FAQ's

NeighborHubConnect is a Neighborhood focused website providing a number of applications designed to foster communication among neighbors and in return, help build strong communities.

Does it Cost anything to join NeighborHubConnect?

No, it is absolutely free.

What is a NeighborHub?

A NeighborHub is the online representation of your Neighborhood. A NeighborHub could represent Households on a particular street, a block, an apartment building, a high rise, or just about any other grouping of nearby households.

Can a Household belong to more than one NeighborHub?

Sure, and many do. Here a some examples:

•Single Homes:

Presume you live in a single family home. You are a member of a NeighborHub which represents your street, call it “StreetHub”. Your street is in a development which consists of 10 streets, each of the streets has a NeighborHub which represents their street. There is a NeighborHub which represents all the streets in the development, call it “DevelopmentHub”. You can be a member of both “StreetHub” and “DevelopmentHub”. For issues and events specific just to your street you would correspond through “StreetHub” for issues and events impacting the development you would correspond through “DevelopmentHub”.

•Apartment Complex:

Or you may live in an Apartment community. Let’s say you live in Building A. There is a NeighborHub called “Building-A-Hub”, of which you are a member. There are 10 buildings in your complex and each has a NeighborHub. There is a larger NeighborHub which consists of all the buildings in the complex named “ComplexHub”. You can be a member of both “Building-A-Hub” and “ComplexHub”. For issues and events specific just to your building you would correspond through “Building-A-Hub” for issues and events impacting the complex you would correspond through “ComplexHub”.

•High Rise Building:

If you live in a high rise, your entire floor may represent a NeighborHub, let’s call it “FloorHub”. There may be a total of 10 floors in your building. Each individual floor has it’s own NeighborHub. There is another NeighborHub which represents the entire building, call it “BuildingHub”. You can be a member of both “FloorHub” and “BuildingHub”. For issues and events specific just to your floor you would correspond through “FloorHub” for issues and events impacting the complex as a whole, you would correspond through “BuildingHub”.

How do I Join a NeighborHub?

First you need to create and register a HouseHold within NeighborHubConnect. Once you have registered your household you will have the choice of joining an existing NeighborHub or if you are the first household in your neighborhood to start using NeighborHub, you can create a NeighborHub.

•If you request to join an existing NeighborHub, there is an approval process. The approval process varies in time depending on how quickly the active members in the NeighborHub you have requested to join, approve your request.

•If you create a NeighborHub, you automatically become the first member. Newly registered households can then request membership into the NeighborHub you created.

How do I know if a NeighborHub already exists or if I should create a new one?

It is recommended that the creator of a NeighborHub notify the neighborhood residents as soon as possible that a NeighborHub has been created, however we all know that this won’t always happen. You can use the search feature to look for existing NeighborHubs. The search screen will accept two search variables, a zipcode and a search name field. If you enter only a zipcode, which is a required field, and submit, you will receive all neighborhubs within that zipcode. You can limit the number of search items returned by entering a search string in the NeighborHub name field. This can be a full or partial name. Search results will include the NeighborHub name, the Anchor Street Address and a short description. The Anchor Street Address is a valid street address that serves to anchor the location of a NeighborHub. If you see your street or one close by and the description matches what you are searching for, then you most likely have found your hub. If you are unable to find a pre-existing NeighborHub for your neighborhood, you cqn then create one.

What if I create a NeighborHub and later find out that one already exists for my neighborhood, can I delete a NeighborHub?

No you cannot delete a NeighborHub, however Neighborhubs with no activity for 60 consecutive days will be disabled.

Why is there an approval process?

The approval process is actually a security feature. Just as you wouldn’t be comfortable with strangers wondering throughout your neighborhood, you wouldn’t want just anybody to have access to your NeighborHub. The approval process serves as a screening mechanism which requires existing member approval of every join request.

How does the approval process work?

