Knowledge Base
Use this section to find quick answers for any questions you may have. Simply click on the bar for the category which would mostly likely contain the answer you're looking for. If you still have trouble with something don't hesitate to contact the myDailyPhoto Support Team (
support@mydailyphoto.com )
Who put all of the code together for this website?
Matthew Congrove did the majority of the programming and all of the design. Timothy Buckingham created the predecessor to myDailyPhoto, and some of his methods are still employed on this website. Sean Reed was a major help with the site, acting as our programming advisor of sorts, as well as our Database Administrator. Hosting is provided by RelyHost. Numerous features were presented for inclusion in Version 2 by Michael Young, as well as the new branding initiative. Creative direction assistance and API testing was provided by Rick Blalock of Expression In Design. API and OOP-architecture assistance was provided by Richard McCluskey. Community feature guidance was provided by Erin Sunday.
myDailyPhoto lives on a Linux server with Apache. The website is coded in PHP and the usual suspects for front-end design (XHTML, CSS, JavaScript). The database utilized is MySQL. The cropping tool is a customized version of the jsCropper UI by Dave Spurr. Numerous icons are courtesy of Mark James. All of these technologies are open-source, which we're a proud supporter of. We also use Springloops as our SVN repository and off-site back-up.
Why was myDailyPhoto started?
Basically, two people (Matthew Congrove and Lauren Skippers) felt that they weren't taking nearly as many photographs as they should be, and they definitely weren't going outside of their comfort zone (manual settings, oh no!). Two Clicks A Day was born, a daily photo blog that forced the both of them to lug around their cameras everywhere they went.
Numerous people became interested in the project and wanted to join, but "Two Clicks A Day" obviously wouldn't work for anything more than two people, and the site was in no-way set up as a community project.
It took a bit of convincing (and by convincing we mean blackmail) from long-time friend Carissa Hall before Matthew finally gave in. After signing on programmer Sean Read to help, the project began to take shape. A little aesthetic design and hardcore programming was all it took, and the site kicked off on September 24th, 2007.
After just a bit more than a year myDailyPhoto underwent a major overhaul to upgrade not only the look and feel of the site, but also the available features and entire back-end code. A few new important staff members, namely community manager Erin Sunday and marketing genius Michael Young, joined the team, and with everyone's help version 2 of myDailyPhoto launched on June 30th, 2008.
Is myDailyPhoto hiring?
Believe it or not, all of the myDailyPhoto staff works for free. This is because we all have a passion in photography, design, marketing, engineering or social networking.
If you have a passion that you think may be of assistance to us at myDailyPhoto and don't mind working for praise and the occasional gift basket, then shoot an e-mail over to one of our staff members.
The website looks like it's messed up / I'm using Internet Explorer.
This is probably because you're using a non-standardized browser, such as Internet Explorer 7 or less. These browsers make it difficult to design cross-browser compatible sites and often pose serious security risks. Please upgrade to a better, newer browser, such as Safari or Firefox.
NOTICE TO INTERNET EXPLORER 6 USERS
When it was released in August of 2001 Internet Explorer 6 was a cutting edge browser, unfortunately after nearly 8 years the technology behind Internet Explorer 6 is extremely lacking. Internet Explorer 6 lacks many powerful features and important security enhancements of modern browsers. It is also poorly lacking in standards compliance which means it's simply unable to render sites properly without hours of hacks and workarounds. The last version of Internet Explorer 6 was called Service Pack 1 for Internet Explorer 6 and was released in December of 2004. By continuing to run Internet Explorer 6 you are open to any and all security vulnerabilities discovered since that date. In October of 2006, Microsoft released version 7 of Internet Explorer that, in addition to providing greater safety in navigation, allows the Internet Explorer browser to identify as 'modern browsers'. Microsoft has launched Internet Explorer 7 as a high-priority update, and is now available to download for free without any certification requirements. As of Feb 12th, 2008 Microsoft is forcing updates to Internet Explorer 6 in order to move people towards the much improved and secure version 7. Please ensure you don't hamper this process; it's for your own good.
There are no knowledge base articles for this category.
How can my photos be featured on the front page?
The photos on the front page are simply the newest public photos to be submitted to the database.
How do I become a featured member?
Currently this honor is bestowed upon users after a review by the myDailyPhoto staff. Numerous factors go into the selection, and when the staff feels it's time for a new featured profile the process will repeat itself.
What is the 'Random' button for?
This feature allows you to jump to a random user profile.
How do I become a Top User?
Top Users are calculated through a complex algorithm that factors in numerous equations.
