Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 11:09 am Post subject: HOW TO REPORT A PROBLEM
INDEX:
A. HOW TO PROVIDE A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF YOUR PROBLEM:
1) Information about the problem
2) Information about you and your computer
B. SPECIFIC PROBLEMS YOU MIGHT HAVE:
1) Problems with a catalog item
2) Getting double billed for a catalog item
3) If the item you bought was never delivered to your inventory
4) If you never received an item that was gifted to you
5) Problems with your credit card or paypal billing
6) Problems with your SMS purchase
C. THINGS YOU CAN TRY ON YOUR OWN FIRST
1) How to change your firewall setting
2) How to change your Norton / McAfee security settings
3) How to check your default internet connection setting
4) How to erase your cookies
D. SENDING ERROR REPORTS THAT CONTAIN IMVU PROGRAMMING
1) Send a run.log file
2) Send an error report while using the client
3) Send a screenshot
A) HOW TO PROVIDE A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF YOUR PROBLEM:
When describing the problem you are having with IMVU, the more detailed you can be, the easier it will be for us to understand the nature of what is wrong and to figure out how to fix it. The kind of detailed information that would be most helpful includes:
I. INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROBLEM:
The simplest way to think about reporting a problem is to try to tell us exactly how we can reproduce the error or bug you saw in the shortest way possible. In other words, what exact steps do we need to do to reproduce what you saw on your machine? Please be as specific as possible. For example:
ie: POOR DESCRIPTION: "I can't edit my personal info stuff."
ie: GOOD DESCRIPTION: "While logged into the website (not the client), I went to my homepage and clicked on EDIT in the header for Personal Info section. I waited 2 minutes for the edit page to appear, but it never did. I received an error message that said 'Cannot connect to server' I tried logging out of IMVU and logging back in, but the exact same thing happened. I've edited my homepage before, but this is the first time this has happened. I coudn't find any answers to this in the forums or on the IMVU help page."
Always try to include the following information:
1) AT WHAT STEP IN THE PROGRAM DID THE PROBLEM OCCUR?: ie: was it with accessing the web page, registration, download the program, running the program, logging on, getting a 3D window, Chat Now, accessing the inventory, changing clothes, purchasing items from the catalog, using credits, etc
2) WHAT EXACTLY DID YOU SEE?: Give as detailed an account of what went wrong as you can. What did you see when the error occurred? Did you receive any kind of error report, and if so, what did it say? If the program CRASHED or FROZE, please tell us the last thing you did before the crash/freeze occurred.
3) IS THIS A NEW PROBLEM FOR THIS COMPUTER? (ie, did it work okay before, and suddenly it doesn't, or have you never been able to do this on this computer?). Does it work okay on another computer?
4) WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO TRY TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM? Please be as detailed as possible
II: INFORMATION ABOUT YOU AND YOUR COMPUTER:
In addition to describing the problem you were having, could you also include as much of the following information as you know about your account and your computer. Most of the answers to these questions can be found on your desktop by going to START > MY COMPUTER > SYSTEM TASKS (upper left corner of the window) > VIEW SYSTEM INFORMATION (click on the "general" tab). Another way to retrieve the same information is by going to: START > (right click on) MY COMPUTER > PROPERTIES
1. Your AVATAR NAME:
2. What version of IMVU you are using (To find this information in the client, go to HELP > ABOUT IMVU. You can locate the HELP button by either right clicking in the 3D window or by clicking on HELP in the Launcher Window).
3. What kind of computer you have:
4. The computer operating system:
5. The amount of RAM (computer memory):
6. The version of Windows:
7. Your internet connection speed (if you don't know this, describe the kind of connection you have - modem, dsl, etc):
8. Any firewall software installed that you know of:
Using the guidelines listed above, click here to report a general problem
I: IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH A PARTICULAR CATALOG ITEM:PLEASE READ FAQ 8 – "Catalog items don’t work"
After you have read FAQ 8 – "Catalog items don’t work" and followed those directions, if you would like to report anything else related to difficulties using one of the products in our catalog (ie: it isn't working, it didn't appear in your inventory, etc) please be sure to provide the following information:
1) Your AVATAR NAME:
2) Your AVATAR GENDER:
3) The exact NAME(s) of the item(s) that did not work, and what happened when you tried it:
4) The PRODUCT ID NUMBER of the item in question (In the catalog, click on the item to go to the detailed information page for that item. The Product ID Number is printed in green at the bottom left of the page. It looks like: "Product18906.cfl"):
5) What happened when you attempted to contact the DEVELOPER (please also include WHEN and HOW you tried to reach them):
III: IF THE ITEM YOU BOUGHT WAS NEVER DELIVERED TO YOUR INVENTORY: Please do the following:
1) If the item was a sticker, be sure to check the sticker panel on your homepage. It the items was not a sticker, be sure to check your inventory -- look at the grid view as well as in both the boy & girl avatar tabs (in case the item you bought was for a different gender than you thought)
2) If the item still cannot be found, click here to report this merchandise problem
IV: IF YOU NEVER RECEIVED A CATALOG ITEM THAT WAS GIFTED TO YOU:PLEASE READ FAQ 14 – "Gifting instructions"
**NOTE: If the gift is a clothing item, accessory, scene, or modicon, it is delivered directly your inventory -- you have to go there to use it (launch the 3D window and go to INVENTORY from there). If you don't see the item there, be sure to look at the grid view as well as in both the boy & girl avatar tabs (in case the item gifted was for a differently gendered avatar).
