Posted by Send4Help New locations are great to post! The only thing people are sticklers about here is posting location names, addresses, and entry information. We encourage photos, stories about your trip, or even relevant historical information (that doesnt give away the stuff mentioned above, if it is a "sensitive" location). I would start on a regional forum and start interacting with other posts on there or make some threads of your explorations. If you are into photography you can also try your luck in the main "Photography" forum and get people's opinion of your work. Hope that helps. Welcome to UER! Edit: Spelling

I've still noticed a lot of people don't understand that they can contribute before becoming full members. Here's more information.

Do:
-Post your photos (unless you're from MSP). If you are unsure whether a certain detail is too much, don't give it. Nobody will give you shit for just posting pictures with no text (except people in MSP).
-Comment on other people's photos.
-Be active in your regional forum, talk to people in your region by PM, and join events or meet up with them.
-Post in the Photo Critiques board.
-Start discussions in Main, Rookie Forum, or UE Tutorials, or add comments to others. Be active in conversations about how to do things, or ethics, or whatever else pops up.
-Ask questions if you don't understand something. Yes there are stupid questions and people might laugh at you. Show you aren't fazed, and people will start to like you.
-Call people on blatant bullshit, or join in on whatever campaign we've got going against some external source of bullshit.

Don't:
-Post entry information fir abandonments. In many cases it's best to leave out their location, or even their name, or sometimes even their city or state.
-Ask for locations. It's considered an embarrassing faux pas that's hard to pull out of.
-Post off-topic stuff in UE-specific forums.
-Overreact to criticism. We can smell weakness through our computer screens. It's a special feature of full membership.
-Post a ton of clickbait articles ("Some dude's trip to Pripyat", "36 Amazing Abandoned Places. OMG 14 had me shi...", "Crazy Russians go on another roof") especially if they've already been posted.
-Post image macros. They have their purpose, and they can be deployed well or poorly, but the site owner hates them.

Posted by Steed It will go into a queue along with all other requests, where it will sit for at least seven days during which time moderators have full access to your application.

Perhaps this should be updated.

When I first nominated myself for membership (at 3 months and 50+ posts), I waited a month before asking for an update. I was told that the process can easily take 1-2 months. A few days later, I was turned down. (The only reason I was given, when I asked, was basically, "You haven't been around long enough.")

Now someone else recommended me for membership 3 months ago. I believe two other full members have also recommended me. In any case, of my 8 months on the site, I have been waiting 4 of those months to hear if I will be made a full member. I'm still waiting.

This would be a little less discouraging if the FAQ had led me to expect it.

Incidentally, this doesn't reflect well on the site. One begins to wonder ( A ) if there is a shortage of moderators, or ( B ) whether no one here really wants more new full members.

(Of course, the possibility ( C ), that no one wants me as a new member, has crossed my mind. But then I should be given some feedback. And honestly, I feel in my heart of hearts that I'm pretty great, and should be an uncontroversial addition.)

Posted by billgeorge Perhaps this should be updated. When I first nominated myself for membership (at 3 months and 50+ posts), I waited a month before asking for an update. I was told that the process can easily take 1-2 months. A few days later, I was turned down. (The only reason I was given, when I asked, was basically, "You haven't been around long enough.") Now someone else recommended me for membership 3 months ago. I believe two other full members have also recommended me. In any case, of my 8 months on the site, I have been waiting 4 of those months to hear if I will be made a full member. I'm still waiting. This would be a little less discouraging if the FAQ had led me to expect it. Incidentally, this doesn't reflect well on the site. One begins to wonder ( A ) if there is a shortage of moderators, or ( B ) whether no one here really wants more new full members. (Of course, the possibility ( C ), that no one wants me as a new member, has crossed my mind. But then I should be given some feedback. And honestly, I feel in my heart of hearts that I'm pretty great, and should be an uncontroversial addition.)

As much as I want to tell you that you're just whining and bitching about nothing, you're not wrong. There are people who have been in the queue to become full members for a really long time. It seems unless there is a strong desire from the community to either pass or deny your FM then it remains in limbo for long periods of time. So, take it as you will but I think the issue now is a lack of moderators who pay any real attention to that portion of the site.

Full memberships seem so cool! I want one so much

I thought I couldn't post pictures until I was a full member! Oh well...

