Helpful Hints
If you need help, remember that you can always call 888-GIN-System or email help@theginsystem.com
Here is a list of our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
General Questions:
Q: What if I forget my password?
A: No problem!
- Go to your organization's GIN website. If you forgot how to do this, go to www.theginsystem.com/(your extension) or go to www.theginsystem.com, click on 'Log into your GIN,' and scroll down to your organization.
- Next to the blank text box for your password, click on 'forgot?'
- Type your username into the box and click on 'Submit.' Your password will be reset and a new password will be emailed to the email address you have saved in your GIN profile. If this does not work, you can contact us at 1-888-GIN-SYSTEM or email help@theginsystem.com.
Q: I logged into my GIN and there is a pending request for access. What does this mean?
A: This means that someone that is not already a member of your GIN System is trying to request access. Sometimes this happens when someone accidentally goes to the wrong GIN login and tries to enter their username and password. When they get denied, they click on 'If you would like to gain access to this GIN system website, please click here' under the 'LOGIN' button, and they fill out their name and email address. By filling out this information, they are requesting access to your GIN.
Only administrators will receive this message. Administrators need to be very cautious and check who is trying to gain access to their GIN System. Administrators can choose to accept, reject, or be reminded of the request on their next login.
Q: How do I change a user's access level?
A: Any administrator can change the access level of any other user. This includes other administrators. Click on 'Manage Users' in the Admin Menu. Under Change/Delete Users, you can simply change the User Type/Access Level.
Profile Questions:
Q: What if I don't want my peers to see personal information in my profile?
A: You can hide profile information by going to 'Edit Profile' under My Menu. Scroll to the bottom and select what information you wish to hide from others.
Note: Profile information will always be accessible to users with Level 2 or 3 access, and hiding certain contact information will not prevent you from receiving important information pertaining to you.
Questions Section Questions:
Q: I have answered a question but want to change my answer. Is this possible?
A: Yes it is. Click on the 'Questions' link located in the navigation bar above the six squares on your home page. At the bottom of that page will be a link that says 'View Questions you have already answered.' Click on this link and click on 'De-Answer.' This will de-answer your question and allow you to re-answer it.
Q: I clicked on a question from my GIN homepage, but I do not see the question on the questions page.
A: If the question was posted more than 30 days prior to when you are attempting to view the question, you must click on the 'Show All' link above the unanswered questions. Only questions that have been posted in the previous 30 day will show unless you click on the 'Show All' link.
Email Questions:
Q: How do I add myself to email groups?
A: You can only add yourself to email groups that have been created as "open" groups. The creator decides if an email group is "open" or "closed." If they make it a "closed" email group, you must contact someone with Level 2 or 3 access and ask to be added to that group. If it is an "open" email group, you can go to 'Edit Profile' under My Menu and join the group towards the bottom of your profile.
Q: I am not receiving emails from the GIN System when other users are.
A: Try these solutions:
- Log into your GIN System and click on 'Edit Profile' under My Menu to check to see if the email address in your profile is your current email address. The email address is in your profile is the email address at which you will receive GIN emails.
- Make sure that you are subscribed to the proper email groups. Under 'Edit Profile, you can check yourself on to all 'open' email groups (i.e., anyone can join them). If you would like to be on a 'Private' or 'Closed' email group, you will need to ask an administrator of your GIN System to add you.
- Most of the time, the problem is with your email service provider (Aol, Yahoo, Company Webmail, School Webmail, etc.). Every email service provider has different rules as to what is considered spam. Sometimes GIN emails are marked as spam and deleted before you even see them or sent to your junk folder. First, check your junk email folder. If it's there, some email programs/services will allow you to mark it as 'NOT SPAM' so that GIN emails will no longer go to your junk folder. If it's not there, you will need to email the customer service department of your email service provider to let them know that they need to stop blocking GIN emails. Simply tell them to unblock emails@theginsystem.com.
Note: Aol is well known to block a high number of legitimate emails. Many
people have problems with Aol email. In fact, only about half of all users with an Aol account properly receive GIN emails. If you have Aol, we recommend using a different email account to receive GIN emails. See the next step below.
