Frequently Asked Questions
How do I join BumperBrain?
As a member of BumperBrain you will have the opportunity to use all the services that are available. You can ask questions, become an expert and answer questions, invite bids for a project, ask the net for advice, and keep up to date with all the latest BumperBrain news.
Becoming a member of BumperBrain could not be easier. Simply click on the Join Us Today! button. For more help on becoming a member, see the Applying for Membership help page.
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Does it cost me to join BumperBrain?
No, becoming a member and using many of the services that BumperBrain provides is absolutely free. You will of course have to pay experts for any questions you ask, but even then you can set the price if you want! What is more, by providing your expertise, you can actually make money. For more information, click on the What is BumperBrain? button.
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Can I trust BumperBrain with my personal details?
For security reasons, we require that you enter some personal details, for instance your name, postal address and email address. Rest assured, however, that beyond the "welcome" email we will not use your email address to send you unsolicited mail, nor will we pass on any of your contact information to any third party - please see our privacy statement for further details.
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How do I login to BumperBrain?
Logging in is easy. Wherever you are in the site, existing members can log in using the box on the left-hand side of the screen. For further help see the Logging In help page.
If you forget your login name or password you can click on the "Forgotten your login details?" link for help logging in. For further information see the Login Assistance help page.
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Is there a quicker way to log in?
Yes, we give you the option to automatically login each time you come to the BumperBrain website. This is for your convenience, so that you do not have to remember your login name and password each time you visit the site; however, we would advise you to make a note of your login name and password even if you use this feature, and store them in a safe place.
You will be given the opportunity to enable automatic login when you join. If you decide against enabling automatic login, you can always change your mind by updating your Login Details in the Settings menu. For more information, see the Automatic Login help page.
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How do I remove the "automatic login" cookie?
Simply uncheck the relevant checkbox in your Login Details in the Settings menu.
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How do I make money?
You make money by answering questions and providing solutions. To do this you must first become a member of BumperBrain. For help on doing this see the Applying for Membership help page. Once you have applied you can become an expert and start using your knowledge to help other people. For more detailed help, see the Becoming an Expert help page.
You can also make money under the BumperBrain referrals programme, whereby we pay you a share of the commission we receive because of referrals you have made. Please contact us for further details.
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How does BumperBrain make any money?
Thanks for your concern! We earn money by charging the expert a commission of between 10% and 15% of the amount they have been paid.
Therefore, for inquisitors that means that the price you set is the price you pay. More importantly, we take our commission on completed answers - we never charge to post a question or project.
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How do I become an expert?
In your Expert Details (which can be found under the Settings menu), click on the  icon to enter the BumperBrain Expert's Wizard. This wizard will then guide you through the entire process of becoming an expert. For more detailed help, see the Becoming an Expert help page.
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Do you share my details or earnings with any government agencies?
No. It is your responsibility to report any earnings you make to your government in your tax return. Similarly, if your fee is inclusive of tax (eg. VAT), it is your responsibility to report the tax you have collected to your government.
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How can I ask a question?
Asking a question is simple. Once you have become a member and deposited some funds in your account (there is of course no need to deposit funds to ask a "free" question), you can browse the hierarchy to find a suitable category for your question. When you ask a question, all the experts in the area will be notified. If you prefer you can browse all our experts until you find one who suits your requirements and ask him a question directly.
In each case you can be notified as soon as a response is posted either by E-Mail, or using the BumperBrain Messaging System, or even both.
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What is the quickest way to get an answer to my question?
When you browse experts, BumperBrain's cutting edge technology will tell you which experts are currently logged in. This means that you could get an answer right away. For more information, see the Browsing our Experts help page.
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What is the cheapest way to get an answer to my question?
Instead of naming a price, you can choose to invite quotes from experts for an answer. This means that you can get an answer for the very best possible price. For more information, see the Ask an Expert help page.
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How can I negotiate the price for an answer to my question?
The first stage of negotiation occurs when you decide whether you wish to set the price you are prepared to pay for an answer to your question, or whether you wish experts to quote you a price to answer it.
