Frequently Asked Questions
Drones / Video
QUESTION: What are the FAA Drone Regulations?
ANSWER: View/Download Document
QUESTION: How large of a video can I submit?
ANSWER: We do not have the ability to store videos on the Digital Dialogue server. Please upload your video to YouTube, Vimeo, or any other video streaming service and submit a representative image and the link to the video to your admin for inclusion in a round.
QUESTION: Are there any restrictions for drone images or videos?
ANSWER: The same rules that govern any image displayed on any PSA website apply for videos as well.
Emails
QUESTION: How do I opt out(in) of the email notices?
ANSWER: When you first join Digital Dialogue, you are automatically opted in to receive an email notification when someone comments on your current image or replies to a comment of yours. There are also notification messages sent out by your admin to let you know when all images are online or to remind you to either send in your image(s) and description or come and comment on the images that are online.
There are actually 2 ways to opt out:
1. Click the last link in any email notice/reminder;
2. Once logged in, click on the Opt Out link on the YOUR ACCOUNT page.
Once opted out, you can opt back in by clicking on the Opt In link YOUR ACCOUNT page (while logged in).
In either case, you can also contact the webmaster at webmaster@psadigital.org.
QUESTION: Why don’t I get emails when someone comments anymore?
ANSWER: If you didn’t intentionally opt out of email notifications and you've not found them in your spam folder, you likely clicked on the last link on an email notification, which opted you out. Not to worry, this is an easy fix you can take care of yourself.
Simply go to the YOUR ACCOUNT page (linked at the top of every page), log in (if you haven't already), and click the Opt In link. That’s all there is to it.
If that doesn’t resolve the problem, please contact our webmaster at webmaster@psadigital.org, who will work with you to get this resolved.
Please note that Earthlink subscribers may not receive messages from the server unless ‘server@psadigital.org’ is whitelisted.
QUESTION: How do I update my email address in the system?
ANSWER: Once logged in, you can change your email address by going to the YOUR ACCOUNT link at the top of any page.
General
QUESTION: Who's in charge?
ANSWER: Our Director (and a founding member) is Barbara Miller (bembrit@bellsouth.net), who has been a PSA member since 1983 - yes, that’s over 30 years!!!.
Our Assistant Director is Dorinda Wills (bodori47@gmail.com)
Our Webmaster (and developer of the Digital Dialogue site) is Tom Pickering (webmaster@psadigital.org) and his assistant is Dr V G Mohanan Nair (vgmn@yahoo.com)
Finally, our Member Showcase Director is Pete Morton (oliver.morton@yahoo.com)
QUESTION: Do I need to have a model release when posting a portrait?
ANSWER: Members of PSA’s Digital Dialogue need to have a signed Model Release available for any portrait image, including all the recognizable likenesses of a human face, which were not taken in a public location. The entrant and model agree to hold PSA harmless against all claims and liabilities arising out of PSA’s publication, display, or other use of any portrait image submitted to PSA. For those who do not have a Model Release, a sample Model Release Form is linked here.
The following gives a street photographer’s point of view on the subject: Ask or Not?
QUESTION: Comments
ANSWER: There is an excellent course available to PSA members, named Image Evaluation, and taught by Jon Fishback. You can learn more about the course by clicking on the Education tab on the PSA home page.
QUESTION: How do I update/Add my Bio?
ANSWER: You can either send it to your admin or take care of it yourself by accessing YOUR ACCOUNT, the link for which is at the top of every page.
QUESTION: How do I add/update my Profile Pic/Avatar?
ANSWER: This needs to be sent to your admin for addition/revision.
NOTE: The file can be no more than 512Kb!!!
Since this image serves as both your Profile Pic, seen on the Members page of your group(s), and your discussion avatar, it should be either vertical or square (NOT horizontal). We prefer this image be a headshot or head & chest.
Images
QUESTION: What are the image sizing requirements?
ANSWER: Image files can not exceed 1Mb (1,024,000 bytes) in size - meaning the amount of space the file fills on your hard drive. As long as the file is at or below that limit, it doesn't matter what width or height it is - the server will size the accepted file as needed.
