FAQ For The Keystone Forums

Should I share the information I find on the forums with others outside of Keystone?
Short answer: No.

Long answer: This forum information should be kept within the family of Keystone.  Information within the forums is the property of Keystone Corporate and is considered highly confidential.  Much of the information contained in the forums will provide a competitive advantage to our member partners and, while it may be appropriate and tactful, may offend other individuals and companies we have a partnership with.

In the interest of protecting the feelings, reputation, and opinions of others while still providing Keystone Partners the opportunity to share information without reserve, this information should NOT be distributed outside of Keystone.  Our desire is to provide a place to share structured discussions on a variety of topics for the benefit of Keystone Partners.

Is it free?
Well, nothing is really for free, now is it?  The maintenance of the forums is paid for by Keystone Corporate.  Kudos to that great group of people for paying for all of this, now if I could just get them to pay my annual support fees for Applied Systems.

How do I sign up for the Keystone Forums?  How do I activate my account?
If you are a registered user of the Keystone website, then you can view and post to the forums.  If your agency requires additional sign-on accounts, contact Keystone Corporate.  Although I am sure that someone probably could be bribed into giving you an account.  You are already activated if you can read this message.

Why I can't stay logged in to my account?
Present security settings will terminate your connection to the Forums if you are not actively searching or viewing.  Sitting idle for too long will cause your login to be terminated and you will need to log in again.  Therefore: Keystone is helping to motivate you to action by kicking you off their site for just sitting there daydreaming.  Keystone benefits abound, don’t they?

I got busy doing something else and when I went back to the Keystone site and clicked on a link and the login screen comes up.  Why?
Present security settings will terminate your connection to the Forums if you are not actively searching or viewing.  Sitting idle for too long will cause your login to be terminated and you will need to log in again.  See the previous question for additional humorous comments.

What is a “Profile” and how do I edit my “Profile”?

The profile section of the forums is where information on YOU is stored.  This information includes your email address, occupation, location, interests, web site, and signature.  Each user should enter the “Profile” section and make sure the information is correct, including a well written signature.  A well written signature includes your name, agency, phone and fax and address.  The following is an example:

                Keystone Insurers Group

                Locally Owned & Operated by

                H. K. Schmortzafeltersnigwa-horblatz Agency

                555 Main Street, Box 39

                No Not Here, PA 15531

                Phone: 814-555-5555

                Fax: 814-555-5555

                Favorite Quote:  Live long and prosper.

How do posters get their name, phone #, and other information automatically put at the bottom of their messages?  What is a “Signature”?

Each user should enter the “Profile” section and make sure the information is correct, including a well written signature.  A well written signature includes your name, agency, phone and fax and address.  The following is an example:

                Keystone Insurers Group

                Locally Owned & Operated by

                Ima B Hive Agency

                555 Main Street, Box 39

                OK Here, PA 15531

                Phone: 814-555-5555

                Fax: 814-555-5555

                Favorite Quote:  Sure, I Surely Insure.

How do I post messages or create topics on the boards?
Once you are in to a forum you should see a link "Create a Topic" for starting a new thread.  If you are viewing an existing thread you will see a link called "Reply".  If you don't see either of those links, then the message board you're reading doesn't allow you to post replies to it.  If you are still lost on this topic, give an agency you recognize on the board a call.  A quick 5 minute phone call and they can show you how to do it.  Hey, use the opportunity to catch up on old times or something.

What do I do if I forget my password or username?
Contact Keystone Corporate office if you have this problem.  You must be logged in to the Keystone website to view this FAQ, so I am not sure why this message is here.  If your memory problem is medical related I suggest you seek treatment for memory loss before getting the password again.  You will be stuck in a perpetual loop of forgetting your password and asking for it again over and over.

I received a phone call, e-mail, post, or IM from someone asking for my password. Should I give it to them?
Nobody from Keystone will ever ask for your password, under any circumstances. If someone claims to be from Keystone in e-mail or IM and is asking for your account information, it's more than likely that it's someone trying to break into your account.  Please let Keystone Corporate know if this occurs and the details of the encounter.  The Keystone Police will take it from there.

I found a post with incorrect information, I wish to change the information, or there is other material that should be eliminated from the forums.  What do I do?
Once information is posted to the site it generally cannot be changed, simply add an additional post to the thread with the incorrect information...be sure to be clear and direct with the correction so that you will not compound the mistake. You do have a brief window to correct a post, once this time is past, generally nothing can be changed.  Kind of reminds me of getting married.  Oops, did I say that?

I found a post with rude, fowl, or otherwise inappropriate contents that should be deleted.  What do I do?
If you found a post with inappropriate language, you probably have found a post from either Collin Buzzard or the Ickes office.  Unfortunately once information is posted to the site it generally cannot be changed, however, certain posts can be "moderated" for content.  Should you discover any information of this nature contact Keystone Corporate and make them aware of the problem.  They will contact a moderator and consider the appropriate course of action.  They have some kind of chart showing “# of transgressions” with a corresponding “# of lashes” with a wet noodle.

I understand that the “Help with Markets” is different from other forums, how does it work?  I understand that “Help with Markets” forum sends an email message to everyone, is this true?
As a group of agents, it seems as though we have the greatest potential to help each other help our clients.  The inter-office email system on the Keystone website is used several times a week for this purpose.  There are MANY examples where one Keystone agent has provided CRUCIAL assistance to another partner.  This is one of the core principles of our Keystone group, helping each other.

The idea behind the “Help with Markets” forum is to improve on this principle.  The process is this: a user goes into this forum and starts a new thread asking for help with a market……a message automatically goes out to all of the keystone partners asking for this help.  A partner that has some assistance to provide will go to the “Help with Markets” section and post a reply containing the helpful information.  The advantage of this is twofold:

1. Other agents will see the assistance that has been provided and will post only if they have something additional to add.  Efficiency!
2. Other agents that read the “plea for help” and have a similar situation will be able to go in and see how things were resolved, even if they have the same question MONTHS LATER.