Help Topics

1. What is Six Degrees of Information?
2. What are Degrees?
3. Who decides what Information is included?
4. Who decides what rating an item receives?
5. How is this different from other sites?
6. How do I create an account?
7. How do I find an item?
8. How are items categorized?
9. What are the advanced search features?
10. Why can't I access the advanced search features?
11. How do I sort the search results?
12. How do I view an item's information once it is found?
13. How do I view information about the members that rated an item?
14. What is the closest Friend that rated an item and why do I care?
15. How do I rate an item?
16. How do I change a rating that I gave an item?
17. How do I submit a new item?
18. How do I correct information about an item?
19. Why do I want to have Friends?
20. How do I add a Friend?
21. How do I remove a Friend?
22. What are Private Messages?
23. How do I read my Private Messages?
24. How do I send a Private Message to someone?
25. What is an Administrator?
26. How do I earn ownership potential in 6DOI?
27. Why would I want to earn ownership potential?
28. I didn't find the answer to my question here, what do I do?

1. What is Six Degrees of Information?
Six Degrees of Information (6DOI) is a "Web 2.0" Social Search site that allows you to share information with friends. It allows you to tell your friends the good and bad businesses with which you have dealt and products you do or don't like. It allows you to find businesses and items with which your friends have had good experiences, making your life easier.

Most people are familiar with the concept of 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon - all other actors can be linked to Kevin Bacon within six steps. 6DOI takes this concept and applies it to finding quality businesses and products.

Everyone has asked around to find out which friend has used a GOOD fence builder, roofer, hair salon, or restaurant. The problem is finding the right friend to ask. One of them may even be friends with the owner of the business and be able to get you a good deal or priority service.

Now imagine expanding this to your Friends' Friends and you've just greatly increased the number of people you can ask. This site takes the concept out to the full magical six degrees and will show you your connection to other people and businesses. This also adds a level of trust to the item ratings. You Friends' Friends are typically considered more trustworthy than some complete stranger, providing you with a more secure feeling that the businesses they recommend are reputable and products are high quality.

Information and knowledge is priceless. Sharing your experiences and helping your Friends is one of the greatest gifts you can give them.

2. What are Degrees?
Degrees are "Degrees of Separation". If you know someone personally, that is 1 degree of separation. If you have a Friend who knows someone, there are 2 degrees of separation between you and that someone. This stems from the concept of 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Generally, the closer your connection to a business or a reviewer of an item, the more trustworthy the rating is.

The goal of 6DOI is for EVERYONE to profit by spending our time and money more wisely on trustworthy businesses and quality products. The truth is this site was created for completely selfish reasons - because I want to be able to find better businesses! I'm tired of dealing with idiots who shouldn't be in business.

3. Who decides what Information is included?
This is a Web 2.0 site that allows the MEMBERS of the 6DOI site determine what Information is included. There are no restrictions. Members will enter the items that they wish to rate. Members determine the categorizing of the items. Members rate the items. The 6DOI site is not a predetermined database with a rigid structure. It can be used to store information on brick and mortar business, web sites, movies, CDs, products, and any other information that members see fit to provide.

4. Who decides what rating an item receives?
The MEMBERS rate the items. One vote per member per item is allowed. Creating multiple accounts to insert extra votes is a disservice to your Friends and other users of 6DOI. The average rating and total number of votes cast for an item are displayed for users to ponder, as well as links to the profiles of the people who cast the votes.

5. How is this different from other sites?
There are other web sites like Epinions where people can rate products. There are also social sites like Friendster that allow you to meet you Friends' Friends and determine with whom you have common interests. These sites do not benefit the person looking for a good local mechanic. On Friendster, you may find that your Friend knows a mechanic, that does not mean that the mechanic is any good. On Epinions, you may find a review of a restaurant, but you have no connection to the people who reviewed it. 6DOI bridges the gaps.

6. How do I create an account?
You can create an account at any time for free. There is no fee and it only takes seconds to sign up. No personal information is required, not even an e-mail address. You must select a unique nickname and provide a password for your account.

7. How do I find an item?
On the top menu, there is a Search link that will take you to the search page when clicked. The Basic search mode works much like a phone book. You can specify as much or as little information as you like to narrow down your search results. Basic search provides the following fields:

Search: If you are looking for information on a specific business, web site, or product, then this is the field where you can specify all or part of the item's name. It does not have to be the beginning of the item's name. Searches are not case sensitive. For example, you can find the AAA Acme Company by typing in "acme". Providing a Search word is optional.

