You can explore the site without registering, but you'll only be able to view salons and salon topics. If you want to join salons, host your own salons, create new topics, set preferences, and add to your profile, you'll need to be registered.

It's easy to register: just click on Register near the top of every page, and then provide your name, email, and time zone (so you see all salon events in you local time), and choose an SS User nickname.
 
Choosing a nickname:
After you choose a nickname you won't be able to change it (for security, and other reasons) so you should choose your nickname carefully.
Because most salons will be 'live' and 'face to face', using your last name and initials, your first name and initials (and a distinguing number if necessary), or some variant of a name that at least seems real will preserve the sense this is a meeting of real people, like at a dinner party discussion. Calling yourself 'Blorpy_Mongo_Brain' might be something you regret as you meet more and more people in salons. Remember: you can't change your nickname after registering with it.
You'll soon be registered and logged in. You'll need to login again (but not register) when you return to the site at other times.

Whenever you go to a new page on the site you can hit the button in the top left for guided help about that page.

Lots of people will be gathering in salons to discuss many different topics. SS makes it easy to explore the topics of upcoming salons to find those that intrigue you the most. To learn details (comments, guests, and more) about a salon you see listed anywhere, click on the Details button associated with the salon in most listings.

Go to Upcoming Salons Go to the 'Quick Links' buttons just under the top menu. Clicking on will take you to the most recently scheduled salons, upcoming salons, most popular topics being discussed, and all new topics added recently.

Go to the Calendar will present a view of salon activity for the entire month. Click on the Details button on a day to see the salons for that day. This will show more details about that day's salons. Click on the Details button for a salon listing to learn more About that specific salon, and to join the discussion if you want.

Go to the Topic Browser The quick link button will take you to a page where you can explore all of the subject, categories, sub-categories, branches leading to every existing topic, or enabling you to add any new topic you want to discuss.

Go to the Search Page Click on Search (in the menu bar at the top of every page) to search for salons and topics involving specific keywords and subjects of interest to you. SS will present a list of all the categories, branches, topics, and salons, past and future, which have something to do with those search terms.

It's simple to join a salon that appeals to you: First, click on the Details button for a salon of interest in a listing or on the Calendar to see the details about that salon. To sign up to become a guest of that salon simply click on at the bottom of the salon details popup.

Another way to join a salon is by using the Topic Browser to find a Topic that interests you and then click on Join an upcoming salon discussing this topic to see a list of upcoming salons which you can join.

Note: All the salons shown on the lists and calendar are salons that you can join. Salons can't have more than 9 people, and the host may even specify a smaller upper limit. Once a salon is full it will no longer be shown on the calendar or lists, but you can always schedule a new salon with the same topics as past salons.

After you have joined the salon a notification will be sent to you with instructions and details about when and how the salon will happen (proably via MSTeams, Zoom, or Meet). You'll also be sent reminder notifications before the salon is scheduled to start.

Salons can have up to 9 people, and will typically last 1-3 hours. You'll have lots of opportunites to express your thoughts, ask questions, and actively participate in the discussion on the topic the salon host has chosen. There are no rules about sticking to the topic (that's mainly up to the host) and you can leave the salon at any time.

After you've attended a few salons you may want to schedule one of your own. You can choose from a wide variety of available topics, or create one of your own. Just click on , set a date and time, pick a topic, and you're done. Your salon will immediately show up on the calendar and upcoming salon listings.

As the date of your salon approaches SS Users who are interested in the subject will join. Hopefully you'll get your ideal number of guests. Everyone will be sent instructions on how to have a MSTeams, Zoom, or Meet meeting at the scheduled time. The person who schedules a salon is 'the host' for that salon. That gives them the right to guide the discussion if they wish. Guests can come and go, it may end quickly or go on for hours. That's up to the host and the guests.

That's really all you need to know to use SS as a tool for meeting people and having interesting discussions!

After you've participated in a few salons you should explore how to edit your profile, control your privacy, select favorite topics and guests you've met at salons, and other fun things. Read below for details...

This is the page you're looking at right now. You can always get here by clicking on Social Salons at the top of any page, or on How SS Works on the menu.

Click on FAQs in the top menu for answers to the most Frequently Asked Questions about every aspect of SS.

In the menu at the top left of every page you'll find . Click on that for easy to follow step by step instructions explaining every part of a page.

You'll find a button on every popup, such as Salon Details, SS User Details, and others. Clicking on this will give you a step by step explanation of every part of a popup.

If you hover the mouse over an element on the site you'll often see a Tool Tip like this showing up under the cursor. The tooltip will explain the purpose of that button, checkbox, or other element.

There are several categories of SS Users (relative to you), and you can always tell the category of a user by the background color:

•    
  (Pale Blue) - an SS User you have not met in a salon (that will be most SS Users)
•    
  (Gold) - an SS User who you have met in a salon which you both attended
•    
  (Bright Green) - an SS User you have met as a guest in a salon, and who you have designated as a 'Favorite Guest'
•    
  (Purple) - an SS User you have met, and who you would prefer to avoid in the future. This is someone you have added to your 'Guests to Avoid' list
•    
  (Tirquoise) - That is you!