Posted by unyi5465 I thought I couldn't post pictures until I was a full member! Oh well...

No, of course not. Basic members who don't post anything useful or interesting such as pictures usually don't become full members.

I joined this site a while ago. Then Life took a bad turn and I forgot about the site. However I am back and ready to earn my Full member status however I saw that there are premium memberships available in exchange for donations. do the premium memberships grant me access to the full DB?

Posted by iceboy77 I joined this site a while ago. Then Life took a bad turn and I forgot about the site. However I am back and ready to earn my Full member status however I saw that there are premium memberships available in exchange for donations. do the premium memberships grant me access to the full DB?

No, it does not.

This is the information on Premium Membership

"If I know about a really interesting abandoned building, can I just finesse all these silly full membership requirements by offering to tell people about it?"

"Haha! Ah, hahahahaha!" <<Sounds of a chair falling over and somebody rolling on the floor>>

"What?"

"Full membership is a measure of your trustworthiness."

"Trust ...?"

"Here, I looked it up for you." http://dictionary....se/trustworthy?s=t "The moderators are volunteers with limited time. And the requirements for FM are no mystery; read the FAQ. Please help us out by making sure you qualify before you apply."

Posted by Steed Don't: -Post image macros. They have their purpose, and they can be deployed well or poorly, but the site owner hates them.

Shit, I totally did that. Twice. Sorry all!

I have photos but it won't let me post because I'm not a full member. How in the world do you get them up then??? I'd love to be a full member and post for my location at least...

Posted by Mecca13 I have photos but it won't let me post because I'm not a full member. How in the world do you get them up then??? I'd love to be a full member and post for my location at least...

There is nothing preventing you from sharing photos in the forums.

Now that I've figured out what FM means this was super helpful! Don't really think I'm ready but I'll revisit this later

So I've been around for a while, have tried visiting some places in the public DB and either have photos to add to the albums, or updates to post about the places being demo'd but don't seem to be able to due to lack of membership.

Not looking for a free ride, but trying to figure out how to contribute more to the site (especially on posts from 7+ years ago that I KNOW are waaaay out of date as well as some sites not publicly available, but not sure if they are already in the full member database).

I've surely missed the site's heyday, but looking to inject some new info into the community and am still relatively new to the hobby and don't plan on disappearing any time soon.

Posted by Steed I've still noticed a lot of people don't understand that they can contribute before becoming full members. Here's more information. Do: -Post your photos (unless you're from MSP). If you are unsure whether a certain detail is too much, don't give it. Nobody will give you shit for just posting pictures with no text (except people in MSP). -Comment on other people's photos. -Be active in your regional forum, talk to people in your region by PM, and join events or meet up with them. -Post in the Photo Critiques board. -Start discussions in Main, Rookie Forum, or UE Tutorials, or add comments to others. Be active in conversations about how to do things, or ethics, or whatever else pops up. -Ask questions if you don't understand something. Yes there are stupid questions and people might laugh at you. Show you aren't fazed, and people will start to like you. -Call people on blatant bullshit, or join in on whatever campaign we've got going against some external source of bullshit. Don't: -Post entry information fir abandonments. In many cases it's best to leave out their location, or even their name, or sometimes even their city or state. -Ask for locations. It's considered an embarrassing faux pas that's hard to pull out of. -Post off-topic stuff in UE-specific forums. -Overreact to criticism. We can smell weakness through our computer screens. It's a special feature of full membership. -Post a ton of clickbait articles ("Some dude's trip to Pripyat", "36 Amazing Abandoned Places. OMG 14 had me shi...", "Crazy Russians go on another roof") especially if they've already been posted. -Post image macros. They have their purpose, and they can be deployed well or poorly, but the site owner hates them.

bump.
UER is as easy or hard as you make it.
Read as many threads as possible here to better understand UER; learn from other's mistakes and successes.
Use the PMs to help establish yourself and to avoid posting sensitive info needlessly in the open.

Posted by Ganesha "If I know about a really interesting abandoned building, can I just finesse all these silly full membership requirements by offering to tell people about it?" "Haha! Ah, hahahahaha!" <<Sounds of a chair falling over and somebody rolling on the floor>> "What?" "Full membership is a measure of your trustworthiness." "Trust ...?" "Here, I looked it up for you." http://dictionary....se/trustworthy?s=t "The moderators are volunteers with limited time. And the requirements for FM are no mystery; read the FAQ. Please help us out by making sure you qualify before you apply."