If your email service provider continues to block GIN emails, or if you would like to verify that in fact GIN is sending you emails, there's a quick and simple solution:
Setup a free Gmail account and set it to forward to your most-used email account. Gmail is Google's email service and because it is much more advanced than Aol and others, it always allows GIN emails through.
Steps on how to set up a Gmail account and forward your emails are below:
- Go to www.gmail.com. In the left hand portion on the homepage, you will see the following box:
Click on the 'Pick a name' icon.
- You will be asked for your first name, last name, desired email address (we recommend firstnamelastname@gmail.com), and your password. Fill out the information, scroll to the bottom, and click 'I accept. Create my account.'
- You will be logged into your new Gmail account. In the top right of the Gmail Inbox page, you will see the following links:
Click on the 'Settings' link, and you will see the following page:
Under the 'Forwarding and POP' link at the top, click on the 'Forward a copy of incoming mail to' circle button and enter the email address you would like to forward the email to (your personal, most-used email account). Click on 'Save Changes'
- Now just log into your GIN System and click on 'Edit Profile' under My Menu. Change your 'current email address' to your new Gmail email address. Your GIN emails will now be sent to your Gmail account and then automatically forwarded by Gmail to your most-used personal email address without being blocked or sent to a junk folder.
Calendar Questions:
Q: What is the difference between a Private Calendar Event and a Group-Wide Calendar Event?
A: Private Events are events that you add to your calendar. These events are only shown on your calendar and can be used as a personal organizer. To add a Private Event, click on 'CALENDAR (month view)' from the home page, and then 'Add new private event.'
If you have Level 2 or 3 access, you can add "Group-Wide" events which are events that are immediately displayed on every user's calendar. Refer to the 'Manage Group-Wide Calendar' section of this users' guide for more details.
Q: How do I remove a calendar event?
A: Only those with Level 2 or 3 access can remove a calendar event.
- Go to My Menu and click on 'Manage Public Calendar.'
- Click on the 'Add New Public Event link.'
- Click on the event you wish to delete in the right hand portion of the screen.
Note: If the event is a reoccurring event, you have to have the 'Also Show Reoccurring Event' box checked to be able to see the event and delete it.
- Click on the 'Delete Event' button at the bottom of the screen
Technical Questions:
Q: How does the GIN System run so fast?
A: Most companies use Shared Hosting for their websites, which is where up to 50-100 companies share a single server box. We use Dedicated/Colocation Web Servers (our own GIN System-owned boxes) with the fastest Intel processors, huge hard drives, and tons of RAM to make sure that your GIN System runs as fast as possible. This is, of course, is much more expensive, but it's well worth the speed, security, and uptime.
Q: Why doesn't the GIN System ever go down like most other websites do occasionally?
A: Our Dedicated/Colocated Servers are locked in individual cages at Hurricane-proof Data Centers in Florida and Connecticut. The buildings have diesel-powered backup systems, backup cooling systems to maintain perfect temperature, air-particle removal systems, closed circuit video cameras, and biometric palm-scanning technology so that we are the only people who will ever be able to access the servers. Also, we provide the highest level of service available to make sure that the servers are always on and always running smoothly. We catch problems before they ever affect your GIN System. Also, unlike Shared Hosting where many companies share one server and one badly programmed website can take down the whole server, we use Dedicated/Colocated Servers so our server boxes for the GIN System are not shared with anyone else. It is because of this that we will never go down except for scheduled maintenance (which is very rare).
Q: How can I add customized links to my GIN?
A: Because programming is required, you can not add links to your GIN, but we will gladly add any links you wish at no extra cost. All you have to do is email links@theginsystem.com or call customer service at 1-888-GIN-SYSTEM.
Q: Can we put a GIN username and password login directly on our current website?
A: Yes you can. Webmasters can add this feature to your existing website easily. We have already done the work for you. Administrators can go to 'Site Settings' under My Menu. Scroll down to GIN Login Integration. Click on the link and the HTML is there to copy and paste into your website. If you have any further questions or need additional help, email us at help@theginsystem.com, or call customer service at 1-888-GIN-SYSTEM. We are happy to assist you or your webmaster in this short and simple process.
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