRACTITIONER and OFFICE Listings 5 Fees for Listings 6 All about Client Passwords and Logging In 7 Reporting Problems with the Web-Site 1 What's New? 1 So Much is New; read this FAQ file! 2 PRACTITIONER and OFFICE listings 3 Locate by ZIP, State, (or Country and Province) Language and Specialty 4 Password Reversibility - CAUTION 5 We've gone International 6 Locate by Country and Province 7 Improved PRACTITIONER Visibility 1 So Much is New; read this FAQ file! This web-site has been totally redesigned and re-installed on May 17, 2009. We've improved the LOCATE function for the public users of this directory. We've merged PRACTITIONER listings with OFFICE listings. Read this FAQ file for more information! 2 PRACTITIONER and OFFICE listings We already had OFFICE listings, which allow the public to locate an acupuncture office near them, and PRACTITIONER listings, which describe the Acupuncturists who practice in those OFFICEs. The OFFICE listings describe WHERE the OFFICE is, how to CONTACT the OFFICE, the OFFICE's hours, etc. The PRACTITIONER listings describe each PRACTITIONER's LANGUAGES and SPECIALTIES. 3 Locate by ZIP, State, (or Country and Province) Language and Specialty Our LOCATE function provides several different kinds geographic search of our directory of acupuncture OFFICEs and PRACTITIONERs. As the most practical search in the USA, we allow Locate by zipcode, which allows the public to see a list of OFFICE listings in (or near) a specified zipcode. The RADIUS for ZIP (see left margin of Locate pages) sets the radius in miles of OFFICEs around the given ZIP for which to search. We also allow LOCATE by State and by CITY within STATE. Where a state is specified, all listings in the given state may be listed, ordered by city within the state. We also allow LOCATE by Country, looking toward becoming a fully international directory. Whichever geographical method you use, you may limit (filter) the OFFICEs listed by LOCATE on the basis of the language(s) spoken by PRACTITIONERs in the OFFICE. (English as the default search language.) If you click two or more LANGUAGES, make sure that you select the "Require all selected LANGUAGES" OPTION only if you only want to see OFFICEs with a PRACTITIONER who sepaks ALL of those languages. But if you'ld be happy with ANY ONE of those languages, select the "Require at least one selected LANGUAGES" OPTION. These OPTIONs are at the bottom of the page. You may (optionally) also limit (filter) the OFFICEs listed by LOCATE on the basis of the acupuncture specialties practiced by the PRACTITIONERs in the OFFICE. As with LANGUAGES, please the select "all" or "at least one" OPTION, at the bottom of the page, to express your desire. 4 Password Reversibility - CAUTION 123acu.net decided that password encryption should be made reversible. Therefore, passwords created (or re-made) since December 12, 2004, will be reversibly encrypted which means that the administrators of 123acu.net can re-discover your password. This allows them to send you your password (upon a request from you). 5 We've gone International There has been enough interest in the 123acu.net directory from outside the USA that we have made the directory international. The public may search for acupuncture OFFICEs and PRACTITIONERs in any of hundreds of countries. That doesn't mean they will find one! But we now invite acupuncture OFFICEs and PRACTITIONERs from all countries to list with us. (If your country does not appear on our list, let us know!) 6 Locate by Country and Province The LOCATE function responds to the new international scope of our directory and now allows a search by Country. In USA, search continues to be by City within State, whole State, or ZipCode. 7 Improved PRACTITIONER Visibility PRACTIONER listings are no longer separately searchable (May 17, 2009). Instead, all searches find OFFICEs on a geographical basis, but filter (focus) OFFICEs on the basis of LANGUAGEs spoken and SPECIALTYs practiced by PRACTITIONERs practicing within such OFFICEs. 2 Navigating this Web-Site 1 Use Only Our GoBack Commands, Breadcrumbs, and URLs/Links 2 Commands and URLs/Links on Left Margin and Page Bottoms 3 Problems; Errors 1 Use Only Our GoBack Commands, Breadcrumbs, and URLs/Links This web-site is an "active" web-site. 'Active' means that visiting a page of this web-site generally causes a computation to occur on the server. To prevent confusing our active programs, we allow only certain transitions between pages, and we provide 'Go Back' command buttons (or left-margin URLs/Links), and top-of-page "breadcrumbs" to allow 'legal' transitions. Please do NOT use your browser's 'back' arrow or 'go back' command if there is a 'Go Back' command button, breadcrumbs list, or URL/Link provided by 123acu.net. Some pages do not provide a 'go back' function; in such cases, it is safe to use the browser 'back' command from such pages. 2 Commands and URLs/Links on Left Margin and Page Bottoms We provide navigation URLs/Links and commands in the left margins of most pages and toward the bottoms of some pages. If you anticipate finding an action button, navigation button, or URL/Link on a page, look for it in these places. 3 Problems; Errors When a user makes an illegal navigation transition (usually after using his/her browser's 'go back' arrow), this web-site will usually transfer control back to the 'home page' and may show an error message. Error messages are also shown on other occasions. Please try to re-start by clicking the "Home" URL/Link in the left-margin. If the error message persists, and you cannot figure out how to 'cure' it, you may contact the webmaster at 123acu.net to inquire about the message. 