How do I join?

To join you will need to complete our profiling survey. This will only take a couple of minutes. Once you've done this, your profile will be live and we will be able to send you surveys and invite you to join specific community discussion boards.

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How often will I be invited to take part in research?

Once you have completed our profile survey we will invite you from time to time to participate in research surveys or specific discussion boards. Under normal circumstances we will send you an invitation to participate in our research programme no more than once per month. In practice the discussion will be very specific to different business sectors, so you may not hear from us for a while, but when you do you will know it's for a really good reason! We know your time is valuable, so our surveys are short and our requests for your time in discussion boards are considered carefully. Where possible they will be tailored to your current product requirements. Usually surveys will take a short time to complete but very occasionally they might be a little longer than this. We will always attempt to provide a time guideline at the beginning of any survey. To participate, click on the link provided in the email and follow the instructions.

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How often may I participate in any one survey?

We treat the panel as professional market research. Therefore our surveys are by invitation only and to ensure the highest standards of professional research you can complete any given survey only once.

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How will I know if there is a survey for me to complete?

will send you an email invitation with a link to a survey. Under normal circumstances we will not contact you more than once per month. In practice the discussion will be very specific to different business sectors, so you may not hear from us for a while, but when you do you will know it's for a really good reason! You are under no obligation to participate in any survey. However, if after several attempts you do not participate in any surveys, we may consider you an inactive member.

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How will I know that there is a discussion board or topic available to me?

We will send you a specific email with a link to the community site. Under normal circumstances we will not contact you more than once per month. You are under no obligation to participate in any activity. However, if after several attempts you do not participate in any surveys, we may consider you an inactive member.

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What are the rules for participating in a discussion board or topic?

Please see specific Terms of Use.

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What do I do if I see something that I regard as inappropriate or just plain rude in any of the discussion boards or topics?

Firstly rate the answer 'down' and then send a 'report' by clicking the report button next to the post and we will investigate. Please note that any member that posts anything unjustified, negative or derogatory regarding any of organisers or is defamatory, breaks the rules of the terms and conditions, obscene, indecent, threatening, abusive, harassing, unlawful or deemed to be incorrect is likely to be suspended or deleted as a member of the panel without notice.

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What's in it for me?

EnvirOPINION is an opportunity to have your say and ultimately contribute to the future development of the environmental services sector. Your feedback from the surveys and discussion boards and topics will go towards making real improvements in the service and products that we provide to you and other users.

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How do I change / update my profile?

Make sure you are logged in, click on 'Edit Profile', make the amends and then click on 'save changes'

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I have forgotten my username and password - what do I do?

Click on the "Forgotten Password" link next to the log in.

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Do I need to login more than once each time I visit?

No, you just need to log in once when you visit the site. You will be automatically logged out after 20 minutes of inactivity so if you leave the page open for a while and come back you may need to log in again.

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Do I need to login each time I visit the EnvirOPINION website?

Yes, you do if you want to complete surveys, participate in discussion boards and topics, or view the results of the previous surveys.

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Web browsers

The following browsers have been tested and found to show no serious problems: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, 7 & 8, Firefox, Chrome and Safari. You can become a panel member using other browsers from the ones stated however you may experience some minor issues.

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Operating systems

The following operating systems have been tested and found to show no serious problems: Windows XP, Windoes Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X, Linux/KDE. You can become a panel member using other browsers from the ones stated however you may experience some minor issues.

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Monitor resolutions

We recommend you have a screen resolution of at least 1024x768 to avoid having to scroll horizontally.

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I have completed the profile survey but have not yet received a survey or an invitation to a discussion board or topic?

We don't send every invitation to our research out to every member. This is to avoid overloading your inbox. Currently, we only send surveys out to 80% of our members and we target different surveys and topics to specific types of users or users who are currently interested in comparing particular products.

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I am an AOL user, does the EnvirOPINION site support this?

Yes, there should be no problem accessing the site through AOL, either with AOL's integrated browser or using a separate standalone browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox.

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I am having problems with Hotmail. What could be the problem?

For users that are still having problems you may wish to try the following options.

• Use an alternative browser:
  Open a new browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Firefox. Highlight the link and copy and paste it into the address field of the new browser window.
• Use an alternative mail application:
  Programs such as Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express can be set up to download and read your Hotmail accounts. Please follow the step-by-step instructions as provided by the software.

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Sometimes surveys, discussion boards or topics are closed after only a few hours. Why?

On rare occasions we conduct surveys or discussion boards which require results virtually immediately. This means we have only a few hours to gather responses and opinions from you.

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What is the difference between a survey and a discussion board or topic?

A survey is a structured piece of research where specific questions about Envirolink Northwest's services or products need to be answered. Discussion boards or topics are set up for open discussion by invited EnvirOPINION members. Members are able to discuss their thoughts and ideas with each other.

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Who reads the findings?

The findings of the surveys are reviewed by specific members of the Envirolink Northwest team and the research team at eDigitalResearch.

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Did you receive my survey?

If you received a "Thank you" message after you clicked the "Finish" button at the end of the survey, your survey data was received with no difficulties. If your response is received successfully you will not be able to complete the survey again either by clicking on the link in an email or by clicking on the link on the panel site. If you are unsure if your response was received you can try and complete it again.

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What happens to my personal information and the answers I give?

You can be assured that all the survey information you give us will remain anonymous and completely confidential at all times. We will NEVER sell your data on to third parties. For details, please see our privacy statement.

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How do I cancel my membership?

As a member of EnvirOPINION, you will receive our email invitations to complete surveys and participate in discussion boards and topics. If you change your mind, when you receive an email invitation you can click the hyperlink at the bottom of the email and you will no longer receive invitations. Unsubscribe requests take effect immediately.

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What do I do if I need help?

If you experience a technical problem, please email us at envirol...@survey.edigitalresearch.com.

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Do I get to hear the results of the surveys I participate in?

We will provide regular updates via the EnvirOPINION site on how your feedback has helped the team at Envirolink Northwest.

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