Examples:

 

 

"Guests to Avoid":
 

The background color of salons in lists, on the calendar, and in Salon Details popups indicates if the salon has already happened or is upcoming, and whether you did/will attend, or did/will host the salon.

• Past, unattended A salon which has already happened, and which you didn't attend
• Past, attended A past salon where you were one of the guests
• Past, hosted A past salon which you hosted
• Green newly scheduled (on calendar only) - A new salon you have just scheduled
• Upcoming, can join An upcoming salon which you can join
• Upcoming, have joined An upcoming salon which you will be attending
• Upcoming, will host A salon which you have scheduled but hasn't happened yet

Examples:

 

 

In Social Salons the different levels used to specify the route to a topic are indicated by a spectrum of shades from Subject (broadest level) to Topic (most specific):
Subjects ➭ Categories ➭ Sub-cats ➭ Branches ➭ Topics
Any time a level is shown (in the Topic Browser, search results, or details), the background shade will indicate what level is being shown. For example:

Subjects

A Category

SubCat Detail

A Branch

Topic Detail

These are indicated by a green border around the item:
   

• - A button you should click on; the next thing you should do
• - The most likely button you want to hit after doing something
• - A normal button which you might use to do something
• - Usually for Cancel, to quit something without changes
• - Access to help for the page or popup
• - A button which is disabled because you aren't registered or logged in

1. Browse for upcoming salons to find ones which interest you:
   • Clicking on in the 'Quick Links' row under the top menu will take you to a page showing the main Subjects for all saved topics. Click on a Subject that interests you, then click on a Category within a subject, then a Sub-category within a Category, and finally click on a Branch within the Sub-categories. This will lead you to all the Topics under that Branch. Every Branch has at least one 'General' topic, but it may also have other topics which are appropriate for that Branch.
      

     If there is a topic that interests you, you can click on Join an upcoming salon discussing this topic and then select one in which you want to participate to discuss that topic. If there are no scheduled salons, or one that doesn't work for you, you can schedule one of your own by clicking on Schedule a salon to discuss this topic.

     
      
     
   • OR... Clicking on in the 'Quick Links' row under the top menu will take you to a page showing recently scheduled salons, all upcoming salons, the most popular topics being discussed, recently added topics, and a mini version of the Salons Calendar.

     Click on the Details button on a salon (recently scheduled and all upcoming salons) to learn about a specific salon. Or click on the Details button for a topic (newest and most popular), then click on Details for a salon in the list of 'Salons using this topic' which you'll see on the Topic Details popup.

     
      
     
   • OR... Click on on the 'Quick Links' row under the top menu. This takes you to a full size calendar showing upcoming salons you can join.
      
     
   • OR... Click on the Search item in the middle of the orange menu at the top of every page. This takes you to a page where you can either search subjects...categories, topics, and salons for keywords of interest to you.
      
     
2. Once you've found an interesting salon in a list or on the Calendar, click on the Details button on it to open the 'Salon Details' popup, which will look something like this:
    
   
    
   Notice the button at the bottom of the popup: .
    
   
3. Join the salon.

   Click on that button to join the salon.

   A popup will confirm that you've joined the salon, and a notification will be sent to you with details about when and how the salon will happen (proably via MSTeams, Zoom, or Meet), and how to use MSTeams, Zoom, or Meet to attend the salon at the scheduled time.

   You'll also be sent reminder notifications the day before, the morning of, and an hour before the salon is scheduled to start.

   
    
   
4. Participate in the salon conversation!

   Salons are restricted to no more than 9 people, and will typically last 1-3 hours, so you'll have lots of opportunites to express your thoughts, ask questions, and actively participate in the discussion on the topic the salon host has chosen. How closely the discussion has to stick to the topic will be up to the host. You can leave the salon at any time.

The five steps described above show the simplest and quickest way to schedule a salon. However, when you're filling in the popup to schedule your salon you also might want to:

1. Specify your preferred salon type: MSTeams/Zoom/Meet, Text-Chat, or In-person
   
   
   If you select 'In-Person' salon you'll need to provide the physical address where people will meet for the salon discussion:
   
2. Change the language from English (the default) to the one you prefer.
   
3. Add comments about what you want to focus on, videos guests should watch before the salon, articles they should read, etc. Because there can be many salons on the same topic, these comments allow the host to specify what aspect of the topic will be the focus of the discussion, how the salon will be conducted, what the goal of the salon will be in terms of conclusions, questions answered, etc. These comments will be shown in the salon details popup, and will help potential guests decide if this a salon they'd like to join.
   
