SFGate Registration and user FAQ

Why should I register?

Registration is fast and free and not required to view any SFGate editorial content. Check out the benefits:

• Create your own Profile page, your own blog and your own photo galleries.
• Add comments to articles and staff & reader blogs.
• Create and interact in your network of other SFGate users.
• Tailor news from SFGate and beyond with My Feeds.
• Subscribe to SFGate newsletters.

Register today!

First, make sure that you responded to the confirmation message we sent to your registration email address. (If you didn't get one, you may want to check your SPAM box. For help, contact support@sfgate.com.) If you responded to this email, you are now signed in.

The upper right corner of most of our pages will tell you if you're signed in:

• If it says "Sign In | Register" you are not signed in. Click "Sign In" to do just that.
• If it says "Hello (username) | Sign Out" you are signed in by that (username).

You can always find a way to Sign In from the SFGate home page. Look in the upper right.

• Visit the Reader Views page.

  See what our other readers have to say.

• Comment on articles.

  Anyone can read article comments (there are links at both the top and bottom of an article), but only registered (and signed in) users can write their own comments!

  If you're signed in, the comments box on both the article and comments will be active. Write and submit your comment here. (If you're not signed in, these boxes will be inactive.)

  (Clearing cached files Clearing SFGate-related browser cookies and cached files, and then restarting your broswer, can sometimes take care of display or login problems with SFGate's comments. Click here for more info.)

  Anatomy of a Comments Page:

  

• Modify your SFGate Profile:

  1. Go to your Account page (click on your username in the upper right, or else Sign In).

  

  2. Click the Create/Edit Your Profile link.

  

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• Things you can do from your Profile page:

  Create your avatar

  As you might have noticed, some users have a Profile picture, or avatar, next to their comments and on their Profile page. It's easy to do, and here's how:

  

  There are two ways to create an avatar:

  1. Upload a photo from your computer. Just click the Browse button, locate the appropriate image you would like to add. Be sure to select Save at the very bottom of the page to upload the image. This may take a minute. When you are done you will view a confirmation screen that lets you know your Profile has been updated. (Note: Acceptable image formats include .jpg, .gif, .bmp, .png. Images are resized to 60 by 60 pixels, and some photos may not read well at that size, so choose and crop your images accordingly. Non-animated images only, please!)

  This image space will read "Image pending approval." We just have to confirm that the content of the image does not violate our Terms of Service (Examples of violations of our Terms of Service can include improper use of copyrighted images, use of pornographic images, etc.). Usually images are approved that day. During the week or evenings approval may not take place until the next business day.

  2. Use one of ours. A fine choice. If you don't have a pic, or just love the cute caricatures created for us by Don Asmussen, simply select the radio button beside the image you choose and select Save. Of course we have already approved those images so they will not require approval by SFGate staff.

  Create photo galleries

  We'd like to see what you've been up to, so we've made it easy for you to upload photos into your own personal galleries.

  From your Profile page, click the Photos tab to get started. (Just like with avatars, images here will need to be approved per our Terms of Service.)

  Messages

  Have a conversation here: Leave a message for others to read, and read the messages that others leave.

  Comments

  All the comments you write can be seen here.

  Blog

  Have a lot to say? Start your own blog! Write at length about subjects you care about, upload photos to accompany your posts, let others comment on your blog and engage with your fellow users.

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