The algorithm is as described below:
( Days Posted × Percentage Posted ) × ( ( ( Friend Points ) + ( Comment Points ) + ( Vote Points ) + ( Photo Points × 50 ) ) / 10 )
Friend, comment, and vote points are calculated using simple weighting, e.g. 'Comments Posted × 2'. Photo points are based on the Top Photos algorithm.
How can my picture become a Top Photo?
Top Photos are calculated using a simple algorithm to weed out unfair voting scams, e.g. one user votes a friends photo as 5-Stars, therefore making the average rating for the photo 5.
The algorithm is as described below:
( Total Rating / Votes Received ) × ( Votes Received / Possible Votes )
The total rating is the sum of all votes cast for a photo. Possible votes is the number of users in the community, minus the photographer who's photo is being ranked.
Can I write a photography tutorial?
Sure! If you'd like to have a photography tutorial posted on the myDailyPhoto website then just notify a staff member about your intentions. If we like the idea we'll give you the green light and ask that you prepare the text and any associated images; we'll do the work of inputting your tutorial.
What's the Notifications section for?
The 'Notifications' area will let you know if you have any new comments or friend requests. You will also receive an e-mail should one of these events occur.
I just came across an R-Rated photo, who should I tell?
Please inform Tech Support immediately if you feel the photograph may violate the myDailyPhoto Terms of Service by displaying inappropriate, vulgar, copyrighted, or sexual content.
What do you consider inappropriate content?
Technically speaking, it's up to us to decide whether images are acceptable or not for the site. As a general rule, though, try to imagine a PG-13 movie. Anything more risque than that and you're pushing the limits.
Are artful nudes considered unacceptable?
If you actually mean 'artful' and not 'trying to get away with as much as possible', then the image may be acceptable. Again, this is still a judgement call left up to us, and we reserve the right to remove any content from the database. If you are unsure about whether the image is acceptable, consider making it private. You may even contact Tech Support for an opinion on the image.
Can you tell me if my image is alright for posting?
Sure, send your shot over to Tech Support and we'll make a ruling on whether your photograph is within acceptable standards. Don't forget, you can also make your photo private so that the general public can't view it.
What if I don't want people to be able to see a photo I post?
When uploading a photo you are given the opportunity to set the privacy level for the image. You may also edit the privacy settings from within the Edit Photo panel on your Photos page. There are three different privacy levels:
(1) Public - The general public can view your photo
(2) Friends Only - Only those users who you accept as a friend can view your photo
(3) Private - Only you can view your photo
How can I add my photos?
From your User Home page you can quickly input a photograph, caption, description and privacy setting to post a photo.
I missed a few days, can I go back and post those images?
Of course you can! If you want to post a photo from a few days ago, just upload a photo like normal and be sure to change the date. The drop-down menu for the date is populated with dates that you've missed.
Something broke when I was uploading my photo.
There are a few reasons that the upload process may have failed for you; the photo may be too large of a file (try scaling it down), the file may be corrupted, and many others. If you've tried scaling down the image to make it a smaller file, next trying saving it as a JPG file if possible. If you're still having trouble, contact Tech Support.
What do you do to my picture once it's uploaded?
After you've uploaded your photo we automatically re-size the photograph to an acceptable size and delete your original (we do this to reduce bandwidth and to help keep the site running quickly and smoothly). Some compression obviously takes place during this process, but we've done our best to keep the files looking just as nice as when you first took them (if not better).
We then present this slightly smaller version of your photograph for you to crop. After you're done we destroy the re-sized original photo and save a full-sized version of the area you cropped as an original, a smaller version for your photo display, and an even smaller version for thumbnails.
The files are then converted into a bunch of textual characters (cool, huh?) and saved in our database. Once visitors pull up your page, the text characters are pulled from the database and put back together in a visual package - your picture!
Where does my personal information end up going?
We will never sell or disclose any of your personal information to a third party without giving thirty-days notice (but don't expect that to happen, unless someone offers us a chance to give away a really cool prize or something and they need your contact info). All information is sent directly to the myDailyPhoto database and is never seen by the administrators of the website, except when required for technical support, upgrades, and normal management duties.
For further information on this matter, please refer to the Privacy Policy on the Legal page.
I want a different username. Can I do that?
At this time you cannot change your username. We may release this as an additional feature in the future.
Should you have a special circumstance that requires the change of your username, please contact Technical Support with an explanation and we'll do what we can to help you.
I'm having trouble logging in. What gives?
More than likely you're entering an incorrect username or password. If you've fogotten this information, please see the knowledge base article titled "I lost the Post-It note with my username (and/or) password. Can you help?". If you're absolutely positive that you're using the correct credentials, contact Tech Support for a password reset.
I lost the Post-It note with my username and/or password. Can you help?