4. Let people know how long you want the salon to last, and how many guests you hope to have.
   
   These are usually fairly flexible (the host can specify minimum and maximum targets) but they indicate the ideal situation the host has in mind.
5. If desired, set restrictions on age, gender, and content
   
    
   Age and Gender
   It's perfectly reasonable for a host to want to restrict the members of the salon to people of a similar age range (eg. young people or seniors), or gender (eg. a women-only discussion) so the guests can talk openly about issues they all share in common. In fact, if there is an age or gender restriction SS Users who don't meet the requirements won't even be shown the salon in their Calendar or Lists.
   Note: If you have not entered your age or gender info in your SS User Profile you will not be shown any salons with these restrictions. This is why it's good to enter this info. And remember, you can control who can see this information . Even if no one can see your age or gender, SS can still use that info to determine which salons you will be shown.
    
   Restricted Content
   
   SS has no censorship rules. Anything can be discussed. But potential guests should be warned about sensitive content, and allowed to screen salons on that basis. SS classifies three types of sensitive content:
   'X-rated' Explicitly sexual content of any kind. If guests are likely to be having either highly explicit erotic discussions or even medical discussions of a sexually explicit nature, this restriction needs to be checked.
   'Non-PC' When this is checked guests can use any language they want to discuss any subject they want, regardless of whether or not it is 'Politically Correct'. SS Salons are only attended by a small group of people, and this content will not be broadcast or seen by people who find this language and these subjects offensive. But the host needs to check this restriction if 'Non-PC' subjects and language will come up.
   'Emotional' SS Users may want to discuss traumatic experiences, very depressing subjects, and other highly emotional content. They may end up crying, screaming, or having other emotional outbursts. That's fine, as long as the host has checked the 'Emotional' restriction so other potential guests are either not shown these salons at all, or are at least aware of this possibility.
    
   Notes:
   1) It is incumbent on the host to check these restrictions if these kinds of content are likely. If a host has not checked a restriction and a guest expresses this kind of content, the host can kick the guest out of the salon immediately.
    
   2) By default, an SS User's profile has the option to view salons with restricted content UN-checked . The only way an SS User can even see these kinds of salons in their Calendar or Lists is if they edit their profile, and consent to see and be able to join salons with this kind of content. The act of checking these options to see these restricted salons implies the guest has no right whatsoever to complain in any way about what is said or what happens when they attend these salons.
6. Invite specific SS Users you've met at previous salons
   If you've met great guests a previous salons and you want them to come to a new salon you schedule, or if you are having, say, weekly salons with friends, you probably want to invite the same guests to each salon. When you click on this will pop up:
    
   
   You can only select from SS Users you have already met in previous salons . Spaces in your salon will be reserved for 12 hours by defalt, but you can change this. When this time expires anyone can take the spaces (until the salon is 'full' - has reached your maximum number of guests). SS will automatically send notifications to the SS Users on your invite list, but be aware that those users must have set the preference to allow this kind of notification (it is on by default, but they might turn if off if they're getting too many notifications).
   Finally, if you repeat a past salon at a time in the future, the guests from that salon will automatically be added to the invite list. This makes it easy to have salons with the same group of friends on a regular basis.
7. These are the main options when scheduling a salon. For details on other options, click on when on the Schedule A New Salon page .

Note: The best way to learn how to use the 'Schedule A Salon' page is by clicking on which is located on the left of the menu at the top of every page.

It's great to have several people participating in a salon so that more viewpoints can be heard, and for a more interesting conversation. That's why it's good to invite people to a salon, either one you have scheduled, or one you have joined. You can use the following methods to invite people:

1. If you're scheduling the salon yourself, you can use the 'Invite Guests To Your Salon' feature on the Schedule a New Salon page. Go to the "How to Schedule a Salon" section of this help page for detailed instructions on how to do this. Also note that if you check 'Notify my Favorite Guests' at the bottom of the Schedule a New Salon page, this will send all your favorite guests a notification (not a formal invitation with reserved spaces) that you are having a salon on the topic you've chosen.
2. After you have scheduled a salon, or if you've joined a salon, you will receive an email from SS which will include the following instructions:
    
   To invite friends to join this salon, you can send this info to them:
    .
   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.
   To join a salon on the topic:.
       [Topic name will be here].
   go to this link: [link to salon #xyz] to view details for Salon #xyz.
   When you see the salon details, click on the 'Join this Salon' button at the bottom,.
   and then a 'Registration or Login Needed' popup will appear..
   If you are registered with Social Salons you simply have to click on Login, enter your.
   login ID and password, click on the Login button, and then click on 'Join this Salon' again.
   If you haven't registered yet, click on Register Now, enter your registration info, .
   click on 'Finish Registration', then click on the 'Join this Salon' button again.
   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
   You can copy that entire block and email it to friends who are either already members of SS, or who haven't registered yet. This will encourage them to check out your salon and hopefully join it.
3. If you have seen a good YouTube or listened to an interesting audiocast that you'd like to discuss with others, you can put a link to Social Salons in the comment section. If you've already scheduled a salon for the topic you can include the link to the salon too (eg. https://socialsalons.org/Cal.php?yr=24&mo=05&SalID=664 where yr=24&mo=05 are the year and month of your salon and SalID=xyz is the ID number of your salon )
4. Of course, it always helps to simply mention SocialSalons.org to people you think might be interested in the concept. You can then tell them to click on the calendar and find the salon you'll be hosting on the day you've scheduled it. Hopefully this will inspire them to register with SS and then join your salon.

