Safety and Security
- Moderators working 24 hours per day who have experience of dealing with people with Learning Disabilities. They are also *CRB checked and trained to monitor the site and also help with any problems that may occur.
- We hope that due to the anticipated success of this site and the nominal annual fee that we are charging, we will never need to take on outside advertisers which could lead our members off the site and also they could encounter applications that could flash or contain bright lights affecting our users.
- By charging a fee all members will have to supply their credit card/debit card details together with an email address, which is a secure trace in itself, however please note we will observe our privacy policy at all times. A report button is available should any members not be happy with any content they receive. This will alert a moderator and the appropriate action will be taken, should parents, carers or volunteers wish to restrict the content of messages to ad from our members we recommend that the member uses smiley talk which is a language containing preselected questions and answers.
- There are certain chat rooms, forums, videos and information in “my area” section that can only be viewed by parents, carers and volunteers to protect our members.
Find and make friends from all over the world
The minute you join special friends we advise you to go to “find friends“ on the left hand side, click on “find friends” and then you can scroll through lots of people who would love to hear from you. When you have found a person that you would like to be friends you can either
- click on the pink “make my friend” button and then a message will automatically be sent to that member asking them to be your friends or
- You can click onto that members “view profile” button. Here you can send a gift by clicking on “send me a gift button” and then choosing what gift you would like to send along with a message or just send a message on its own, when you have finished click the send button at the bottom
Once this person has accepted you as a friend their profile will also appear when you click “my friends” button on the left hand side.
Do not expect to receive a reply immediately unless that person is on line, it may take several hours or even a day or two.
You can now return to the find friends button on the left hand side and do the same again with more people.
A member wants to be your friend:
When a member has asked you to be their friend, you will receive a message in your inbox which will say “Be my special friend!” Open this message and accept the invitation. This person will then be listed in “my friends”
Once this person has accepted you as a friend their profile will also appear when you click “my friends” button on the left hand side.
Online shop
Shortly we will be introducing an on line shop which amongst the many items available will be items of clothing bearing our special friends logo. Can I recommend that if you do purchase a t-shirt, polo shirt or sweat shirt wear it with pride and if you are at an event or out in public you may instantly come across special friend members who will be able to instantly recognise you. This is another great way of making friends.
Wrist band
Smiley Talk
Smiley talk is a method of chatting to someone who is already on line by using preselected questions and answers. This is very useful if you have problems using the key board, find it difficult to think of things to say or if you have met some one who speaks another language.
So how do we use smiley talk?
- First click “my friends” on the left.
- Move your mouse over the pictures of your friends and it will say “not online” or “online”. The person must be online for you to be able to smiley talk.
- Then click onto the friend who is on line.
- Below their picture you will see click this and an invite will be sent to the other person
How do I know if someone has invited me to “smiley talk”?
If someone invites you to smiley talk, this will appear on the left hand side of your screen
- Just click it to proceed.
- A new window will open and it will say “You have been invited to talk with the name of your friend. Do you want to smiley talk with them? Click Yes
- A question will appear, choose a question on the right hand side and then click the pink “send answer”
- It will then ask you to choose one of the subject in the smiley faces on the right hand side, when you have decided which subject you would like to talk about click on the smiley face
- Several questions will appear on the right, choose a question and click the pink “send question”
- You now have to wait for a reply. When the other person replies to your question it will then be their turn to select a question.
You are now using Smiley Talk.
How to use the chat room
A chat room is a place where you can chat to other members straight away, similar to talking on the telephone
- Click on “chat room” on the left hand side
- This will open up to a page with 8 white squares.
- In each square it will have a subject and it will say if there is a person/s in the room.
- If you want to join the chat room, click the pink “enter room”.
- This will take you into a new page. On the right hand side it will say the names of the members in the room
- To talk in the room, write your message in the small box at the bottom and then click the pink “send” button.
- Your message will then appear in the big square above.
You are now using the chat room
How to use the Forum
A forum is a place on Special Friends where people can discuss ideas, ask questions and discuss topics.
To use the forum
- Click forum on the left hand side
- On this page you will see the words:
- Topic – this is what people are talking about
- Post – this is how many people have written something about the topic
- Last post – this is the date that the last person has write something
If you want to write a new topic, go to the bottom of the page and click the pink “new topic” button and then write in what your subject is and your message below.
This will then appear on the front page, and other members can join in the conversation.
If you would like to add to another topic which is already posted, just click on the topic, and move to the bottom of the page, you will then see a square which says “leave your comments” write what you want to say and then click the pink “post” button.
How to change my profile
My profile is the place where you can leave information about yourself and add your picture. Here is how you change the information in your profile. First click your profile on the left hand side. You will then see different headings - you can click the pink “edit my profile” button to make changes.
Personal info – this is all about you
Interests – write as much information as possible about yourself, it is great for people to know what you like and what your interests are.
My picture – Adding your picture is easy. Click on the grey “browse” button, this is asking you to find the picture that you want to use on your computer, you must have a picture saved on your computer to be able to upload it. When you have found the picture you want to use click the pink “upload” button and then the pink “set” button, your will then be able to see your new picture.
You are 10 times more likely to make friends if you add your picture as people will feel more comfortable seeing who they are talking too. If for some reason you are having a problem uploading your picture, please let us know and we will be able to help you.
Privacy – Here you can decide what you want other people to see, but remember you must tick the box if you are happy to: appear in Search.
- Appear in Search
- Show Profile to friends
- Show profile to Everyone
- Allow friends to see your friends
- Allow everyone to see your friends
- Allow friends to see your photos
- Allow everyone to see your photos
- Switch off email notification of Special Friends messages
Password - Here you can change your password if you want to. You will then have to use your new password the next time you log in.
My interests – this is what you like to do and what you like To change the information on your personal info and interests click the pink “edit my profile” button, write as much information as possible as it is great for people to know what your interests are. When you have made your changes don’t forget the click the save button.
My friends – This will show all your friends.
To see a full list of your friends click on “My friends” on the left hand side. If you want to delete a friend you will find a pink “remove friend” button next to that persons name, just click this button and the person will be removed.
My photos – here you can see all your photographs
To add a picture to my photos, click on the grey “browse” button, this is asking you to find the picture that you want to use on your computer; you must have a picture saved on your computer to be able to upload it. When you have found the picture you want to use click the pink “upload” button if you want you can also add a little bit of information about the picture.
How to find games/jokes
First click on fun in the button at the top of the page. This will open a new page for the jokes click on jokes on the left and for games click onto the games.
How to find heroes and stars
Our heroes are members and people who have an inspirational story to share and our stars are members who would like to share their interests with other Members. To find these click heroes and star which is listed across the top of the page.
Heroes – click on the heroes’ gallery on the left hand side, a new page will open up, click on one of the pictures and then you will be able to read their inspirational story.
Stars – Click on stars gallery this will take you to a new page. Click on one of the pictures and you will then be able to read all about them.
If you want to become a star or if you have an inspirational story to share just let us know!
Report Button
If you ever receive a message that you are not happy with, click the “report” button. The moderators will then be aware that you are not happy and will contact you.
Block Member
If you are unhappy with another member and you do not want to message or chat with them, if you hit “block member” this will stop them contacting you again. The moderators will be aware that this has happened and will contact you.
Remove friends
If there is a person listed in “my friends” and you are not happy that they are there, if you click the pink “remove friend” button this will delete them from your page.