1. Students Should Only Register Approximately Two Weeks Before the Beginning of Their Action Period: This seems to work best because: (a) students are focused on the project; (b) students do not forget which email account or password they used to register (meaning they can easily log in again), and (c) once registered than can then explore the website and do the reading prior to the beginning of the Action Period

2. All Students Should Be Registered Before the Start of the Action Period: The reason for this is so all computer problems and glitches can be taken care of well in advance of students writing their Op-Eds. This prevents students from trying to claim they could not finish their Op-Ed assignment because of a computer glitch or some flaw in the Project's software. They will have to explain, instead, why they did not seek help when the registration deadline passed (that is to say, several days before the Op-Ed assignment was due).

3. Use University Email Account When Registering: While Hotmail accounts sometimes work, they also may not work because of various Microsoft updates. There have also been problems with Yahoo, again as a result of updates. So far, we have not had any trouble with GMail. Still, it is SAFEST FOR STUDENTS IF THEY USE THEIR UNIVERSITY ACCOUNT so they will receive all important emails.

4. Best if Students Pay On Line: The more students pay their $10 registration fee online, THE LESS WORK YOU HAVE TO DO. As some faculty can attest, the work involved in keeping track of hundreds of dollars and recording who paid what can become onerous. None of this arises when students pay their $10.00 registration fee online. Most students have a friend or parent who has a credit card even if they, themselves do not. All the student has to do is pay the friend in cash and the friend can pay the registration fee with a credit card.) BUT, STUDENTS WHO USE THEIR PARENTS CREDIT CARD SHOULD INFORM THEIR PARENTS SO THEIR PARENTS DO NOT TRY TO REJECT PAYMENT. It is a hassle for everyone in resolving the problem and a bit of prevention will prevent time-consuming complications later on.

5. Three Step Process for Solving Any and All Technical Problems: You should encourage your students to follow an easy THREE-STEP process for resolving problems they encounter in registering. If a student encounters a problem, (1) She or he should read the INSTRUCTIONS FOR CREATING A STUDENT ACCOUNT listed in the left column at www.publicanthropology.net. If that does not resolve the student’s problem (2) the student should click on HELP! SOLUTIONS FOR SIX COMMON PROBLEMS also in the left column at www.publicanthropology.net . If the solutions presented here do not resolve the problem, (3) students should email the webmaster (webmaster@publicanthropology.org) with a description of the problem. I try to respond within five hours of receiving an email (adjusting for the differences in time zones and sleeping). In perhaps half the cases, the webmaster refers students back to the HELP! SOLUTIONS TO SIX COMMON PROBLEMS to solve a problem.

You need NOT try to resolve a student’s problem. If the student cannot resolve the problem by reading the INSTRUCTIONS or reading HELP!, the webmaster can readily handle it.