The host is responsible for creating the salon on the specified video or chat service, and for inviting the guests. Although this is a crucial task, SS makes it easy to do by providing clear and simple instructions in an email message sent soon before the salon will begin.

1. Create the meeting based on the salon type
   15 minutes before the salon is scheduled to begin SS will send the host an email with detailed instructions on how to create a meeting of the type specified (MSTeams, Zoom, Google Meet)
2. Invite the guests who have joined the salon
   The same SS email will include a list of email addresses of the SS Users who have joined the salon, along with clear instructions on how to send invitations to those guests so they can join the meeting. Each service has slightly different procedures for doing this, but the instructions make it a quick and easy process that only takes a few minutes. Salon guests will have been notified about the upcoming salon and will be instructed to be ready to receive invitations from the host a few minutes before the salon begins
3. Introduce the topic to be discussed
   The host can welcome everyone and decide when to start the salon (wait for all guests to join, or not). Since the host chose the topic and may have added comments, the host can introduce the topic and describe what direction the discussion should take.
4. Moderate and guide the salon as necessary.
   There are no rules about how to conduct the salon; it's all up to the host. But because it was the host who set up the salon, the guests should defer to the host in terms of how to run the salon and guide the discussion. If someone isn't happy with how the salon is going, they can always leave and schedule their own salon on the same topic.
5. End the salon
   Since the host created the meeting on the video service, it will be up to the host to end it, hopefully with the agreement of all the guests. If some guests want to continue the discussion it will be quite easy to immediately schedule another meeting to start right away.
6. Respond to a post-salon survey (optional, but very helpful!)
   A few hours after the salon ends SS will send an email to the host and all the guests inviting them to answer a few questions about the salon, the topic, and so on. Responding to the survey is optional, but it certainly will be helpful to SS!

1. Every salon has to start with a topic to discuss, and every topic has to be associated with at least one salon (the one which first discusses the topic), Because of this, you can only create a topic while scheduling a salon.
   Note that after creating a topic it may end up being used again in many other salons, but it only has to be created once, for the first salon where it will be used.

   To reduce the number of topics salon hosts have to sift through, and to prevent repetitive, almost identical topics, it's best to try to find an existing topic that's close enough to the subject you want to discuss . But if you've searched the existing SS topics and didn't find one close enough to what you want, you can create a new one.

2. With the 'Schedule a Salon' popup open, click on
3. Enter a brief summary of the topic, or a specific name. This is the text that will appear in topic lists, so it should be concise. Often this will be a question, but it doesn't have to be. The full text of the summary/name will show up as a tool tip when the mouse floats over the topic, but note: only the first 45 characters of the brief summary/name will be visible in a topic list, so put the main idea of the topic in the first few words. For example, a topic might be "Is quantum computing hype realistic?".
    
   Here are a few more examples:
    
   Good topics:
   • ---------|---------|---------|---------|----- = 45 characters
   • Homelessness and how to solve it.
   • Should schools enforce discipline more than they do now?
   • Is social networking/media harmful to society?
   • How to have civil discussions between polarized groups
   • High density urban development - the pros and cons
   
   Bad topics:
   • 'Life', or 'Animals', or 'Science'
     Problem: Far too broad, must be more specific
      
     
   • "I want to talk about a thing a guy told me about that I think is totally unbelievable; namely, that UFOs are actually time travellers."
     Problems:
     1) Personal preamble totally unnecessary, don't include 'I want to discuss...', 'I'm curious about...', 'I think that...', etc.
     2) The main point of the topic is at far end, not visible at all in lists. In a list this will appear as 'I want to talk about a thing a guy told me ab' which shows nothing about the topic.
     A much better way to write this topic is:
     'Are UFOs time travellers?'
      
     
   • Napoleon is considered a hero by most French people but his conquests aren't all that different from those of Hitler, who most people think of as a terrible villan. So the question is, should Napoleon be considered a glorious hero who brought many benefits to the world or a egomanical tyrant?
   
   Problems:
   1) Obviously way too long
   2) The main point of the topic is at far end, not visible at all in lists.
   A much more concise version of this topic is:
   'Napoleon: civilizing hero or egomaniacal tyrant?'
    
   
   • Poopy pants are stinky
     Problem: Please, for the sake of the entire SS community, no ridiculously stupid topics!
      
     
   • I don't know what to talk about
     Problem: Please think of a topic to get a discussion started. Would you walk up to someone at a party and say this?
      