If the gift is a sticker, you should find it in the STICKERS panel on your homepage (click on the MY HOMEPAGE tab from the top of any IMVU web-site)
If you still can't locate the item, please click here to report this gift-related problem.
V: IF YOU ARE HAVING A PROBLEM WITH CREDIT CARD OR PAYPAL BILLING:PLEASE READ FAQ 19 – "Problems with Billing"
**NOTE -- regarding "pre-paid" or "gift" card purchases that were denied by authorize.net, but appear to have been charged to your account:
The online credit card transaction company (authorize.net) does not accept 'pre-paid' or 'gift' credit cards since it cannot verify the account address of the purchaser. (For more information on this and on other ways to make IMVU purchases, please go to FORUMS > TROUBLE SHOOTING FAQ, and read FAQ 16 – “How Do I Get Credits?”).
However, even though IMVU has not charged your credit card for the transaction, frequently banks will take this amount out of your account and hold it in escrow for several days until it is confirmed that the transaction did not go through. After an appropriate waiting period, they should then automatically re-credit your account with that amount. (Please check with your bank to see whether this is their policy, and if so, what the waiting period is before the escrow funds revert back to your account)
To investigate whether your account was actually charged for the purchase, the best immediate course of action would be to check the transaction status of your credit card account online. If money is being held in escrow, the transaction status should say something like "pending" (or anything else to suggest that it has not been "completed"). If the transaction status says "completed", I would contest this with your bank. At their request, we will be happy to provide them with data to show that no funds were ever received by IMVU from your account and that all of your charge attempts to us have been denied by authorize.net.
** Please be sure to review IMVU's TERMS OF SALE (go to TROUBLE SHOOTING FAQ and read the Announcement: "Terms of Sale") which includes the item:
"All IMVU credits and all virtual products are non-refundable, except, in our sole and absolute discretion. Virtual products purchased will be available for use as soon as reasonably practicable."
VI: IF YOU ARE HAVING A PROBLEM WITH YOUR SMS PURCHASE:PLEASE READ FAQ 20 – "Problems with SMS Purchase"
If you are experiencing any trouble with your SMS purchase, please send the following information to support@txtnation.com: SEND THIS BY PRIVATE E-MAIL. DO NOT POST THIS INFORMATION IN THE FORUMS
1) The specific problem you had (ie: no password, password didn't work, password expired, etc):
2) Your mobile phone number (please use the full international format -- for example, if you were from the UK you would write something like: 44 (0)1752 123456).
3) The network the phone is on.
4) The make and model of the phone.
5) The phone number you were messaging to:
6) The item that you were trying to purchase:
7) The message you texted in.
8 ) Any message you received back.
9) The date the purchase was made.
10) The country you are in:
If you are having trouble accessing any part of the program, this may be due to a Windows Firewall, a security firewall or pop-up blocker on your computer. One easy way to test whether you have a Windows Firewall or Security system that is interfering with your ability to use IMVU is to temporarily turn these off and try logging on to the program again. You can turn the Firewall back on after you've tried this. It's very easy to do:
1) TO CHANGE YOUR FIREWALL SETTING:
From your desktop, go to START > CONTROL PANEL > WINDOWS FIREWALL. Click on the red "off" button to disable the Firewall. After logging on to IMVU, you may repeat the steps above and select the green "on" button to turn the Firewall back on.
To check the "internet properties" setting on your computer, from your desktop, go to START > CONTROL PANEL > INTERNET OPTIONS. Click on the SECURITY tab to change your security level. Click on the PRIVACY tab to change your privacy settings and to turn your pop-up blocker on or off.
2) TO CHANGE YOUR NORTON / McAFEE SECURITIES SETTING:
Double click on the Norton/McAfee Securities icon in the toolbar at the bottom right side of your desktop. Beneath the "System Status" heading, click on SECURITY, then select TURN OFF in the box on the right. Afterwards, you may repeat the steps above and select the "TURN ON" button to reset the security.
3) CHECK YOUR DEFAULT INTERNET CONNECTION SETTING:
From your desktop, go to START > CONTROL PANEL > INTERNET OPTIONS > CONNECTIONS (tab) > LAN SETTINGS (button). Make sure all of the boxes are un-checked.
4) ERASE YOUR COOKIES AND TRY AGAIN:
If you are having problems with avatar name/password mismatches, or with your passes not working immediately after you buy them, one thing you can try doing on your computer to correct the problem is to erase the IMVU cookies:
From the left lower corner of your desktop, click on START > CONTROL PANEL > INTERNET OPTIONS.
In the middle of the ‘Internet Properties’ page, click on the “DELETE COOKIES” button.
Return to IMVU and try logging in again.