Sort of. If you contact Tech Support and give us your full name and e-mail address we can retrieve your username for you. Unfortunately, passwords are a bit more difficult. Because all passwords are encrypted not even the site administrators can access this information. We will be glad to reset your password for you, though.
How long will the 'Remember Me' function last?
You will stay logged into your account until one of the following occurs: you log-out, you clear your browser cookies manually, you reboot your computer (if this clears your cookies), or one year lapses.
Are cookies safe? What are they?
Cookies are very, very, very small files that are stored on your computer to help remember login information, preferences, and the like. They are perfectly safe to receive from myDailyPhoto, and the mDP cookies only contain your username and encrypted password (if you select the 'Remember Me' preference).
What if I don't want people to be able to see my profile?
Within your settings page you can set your profile to three different privacy levels:
(1) Public - The general public can view your profile
(2) Friends Only - Only those users who you accept as a friend can view your profile
(3) Private - Only you can view your profile
By deciding to make your profile private, you are removing yourself from the 'Search' and 'Random' databases.
If you only want to make certain photos private or friends-only, please visit the appropriate knowledge base article.
What's "API Access", and should I allow it?
The myDailyPhoto API allows third-party developers to access specific information from our site, including community, photo, and user data.
A good example of an third-party API application would be a social networking widget (e.g. Facebook or MySpace) that can display your latest photo updates on your page.
A users most sensitive information, such a mobile phone number, password and the like are never given out through the API. Private and Friends Only photos and profiles are also blocked from API access. Applications using the API can only read data from your account, and not post or edit, unless you specifically log in to that application and grant it permission.
It is suggested that you allow API access as it causes no harm or privacy concerns with your profile, and it helps generate a richer experience for the community, and you!
I don't like the colors/layout/etc of my photo page, can I change anything?
Unfortunately there are too many hackers and incompetent people out there to allow this. It creates a security issue that could possibly compromise the site (and your personal information), and we certainly don't want that. We're sorry, but security is our number one priority. Besides, if you want to 'express yourself', use your photos!
What are excuses for?
User's can post an excuse to let the community know why they're currently unavailable to post. This feature was added because numerous users were getting barraged by their friends for not keeping up-to-date.
Do I have to have an excuse?
Of course not. If you simply delete any text from your Excuse Update form and submit your excuse will display the default "No excuse" message.
What are the green and orange dots?
The Posting Percentage Meter (PPM) displays, well, the percentage of days a user has posted since joining. Each dot represents 10%. Green dots show that a user has successfully posted for that percentage, while orange dots show the percentage of days missed.
Why do the blue photos insult me?
The blue photos which display when you've missed a day insult you to help with your motivation (and keep things a bit on the light-hearted side). Please don't take any personal offense!
Can I update my mDP account through my mobile phone?
Not currently. But this feature will be added soon.
Can I update my mDP account from my iPhone?
The iPhone currently does not support file uploading or downloading, as of July 7th 2008. With the imminent release of the iPhone 2.0 Platform this may change. Depending upon availability, feasibility and demand, we may develop an upload tool for the iPhone.
What's mDP Mobile?
myDailyPhoto Mobile is a mobile-optimized version of our website so that you can access your account wherever you go. New features will be added on a routine basis. Some core features of myDailyPhoto will never be available, though, due to limitations of the devices on today's market.
How can I get a full-sized version of my 365 Poster?
At this time we're experiencing problems with the generation of full-sized posters on our server due to the immense load demands generated by creating such a large high-quality image. We'll gladly prepare a download link to a full-sized version of your poster for you, though. Just contact Tech Support.
My Mac Widget says I have/haven't posted for today, but that's incorrect.
The Mac OS X Dashboard Widget takes numerous time-related factors into account. Because on the weekends many people don't arrive home until after Midnight we decided that the cut-off would instead be 4AM. If you're wondering why it's 2AM and it says you've posted for today, it's because technically speaking the widget still thinks it's yesterday.
How do I access mDP Mobile?
You have two options available for access to the myDailyPhoto Mobile site (note that neither of these URLs are case sensitive):
http://myDailyPhoto.net (or http://www.myDailyPhoto.net)
http://m.myDailyPhoto.net
If the normal URL does not work for your and you're receiving the full-sized version of myDailyPhoto, this is because your device is not currently recognized by our device-mapping database. Please notify Tech Support so that we may add your device to our database and improve the experience for you and the community.
You may also directly go to the Mobile sub-directory ("m"), which by-passes device-mapping redirection.
What are text alerts?
Text alerts are sent to your mobile at the time you choose to help remind you to take a photograph for the day. These text alerts are non-premium SMS messages that don't incur any additional charges to your account (check with your mobile provider for non-premium SMS availability and standard charges).
If you've posted a photo for the day before your set alert time you will not receive the text alert.