     
4. Enter a full description - This is where you can write a lot more about the topic. A more detailed desciption, the nuances to consider, references to articles and videos, etc. This will show up when a click on the topic Details opens up the topic details popup. For example:
    
   We are hearing so much about quantum computing and how transformational it will be... It sounds simlar to the hype around blockchain, and where has that gone? Does the reality of quantum computing match the hype? See 'Quantum Computing: The Next Frontier Or A Hype-Filled Bubble?' (https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/02/27/quantum-computing-the-next-frontier-or-a-hype-filled-bubble/?sh=201ea78f6d03)
    
   
5. Select a branch for the new topic - Every topic must have a path to a branch. You can't enter a branch directly; you need to navigate to one from the list of existing subjects, categories, and sub-categories. Select the most appropriate subject, such as Technology and Engineering, then a category (eg. Computer Science), then a sub-category (eg. Quantum Computing), then the branch (Hype)... Finally, click on 'Use this branch for your new topic' to select that branch. The more accurate and appropriate the branch you select, the easier it will be for SS Users to find the topic.
    
   
    
   

First, for a regular SS user the home page is not all that useful, so it's probably best to click on and bookmark that page. This page is where a daily or weekly routine should begin.

1. Go to the SS home page, then click on (or click on your bookmarked link to 'Upcoming Salons'), and then Login by clicking on in the top right
2. If you visit this page often, you may have already browsed All upcoming salons (bottom left corner) to get an overview of salons in the future. In this case it will be more fruitful to check Recently posted salons since these will be the newest salons that have been posted recently. You can adjust how many recent days are shown by changing the number in the Salons posted in the last X days : If you visit this page every couple of days you might set this to 2 or 3 since you've already seen salons posted more than 3 days ago. If you visit once a week, set this to 7 or 8 to see new salons posted in the last week.
   Note: although these salons were posted recently (date/time shown on far left), they may be scheduled days, weeks, or months in the future (date shown to the right of the date posted). As always on the SS Site, click on the Details button for a salon in the list to see details about any salon .
3. If you want to see the latest (past few weeks) most popular topics that are being discussed in salons, check the list in the top right corner. Click on the Details button for a topic to get details, including a list of salons which have/will discuss that topic.
4. Like Recently posted salons , the Recently Added Topics shows the newest topics that salon hosts have created for their salons. If you've explored the SS site frequently and thoroughly you may be familiar with many of the older topics on the site. This is a list of newer topics you might find interesting.
5. Click on to review your upcoming salon commitments, either as a host or guest. You can also get a similar overview by clicking on and browsing the current and upcoming months to find gold (attending) and coral (hosting) days.
6. Click on for an overview of all salon activity, past, today, and in the future. This is a good way to see if there are interesting salons on days when you have spare time (all days and times are shown in your local time).
    
   On any calendar day you can float the mouse over any time/brief description to see the full text of the description of that salon's topic. If you want more detail about the salons on any day, click on the Details button on that day to get an easy to view pop-up summary of the day's salons. Click on the Details button on a row for salon details, or click on the host nickname for info about the host. to see the host's profile.
Hide

Note: All personal information (except your email, SS Nickname, and time zone) is optional However if you add your age and gender (they can be kept hidden from everyone) you can then join salons with age and gender restrictions. And if English is not your strongest language you'll want to change that since it is the default language for everyone.

If you have not entered any personal information, or if you have decided to keep it all private, then any SS User clicking on your nickname in various contexts will only see your nickname and a generic profile image. It's more in the SS community spirit to reveal a little more about yourself, such as an image (it doesn't have to be a photo, it can be any image you choose to represent yourself), your city and/or country, and other harmless details about yourself. You can reveal even more to SS Users you have designated as your 'Favorite Guests' since these aren't complete strangers - they can only be chosen from people you've met in one or more salons.

• First, you must be logged in. Then click on in the top right of any page on the SS site to add and change profile details. The Personal Information section, at the top of the Edit Profile page is where you enter your personal information. You can control which information here is visible (or not) to others by setting preferences further down on the page.
   
  
• Your Picture All pictures will be compressed to 160 pixels high x 120 pixels wide, so keep that in mind when you upload a picture. This means if you upload a huge landscape with a tiny image of you standing in the middle, you will be microscpic in your profile picture.

  Of course, 'your picture' can be whatever kind of image you want. People will see the real you when you attend salons anyway.

  As usual, you can set preferences on who can see your picture.

To upload a picture, first click on Choose File, then select the picture you want to use. Next, click on to upload the picture and replace the current image. Remember: You must click on one of the buttons before you leave the page if you want your changes (including your new image) to be saved .
 


• Your Real Name You can choose whether this will be visible to no one at all, only your favorite guests, or to everyone (it's intially set to 'no one', but you can change that in your preferences - see next section).
   
  
• Nickname You set this when you registered, and it can't be changed now. This is to prevent people from changing their SS identities for deceptive reasons.
   
  
• Your Email Address This is needed for confirming your identity and to contact you with notifications about salons you will be attending. SS will never be give it, sell it, or otherwise share it with anyone or any business.

  You can choose whether this will be visible to no one at all, only your favorite guests, or to everyone (it's intially set to 'no one', but you can change that in your preferences).
   
  

• Your City and Country If you ever want to join in-person salons SS will need to know your city and country. You will only be shown in-person salons which take place in your city. To broaden your opportunities to attend in-person salons it's best to refer to your city by the main metropolitain area name (eg. San Francisco) rather than the strictly accurate suburb name (eg. Daly City). You can keep this info hidden if you want, but it's not much of a privacy risk if you permit this info to be visible to other SS Users since you aren't providing a specific street address. Your country is needed because sometimes various countries have cities with the same name.
   