3 Locate: Finding Acupuncture Offices 1 Locate: Introduction 2 Locate by State 3 Locate by Zipcode: Listings by Radius from Zip_center 4 Locate by Language 5 Locate by Specialty 6 Locate by Country and , in Canada, by Province and Postal-Code 1 Locate: Introduction We provide several different kinds of LOCATE in our directory of acupuncture OFFICEs. First, for the USA, we allow LOCATE by zipcode, which allows the public to see a list of OFFICEs near a specified zipcode. We allow the searcher to specify a RADIUS for ZIP in the left-margin of locate pages. Searches for a zipcode will LOCATE OFFICEs within that RADIUS (in miles) of the center of the zipcode. For the USA, we also allow LOCATE by City within State and by whole State. For searches outside the USA, we also allow LOCATE by Country. Canadian searches may filter by Province or by two-part Postal-Code. Whichever geographical method you use, you may also LOCATE on the basis of language (with English as the default search language). LANGUAGE searches are discussed here. You may (optionally) also LOCATE according to any one or more acupuncture specialties you may search for. Each PRACTITIONER specifies specialties in his/her/its listing, and you may restrict your LOCATE-search to listings which specify one or more of your required specialties. SPECIALTY searches are discussed here. 2 Locate by State When you Locate by whole State, we will display all of our listings whose zipcode specifies a zipcode within the given state. The listings are then presented in alphabetic order by city, and the city is shown. 3 Locate by Zipcode: Listings by Distance from Zip_center When you Locate by Zipcode, you locate within a given RADIUS for ZIP (see left margin on Locate pages). By default, this RADIUS is 5 miles. You may set the RADIUS. The LOCATE reveals OFFICEs whose distance from the center of the designated zipcode is less than the given RADIUS. 4 Locate by Language You may always Locate on the basis of language spoken by the PRACTITIONER. The default language is English, but you may choose one or another or several other languages. A choice of a language restricts the listings located by your search to those which specify that language. LANGUAGE searches are discussed here. 5 Locate by Specialty Locate by acupuncture specialty is optional. SPECIALTY searches are discussed here. 6 Locate by Country and , in Canada, by Province and Postal-Code This web-site began as a US-only directory, but has expanded to be international. LOCATE can find acupuncture OFFICEs not only by US States and Zipcodes but also by Country. Searches in Canada must specify either a Province or a Postal-Code (or first part thereof). 4 Updating Existing PRACTITIONER and OFFICE Listings 1 Required Updates - OFFICE listings 2 New Fields 3 I edited my listing and the changes were lost. Why? 1 Required Updates - OFFICE listings The database has been considerably changed. OFFICE clients must edit the database information which records their listings. On the 'Home Page' click on 'Office Login' after supplying your Office's Administrative Email or Record Number and Password. When you reach the EDIT page, please fill in all REQUIRED fields. If your counrtry is USA, you must specify a STATE (2-char abbreviation) and ZIPCODE, and these must be consistent. Be sure, as well, to fill in the 'AdminEmail' field. This is the email address to which 123Acu.net will send all communications about your listing. If a secondary administrator and EMAIL is requeseted, please fill these in, too. They allow 123acu.net to reach you in case there is no response from the primary email address. When you have finished editing, save the information by clicking the 'Save Changes' command button. You must provide each OFFICE with at least one PRACTITIONER. The screen for managing PRACTIONERs associated with an OFFICE allows the OFFICE listing to add and delete practitioners and to edit the information about any practitioner. This information has been greatly simplified (May 17, 2009). The PRACTITIONER listing specifies Name and Notes, both of which print on the public OFFICE page. It is also possible to specify LANGUAGEs and SPECIALTYs for each PRACTITIONER (by clicking the "Manage Languages and Specialties" command button). When setting the 'Language' data, please be sure to include English unless the PRACTITIONER does not speak English. You may select as many languages as the PRACTITIONER is prepared to speak to clients. If a language you require does not appear on the list, contact the administrator to ask that this (missing) language be added to the list. If there is enough interest in adding some other language, it may be listed. 2 New Fields The 'Directions' field supplements the 'Cross-Streets' fields. The 'Preference' field governs position in public LOCATE search. A higher 'preference' will result in your listing appearing earlier in the list of listings produced for a LOCATE inquiry for a given Zipcode (or City within a given State). To get this number increased, please apply to the administrator. There may be a fee for increasing your 'Preference'. 