Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Login Issues

Can't login to account

There are several steps you can take to ensure you are able to log in to your account:

1) Make sure you are entering your username and password exactly as they were when created.

This means same case, same spacing, same everything. This can be quite difficult on smartphones, since the keyboards are small and it's easy to press the wrong key. You might want to consider using the functionality in your phone or phone's browser to save the username and password so it doesn't have to be entered again.

2) Write down your username and password after creating your account.

Please make sure to write down your username and password and put them in a safe place - as well as the email address you used when signing up. This will save Jim and the tech team the time and trouble of having to look up your username or email, or reset your password.

3) Wrong login information stored in your personal browser settings.

Another possible issue is if your username or password were previously updated, and you use the feature provided in browsers to "Save your password for this site." If the login information in your browser is not updated, it will continue to display your old username and password in the login fields.

The way to fix this is to delete the old username/password saved in your browser for Macro Tides. Instructions on how to clear saved browser passwords can be found here: https://www.wikihow.com/Delete-Remembered-Passwords

The next time you visit the site, it will prompt you to enter your username and password again.

4) Accounts and IP addresses can be blocked.

Sometimes accounts and IP addresses are blocked manually by moderators for violating community guidelines. Spam and obvious trolling may be cause for accounts to be shutdown and IP addresses to be permanently blocked. If you have been blocked, you will have to contact us for appeal: https://www.macrotides.com/contact

5) If all else fails, reset your password.

You can reset your password using the "Reset Password" option on the Account page (https://www.macrotides.com/user). Enter your username or email address into the section titled "Reset Password," and an email will be sent with a one-time link to access your account and update your password.

How do I login on my mobile device?

All the same menu options shown on a desktop computer (including login, log off, and subscribe) are available on smart phones and tablets by clicking the hamburger menu in the upper left corner. It is known as a "hamburger" because of the three lines that make it look like a burger separated by two sides of a bun:

Once you click the menu, you'll see the same navigation menu items you would expect to see when on a desktop computer. From here, click "Login" (or whatever other link you're seeking), and you will navigate to the right location.

Unable to log in on multiple devices

There are no restrictions on your ability to log in to the site from your laptop, phone, tablet, etc. simultaneously. You can log in to as many as you like.

If you are having issues, there may have been a recent browser update that has caused a conflict for your stored site cookies. It is recommended to clear your browser cookies and cache on the device where you are having problems using the instructions noted below.

Another consideration is many mobile devices (iPad, iPhone, Android phone, etc.) will capitalize the first letter by default whenever typing a new phrase. This can be a problem if your password begins with a lowercase letter. Passwords are case sensitive, and if your device is entering the first character as an uppercase when it should be lowercase, login will be unsuccessful.

If these points do not resolve your issue, please contact us so we can investigate further.

Content Display/Access

Page format looks strange when visiting the site

Sometimes when we've rolled out new updates, your local browser cache may still have old versions of styling files stored on your computer. This can cause it to seem as though the website page looks "broken". To fix this, you'll want to clear your browser cache and cookies. Follow the instructions on these pages:

Using the link above for clearing browser cookies is an easy fix, but does have the unfortunate effect of removing browser cookies for all sites you visit. This means other sites where you have a saved login will require you to log in again.

If you want to be more selective and only remove cookies for Macro Tides, use this link instead for the "Clear browser cookies" option: https://www.lifewire.com/clear-cookies-for-one-site-4587347

Logged in but I cannot see subscriber content

You may notice your username is displayed in the upper left corner and you have an active subscription, but are unable to access subscriber content.

When this happens, the cookies in your browser have gotten corrupted or disconnected from your web session. This can sometimes occur after a browser updates to a new major version, or if a VPN or proxy service is used to connect to the internet. It has also been identified as a known issue with early versions of Apple iOS 13. (Note: If your Apple device is running a version older than iOS 13.2, please upgrade.)

For subscribers, use the "Regenerate browser cookies" option in your User Account to resolve the problem. Click the "Account" link at the top of this page when logged in, and then click the "Settings" tab. You'll see a button that will automatically reset all of your Macro Tides cookies. Click it once and should fix your issue. It is possible that you may need to log in again, but in most cases the fix is immediate.

If this option does not work, you can also use the instructions above to clear all of your browser cache and cookies.

Comment Questions

Cannot see comment after posting, or comment is displayed out of order after being edited

Similar to the above recommendation, this is a symptom of not having the latest content in your browser cache. Make sure to clear your browser cache and cookies as instructed above, and then reload the page.

How to navigate through comments

The image below shows different options available for navigating through comments on the site:

At the top of every comment thread are three choices:

  • The "Jump" menu will allow you to jump to any grouping of 10 comments in the thread.
  • The "Sort by" menu offers three choices. The default choice is "Newest", but if the value is changed it will be remembered the next time you visit:
    • Newest - sorts comments starting with the newest first
    • Oldest - sorts comments starting with the oldest first
    • Popular - sorts comments by number of hat tips, with the highest first
  • The "Refresh" button immediately loads the newest comments that have been posted since you last visited the page.