  
• Your Time Zone Modify your time zone if it has changed since the time when you registered. Your time zone is needed so that all salon schedules are shown in your local time. Corrections for Daylight Savings Time are done automatically so there's no need to adjust your time zone for this - BUT if this correction is needed, make sure you've selected a time zone that shows two time offsets (eg. -7/-6 Mountain Time) so it will make the DST corrections.

  If you aren't sure of your time zone, click on to open a map of the world showing time zones. If a popup blocker prevents the link from opening, you can go to https://www.timeanddate.com/time/map/ directly.
   
  

• Your Gender and Age If you want to join age or gender restricted salons you'll have to select your gender and enter your age. If you don't enter info here you will not be shown any salons which have male/female and/or age restrictions . As usual, this info can be kept hidden from all SS Users if you wish.
   
  
• Your Mini-Biography/Comments This is your opportunity to describe yourself or your philosophy of life, or anything else to those you have permitted to see this information.
   
  
• Links, Social Media Enter your personal website, social media contact info, business website, or any other links which you want to share according to your preferences. To enter a link click on the button. To remove a link, click on it, then on the button which will appear.
   
  
• Your Languages These are languages you would be comfortable (ie. fairly fluent) to use in a salon. Salons will be shown in your calendar and other lists based on their language matching one of the languages you are comfortable speaking in a discussion. To add a language click on To remove a language from the list, double-click on the name of the language to select it, then hit .
   
  
• Save your profile/preference settings before leaving the page Changes you make to your profile (including changing your picture) will NOT be saved until you click on a button!

  To cancel changes hit the button to the left.

Although you can use the SS site without setting any preferences, it's best if you do take advantage of the preferences features for many reasons:

• to control what profile details other SS Users can see
• to limit the number and kinds of notifications SS can send you
• to control what kind of salons (based on their content) will be shown to you
• so you can be notified when favorite topics are being discussed
• to select 'Favorite Guests' who can see more of you profile info and who you can contact
• to designate 'Guests to Avoid' so you won't overlap with these people at any salons

• Click on in the top right of any page on the SS site to go to the page where you set preferences and add profile details
• Go to the 'Your Preferences' section in the middle of the page, below where you enter profile details
• Set what details of your profile you will allow to be shown, and to whom
  By default, all of your profile details (info which you have entered in the 'Personal Information' section (above 'Your Preferences') are hidden from everyone. After you've filled in some personal info (your city and country, age, gender, photo, etc) you might want to share some of it with all SS users, or only your 'Favorite Guests'.
   
  The first section of Preferences deals with visibility of profile info:
   
  
  Click on one of the three buttons at the top of this section to see:
  1) All of your profile information, which, by default, is only visible to you .
  2) Profile info visible to people you've designated as 'Favorite Guests ' (see below). These are people who have been guests at salons you have attended, so you have already 'met' them and can trust them with more info than you might want to reveal to all SS Users.
  3) How your profile would appear to SS Users who you have never met in a salon.
   
  You control visibility by selecting among the options in the table below. Change some of Those options then click on a button above to see how the changes affect your profile appearance.
• Set your notification preferences
   
  
  • When you join or host a salon you will normally be notified about that salon a) the day before it's scheduled to happen; b) the morning it will happen; c) one hour before it will happen.
    You can turn off any or all of these notifications, but for goodness sake please don't forget to attend the salon - especially if you are the host!
  • Fav Topics: you can be notified if a salon based on one of your favorite topics has been scheduled
  • Added to Fav Guests: A notification to let you know someone has added you to their 'Favorite Guests' list
  • SS User Contact Info: People who you have 'met' in a salon can send you their contact info if you have this notification enabled
  • Salon Notifs: When someone schedules a salon they can notify you of their new salon (but only if you have been a guest at one of their previous salons).
  • Salon Invites: The host of a newly scheduled salon can 'invite' you to join the new salon. This is more than just a notification; it's a request for you to join the salon, with a space reserved for you for a limited time. For example, this feature would be used for a recurring group that gets together for salons on a regular time schedule.
  • Salon Email, use SS Relay: If you host a salon and want people to be able to contact you in advance, but you don't want to post your email publicly, SS can relay messages to your private email address. This isn't so much a notification setting as it is a default setting for salon hosting.
• Set your preferences for which salons to be shown
   
  
  • Show All Salons in Calendar and Lists

    When viewing the Salons Calendar and Salon Lists with this setting you will see all salons which you can or could join (this means salons without restrictions you don't meet, such as age and gender). This might be overwhelming if there are too many salons to sort through. The Calendar and Salon Lists allow you to adjust these settings temporarily but they will start with the settings you have chosen here.

  • Show Salons With Topics on Favorites List

    With this setting Salons will be screened to match the categories and topics on your favorites list (see below). The Calendar and Salon Lists allow you to adjust these settings temporarily but they will start with the settings you have chosen here.

