We encourage users to create topics for their favourite Canadian nerd or hobby-related businesses, as the owners or employees of those businesses are rarely available to do it themselves. This is intended to allow users to share reviews, experiences and information concerning the services and products these businesses offer, without waiting for the owner to make a topic. As such, the potential exists that an owner or representative of a business might join the forum, wanting to post their own topic that they can edit and update as they wish, only to find one already exists.
If you are the owner or representative of a Canadian store, seller, business or service that caters to our 'nerdy' community, you may claim the existing topic for your business. Here is how to do this;
- Contact an Administrator or myself, AlexBC, through private/direct message or email to begin the process of claiming your topic.
- Include your name, the name of your business, the link to the existing topic, links to your business (such as a website, eBay store, Facebook page, etc) and your intent to claim the topic. If you do not have a business website or page, we may verify you another way, such as with your personal profile, from event photos or through a third party.
- You will need to provide us with proof that you own or are employed by this business. We will discuss the easiest way to verify your identity, but this may include; sending us an email from the domain of your site, briefly editing a page or profile to show us you have control of it or posting something we know about in advance to social media. Screenshots generally do not qualify as proof. Alternate proof may include having another verified business vouch for you, showing your personal social media matches photos of you and your business from an event or verifying in person, if you know one of the Administrators or Moderators.
- Once you have been verified, we will copy the contents of the original first post in the topic to another post - to be added after that first post - and then change the author of the first post to you. You will then have the ability to edit that first post to include any information you'd like and change the topic's title, both of which can be edited as many times as you'd like in the future. We will not edit the first post or title for you.
- If you would like additional posts controlled by you to be added underneath the original first post (such as if you want to have the first post be general information and the second post be information on upcoming events), you will need to make new posts in the topic, and we will then move them below the first post. You may have up to a maximum of nine (9) extra posts below the first post, for a total of ten (10) posts. (Or, one full topic page.)
- If you had already made another topic, not realizing there was an existing one, you will still claim the original topic, but we will then merge the new topic with the old one. Posts will go in chronological order, so the original, first topic's older posts will appear first, and the second topic's newer posts after. If there are posts that are made at the same time or posts from the first topic that are newer, they will be intermingled in order of the date and time posted. There is no way to change this, unfortunately - whether or not we go in and clean up the posts to make sure the topic reads more clearly will depend upon the nature of the conversations and the number of posts.
- With the topic handled, we will then add your account to the Representive user group, and give you a user rank (such as 'Business Owner' or 'Store Employee') that will go underneath your username anywhere you post on the forum. You will have the option to decide which one you think fits you best. Please note: this role does not include any moderation powers, such as the ability to delete posts. It is only for distinguishing your role in the community.
- And with that - we'll be done! Congratulations! We hope to see you around here regularly.