On each individual comment there is an additional option of a "Permalink", which is a direct link to the comment. By right-clicking the Permalink link and choosing to "Bookmark This Link", the comment will be added to your browser bookmarks for future reference.

Video in a comment will not play

The same issue as the items above. It is necessary to clear your browser cache and cookies. We are continually making updates to the site, and it is possible to run into a situation where your local browser has code that is out-of-sync with the latest updates on the website. Clear the cache and cookies, and reload the page.

When scrolling through comments a video continues to play

This is a known problem specifically with embedded videos from X/Twitter. After the video has been played, it will automatically restart if you continue to scroll down the page and load more comments.

Unfortunately there is no programming solution at this time, since X/Twitter does not provide us with the tools to control interactions with embedded videos. We have fixed this issue for YouTube, but we need X/Twitter to provide some better options for interacting with their videos.

The best option to avoid this from happening is to scroll back to the embedded video and manually stop the video from playing. Once this is done it will not autostart when more comments are loaded.

How to post an image in my comment

To post an image in your comment, it is necessary to use a third-party application such as Postimages, Imgur, Dropbox, iCloud, or another similar service, or reference a direct image URL from an external site.

Regardless of which method is used, the basic steps are the same. First, click the "image" icon on the text editor:

This will pop up the Image Properties window. In the Image Properties window, there are two pieces of information that must be provided. The "URL" where the image is located, and setting the "image size" to "Original Image":

If the image URL is of a proper format and has been added successfully, a portion of the image will be shown in the Preview window:

If everything looks good, click the "OK" button to close the Image Properties window. The image will be shown in the editor:

The specifics on how to obtain the image URL varies based on the tool used. Instructions for common options are included below:

TradingView

If you want to post a chart, the easiest option is TradingView. We have integrated their charting options directly in the site. It can be accessed by clicking the small chart icon in the lower right corner of any comment.

You don't need a TradingView account to create charts, but it does help if you want to store copies that you can easily access in the future. To create a basic chart, do the following:

  1. Go to TradingView.com.
  2. Search for the ticker you're looking to chart.
  3. Click the "See more on advanced chart" button on the home page for any ticker.
  4. Use the toolbar on the left to add features to your chart. You can also right click on the chart to modify settings, change the axis scaling, add multiple data sets, etc. There are many options available.
  5. Once the chart is to your liking, click the camera icon in the upper right corner, and select "Copy link to the chart image". The URL for the image location will be saved to your clipboard.
  6. Paste the URL directly into the text editor. Do not attempt to add it as an image, we automatically convert TradingView URLs into an image for display.
  7. Once the comment is saved, you will see the image on the page.

It's also worth mentioning you can perform all types of ratio and mathematical charts with TradingView. For example, if you wanted to chart Gold Futures vs. Platinum Futures, you could enter the ticker symbol of COMEX:GC1!/NYMEX:PL1! in the upper-left corner of the full chart page, which will plot the ratio of gold to platinum over time.

There are also calculated data sets available to be included on your charts, such as CPI ("CPIAUCSL"), Silver vs. Bitcoin ("XAGBTC"), etc.

Postimages

1) Go to the Postimages website: https://postimages.org/ If you plan to create images often, you might want to register for an account by clicking "Sign up". Otherwise, click the "Choose images" button or drag-and-drop an image:

2) After the image has uploaded, click the icon to the right of the "Direct link" row. This will copy the link so you can paste it:

4) Click the "Image" link where you type your comments (see an example above), and paste the link into the URL field. Click "OK" and the image will be displayed.

Imgur

1) Go to the Imgur website: https://imgur.com If you plan to create images often, you might want to register for an account by clicking "Sign up". If you already have an account you can click "Sign in". Otherwise, click "New post":

2) When "New post" has been clicked, you'll be taken to a page to upload your image. Either drag-and-drop your file, or paste the URL where the image is located on the internet:

3) After the file has been uploaded, hover over the image and click the "Copy link" button:

4) The last step can be a little challenging, so it's important to pay close attention.

The URL provided when clicking "Copy link" is a direct link to the page on the Imgur website. To have the image shown on Macro Tides, it is necessary to have a direct link to the image, not the page. The way to do this is prefix "imgur.com" with "i." and add a ".png" file extension to the end.

As an example, the image above has a direct link of https://imgur.com/577R87R. If it is clicked, the browser will be redirected to the Imgur website, which is not what we want. Instead, add "i." prior to "imgur.com" to make it "i.imgur.com", and add ".png" at the end of the URL. This is the change that's necessary:

Copy and paste the modified link into Macro Tides, and your image will be displayed on the site.