  • Filter Salons by Type

    Most people will be interested in Video (MSTeams, Zoom, and Meet) salons, but if you want to see Text-Chat salons and In-person salons (screened to match your city and country) you can check these settings. The Calendar and Salon Lists allow you to adjust these settings temporarily but they will start with the settings you have chosen here.

  
  NOTE: IF YOU CHECK ANY OF THE FOLLOWING THREE BOXES, YOU ARE CONSENTING TO BE SHOWN THIS TYPE OF SALON. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. THIS IS YOUR CHOICE
   
  
  • Show Salons Which May Have X-rated Content - Some salons might be discussing explicitly sexual subjects. By default you will not be shown these salons in your calendar and other lists. If you want to see these types of salons, you must check this option.
  • Show Salons Which May Have 'Politically Incorrect' Content - Some salons might be discussing subjects and using language that is not 'politcally correct'; for example: racist, sexist, and other '-ists'. By default you will not be shown these salons in your calendar and other lists. If you want to see these types of salons, you must check this option
  • Show Salons Which May Have Highly Emotional Content - Some salons might be discussing very sensitive subjects which might involve traumatic emotions. By default you will not be shown these salons in your calendar and other lists. If you want to see these types of salons, you must check this option.
• Select your favorite categories and topics
   
  
  Your Favorite Categories and Topics

  Some categories and topics will probably be of more interest to you than others. This is where you can create a list of those Cats & Topics which can be used for screening the salons shown to you on the Calendar and salon lists (see above).

  To add a category or topic, click on Add a Category/Topic and select from the lists you will be shown.

  To remove a topic/category click on the topic so the Remove Category/Topic button appears, then click on the button.

• Designate some SS Users you've met at salons as 'Favorites' or 'To Avoid'
   
  
  
  • Favorite Guests List

    As you attend salons you will have discussions with some very interesting people who you may want to add to your 'Favorite Guests List'. If they also add you to their Fav Guests list each of you will be able to see more info in your profiles, and you can send them your contact info (if they allow that kind of notification). This part of your profile shows your current Fav Guests and enables you to add more and remove some if you wish.

  • Add SS User to Favorite Guests

    Press this to open a popup which will list all the SS Users who have been at the same salons that you have attended ('SS Users You Have Met'). You can only add SS Users you have met in a salon to your Favs list.

    Click on the SS User's Nickname to see the profile info they have chosen to show to others.

    To add an SS User to your Fav list, click once on the nickname to select it, then click on the Add Selection to Favs button.

    To remove an SS User from your Favs list, click on the SS User's nickname in the list shown on your profile. When you do this, the Remove button will appear. Clicking on this will remove that person from you Favs list.

  • SS Users to Avoid List

    You may also meet people in salon discussions who you would prefer not to meet again, for various reasons.

    SS Users on this list will not be able to see anything more than your nickname when they view your profile, they will not be able to join a salon you have already joined or are hosting, and you will not be shown any salons which they are hosting or have already joined (so you can't accidentally join those salons).

  • Add SS User To Avoid

    Like with the Add Fav Guests procedure, this will open a popup listing SS Users who have been at the same salons as you (you can't designate someone as a 'SS User to Avoid' unless you have met them in a salon). The steps are the same as for adding a Fav Guest.

• Save your profile/preference settings before leaving the page Changes you make to your profile (including changing your picture) will NOT be saved until you click on a button!

  To cancel changes hit the button to the left.

• Choosing MSTeams, Zoom, Google Meet, or Text-chat services:
  Go to the SS Guide to Salon Types for a detailed comparison of the different video meeting services and instructions on how to use them.
   
  
• Why is Facetime not available as an option: - Apple restricts Facetime so that only Apple customers can send invitations to Facetime meetings. Since most internet users around the world are not Apple customers this restriction means Facetime is not an option in the SS system.
   
  

• SS User's nicknames appear on the guests lists of any salon visible to you. Click on the Details button for the salon to see the guest list, then dbl-click on their nickname to see their profile details. If they have chosen to make their email and/or social network contacts visible to you in their profile, then you can use that info to contact the person.
   
  
• If the person is someone you have met in a salon, you have the option to send your own contact into to that person. Open details for the salon you both attended (or any salon where their nickname is on the guest list), or alternatively, they will be in the list of 'SS Users You Have Met ' on your profile/preferences page. Dbl-click on their nickname to open their profile details, and click on the button at the bottom. Note: this button is only visible if you have met the person in a salon; this option is not available for SS Users you haven't met in a salon.
   
  When you click on that button SS will automatically send the person your contact info (your email address). If the person has selected to receive this kind of notification they will get your email and can reply if they wish. If they don't reply it could mean they have "contact info" notifications turned off.
   
  
• Meet the person in a salon. This is the most direct way to contact a person! If you see the person attending a salon which interests you, join that salon and you should end up meeting the person when the salon takes place.
   
