How Do I “Register” or “Subscribe” to The Sentinel (and What’s the Difference)

Last week a reader asked “How do mail subscribers create accounts on your web site?” and that got the wheels turning: It’s high time we let readers in on our little web-site secret!

We’ve already begun rolling out new benefits to our readers and subscribers on our web-site MHFLSentinel.com. Soon we will be adding more. In order to maximize the value to our paying subscribers, some of these benefits will be available only to them. Readers will be able to decide for themselves how much they would like to engage in these benefits. Here are the three different levels of engagement users of our web-site can choose from:

1. Unregistered Reader (free): Anyone can view the site without the need to register. You are free to see the Classified Ads (this is new), the Directory of Churches and Business (this is new), and the first few lines of all Legal Notices. In addition, you currently do not have to be registered to read any page one story and selected columns.
2. Registered Member (free): In addition to the above, Registered Members will soon be allowed to participate in The Junction. The Junction is an active on-line community that offers many of the advantages of FaceBook without those annoying disadvantages. In addition, it is organized by community, by organization, and even by neighborhood (but this is the option of each neighborhood). You’ll need to register in order to comment and post, but registration is free. Currently, The Junction is in Beta Test with select community organizations (so we can iron out any bugs).
3. Subscriber (Paid On-Line): This is a premium service available to any subscriber who registers and pays on-line. Here is the meat and potatoes of our value-added benefits. Right now, only Subscribers can read the entire Legal Notices. Very shortly, we will unveil our on-line digital edition of the paper. This is an exact copy of the paper (ads and all!) so you will see precisely how the articles appear in print for each issue. We are interested in adding more subscriber benefits on-line, so let us know any ideas you might have. We are encouraging anyone who uses the internet to renew on-line because it helps us to reduce costs and to avoid taking valuable human resources away from what readers have told us they want most – more news coverage, better content, and the ability to engage with their neighbors. If you haven’t renewed yet this year, please do so on-line. We recognize some on-line users have already renewed by mail. If you wish to enjoy the premium benefits available on-line which you are entitled to, contact us about converting your on-line account.

How To Become a “Registered Member”:

1. Go to MHFLSentinel.com and select “Subscribe” on the top navigation bar.
2. This will bring up a page that allows you to subscribe (or renew) for $40 a year. (I know what you’re thinking, “Wait, all I want to do is register. Why do I have to hit subscribe?” The reason is simple. We only want real people to join “The Junction.” This makes it harder for people to hide their identity, post comments meant to annoy other members, and, in general, behave like internet trolls. This is the biggest complaint we’ve heard about FaceBook Community Pages.
3. Don’t complete this page – this is only for paying subscribers – instead, click the light blue “Register” button in the upper right hand corner (it’s to the left of the light blue “Login” button).
4. You will now see a page entitled “Create an Account.” You will need to complete the four required fields under “Account Details (Username, Email Address, and Password) and the one required field under “Profile Details.”
5. Once you’ve entered all these fields, click the white “Complete Sign Up” button (located to the lower left corner of the fields you just entered).
6. This brings you to a page that says “You have successfully created your account! To begin using this site you will need to activate your account via the email we have just sent to your address.” Go to your email and click the link.
7. This brings you to the “Account Activated” page that says “Your account is now active! Your account was activated successfully! You can now log in with the username and password you provided when you signed up.”
8. Technically, you’re done, but let’s have some fun. Click “The Junction” in the middle of the Navigation Bar at the top of the page. This brings you to a Login screen. Enter your Username and Password. Click the “Login” button.
9. Now it gets tricky. You might get one of those bugs we were talking about. It’s a page titled “The Junction” and says “This content is for Free Membership, Subscriber and Business members only.” There’s a “Register” button there but ignore it. Instead, click on the “Profile” option on the left-hand menu. This brings you to fun page you should personalize with both your favorite background as well as a profile picture.
10. Stay tuned for more exciting news on “The Junction.”

How To Pay For Your Subscription On-Line:

1. Go to MHFLSentinel.com and select “Subscribe” on the top navigation bar.
2. This should bring you to a page that says “Membership Checkout.” Under “Membership Level” it should say “You have selected the Subscriber membership level.” Underneath “The price of membership is $40.00 per Year” in smaller print is “Do you have a discount code? Click here to enter your discount code” Go ahead and click there if you have a discount code.
   2a) (For Discount Code’s Only) A Discount Code window pops up. Enter the discount code and hit “Apply”.
3. Go ahead and complete the remainder of the Payment Information. To change the Expiration Date you’ll need to hover the mouse over the numbers and a crop-down menu appears. You’ll notice the Discount Code automatically appears in the box underneath the CVV. Be sure to click the “Apply” button before you click “Submit and Check Out.”
4. Click “Submit and Check Out.” The word “Processing” will appear and then you will get a new window that says “Membership Confirmation.” This is you invoice and receipt. You can simply click “News” at the top of the page and it will return you to the newspaper.
5. This brings you to a page that says “You have successfully created your account! To begin using this site you will need to activate your account via the email we have just sent to your address.” Go to your email and click the link.
6. This brings you to the “Account Activated” page that says “Your account is now active! Your account was activated successfully! You can now log in with the username and password you provided when you signed up.”
7. Technically, you’re done, but let’s have some fun. Click “The Junction” in the middle of the Navigation Bar at the top of the page. This brings you to a Login screen. Enter your Username and Password. Click the “Login” button.
8. Now it gets tricky. You might get one of those bugs we were talking about. It’s a page titled “The Junction” and says “This content is for Free Membership, Subscriber and Business members only.” There’s a “Register” button there but ignore it. Instead, click on the “Profile” option on the left-hand menu. This brings you to fun page you should personalize with both your favorite background as well as a profile picture.
9. Stay tuned for more exciting news on “The Junction.”