Dropbox

1) If not currently a Dropbox user, the first step is to create a Dropbox Basic account. Their Basic account is free and and requires no cost at any time: https://www.dropbox.com/register

Please be cautious, as Dropbox will display a lot of messages to try to make you think you need to upgrade to have full access. There is no need to pay for their service unless a large amount of storage space is needed.

2) Once logged in to the Dropbox account, click the "Upload" button in the upper right corner, and select "Files":

3) Select the image to upload and complete the upload process. Once the image has been uploaded, hover over it and click the "Share" button:

4) This will pop up a window. In the lower right corner of the window, select "Create a link":

5) After the link is created, click "Copy link" so it can be pasted elsewhere. Clicking "Copy link" will automatically add it to the clipboard for pasting:

6) One last step before adding the URL to Macro Tides is to replace the "dl=0" at the end of the URL with "raw=1". This switches the image from download ("dl") mode to display raw image ("raw") mode. If unsure about how to replace this part of the URL, it is described in more detail here: https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Photos-and-videos/How-to-get-url-with-jp...

7) Paste the final formatted URL into the Image Properties window, and it should display as expected.

iCloud

It is possible to create a Shared Album in iCloud, and then set the album to be available to public websites. From there, it is possible to access image URLs to add to a Macro Tides post.

Instructions on how to create an iCloud Shared Album can be found here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202786

External Site

Many websites have direct links to images that can be embedded into a website. Often these can be found by performing a search using Google Images (https://www.google.com/imghp), clicking the image to use, and then right clicking and choosing "Copy Image Location" in your browser. This will copy the URL to the clipboard, and can be pasted in the the Image Properties window on Macro Tides.

However, there are two extremely important notes about using this method:

  1. There must be authorization to publicly share and distribute the image. If there is not authorization to do so by the photographer and/or copyright owner, this is a violation of copyright laws.
  2. If Macro Tides is notified that a posted image is violating copyright laws, the commenter holds full responsibility for their actions.

See my image in the preview, but disappears once posted

If the image disappears after it has been posted, it is because the image is not in an acceptable format, or the source has not provided information for us to validate the image. We have automated filtering processes that hide such files from comments before they are displayed.

This is done because non-standard image formats can be used to transmit malicious code and deliver computer viruses. Your security is our highest priority, and we take our responsibility very seriously.

To ensure your images are always displayed, make sure they are valid images and have a common file extension, such as .jpg, .jpeg, .png, or .gif. We do not accept drag-and-drop images, images with no extension, and raw image data.

If you believe the image source is valid and secure, please contact us. We will investigate and determine if the source is a candidate to be added to our security whitelist.

How to I add an animated gif to a comment

Comments have support for animated gifs from GIPHY (https://giphy.com).

To add an animated gif to a comment, go to the GIPHY website, search for an image, choose "Copy link", and select the GIF link. If on a mobile device, click the "Tap & Hold to Share GIF" on the image, and then either "Tap & Hold to Copy GIF" or "Copy GIF Link". Both options are supported.

Once the URL has been copied to your clipboard, paste it into your comment on its own line. After the comment is saved, it will automatically be converted into an animated gif.

Embed media (YouTube, X/Twitter, etc.) into a comment

We allow embedded content from three sources: YouTube, X/Twitter, and Vimeo. In each case, simply copy the URL of the page and paste it into the comment. We convert the URL into an embedded video or tweet.

Do not attempt to use the "embed" features provided by any of these sites. The content will be stripped and not displayed, because we cannot verify the validity and security of it. Always use the URL of the page.

Blocking users

If you do not want to see comments posted by a particular user on the site, you can use the "mute" link. Click it once on a comment written by the user.

Once done, you will see a reference to future comments posted by the user, but you will never see the actual content. You can manage all your user blocks by visiting the "Flags" page in your user account. Users can also be unmuted by clicking the "unmute" link on a future comment.

Email Issues

Not receiving notification emails

When enabled on your account, you will receive notification emails whenever new content is posted. The emails are typically sent within one hour after the post is live.

In some instances, you may receive the emails for a period of time (possibly weeks or months) and then they will stop. This can happen if an internet service provider chooses to start classifying Macro Tides email as spam. Email classified as spam will be placed in the junk/spam folder, or possibly not deliver them at all.

We highly recommend checking your junk/spam folder to see if any Macro Tides emails are located there, and if there are, move them into your inbox. Moving them into your inbox will help notify email delivery service providers that Macro Tides emails should not be classified as junk.

As well, it is highly recommended to add info[at]macrotides[dot]com as a saved address in your email address book. This allows email delivery systems to recognize that Macro Tides emails are considered valid and should not be blocked.