If you set the price you are prepared to pay, then the onus is on the individual experts to make you a counter-offer if they can answer your question, but are not prepared to do so for the price you specified; if they wish to negotiate, their counter-offer will be contained in the additional information they have submitted. You may choose to select an expert who is prepared to answer the question for your original price, but if you wish to accept the counter-offer you should click on the "Update Question" and increase the price you are prepared to pay accordingly. The expert will receive a message that you have updated the question.
If experts are quoting you a price to answer your question, you may choose to accept one of the bids that has been submitted. Alternatively, you can select your preferred expert but try to negotiate with them. To do this, click on the expert's name to bring up their expert details, and then click on the  icon to send them a message in which you should make your counter-offer. Note that the expert may choose to reject your counter-offer, in which case you will probably hear no more from them.
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Do I have to pay for an answer to my question?
You can ask a "free" question by simply saying that you are prepared to pay £0 for an answer to your question. However, you are likely to get more responses to your question if you are prepared to pay for an answer to it.
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How do I know that an expert is qualified to answer my question?
You can browse through the full details of each and every expert. This allows you to peruse their achievements, experience and qualifications. BumperBrain even allows experts to verify their qualifications by uploading a certificate for you to see! For more information see the Full Expert Details help page.
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How do I get back to the questions I have asked?
Your outstanding and resolved questions are both available via "My Brain", which can be found in the left-hand menu bar. If you have any outstanding questions, it will link through to these, otherwise it will link through to your resolved questions.
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How can I review the experts who can answer my question?
You can review and update your question details by clicking on the question title in the listing of your outstanding questions. From there, click on the  icon in the menu to list the experts who are eligible to answer it.
If you want to review the experts before submitting your question, put your question on hold when you initially submit it and then repeat the steps above. If you are not happy with the eligible experts, you can then delete the question without taking it off hold.
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How can I specify the qualifications I require of the experts who will answer my question?
This feature is not currently available. When it becomes available we will notify all of our members by email (or by the BumperBrain Messaging System if you have chosen not to be contacted by email).
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How do I know I'll get the right answer to my question?
There is a strong set of incentives for an expert to give good quality answers. Each time an expert answers a question, that question may be rated. These ratings are recorded, and are then displayed in the both the About our Experts browser and the in expert's full details. Quite simply, an expert with poor answers will end up with a very low rating. For more information, see the Ratings help page.
In addition, all our experts are given the opportunity to list and verify their qualifications. You can see these qualifications in an expert's full details. You can direct your questions specifically at these experts.
Alternatively, by defining your favourite experts you can restrict the number of experts that see your question details.
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What's the difference between "Ask A Technician" and "Ask An Expert"?
"Ask A Technician" is a more specific version of "Ask An Expert", in which the question is of a technical nature regarding your computer system. As such therefore, this service is provided as a cheaper and more efficient alternative to expensive technical support via premium-rate telephone numbers.
Specifically however, the only difference at the moment is that Ask a Technician includes your computer details with the question, and the question is limited to relevant categories in the hierarchy. In the future however, it may include additional features such as allowing you to grant remote control of your computer to an expert, allowing the expert to connect to your computer and fix it online.
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How do I remove an expert from my favourites?
Your favourite and least favourite experts are listed in the lowermost section of Personal Preferences. The Membership Number and Public Name (if applicable) are displayed for each expert. You can remove an expert from either of these lists by clicking on the Remove checkbox alongside each expert and then clicking on the Update button.
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Can I change the expert I selected to answer a question I posted?
As long as the expert you selected has not already answered the question. To deselect an expert you must list the submitted responses (click on the number of responses in the Responses column of Outstanding Questions) and uncheck the radio button alongside the expert you have accepted. You can now either accept another expert or wait for more responses.
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Can I accept more than one answer to my question?
Yes. But please be aware that you'll have to pay for each one you accept. To do so, select the question from your Resolved Questions by clicking on the question title. Then click on the number of responses to list all of the responses that were received, and then just accept another response.
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Why do some experts have more questions rated than others?
No reason. It's entirely up to the inquisitor as to whether he is willing to assign a rating to an answer he has received.
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Why should I rate the expert who answered my question?
Because that will help you and other inquisitors to assess the quality of experts. It will also help us to rank experts when you and other inquisitors are searching for experts.For more information, see the Ratings help page.
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Can I dispute an answer that I have been given?
