• The information on this forum is for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Aways seek the advice of a qualified health provider with any questions you may have.

FAQ

  1. Table of contents.

    1. Table of contents
    2. How do I contact you guys?
    3. Can I request a self ban?
    4. Can I request an account deletion?
    5. Can I request to have all of my posts deleted?
    6. How can I protect my account?
    7. What do I do if my account is hacked?
    8. Could I have a username that's already taken?

  2. How do I contact you guys?

    You can contact staff via the Contact Staff category, via direct messages by viewing our staff member's profiles, or by using our contact form.

    If you wish to email us directly, you can contact us using one of the email addresses below:


  3. Can I request a self ban?

    We do not honor self-requested bans. Although self-requested bans are a feature on many other forum sites, we do not accept these kinds of requests on The Appearance Guide. Bans are a moderation tool used to enforce site rules, not a personal tool to limit your own access. We suggest exploring website-blocking tools available for your computer/browser instead.


  4. Can I request an account deletion?

    You may delete your account anytime by visiting the Account Delete page directly, and by following the steps provided by the prompt. You can also access the prompt anytime by viewing your Account Details.

    This is a true irreversible delete, and your account data will be completely deleted from the site's database. This includes your filled out profile fields, email address, IP addresses, and so on. We cannot recover the account after it's been deleted.

    Deleting your account does not automatically delete messages posted by the user. These messages will remain up, just anonymized. Because all of the messages will be detached from your account, and you will no longer be able to search all of the messages made by a user, if you wish to mass delete all your threads, you must contact a staff member prior to deletion.

    The user's original username may still appear in quoted content and in messages mentioning the user. However, messages created by the user, the username will be displayed as Deleted member {userId}. Your username will become publicly available and anyone can register under that username, or change their username to that one.

    When submitting an account deletion request, you may login into the account within 30 days to cancel it. We cannot recover the account after this window has closed. A reminder email will be sent to the user 15 days before their account's scheduled deletion date. If you cancel a deletion request, you must wait at least 30 days since the original deletion request date to request another deletion. If you wish to cancel a deletion without logging into the account itself, you must contact a staff member using one of the above mentioned methods.

    Staff can access deletion logs anytime, and will be notified directly when a user requests an account deletion. Do not include any personal information in your reason field. Requesting to delete your account is not a private matter, and staff members may publicly disclose a user has requested an account deletion. If you don't want staff members to do this, please clarify in your reason field you wish for it to remain private.

    Users who do not qualify for account self deletions are banned users, temporarily banned users, users with compromised accounts, users with compromised passwords, and staff members. If you wish to request a deletion and you're in one of these groups, you must contact a staff member using one of the above mentioned methods.


  5. Can I request to have all of my posts deleted?

    At this time, we primarily focus on requests related to the mass deletion of threads created by the user, all direct messages started by the user, and profile comments made by the user. Under certain rare circumstances, we may respect the request that all messages (including replies made in other users threads) may be deleted, but will depend on a case-by-case basis.


  6. How can I protect my account?

    Here's what you can do to protect your account:

    • For your account's security, please do not use a password that you've used for another site, app or service. We recommend using a randomly generated password and storing the password in a password manager, like BitWarden.
    • If you're adamant on re-using a password, we recommend using a two-step verification method, and then storing your recovery codes somewhere safe.
    • You can enable passkeys as an alternative login method in your Password and security settings.
    • Don't use temporary or throwaway email addresses. If you would like to use a unique email address for our site, we recommend using a masked email address instead. There's plenty services you could use for this, and so we recommend doing your own research on what provider you'd like to go with.

    In some cases, the site may try to protect your account:

    • If an account has not been logged into for a certain amount of time, we may put a temporary security lock onto the account, which may require you to access the email inbox that's attached to the account.
    • If we believe an account has been compromised, we may permanently ban the account. In some rare cases, we may the purge the account's messages and/or direct messages. In some extreme cases, we may delete the entire account altogether.
    • If your account has been compromised previously and was successfully recovered, we may require your account to use a two-step verification method for future logins.

  7. What do I do if my account is hacked?

    It's your responsibility to maintain the security of your account. If you fail to properly secure the account and the account is comprised, it is your responsibility to try and recover the account's access.

    1. You should first contact staff.
    2. You should then reset your password.
    3. You should then delete the other session(s).
    4. You should then enable two-step verification.

    Contact staff:

    1. Contact staff.
    2. An admin can put a security lock to your account while you attempt to recover your account, or help you recover your account.

    Rest your password (while logged in):

    1. Go to your Password and security settings.
    2. Enter your existing password and a new password.
    3. Click save.

    Rest your password (while logged out):

    1. Go to the login screen.
    2. Click the "Forgot your password?" button under the password field.
    3. Enter your email address.
    4. If successful, you would've been sent an email to your email inbox. Check your spam folder in case.
    5. Follow the instructions in that email.

    Rest your password (Admin assistance):

    1. Contact staff.
    2. An admin may do one of the following:
      • User must change password: The user must change their password while logged in before the account is unlocked.
      • User must reset password: A password reset confirmation will be emailed to the user and they won't be able to log in until they set a new password.
      • Manually reset the password: An admin will enter a custom password for the user and send the password to the user to login with (not recommended).

    Delete unknown session cookies:

    1. Scroll down to the bottom of the Password and security page.
    2. Click the "Your sessions" tab.
    3. Delete any sessions you don't recognize.

    Delete unknown session cookies (Admin assistance):

    1. Contact staff.
    2. An admin may do one of the following:
      • Manually delete a session via an admin: An admin will manually delete an active session via the user's account settings.

    Enable a two-step verification method:

    1. Go to your Password and security settings.
    2. On top of the page, click "Change" under Two-step verification.
    3. Enter your password.
    4. Pick an option and follow the prompt.
    5. Click save.

    Enable a two-step verification method (Admin assistance):

    1. Contact staff.
    2. An admin may do one of the following:
      • Manually enforce 2FA via an admin: An admin will manually enforce a two-step verification method on the user's account.

  8. Could I have a username that's already taken?

    Accounts that have been inactive for two years with no posts will be automatically deleted to free up the username.

    Accounts created solely to steal or "snipe" usernames may be deleted to free up the username for others.

    If we discover you have a secondary account, we will merge both accounts, and you will only be able to keep one active username.


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