In general, to ensure your file is accepted and displays well, it should have a resolution of 72dpi. Usually, having the long side at or near 1200 pixels works best for the purposes of the study groups, but larger is fine too as long as the size mentioned above doesn't exceed the 1Mb limit. Having the long side less than 800 pixels may result in the image displaying pixelated, which won't be good for anyone's purposes.
QUESTION: Is there download protection of our images?
ANSWER: No. Because we encourage our members to download and reprocess others' images to demonstrate suggestions, blocking the downloads would defeat the purpose. In addition, we prefer for members to use unfinished works for study purposes, rather than images that have honors or acceptances. The file sizing also discourages downloading for other more nefarious purposes.
QUESTION: Why do I get a security error when uploading a redo of an image?
ANSWER: In every case I see, there is one or more characters in the filename that are not allowed.
The following characters ARE allowed: letters (lowercase and uppercase); numbers; spaces; dashes (-); and underlines (_).
The following characters are NOT allowed: !@#$%^&*()+=[]{}\|;:'",<>/? as well as tabs. Typically, the culprit is an apostrophe (') or quotes ("). Remove any of those characters and the image should upload, providing it is also 1Mb or smaller in size.
QUESTION: Where do I upload my image for this round?
ANSWER: At the present time, you must send your image(s) and description to your group’s admin, who will take care of that for you. Please send your image and description as close to the beginning of the month to maximize the discussion period for your image.
As a reminder, images must have a file size of 1Mb or less.
Security (Logging in/Passwords)
QUESTION: How do I log in to the group?
ANSWER: You will find the log in form at the bottom of any active image page, which can be reached by clicking on a thumbnail image on the group's main page. Be sure to use the credentials issued to you when you joined Digital Dialogue (unless you have changed your password afterwards). Your username and password are different from your PSA membership ID and password.
You may also log in by clicking on the YOUR ACCOUNT link at the top right of every page in Digital Dialogue and entering your credentials as described above and below.
Your username is all lowercase and typically the first letter of your first name, followed by your last name, with no spaces or punctuation. Unless you change your password, it will consist of 8 lowercase letters and numbers. These are issued by the webmaster at webmaster@psadigital.org, who should be contacted if you run into further difficulties.
QUESTION: Can I change my password?
ANSWER: Yes you can accomplish this via the YOUR ACCOUNT link at the top right of every page.
Your new password must be at least 8 characters and must contain at least one of each of the following: lowercase letters, uppercase letters, and numbers.
QUESTION: I changed my password but I still can't log in.
ANSWER: Make sure you're using the username you were issued when you joined Digital Dialogue. This is usually the first letter of your first name, followed by your last name (all lowercase with no spaces). If that doesn't work, please contact Tom Pickering, our webmaster, at webmaster@psadigital.org
QUESTION: Can you retrieve my password?
ANSWER: Unfortunately, no, though this is actually fortunate. Our security measures prevent anyone from looking up a member's password - even the webmaster. Once he assigns and notifies a member of their password, it's up to the member to keep track of it.
It's suggested that you either print off the email that has your credentials, write them down in a secure place, or otherwise save your login information outside of your computer. Computers have a bad habit of crashing at the worst possible time and then you're out of luck.
The good news is that you can have your password reset, either yourself at the bottom of any image page, on the YOUR ACCOUNT page, or by having the webmaster reset it for you.
QUESTION: I can't log in anymore. Can I reset my password?
ANSWER: Yes. At the bottom of any active image page, below the login fields, or the YOUR ACCOUNT link at the top of all pages, is a [ Reset Password ] button. Clicking that will take you to a page where you will enter either your username (the one for Digital Dialogue - NOT your PSA Member ID) or the email address we have on file. THIS WILL SEND A LINK TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS WE HAVE ON FILE FOR YOU. (check your spam/junk folder if you don't find the email in your inbox within a few minutes) Use that link to bring up the reset form, enter your new password twice, and you're done. NOTE Your password must be at least 8 characters in length and must contain at least 1 number, at least 1 lowercase letter and at least 1 uppercase letter.