  

• Whenever you see details about an SS User, Subject, Category, SubCat, Branch, or Topic you'll see a button similar to:
  Add this _____ to my Favs
  When you click on this the item will be added to your "Favorites" list.
  For subjects, categories, subcategories, branches and topics this means:
  • it will have a green border around it so it stands out
       
  • it will be available on the "Favorites list" on the Topic Browser page for quick access
  • you can choose to "follow" the item, meaning be notified when a new salon based on a favorite has been scheduled (except for Subjects, which are too broad)
  
  For SS Users, this means:
  • when the user appears in a list, or details are shown, the background color will be bright green:
    
  • the user can see more of your profile info (depending on your preference settings)
  
   
  
• In many contexts if you are viewing a "favorite" the button shown above will become:
  Remove this ______ from my Favs
  Clicking on this button will remove the item from your favorites list.
   
  
• Your "Guests to Avoid" list - the opposite of your "favorites" list
  At some salons you might encounter guests who, for one reason or another, you want to avoid in the future. When you put these SS Users on your 'SS Users to Avoid' list they will not be able to see any of your profile info except for your publicly visible SS Nickname. On their calendar and other salon lists they will not see any salons you did/will attend or did/will hosted, and you will not be shown or able to join any salon they are hosting or have already joined.
   
  "Guests to Avoid":
   
   
  

The search page enables you to search for keywords that might lead you to interesting catgories, topics, salons, and profiles. For example, you might want to search for Categories and Topics that mention 'health', or you could search profiles for people that live in the same city as you. Or you might want to search all salons for host or guest comments mentioning 'Dawkins' to find discussions related to evolutionary biology.

• Click on the Search button in the middle of the orange menu at the top of every page.
• The main type of searching is key word or phrase searching , done from the main search page:
  • Search Word or Phrase - Enter a word, phrase, nickname, country name, or other keyword to search for. A phrase (words separated by spaces) will be searched for exactly as it is entered, so don't insert extra spaces between words.

    Another way to use this is to search for a Salon, Category, or Topic by its ID number (you'll see this at the top the popup you see when you click on the Details button for a Salon, Category, or Topic). In this case you just enter the number in the search box and then check the appropriate # checkbox below.

    Note: If you want to go back to a salon, topic, or category, or refer it to a friend, it's easier and more precise to note the item's ID number (eg. "Topic #57")rather than having to use an explanation such as "It's the one having something to do with..."

  • Checking 'Whole Word ' means, for example, that a search for 'art' will only return cases where that exact word is present. If this is un checked text with words such as 'heart ' or 'art ist' will also be returned.
  • Checking 'Match case ' means a search for 'National' will return text with 'N ational' but not text with 'n ational'. If this is un checked text with all versions of 'national' with or without captialization will be returned.
  • Topic # - Enter the topic number in the search box and check this box to display that specific topic, and then click on the Details button for the topic to see details. This feature can't be used with any other search criteria
  • Search Topic Info - Topics have a title and a brief description. Either or both of these can be searched for your keyword(s).
  • Category # - Enter the category number in the searrch box, then check this box to display only that specific category. Click on the Details button for the category shown to see the details about that category. This feature can't be used with any other search criteria
  • Search Category Info - Categories have a very short title (the name), a short description (what you see in the tool tip when the mouse floats over category name), and a much longer description explaining what the category should encompass. For search purposes both the short and long descriptions are combined in the single category of 'Descriptions'.
  • Salon # - Enter the salon number in the search box and then check this box to display that specific salon. Click on the Details button for the listing to see that salon's details. This feature can't be used with any other search criteria
  • Search Salon Info - The searchable text in salons is the Topic title, the Host comments written when the salon was created, and Guest comments written before or after the salon took place. Each or all of these can be searched for the keyword(s).
  • Search Salon City - In-person salons need to specify the city in which they will be held. Searching for your city is a quick way to find local in-person salons you might want to join.
  • Search Nicknames of SS Users You Have Met - You will only be allowed to search through the nicknames of SS Users you have met earlier in one or more salons. This is to protect the privacy of the many SS Users you haven't met in a salon.
  • Note : SS User info can only searched, and info returned, for:
    1) SS Users you have met in a salon
    AND
    2) information that those SS Users have permitted to be visible to all SS Users (or to you if you are on that person's 'Favorite Guests' list).
    All other SS User info is private and not searchable.
  • Search Names of SS Users You Have Met - If you want to contact or quote someone you met in a salon you might want to know their real name rather than just their SS nickname. Or you may recall their name being mentioned in the salon, but you don't know what nickname they go by.
  • Search the Bios of SS Users You Have Met - If you meet the SS User's privacy settings and their Bio info would be visible to you, you can search through that info. For example, you could search for 'Engineer' if someone you met has mentioned that in their Bio
  • Search Cities and Countries of SS Users You Have Met - This could be a way to find salon guests you've met who live in your city (you may have to make sure the country matches too). As always, this depends on their privacy settings and/or whether you are on their Fav Guest list.
  • Search Results - In general, click on the Details button on a result row to see the details of a Topic, Category, Salon or SS User returned in the search.
    In the case of Topics and Categories the Use Count indicates the popularity of the topic or category.