If Macro Tides emails are still not being delivered after taking these steps, you may need to contact your internet service provider. They may have added Macro Tides to an internal blocking list, and it would be necessary to request them to have this block removed.

Technical Help

Information I should provide to have technical questions answered

Please take time to collect answers to each of the questions listed below, and then send us an email using the site Contact form. Make sure the responses to each question are included in your message. This will guarantee we can help you as quickly as possible.

  1. Device type and model (Dell laptop, iPad, iPhone, Samsung Galaxy smartphone, etc.)
  2. Operating system (Windows 11, Apple iOS, Android, Ubuntu 20.04, etc.)
  3. Internet browser and version number (Firefox 113.0.2, Chrome 116.0.5845.179, Microsoft Edge, etc.)
  4. Type of Internet connection (Mobile, Cable, T1, DSL, etc.)
  5. Which service provider you use to access the Internet (AT&T, Spectrum, Verizon, etc.)
  6. Region of the world you are located (preferably city/state)
  7. The exact steps taken which cause your issue. The more specific, the better. Tell us step-by-step what you clicked and the message that was displayed. If there were any error messages, copy and paste the exact text in the email. The more information we have, the more likely we will be able to respond.

Subscription Signup Issues

There are often some common problems that pop up when trying to complete the checkout process. We've added some of them here to help you.

Order keeps failing

There are several possible reasons. Usually the most typical problems are due to a mismatch of CVV/CID or postal code. For the CVV/CID, make sure the right numbers are being entered. If you need some extra help, check these pictures:

Visa®, Mastercard®, and Discover® cardholders: Turn your card over and look at the signature box. You should see either the entire 16-digit credit card number or just the last four digits followed by a special 3-digit code. This 3-digit code is your CVV number / Card Security Code.

American Express® cardholders: Look for the 4-digit code printed on the front of your card just above and to the right of your main credit card number. This 4-digit code is your Card Identification Number (CID). The CID is the four-digit code printed just above the Account Number..

The postal code entered when making a payment needs to match the postal code associated with the account. This may be different than the holder's mailing address. Please check card statements to verify the account's postal code.

No fields to enter credit card information

Our payment processor requires a secure and direct connection to process card payments. This can be an issue when using a proxy server or VPN service that either connects indirectly or displays content in a framed mode. Also, JavaScript must be enabled, and no browser extensions should be used on Macro Tides that can block payment processing traffic or the use of cookies.

If any of these situations exist, there is a high likelihood your connection will be blocked and your browser will not have the ability to display the credit card entry fields (card number, expiration date, CVV/CID code, postal code, etc.).

If you continue to have problems or none of these apply to you, please contact us so we can provide assistance.

Subscription start and end dates

If purchasing using the Subscribe page on the site, your subscription will start immediately. If sending payment by PayPal or postal mail, your account will be credited within 7-10 days after the payment has been received. If you have any questions make sure to contact us.

All purchases made through the site are set to be an automatic renewal by default, and you can cancel the renewal at any time. If you choose to cancel, your access will last throughout the full time of your original purchase. The end date of the subscription is based on the date of purchase and the length of the subscription: monthly or annual.

For more information, please read our Subscription & Cancellation Policy.

Site security for payments

Every page of the Macro Tides site is https secure. When in your browser, look for the "lock" icon in the address bar. You can click on this icon at any time, and will give you up-to-date information on the status of our SSL certificate. It will also notify you there is a "Secure Connection" for our site.

As well, the payment processor used for the site demands that all payment pages are https-compliant. Without this level of security, any payment attempt on Macro Tides would not be allowed to be processed.

Subscription Cancellations and Refunds

How to cancel a subscription

Perform the following steps to cancel your subscription:

  1. When logged in, click the "Account" link on the top menu bar.
  2. Click the "Subscriptions" tab after the page loads. This page displays all current and past subscriptions.
  3. Click the "cancel" link next to the subscription to be canceled. (Important: if you are using a mobile device, use your finger to scroll the table to the right to show the "Operations" column)
  4. Complete the cancellation form, and click the "Cancel Subscription Renewal" button when finished.

If you are having trouble, please use the contact form to let us know. Please note: Subscriptions will be canceled, but we do not completely delete or remove accounts unless requested. You will continue to have full access for the entire length of your original term of purchase.

For more information, please read our Subscription & Cancellation Policy.

How to receive a refund

You are not guaranteed a refund for any purchase. All refunds are done at the discretion of Macro Tides. Monthly memberships will not be refunded - simply cancel your subscription to avoid being billed for the next month. For annual memberships: if you are unhappy with your subscription purchase, you may request a refund for a pro-rated portion of your subscription up to 6 months into your subscription. If you abuse your paid account to spam the site or otherwise cause site problems, you will not be entitled to a refund.

For more information, please read our Subscription & Cancellation Policy.

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