Name or Website Radio Buttons: The Search word can be used to search through company or product names or web site addresses. If you are looking for a trustworthy Internet retailer that you found on 6DOI, but you can't remember the exact name of the web site, then you can click the Website button, type in the part of the name you do remember and locate the business. For example, clicking the Website button and putting "acme" as the Search word will return the AAA Acme Company since their web site contains Acme. These buttons only affect the use of the Search word.

Category: You can search for all items that are in a specific category by selecting the proper Category and leaving all other fields blank, or you can narrow your search by combining Category with other search qualifiers.

Subcategory: The Subcategory selection is not available until you have selected a primary Category since the Subcategories will vary based on the primary Category. The Subcategory allows you to narrow down your search results further than just specifying the Category.

City, State, Zip Code: If you are looking for a business or service located in a specific area, then you can use these qualifiers to narrow down the search results. Specifying a zip code will not return results from adjacent zip codes at this time. If you get too specific, you might miss an execellent business that is nearby, but in a different town or zip code.

8. How are items categorized?
Items are categorized by the 6DOI members that submit them. Logic would dictate that categories would fall out similar to a phone book, but this may not always be true. Items can also have a subcategory classification to further narrow down business capability or product type. 6DOI has no set standard for categorizing, the site is built by its users and their preferences.

9. What are the advanced search features?
First, you access the advanced search features by clicking on the Switch To Advanced Search Mode link just above the Search submit button. If you are not logged in, then the advanced features will be disabled. Advanced search adds the powerful features that make 6DOI the unique site that it is. Advanced search adds the following fields:

Friends: This checkbox allows you to limit your search results to only those items that have been rated by Friends. You also specify the degrees of separation to search. You can search only your immediate Friends (1 degree) or you can search out to 6 degrees of separation. The further you go away from your immediate Friends, the more results you will receive, but the less trustworthy the rating source becomes.

Occupation: This checkbox allows you to specify the occupation of the people rating an item. You might search a Category of pool builder and an occupation of home builder to get a list of pool builders that home builders actually trust. Another use would be to find a computer consultant who is trusted by engineers. This can also be combined with the Friends search to limit the rating source to someone who you feel is more trustworthy.

10. Why can't I access the advanced search features?
First, make sure you have clicked on the Switch To Advanced Search Mode link just above the Search submit button. Next, you must be logged in for the advanced search features to be enabled. If you do not have an account, then you can sign up at any time for free. There is no fee and it only takes seconds to sign up. No personal information is required, not even an e-mail address.

11. How do I sort the search results?
You can sort search results either by the name of the item or by the average rating for the item. At the top of the search results page, there is a link that will say Change to sorted by followed by either Name or Votes. Clicking on this will toggle between the two sorting methods.

12. How do I view an item's information once it is found?
When a search is complete, you will be presented with a page of results. This page gives a brief summary of each item that matched your search criteria (if any matches were found). Once you locate the item of interest in this list, you can click on the index number on the left side of the screen, or the item name, or the details link on the right side of the screen. Clicking on any one of these will take you to the item's detailed information and the reviews submitted for the item.

13. How do I view information about the members that rated an item?
When you view an item's information, it will include information provided by people who rated the item. These review blocks will include the nickname of the member who provided rating. If you are logged in, you can click on the review's index number or the member's nickname. This will bring up the Who Is page where you can view information about that member. This information may include the member's real name, but only if you are a Friend of that member. From this Who Is page, you can view all of the votes and ratings the member has placed. This may help you determine how much weight you want to place on the member's opinions.

14. What is the closest Friend that rated an item and why do I care?
When you are viewing an item's rating, there is a link that states Find your closest friend that rated this item. This link will show you your degrees of separation to someone who has rated the item. It will also show you if someone you know personally knows someone at a business. If an immediate Friend has a contact at a business that they are willing to share, then you will be able to access the name of that contact by viewing the Friends rating for the business. You will not be able to view business contact information for anyone further away from you than an immediate Friend - you will be able to see that it is a personally known business, but you will not be able to access their business contact.

By default, this page will show only your closest Friends (by degrees of separation) that rated the item. There are links at the top of the page to view longer paths. You may want to view longer paths to try to find someone who personally knows a business rather than only having used a business.

You would care about the closest Friend so that you can determine the most trustworthy reviews and the closest Friend that has used the item.