Yes, send us a message giving the question title. We will then review the question and the answer you were given. We will refund your money if we agree that the answer you were given was not adequate.
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What is the BumperBrain Library of Questions?
The BumperBrain Library of Questions contains previously answered questions. Both inquisitor and expert must agree to put them in, and they normally expire after a given period.
Instead of asking an expert a question you can browse the BumperBrain Library of Questions to see if your question has already been asked. If it has you can choose to pay to read that answer, which is not only instant but may even be cheaper since library questions are normally charged at a discount to the original rate. When you select an answer from the BumperBrain Library of Questions, the payment is shared between the person who originally asked the question and the expert who answered it (and we also receive a commission).
As an expert, adding your answers to the BumperBrain Library of Questions means that you may earn additional fees after the answer has been submitted. As an inquisitor, it means that you may be able to recoup some of (or all of, or even more than!) the fee you paid the expert for their answer.
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Why has my answered question not appeared in the BumperBrain Library of Questions?
The most common reason for this is that you have not yet viewed, accepted and rated the answer that was submitted. It may also be that the expert did not wish their answer to be added to the library.
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How do I pay for my questions?
You can either deposit money into your account before asking the question, or you can use the auto-credit feature to deposit money automatically when the question is answered. Both options are available under Account Details in the Settings menu. For more information, see the Paying For A Question help page.
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Are prices inclusive or exclusive of tax?
Inclusive. The total figure on the invoice will always be that quoted, although that may be broken up into the fee and tax if the expert is required by his/her local jurisdiction to charge tax.
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How do I get paid?
You can request to withdraw funds from your account at any time - this is available under Account Details of the Settings menu. For more information, see the Account Details help page.
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I've just got a message saying my answer has been accepted - why has my fee not yet been paid into my account?
It has, it's just not available to you yet since it's still being held in escrow. This is for the security of all parties concerned, since it allows the proper handling of disputes. Your fee will be automatically released in 14 days.
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How can I negotiate the fee I require to answer a question?
If the inquisitor has requested that experts quote a price to answer their question, you should submit your quote accordingly. The inquisitor may accept your bid as quoted, or they may send you a message making a counter-offer. To accept their counter-offer, you merely need to submit another quote to answer their question.
If on the other hand the inquisitor has set the price they are prepared to pay for an answer to their question, but that amount is less than you are prepared to answer it for, you can click on the checkbox saying you need more information and then enter your counter-offer; the inquisitor will update the price of the question if they accept your counter-offer. Note that if you do this the inquisitor may select another expert to answer the question.
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Why can't I see full details of some questions?
Because you're not eligible to answer the question. This could be for a number of reasons: the expert has restricted full details to those eligible to answer it, the expert has not allowed his/her least favourite experts to answer it, or, most commonly, the expert has restricted the question to his/her favourite experts.
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Will I miss out on the opportunity to answer a question by asking for more information?
No, because other experts will undoubtedly need to ask for more information as well. In addition, only those experts who actually asked for more information will be alerted when it is supplied, thereby giving you a possible advantage.
It is always important to ask for more information if you need it. Be sure not to submit incomplete answers - the inquisitor will just dispute it, you will not be paid and you will be given a poor rating.
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Can I submit more than one response to a question?
Yes. Indeed, you may well want to do just that if the inquisitor changes the price or details of a question. Note however that it is fair to assume that you will only be paid once!
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How do I attract more questions?
Many questions are open to all experts in the category they are in; those that aren't have had the restriction explicitly placed there by the inquisitor. Your best bet to avoid inclusion in such restrictions is to answer as many questions as possible, and so to build up a positive rating.
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Why can't I see a link to my website in my "Expert Details"?
If you wish to have a link from your expert's profile to your website, then you must in turn include on your website a reciprocal link back to our website. As such therefore, if you do not see a link to your website it is probably because we have not found your link back to our website.
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Are experts also allowed to be inquisitors?
Absolutely! Indeed, as our experts see how much time and money they save the inquisitors they help, they are increasingly realising that BumperBrain is the ideal solution for their own information needs in subjects they don't have expertise in!
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Why should I answer a question when the inquisitor wants to review and choose between all answers, given that I may not get paid?
The expert has to choose one of the submitted answers. Hopefully, therefore, the expert will choose yours and you will be paid!