3 I edited my listing and the changes were lost. Why? You must have forgotten to save the changes by clicking the 'Save Changes' command buttons at the top or bottom of the Edit page. Edit the listing again and be sure to 'Save Changes'. However, there are various REQUIRED FIELDS, marked with . These fields cannot be left blank. Also, within the USA, STATE and ZIPCODE must agree. "Save Changes" will not be effective until ALL required fields are specified and the STATE/ZIPCODE correspond properly. 5 Fees for Listings 1 Free OFFICE and PRACTITIONER Listings 2 Fee-Based Listings 1 Free OFFICE and PRACTITIONER Listings During our introduction of this web-site, OFFICE and PRACTITIONER listings may be had for free in areas without other listings. Later there will be annual fees for all listings. There are advantages to fee-based listings in places where there are many acupuncture listings. See next below. 2 Fee-Based Listings Each listing has a 'preference' number. Free listings get the lowest preference. For an annual fee (now $49 for regular highly placed listings, and $19 for economy higher placed listings), you may increase the preference of your listing and so get a reference to your listing higher in the output of LOCATE queries for your zipcode or state. Anytime you want a higher preference, just write a check payable to Jeremy Belmont and mail it to Jeremy Belmont at 5850 W. 3rd Street - Unit # E-365, Los Angeles, CA 90036. When we receive your check we will increase your preference level. 6 All about Client Passwords and Logging In 1 How to Log In 2 123acu Uses Reversible Encryption - CAUTION SUGGESTED 3 Length and Form of Passwords 4 Security and Help for Passwords 5 Forgotten Passwords 6 Forgotten Record Number 1 How to Log In To log in, you must identify your OFFICE RECORD and provide the correct password. The OFFICE RECORD may be identified by providing either: [1] Administrative Email Address, or [2] Office Record Number. If you forget your Record Number or which Email Address you specified for your record, you can get your Record Number and Password emailed to you. See: Forgotten Record Number. 2 123acu Uses Reversible Encryption - CAUTION SUGGESTED Web-sites have three principal methods of handling passwords. 123ACU.net uses the second method. ([1] Non-Reversible Encryption). The most secure web-sites such as financial web-sites encrypt passwords in such a way that even the web-site itself (and its personnel) cannot discover the password. ([2] Reversible Encryption). Less secure web-sites (including 123Acu.net) encrypt passwords in such a way that the web-site *can* decrypt (re-discover) the password. This allows such a web-site to email passwords to users who have forgotten their passwords. ([3] No Encryption at all). It is usually thought bad practice to keep the users' passwords un-encrypted in a database because of the danger that hackers may get access to the password file. CAUTION: Since 123acu.net uses reversible encryption, user passwords are somewhat more likely to be improperly revealed than under a non-reversible regime of encryption. Therefore, USERS ARE URGED to use passwords on 123acu.net that are VERY DIFFERENT from passwords that they use on other web-sites or elsewhere. 3 Length and Form of Passwords Passwords are case-sensitive and must be from 4 to 8 characters long, must start with an alphabetic character and continue with alphabetic and/or numeric characters. 4 Security and Help for Passwords Your password is kept encrypted on 123acu.net. Administrators at 123acu.net can recover and send you your password if you forget it. See "forgotten Passwords" below. 5 Forgotten Passwords You can get your password emailed to your administrative email address by: (a) going to the Home Page; (b) clicking on 'Office Login'; (c) going to the 'I forgot my password' section; (d) typing in your record number [see below]; (e) and clicking 'Please email my password to me'. Your password will be immediately and automatically emailed to you at your admin-email address. If this procedure doesn't work for you, you may always email jeremybelmont2004@gmail.com and ask for individualized help. The administrator can recover your password. See the previous paragraphs of this section. 6 Forgotten Record Number If you forget your Record Number', you may discover it as follows: (a) Go to Home Page; (b) Click the 'Locate An Acupuncturist' or another LOCATE button and performing a search (by Zipcode, City,State, Country, etc.) which will locate your office. (c) Find your own listing in the LOCATE output. Click on it. Your listing's 123acu.net web-page will be displayed and the record number (e.g., "OFFICE RECORD NUMBER N=123") will be displayed at the top. 7 Reporting Problems with the Web-Site We released a new version of 123acu.net on Sept. 22, 2009. There are sure to be "bugs" and problems with it. Help us correct them by sending us the following information: [1] Describe the problem. [2] Identify the page which illustrates the problem by giving the page's URL which appears near the top of your browser's window. For example, the home page will show: "http://123acu.net/acupuncture_acupuncturist/acuhome.php". [3] Tell us what you did which brought on the problem (e.g., "I clicked XXX and nothing happened"). [4] Tell us if the problem repeats itself. [5] If you are the administrator of an OFFICE listing, tell us your office record number. [6] Send your report to: webmaster@123acu.net. Thank you! |
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