15. How do I rate an item?
After you have logged in, the top menu will have a Rate link that will take you to a search page. From this search page, enter information so you can find the item's current record. There are fewer search options here since you should be more familiar with an item you are rating (e.g. there is no Category search option). The search results will look similar to the search results present to you when you are trying to find an item rated by others. The difference will be a Rate It link on the right side of the screen where the Details link would have been. You can click on the record's index number, the item's name, or on the Rate It link to go to the Rating page.

If the item you want to rate is not returned in the search results, then it has not been entered or rated by any other members yet. At the top of the search results page, there is an Enter A New Item link. This will take you to a page where you can submit a new item. After the item has been submitted, you can then rate it.

On the item rating page, you can select a rating between 0 and 6 with 0 being worst and 6 best. You can also supply comments to support your rating position. There is a checkbox to indicate if you Personally Know a business and a location to provide names of any contacts you have at a business that you are willing to share with your immediate Friends. Submit your rating when you are done.

16. How do I change a rating that I gave an item?
You can change your rating of an item at anytime. After you have logged in, click on the My Account link on the top menu. At the top of the account page, there will be a Submitted Votes link followed by the total number of votes you have cast. Clicking on this link will bring up a summary of all votes you have placed. You can find the item in this list and click on the Modify link on the right side of the screen. This will take you to the item rating page.

Another way is to use the search feature to locate the item. Click on the Details link for the item and find your review of the item in the ratings listed. Your review listing will have a Modify link on the right side of the screen.

17. How do I submit a new item?
After you have logged in, the top menu will have a Rate link that will take you to a search page. From this search page, enter information so you can verify the item has not already been entered into the system by another member. If you do not find the item in the search results, then click on the Enter A New Item link that is located at the top of the search results page. This will take you to the item submission page.

Item submissions have several required fields. You must provide the complete and correct name of the business. Please do not enter misspelled or inaccurate names - other members will not find misinformation useful. If the new item is a brick and mortar business, then you should enter the city and state where they are located.

You must also provide a category for the item. A dropdown box with the categories used to describe other items is provided. Try to find an appropriate existing category. If none exists, then enter a new category in the Or new category field, and a new subcategory in the And new subcategory field. If an existing category is appropriate, then select it from the dropdown box, and a subcategory dropdown will be provided with all subcategories used to describe other items within the selected category. Select the appropriate subcategory, or enter a new subcategory in the Or new subcategory field.

There are optional fields for providing additional information about a business, such as the address and phone number. The more complete you can make a company submission, the better it is for all the members.

When you enter a new item, you "own" its record. You will be able to go in and modify its information at a later time. Administrators will also be able to modify the record, but other members will not.

18. How do I correct information about an item?
If this is an item you submitted, then you can access and modify the item's information at any time. Use the search page to locate the item and click on the Details link on the right side of the screen. Items that you submitted will have a Modify this item's information link on this page. Clicking this link will take you to a page to modify the item's information.

If this is not an item you submitted, then you cannot modify the item information yourself. Locate the item and view its details as described above. On the information page, there will be an If you can provide more accurate information, click here link. Clicking this link will take you to the Private Messages page where you can send information to the Administrators about what is wrong with the item's information.

19. Why do I want to have Friends?
Having Friends in 6DOI will increase the site's value to you. Your Friends have all used local businesses, and so have their Friends. The bigger your network of people who you feel are trustworthy, the better the system will work for you. You can use 6DOI and receive results without having any Friends. You can use 6DOI without ever creating a user account of your own. But if you want the maximum benefit from the site, then you need to join and tell your Friends to join also.

20. How do I add a Friend?
You must know the person's 6DOI nickname in order to add them, you cannot add them based on their real name. After you have logged in, the top menu will have a Friends link that will take you to the Friends management page. At the top of the page, there is a search field. If you know the exact nickname of the Friend, you can type it in the search field and then click the Make Request button. If you are unsure of the exact spelling or nickname, then you can use the search feature. Type in the beginning of the nickname and hit the Search button. All nicknames that match will be put into the nickname matches dropdown box. Look through the matches to find and select your Friends nickname. With the nickname selected, click the Make Request button.

Clicking Make Request will take you to a confirmation page. This page will tell you the nickname of the person you are requesting a Friendship with, as well as other important information. Be sure to read everything on this screen. The nickname at the top of the page is a WhoIs link and clicking on it will provide you with some information about the person. You might want to look at this information to check that it looks like the person with whom you expect to be making a Friendship.