When active members log into the NeighborHub, a check is run to see if there are any outstanding join requests that they have not previously responded to. If there are, the active member is asked to approve or to bypass. An algorithm determines acceptance criteria based on the number of active members. If the new member’s join request receives the required number of approvals, they will be granted access to the NeighborHub on their next log on attempt.

How long does the approval process take?

It varies, it is dependent upon how quickly the active members respond to the join request.

How long will it take to receive the email with my password?

Emails are sent immediately and should normally take no more than a few minutes. Occasionally a busy server can cause delays in this process. If however after 30 minutes you have not received your email, there is most likely a problem. The most common problem is that you entered the wrong email address.

What if I don’t receive my password email?

If after 30 minutes you do not receive your user password email there is most likely a problem. The most common problem is that you entered the wrong email address. To reset the temporary password and reenter the email address perform the following:

1.) Enter your username
2.) In the password box enter: reset

a. This solution only works if the initial password was never reset. If you already changed your password use the password reset option.

3.) Your temporary password will be reset and a new email will be sent however, prior to that you will be asked to re-enter your email address. Please make sure you are entering the correct email address.

Can I view information and message boards in other NeighborHubs where I am not a member?

No. Only approved members have access to a NeighborHub. Each NeighborHub is private and access is limited only to approved members.

What does NeighborHubConnect do with the information it collects at registration?

• Certain information aids in security, such as a valid street address. For example, let’s say Tom Smith lives at 123 Main Street. Tom is an approved member within his NeighborHub. A join request is received and the requestor claims to live at 123 Main Street. This is a “red flag” that something is not right. Since a Member can choose any unique username, the username on its own is not always a good way of identifying someone. For example, Tom Smith could choose to use “57Chevy” as his username.

• Other information is used to help build a household profile. One thing you need to know is that information collected within NeighborHubConnect never leaves NeighborHubConnect. If you haven’t already done so, take a few minutes to review our “Privacy Policy”.

As the creator of a NeighborHub do I receive any additional privileges?

Well, no, other than possibly a thank you from the neighbors who become members. NeighborHubConnect focuses on the community, not the individual. All members of a NeighborHub have the same privileges regardless of who created the hub. The only minor exception is that the creator of the hub automatically becomes the first member and is not subject to the approval process.

Can someone be deactivated from a NeighborHub once they have been accepted?

Yes, for various reasons a member may be deactivated from a NeighborHub. For example, let’s say someone moves but forgot to deactivate their membership through the user profile maintenance function. In this case you would go into the member list panel and submit a deactivation request for the member who moved. Just as a Join request requires the approval of other active members the deactivate process requires action from other active members as well. There are several reasons why a member may request that an existing member be deactivated and I am sure you can think of some, however the bottom line is, there is a way to deactivate existing members.

Can I deactivate my household and if so, how?

Yes, you can deactivate your household through the User Maintenance Panel. If you deactivate yourself you can also reactivate yourself. If you are deactivated as the result of a member request, you cannot reactivate yourself.

What are the various HouseHold statuses and what do they mean?

1. Pending: A request has been submitted to join this NeighborHub and is in the member approval process.
2. Accepted: The join request has been approved and accepted.
3. Temporary Deactivation: A self initiated temporary deactivation. User has the ability to reactivate at any time.
4. Cancelled Join: Self initiated cancellation of a join request. User can reactivate the join request at any time.
5. Permanent Deactivation: A self initiated permanent deactivation. User cannot reactivate themselves and would need to submit a new join request and then successfully pass through the approval process.

Does my NeighborHub household ever expire?

No, not as long as it is active, however NeighborHub households with no activity for 60 consecutive days will be deactivated.

What is a screen name and how is it used?

A screen name is used to identify individual users within a household. There needs to be at least one active screen name within each NeighborHub household. Multiple screen names within a household should be unique, however this is not a requirement. As a suggestion, use your first name or a nick name as your screen name.

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