SCCHE Members' Services FAQ

There are 3 separate features of the SCCHE web site ( http://www.SCCHE.org) that require a user to login to use or change options for that feature:

Loop (General Email List)
Urgent (Urgent Email List)
Members' Only Area (update your membership info and download the SCCHE Newsletter & Teaching Pioneer )

The Email lists (Loop and Urgent) use your email address as the user identification. This would be the email address which is subscribed to that list, which "should be" the email address on your membership record. The password for these lists is initially a randomly generated character string but may be modified by the user.

Initial access to the Members' Only Area requires the user to request their SCCHE Member ID and Password be sent to their email address . Obviously, the email address must already be in the membership database to do this. The user can then use their SCCHE Member ID and Password to access the Members' Only Area where their membership information and passwords may be changed.

The SCCHE Newsletter and Teaching Pioneer may be downloaded using the menus available in the Members' Only Area .

Frequently Asked Questions:

• 1) How do I get a password for the Members' Only Area?
  Go to the Members' Only Area at:
  http://scche.org/cgi-bin/ds_members/ds_members.pl
  Enter your email address and click the "Send New Password" button.
  NOTE : your email address must be the one associated with your name in the SCCHE membership database.
  You will receive an email containing your SCCHE Member ID and Password . The first time you access the Members' Only Area, you will be asked to provide a validation question and answer to be used to verify your identity for future changes of your Members' Only Area password.
  
  
  IMPORTANT: The usernames and passwords are case sensitive which means that an "A" is NOT the same as an "a". Also it is often very difficult to discern an "0" from an "O" (zero from an oh) or a "1" from an "l" (one from an ell); therefore, I highly recommend using a copy/paste function (i.e. CTRL-C/CTRL-V) to copy usernames and passwords from the received email to the text box where they are entered.
• 2) How do I use the Members' Only Area?
  Use your SCCHE Member ID / Password to login to the Members' Only Area
  ( http://scche.org/cgi-bin/ds_members/ds_members.pl)
  To change the password for the Members' Only Area,
  Click the "Change Password" button.
  To download files from the Members' Only Area,
  Click the "Download Menu" button
  To modify your membership information,
  Click on the "View/Edit Listing" button
  
  
  NOTE: In order to use the Members' Only Area, you must have cookies enabled within your browser. The method to do this varies between browser versions, so consult your browsers help section to determine how this may be done. Also, some computer security programs may disable cookies on your system, so check this as well.
• 3) I lost my password, how do I get my password for the Members' Only Area?
  Go to:
  http://www.scche.org/cgi-bin/ds_members/ds_members.pl
  Enter your email address and click the "Send New Password" button. You will be asked the validation question that was generated when you created your password. An email containing your SCCHE Member ID and a new Password will be sent to your email address (the email address listed in the membership database).
• 4) What files are available for download from the Members' Only Area?
  The most recent editions of the SCCHE Newsletter and The Teaching Pioneer are available as well as other documents that can not be posted on the public SCCHE website. From time to time messages may be sent via the SCCHE Loop concerning materials available for download from the Members' Only Area .
• 5) I've tried everything and I still can not access the Members' Only Area, What Now?
  First: Follow the step-by-step procedures at:
  http://www.scche.org/html/services/moaaccess.html.
  Second: Contact the Webmasterwith the following information:
  
  Do not send your Username or Password unless specifically requested to do so.
  a) The step where you first encounter problems
  b) The URL of the location you are trying to access
  (The URL is the web address
  e.g. http://www.scche.org/html/faq.html)
  c) What you did
  (The specific fields into which you entered data,
  what button you selected, ...)
  d) The system response when the problem occurs
  (Do you see an Error Message,
  does it just repeatedly ask for a Username / Password,
  or ...?)
  e) Include the name your Internet Service Provider
  (e.g. AOL, Comcast, Earthlink, Windstream, ...),
  f) The software you are using to access the web site
  (e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, ...)
  
  Remember , the Webmaster does not have access to Passwords. If you have any suggestions for ways to make these instructions easier to understand, I am VERY open to ideas!
• 6) How can I tell if my membership has been renewed?
  Use the "View/Edit Listing" button to access your Directory Information from the membership database in the Members' Only Area and check your "Dues Paid" status.
• 7) How do I change my email address?
  1) Login to the Members' Only Area,
  2) Click on the "View/Edit Listing" button and update the email address in the membership database
  3) Login to the SCCHE Urgent Email List configuration (see FAQ 12 below)
  4) Enter the new email address in the text input box under "Changing your membership information"
  5) Select the "Change globally" check box and click the "Change My Address and Name" button
  
  Obviously, you can not do these unless you have previously retrieved passwords for these features before the change in email address is required...
• 8) How do I send an email to the SCCHE LOOP?
  First, you must be subscribed to the Loop!
  Next review the Guidelines for use of the SCCHE LOOP.
  I also suggest reviewing SCCHE Email Etiquette A, B, C's.
  Having done the above, just send a message to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
• 9) Why is my email to the SCCHE LOOP rejected?
  
  The message is too long:
  

  E-mail sent through the SCCHE Loop is limited to 50K bytes in length.

  Message not sent by a Loop member:
  

  The SCCHE Loop software only recognizes the addresses actually subscribed to the Loop as valid senders of messages to the Loop. If you are a Loop member and send the email from an account that is not in the membership list, it will be rejected. In addition, sometimes your address may be removed from the Loop database if it generates too many bounces (see "What is a bounce?").