Bah-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!
'I've been a UER member for one day, never posted here, and my mother trust me implicitly.
Therefore I'm applying for my FM.
I feel lucky.'

Posted by oysterhead00 So I've been around for a while, have tried visiting some places in the public DB and either have photos to add to the albums, or updates to post about the places being demo'd but don't seem to be able to due to lack of membership. Not looking for a free ride, but trying to figure out how to contribute more to the site (especially on posts from 7+ years ago that I KNOW are waaaay out of date as well as some sites not publicly available, but not sure if they are already in the full member database). I've surely missed the site's heyday, but looking to inject some new info into the community and am still relatively new to the hobby and don't plan on disappearing any time soon.

I was looking over your posts a week ago.
Not sure why no one put you up yet...
Consider it done.

Very helpful thread man, thanks. So looking forward to becoming a full member and sharing a few sites of my own. Very excited to do some more exploring!!!

I understand the logic to become a full member and it makes sense. I hope to become one soon -Will

A question for the admins and older members out there: When a member decides to nominate someone for FM, is it best to avoid doing so unless you’ve met them in person? Yes, I’ve read somewhere that it’s... discouraged, or something like that, but how often does that come up?
I’m just curious because I’ve “met” a handful of people on here that I feel like I could stand behind even though we’ve never “met.” I would go so far to say that a couple of you I would trust more than a couple I actually have met in person (if that makes sense), although this would be the exception. That said, I would only say that about a select few for various reasons, even though a very large number of you are definitely happy editions and have enriched my online experience greatly.

I did nominate one person that I had not yet met in person quite a while back but he did not get a full membership at that time. I have no idea how much or how little that factored into the overall process.

I was granted FM quickly, but I also had the opportunity to meet several members and explore with them shortly after joining UER, which I’m almost certain is why the process was quick and painless for me.

I’ve been on UER and FM for about three years now, so I feel kind of stupid for asking, but I wanted to throw it out there anyways.

Posted by Dee Ashley A question for the admins and older members out there: When a member decides to nominate someone for FM, is it best to avoid doing so unless you’ve met them in person? Yes, I’ve read somewhere that it’s... discouraged, or something like that, but how often does that come up? I’m just curious because I’ve “met” a handful of people on here that I feel like I could stand behind even though we’ve never “met.” I would go so far to say that a couple of you I would trust more than a couple I actually have met in person (if that makes sense), although this would be the exception. That said, I would only say that about a select few for various reasons, even though a very large number of you are definitely happy editions and have enriched my online experience greatly. I did nominate one person that I had not yet met in person quite a while back but he did not get a full membership at that time. I have no idea how much or how little that factored into the overall process. I was granted FM quickly, but I also had the opportunity to meet several members and explore with them shortly after joining UER, which I’m almost certain is why the process was quick and painless for me. I’ve been on UER and FM for about three years now, so I feel kind of stupid for asking, but I wanted to throw it out there anyways.

Probably the safest plan is to message the person and recommend they apply for FM, then give them a positive recommendation. If you're nominating someone for full membership, you're basically staking your reputation. I think it's possible to do this with someone you've only talked to online, but it helps to be damn sure about it. That said, your reputation will only take a hit if your nominee trolls the site or turns out to secretly be Seph Lawless or something, not if we reject the FM application for whatever reason. I don't think I put much more weight on the nomination than I do for a regular positive recommendation.

I'm not sure how the nominate for FM feature works, but it seems sometimes the nominated user is blindsided and unsure how to proceed. There is also a queue we can see of people who were nominated for FM and never responded, leaving them in this weird limbo. So at the very least you should warn the person first before nominating, so they can respond promptly.

Posted by Steed I'm not sure how the nominate for FM feature works, but it seems sometimes the nominated user is blindsided and unsure how to proceed. There is also a queue we can see of people who were nominated for FM and never responded, leaving them in this weird limbo. So at the very least you should warn the person first before nominating, so they can respond promptly.

That’s a good point. I wouldn’t have had any idea about my nomination had the person that nominated me failed to clue me in on that fact.