If your answer is not chosen however, you can still benefit. Hopefully your answer will still be rated, and a higher rating could improve your chances of getting chosen in the future. In addition, if your answer is added to the BumperBrain Library of Questions, someone may buy your answer from the library and you will get paid for that.
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How can I see what my invoices look like?
If you have personalised your invoice in any way, it is a good idea to review it to make sure that you are happy with it. To do so, you should view a sample invoice in exactly the same way as potential inquisitors can view one of your sample invoices.
Click on the "About Our Experts" menu (on the left of your screen) to start browsing the BumperBrain experts, and navigate to one of the categories in which you are an expert. If you are not listed there, click on the "Next" button until your entry is showing, and then click on your public name to bring up your full expert details - there you will see a  icon which will display a sample invoice.
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What is a live consultation?
A live consultation is a consultation over the internet that an expert has with an inquisitor in order to answer the inquisitor's question.
The tools available during a live consultation will depend on the client software used by the inquisitor and the expert, but may include video and audio conferencing, text chat, a whiteboard, file transfer and application sharing.
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Do I have to ask a question to have a live consultation with an expert?
Not necessarily. When both you and an expert are logged in to the system, it may be possible for you to request a stand-alone live consultation with the expert.
Not all experts are able to accept requests for a live consultation, but you will see the  icon against the details of those experts that are.
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Someone has requested a live consultation with me - what should I do?
If you receive a message telling you that an inquisitor has requested a live consultation with you, you should click on the message attachment icon, or on the link that will also have appeared in "My Brain", to get further details of the live consultation.
You can decline their request by clicking on the "Decline" button. Alternatively, the inquisitor will be waiting for you to reply so if you click on the "Accept" button then the live consultation can begin immediately.
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How do I change my personal details?
Once you have become a member, you can update your personal details by browsing the pages under the Settings menu.
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How do I personalise my settings?
Once you have become a member, you can begin personalising your BumperBrain. You can create favourite categories and experts. When you become an expert you can even upload your own photo to give your expert details a personal touch! All this and more is available under the Settings menu.
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How do I know if I've got any messages?
If you have a new message the  icon will appear next to the Messages button. By clicking on the Messages button you will be taken through to the BumperBrain Messaging System. All new and old messages will be displayed here. To read a message simply click on the subject line. To toggle between new and old messages simply click on the tabs on the top left hand corner of the page. For more information see the Messaging help pages.
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Why can I only send a message to the administrator?
It is indeed true that the  icon in the messaging system will only ever send a message to the administrator.
If you want to send a message to one of our experts, go into the About our Experts browser and click on the icon. To send a message to an inquisitor, bring up the question the message relates to and click on the icon there.
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Why do some experts not have the icons to ask them a question or send them a message?
As you have noticed, under normal circumstances a listing of experts (eg. search results or the About our Experts browser) will contain icons that you can click on to send the experts a message or ask them a question. However, if an expert has indicated that they are on holiday (or are otherwise unavailable), then these icons will not be present for that expert.
If you click on the expert's public name to go through to their full expert details, you will still be able to send them a message or ask them a question. You should not however expect a response until they return from their holiday.
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My browser doesn't support uploading of images - how can I upload my photograph or other images?
Send it as an email attachment to images@bumperbrain.com. Be sure to include your Membership Number in the subject line or the message text.
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I've uploaded my photograph in "Expert Details", but it's still not showing. What's happened to it?
We need to review all images before posting them, to ensure that they meet our requirements. Once they have been reviewed they will displayed. If you are worried that your photograph does not meet the right specifications, see the Upload a Photo help page.
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Why hasn't my photo or logo been added to the system?
If you have not heard from us, it is most likely that an error has occurred during the uploading of your image. Possibly you might have mistyped the filename. In this case most browsers completely ignore what was typed and treat it as if nothing has been typed at all! If this is the case, just upload it again.
Otherwise it could be that it doesn't meet our technical specifications, although normally we will send you a message if this is the case. For more information on our requirements, see the Upload Photo and Upload Logo help pages.
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How do I upload a sales brochure as opposed to a CV?
If you are a company, you will probably want to upload a sales brochure in place of a CV. Please contact us via the BumperBrain Messaging System, and we will set this up for you.
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