  The message has too many recipients:
  

  E-mail sent through the SCCHE Loop is limited to a maximum total of 10 addresses in the TO and CC fields.

  Loop not specifically addressed:
  

  The SCCHE Loop address ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) must appear in either the TO or CC fields of the message. If the Loop address is in the BCC field, the message will be rejected.
  
  
  In general, these "rules" are there to try to keep email on the Loop as useful and spam free as possible. The size constraint is for those members that do not have high speed internet connections or do have limited memory to hold their messages.
  The other rules are primarily to keep spam off the SCCHE Loop.
• 10) How do I send an email to the SCCHE Urgent Email List?
  First, make sure your message qualifies as appropriate for the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it email list by reviewing the following guidelines.
  
  The This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it list is used to communicate urgent messages regarding:
  

  a) Political information impacting homeschoolers which requires immediate attention.
  b) Information regarding SCCHE meetings or activities .
  c) Specific prayer requests pertaining to SCCHE members.
  d) A monthly summary of SCCHE activities.
  
  
  Then send your message to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it where it must be approved by the list moderator. If the moderator approves the message, it will be forwarded on the Urgent Email List .
• 11) How do I get my password for the SCCHE LOOP or SCCHE Urgent Email List?
  For the SCCHE LOOP, go to:
  http://scche.org/mailman/listinfo/loop_scche.org
  or (for the SCCHE Urgent Email List):
  http://scche.org/mailman/listinfo/urgent_scche.org
  Near the bottom of the page is a text box where you enter your email address (the one currently subscribed), then click the "Unsubscribe or edit options" button. On the following page, click the "Remind" button to have your password emailed to you.
• 12) How do I change my SCCHE LOOP or SCCHE Urgent Email List configurations?
  (Unsubscribe, change passwords, change user options or access the archives)
  You will need your Loop password (See FAQ 11).
  For the SCCHE LOOP, go to:
  http://scche.org/mailman/listinfo/loop_scche.org
  or (for the SCCHE Urgent Email List):
  http://scche.org/mailman/listinfo/urgent_scche.org
  Enter your email address (the one subscribed) in the box near the bottom of the page and click the Unsubscribe or edit options button. On the following page, enter your password in the text box and click the "Log in" button. Once logged into the membership configuration page, you can:
  See your bounce score (if you have any email bounces)
  Change your email address
  Unsubscribe
  Change your Password
  Enable/Disable Mail delivery
  Enable receipt of List Digests (one message a day containing all messages sent that day)
  And other options that may or may not apply to you...
• 13) How do I access the SCCHE LOOP email archives?
  You will need your Loop password (See FAQ 11).
  Go to:
  http://scche.org/mailman/private/loop_scche.org
  After you enter your Email address and Password, you will see a list of the available archives.
• 14) How do I check my SCCHE LOOP bounce score?
  You will need your Loop password (See FAQ 11).
  Go to:
  http://scche.org/mailman/options/loop_scche.org
  If your email address is bouncing messages, you will see it reported just above the "Changing your Loop membership information" section.
• 15) Just how am I to keep up with all of these Usernames/Passwords/Logins?
  OK, I admit it is messy! It does seem that there are 3 Usernames and 3 passwords that you have to keep track of; however, it can be simplified...
  The Email Lists use your email address as the Username,
  The Members' Only Area uses your SCCHE Member ID . All of the passwords "can" be set to be identical (although it is not required). I suggest that you save the Usernames and passwords in a file that you can save in a nice secluded area of your disk (or if you have the capability, save the file to a CD).
  
  Also, since computers do crash, print out the file and then save the printed copy somewhere safe.
• 16) What is a "bounce?"
  If an email fails to arrive at its intended recipient for any reason (incorrect user name, network failure, mailbox full, etc.), the receiving mail server returns (bounces) the message to the sender. Think of it as "Return to Sender. Address Unknown." Most systems return an explaination for why a message is returned, but (unfortunately) sometimes they do not. Such a returned message is called a bounce.
  
  Many ISPs (hotmail.com, sbcglobal.net, gmail.com, msn.com, ...) set a limit on how many messages may be received from a specific sender (i.e SCCHE.org) during a specific period. I have noticed that if more more than three messages are sent during a one hour period, these ISPs will bounce subsequent messages. It appears this "excessive email limit" may affect further emails for anywhere from that specific hour to several days...
• 17) How does the SCCHE Loop handle bounces?
  When a bounce is received, the SCCHE Loop software tries to extract two pieces of information from the message: the address of the member the message was intended for, and the severity of the problem causing the bounce. The severity can be either hard or soft meaning either a fatal error occurred, or a transient error occurred. When in doubt, a hard severity is used.
  
  Each member is assigned a bounce score and every time the system receives a bounce from this member the score is incremented. Hard bounces increment the score by 1 while soft bounces increment by 0.5. The bounce score is only incremented once per day, so even if ten hard bounces are received from a member per day, their score will increase by only 1 for that day.
  
  When a member's bounce score is greater than the bounce score threshold (currently set to 8), the subscription is disabled. Once disabled, the member will not receive any postings from the list until their membership is explicitly re-enabled (either by the list administrator or the user). However, they will receive up to 3 reminders (separated by 7 days) that their membership has been disabled, and these reminders will include information about how to re-enable their membership.
  
  There is one other important aspect to the bounce score; after a certain period of time (during which no bounces from the member are received) the bounce information is considered stale and discarded. For the SCCHE Loop, this value is 7 days. Thus, if your email is not bounced for 7 days, the bounce score will be reset to 0.0.