Frequently Asked Questions

What makes this website different from other Travel blogs?

First, it is aimed at you, the traveller, not the visitor looking for travel stories.
As a traveller, you get an entire website where you can publish your stories and photos in a nice way, not just a one page blog.
And second, the website is designed to work with very slow internet connections and old computers, without giving up any functionality.

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Can you add extra cities to the interactive maps?

Yes, no problem.
If I can find the GPS-coordinates and if there is room on the map to show the place name, I will add the new location to the system.

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What do I get when I sign up?

You get your own full website where you can publish your travel stories, pictures and links. You get your own world map to track your route on and you will have your own website-address.
[ View the complete feature list ]

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How long will my website stay online for?

Indefinitely.
If you want, you can choose to delete an entry or your entire website anytime you want.

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I'm not good with computers, can I do this?

Keeping a website at TravelJournal.net is no more difficult than sending e-mail.
Everything is designed for easy use while travelling the globe.
All the technical stuff is hidden from view and there is no need to know anything about HTML or web design.

The best way to convince yourself is to give it a try (it won't cost you any money, there are no obligations at all).

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How do the people back home know when I add new content?

Everybody can choose to subscribe to the update notification service.
Whenever you add new content to your website, everybody subscribed to the notification service will receive an e-mail inviting them to take a look.

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I expect a really slow internet connection, will my website work?

TravelJournal.net is designed to function on painstakingly slow internet connections. So if any website is going to work, TravelJournal.net will be among the first.
If your connection is 'just slow' your TravelJournal.net will work fine.

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How can my friends and family visit my Travel Journal?

You need to tell them your website address (http://YourAddress.traveljournal.net/).
As long as they have this address, they can follow your adventures online.

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Who is permitted access to my website? Can I control who accesses my website?

Everybody is permitted to access your website, so everybody that has the direct link to your website will be able to visit it.
Although you can not forbid access to your website, you can make it harder to find by disallowing search engines to include your website in their search results, effectively making your website invisible for everybody except those that know the direct address.

You can also choose not to be listed in the public list of all Travel Journals.

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How many pictures can I publish for free?

You get 128 MB of disk space for free. An average digital picture takes up some 2 to 3 MB (depending on your camera settings, it can be as small as 0.40 MB), so you can upload some 50 pictures to start with.

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What does extra diskspace cost?

Additional disk space comes in blocks of 6 months.

Amount	6 Months Fee
128 MB Extra Disk Space	€ 1.44
256 MB Extra Disk Space	€ 2.64
512 MB Extra Disk Space	€ 4.98
1 GB Extra Disk Space	€ 9.48

There is no upper limit to your total amount of diskspace, you can add as many pictures as you like.

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Why don't you offer unlimited disk space?

I do! However, you will have to contribute in the costs.
I would love to provide unlimited disk space to everyone just like that. However, disk space costs money and I'm just one guy with a quite limited budget.

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Can I download the originals of the uploaded pictures?

Yes, your original pictures are stored untouched. Visitors will see a copy of your picture optimized for the internet.
You can download your originals whenever you are logged in.

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What do I need to upload pictures?

To upload the pictures you need a working internet connection. You do not need any additional software or plug-ins.
However, you will need a cable for transferring the pictures from you camera to the computer connected to the internet.

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What pictures can I upload (tech specs)?

You can upload any JPEG image (the standard file format for digital photos) you like. The only thing to keep in mind is that your maximum file size cannot exceed 6 MB.

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Do my pictures have to be of a certain size?

No. There are no minimum or maximum image dimensions. However the maximum file size cannot exceed 6 MB. Visitors are shown a copy of the original, optimised for the internet to ensure quick viewing.
Your original pictures are stored in their original quality and dimensions.

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Uploading my pictures is sometimes slow, can't you make it faster?

The upload speed depends on the speed of your internet connection. In Africa for example internet connections are sometimes ridiculously slow.
Although TravelJournal.net has been designed to be as lightweight as possible, uploading pictures will always take time.

Internet speed might differ from internet cafe to internet cafe so you could try another one nearby (if there is another, that is).
Another option is to select a lower quality setting on your digital camera. However this will also limit the possibility of making prints.

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How many Travel Journals can I write?

Unlimited.
You can write as many Travel Journals as you like, and then some.

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Can I format the text in my Travel Journals?

Of course; You can make things bold or italic.
Just select your text and click [ Bold ] (or [ Italic ] if that was what you where after).

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Can I add links in my Travel Journals?

Yes, you can link to anywhere on the internet from both your Travel Journals and your Link Page.

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Can I put images in my Travel Journals?

You can easily embed pictures into your Travel Journal by simply selecting them from a list of pictures in your photo albums.

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Somebody added a stupid comment to my Travel Journal. Can I edit it?

No. You cannot edit visitor comments.
You can, however, delete the comment entirely by simply clicking [ Delete ] at the comment in question.

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How do I know my content is secure?

Nothing connected to the internet is 100% hacker-proof. Having made that disclaimer I can safely say that TravelJournal.net is heavily protected and very secure.
Even logging in, for example, is done through a 128-bit secured connection; an encryption strong enough to handle credit card payments.

The TravelJournal.net server is located in a very-secure data centre (Equinix), with an offsite backup every 24 hours.
(For more information please visit Keenondots, my hosting provider).

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What methods of payment do you accept?

All payments are handeled through PayPal. Whenever you make a payment, TravelJournal.net communicates the transaction to PayPal and receives notification when the payment is completed.
TravelJournal.net does not see your creditcard details, only whether or not the transaction succeeded.

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What about my privacy?

I understand that user privacy is an important factor and I will never sell your details to anyone.
Please read the privacy policy for more details.

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Why don't you support movie-clips?

I've decided not to support movie-clips because TravelJournal.net is designed for people travelling the globe.
Movie-clips will not work properly at older computers and take ages to download on slow internet connections common in less developed countries.

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I can't find the answer I'm looking for...

Please use the contact form and I will do my best to help you out.

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