There are Yes and No links at the bottom of the confirmation page that allow you to decide if you want to continue with the Friendship request.

21. How do I remove a Friend?
After you have logged in, the top menu will have a Friends link that will take you to the Friends management page. This page will list all of your Friends, and each will have an End Friendship link on the right side of the screen. Clicking this link will take you to a confirmation page where you verify that you want to terminate the Friendship.

The WhoIs page also has a You can end this Friendship link where you can end the Friendship. Clicking on this link will take you to the confirmation page as well.

22. What are Private Messages?
Private Messages allow 6DOI members to communicate without having to know any personal information about the other member. You could contact someone who has used an item you are considering using, or you could contact a Friend of a Friend to introduce yourself. To use Private Message, you do not need to know who the person is, what their e-mail address is, or even where the person lives.

Private Messages are also used for Friendship requests and communication with Administrators when you can provide better contact information for an item.

23. How do I read my Private Messages?
After you are logged in, there will be a Messages link on the top menu. If you have new unread messages, then there will be a red * next to the Messages link. Clicking the link will take you to your mailbox. Summaries of your Private Messages are displayed on this page. Any unread messages will have a red * next to them to indicate their unread status. To view an entire message, you can click on the message's index number, click on the From nickname, or click on the View It link on the right side of the screen.

24. How do I send a Private Message to someone?
You must know the person's 6DOI nickname in order to send a Private Message, you cannot PM them based on their real name. After you have logged in, the top menu will have a Messages link that will take you to your mailbox. At the top of the page, there is a search field. If you know the exact nickname of the member, you can type it in the search field and then click the Send PM button. If you are unsure of the exact spelling or nickname, then you can use the search feature. Type in the beginning of the nickname and hit the Search button. All nicknames that match will be put into the nickname matches dropdown box. Look through the matches to find and select the member's nickname. With the nickname selected, click the Send PM button.

Clicking Send PM will take you to the message submission page. This page will tell you the nickname of the person to whom you are sending the message. The nickname at the top of the page is a WhoIs link and clicking on it will provide you with some information about the person. You might want to look at this information to check that it looks like the person with whom you expect to be messaging.

25. What is an Administrator?
Administrators are not necessarily involved with the operation or development of 6DOI. They are people who are allowed to make modifications to the item entries. When a member indicates that a correction is needed for a specific item, an Administrator will look into the problem and make corrections as needed. Administrators do not have access to anyone's personal information and do not have any extra privileges for viewing contacts or creating Friendships. Members who are active with the 6DOI site, submit information, and suggest corrections are asked if they would like to become an Administrator.

26. How do I earn an ownership potential in 6DOI?
6DOI gives ownership potential to its members. Forty-nine percent of the web site ownership is up for grabs. The more reviews you submit, the more ownership potential you earn. For every new item you submit, you earn 2 points and for every rating review you submit you earn 1 point. If you submit and then rate an item, you will have earned a total of 3 points. Your percentage of ownership is fluid. It is calculated based on the points you have earned divided by the total number of points earned by all members.

If you are found to be entering bogus item reviews for the sake of earning points, or you consistently enter inaccurate or severely incomplete information on new items then you will forfeit any chance at ownership. Do not abuse the system for the sake of attempting to earn ownership points. This will result in you losing all ownership potential.

27. Why would I want to earn ownership potential?
Good question. Ownership potential is completely worthless at this time. 6DOI has no monetary value, there are no shares to own, and it may never have any value at all. Shares would only be distributed in the event that there was money to be shared by the members. There will also be legal aspects to investigate. I'm no lawyer, I don't know what is involved in distributing shares. When the time comes, hopefully, I will be able to find a good lawyer through 6DOI.

On the other hand, the members are doing the work to provide item information and ratings. Members are doing the work to spread the word and tell their Friends about 6DOI (you are spreading the word, right?). Giving ownership potential is all we can do to Thank You for you efforts, and one day those efforts may pay off. You are working for yourself with this web site. The more people that join and the more items that are rated, the more useful the site will become. The more useful the site becomes, the more prospect that it may have value someday.

There is no set point in time at which shares will be distributed. Your ownership potential is fluid based on your relative effort compared to other members. You have no rights or actual ownership in 6DOI at this time. 6DOI is free to use, does not have income from ads, and has zero net value.

If and when the ownership of 6DOI is distributed, personal contact information will be required from all parties interested in collecting their earned share.

28. I didn't find the answer to my question here, what do I do?
If you still have an unanswered question, feel free to contact support with your question.