D) SENDING ERROR REPORTS THAT CONTAIN IMVU PROGRAM FILES (allows us to look for bugs in the program):
I. SEND A RUN.LOG FILE:
WHILE USING THE 3-D CLIENT: To send the run.log file from within the 3D client (the preferable approach), simply
1) Log into the 3D client and re-create the behavior that gave you the bug.
2) Then go to the Buddy Window, click on the HELP button in the menu at the top, and select "Send log files".
3) Wait a few moments to receive a confirmation that the files have been sent..
IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE 3-D CLIENT: If for some reason you are unable to access the 3D Client, please send us the IMVU run.log file from your computer. It's not hard to do:
1) If you got the bug the very last time you ran IMVU, then simply quit the program by going to the IMVU conversation-bubble icon in the task bar at the bottom right of your desktop, and selecting 'EXIT'. Otherwise run IMVU again until you get the bug you described, then quit the program.
2) Send an email to bugs@imvu.com, and title it "Bug Report from [your avatar name]". In the text of the email, BE SURE TO DESCRIBE THE PROBLEM THAT WENT WRONG. Please also provide the information requested at the bottom of this note **.
3) To attach the file we need to your email, click on "ATTACH > FILE" and then "BROWSE". Direct the browser to "DESKTOP > MY COMPUTER > LOCAL DISC > PROGRAM FILES > IMVU > run.log" (if there are several "run.log" files, it's the "run.log" file without the number attached).
4) Click on "OK and SEND" to attach the file to your email and return to the text message you will send. Click on "SEND" to send the email and attachment. Once we receive the file, we can read the program code and see if there was a bug involved.
**In your email message to bugs@imvu.com, in addition to describing the problem you were having, could you also include as much of the following information as you know about you and your computer. Most of the answers to these questions can be found on your desktop by going to START > MY COMPUTER > SYSTEM TASKS (upper left corner of the window) > VIEW SYSTEM INFORMATION (click on the "general" tab):
1. Your AVATAR NAME:
2. What version of IMVU you are using (To find this information in the client, go to HELP > ABOUT IMVU. You can locate the HELP button by either right clicking in the 3D window or by clicking on HELP in the Launcher Window).
3. What kind of computer you have:
4. The computer operating system:
5. The amount of RAM (computer memory):
6. The version of Windows:
7. Your internet connection speed (if you don't know this, describe the kind of connection you have - modem, dsl, etc):
8. Any firewall software installed that you know of:
II. SENDING AN ERROR REPORT WHILE USING THE CLIENT (The 3D window):
1) If you are in the middle of a 3-D chat and you experience an error, quickly click on the HELP button in the pull-down menu at the top of the "Buddy List" window (the small one)
2) Here you have 2 choices: You could click on "report a bug", OR you could click on "troubleshooting" and select the appropriate heading for your problem.
3) A box will appear for you to type in a description of the error. Please give as much detail about the problem as possible since this will allow us to better understand the nature of the problem, evaluate the program code, and fix any bugs on our end.
4) After you send the report, the program may freeze for 10-15 seconds while the data is being sent. Wait until you see a dialog box that asks if you would like to see the report (You can click "NO").
5) If no dialog box appears, or if you get an error message saying that the report could not to be sent, then please refer to the instructions above entitled "send a run.log file"
III. SENDING A SCREENSHOT:
Sometimes a picture IS worth a thousand words. If you feel the need to send us a screen shot, please format it in JPEG and attach to your email description of the problem you were having. For more information on how to do this:
1) Make sure you have the picture on the screen that you want to take a snapshot of. Then press CTRL + PRINT SCREEN
2) Go to the START button in the bottom left of the desktop and click on it. Go to ALL PROGRAMS > ACCESSORIES > PAINT
3) Open the PAINT program and paste the screen shot in it (Use CTRL + V)
4) Save the file in JPEG format. You can title it whatever you like, just be sure to change the format to JPEG (if it isn't already) by selecting JPEG in the window below the chosen file name.
5) Attach this file to an email and send it to us at bugs@imvu.com along with your detailed description of the problem.
If you are unable to find the answer to your question in the Forums or on the Help page, please send us an email with a detailed description of the question or problem you are having. Kindly direct your email to one of the following addresses. Please allow 24-72 hours for a reply.
FOR PROBLEMS WITH PURCHASES:
For problems with BILLING (Credit Card or PayPal), please first review our Forum topic on Billing Issues. If you still require assistance, please use our Billing-Related Help Request web form. **Note: Only billing-related matters submitted on this form will be handled.
FOR PROBLEMS WITH SMS or PAY-BY-PHONE PURCHASES: [Click Here]
FOR PROBLEMS PURCHASING ITEMS FROM THE IMVU CATALOG (Using Credits): [Click Here]
FOR A DIRECTORY OF GENERAL HELP SUBJECTS (including HOW TO USE THE PROGRAM, HOW TO CUSTOMIZE YOUR HOMEPAGE, IMVU POLICIES, and DEVELOPER QUESTIONS): [Click Here]
To use our automated web forms to get help or report problems: (use these for fastest response time!)
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