Salon Premium: Frequently Asked Questions
Benefits
What is Salon Premium?
What content and features does Salon Premium offer?
You said Premium subscribers may still see some types of ads on the site -- like what?
Is Salon Premium offered on PDAs or wireless devices?
How do I get Salon Premium on my PDA or wireless device?
Does Table Talk come with Salon Premium?
If I'm a current subscriber to one of the magazines that you're offering, can I still get the subscription?
If I live outside of the United States can I still receive the magazine subscriptions?
What kind of Salon Premium account comes with a WELL membership?
Pricing and billing
How much does Salon Premium cost?
What types of credit cards may be used to purchase a Salon Premium subscription?
I'm nervous about sending my credit card information across the Internet -- how secure is it?
May I purchase a Salon Premium subscription with cash?
I live outside the United States. How can I purchase a Salon Premium subscription?
How do renewals work?
What is your cancellation policy?
Can I give Salon Premium as a gift?
May I sample Salon Premium on a trial basis before paying?
If I sign up for a monthly subscription, can I convert to an annual subscription?
Using Salon Premium
I notice that your site uses cookie technology. What does this mean?
May I save my username and password so I don't need to enter them each time I visit?
Can I use my subscription from more than one computer -- say, at work and at home?
I'm a subscriber, I'm logged in and I'm still seeing the ads, and/or I can't access Premium content. What gives?
How do I log out?
Do you have an RSS feed?
Privacy
What's your privacy policy?
I entered my name and address when I registered. How will you use that information?
Username, password and subscriber preferences
I've forgotten or lost my password. What do I do?
Can I re-use my username and password from Table Talk or The WELL for Salon Premium?
What if I made a mistake during the subscription process?
How can I change my password?
How can I change the e-mail address associated with my Premium account?
What if I have a question that isn't answered here?
What is Salon Premium?
Salon Premium is a subscription service which provides instant access to all of Salon's content as well as special rewards like magazine subscriptions, discounts, and event invitations. Salon Premium subscription fees directly supports Salon's unique brand of independent journalism.
What content and features does Salon Premium offer?
Salon Premium subscribers may view all content on Salon and have the option of viewing pages without banner ads or "pop-up" advertising (for some exceptions see below).
Premium members also have access to a number of special benefits which, depending on your subscription plan, may include a "Download edition" of Salon -- a single file with a complete day's worth of original Salon articles in simple text or PDF format for easy printing or offline reading -- Salon on your PDA, magazine subscriptions and other rewards.
We frequently add new benefits to Premium so please make sure to check this page for updates. If you're already a subscriber you can check this page for new offers and offers that you haven't already selected.
You said Premium subscribers may still see some types of ads on the site -- like what?
Salon Premium subscribers will still see advertisements on older Salon pages published before the Premium program's launch in April, 2001. In addition, the following exceptions also apply:
- Certain services provided on our site by partners (like a search engine service or a contextual link to purchase a reviewed product) may be represented on our pages by the partner's branded logo.
- Certain kinds of "text-link" ads and paid headline feeds will also be served to Premium subscribers.
- Audio/video ads may appear within streaming audio and video content.
- Advertising may appear adjacent to content delivered to handheld devices via Avantgo and other services.
- Banners, pop-ups and text ads may appear in our Table Talk forum, our search engine pages and some Salon Directory pages.
- Ads may appear on pages that are published in cooperation with other sites ("co-branded pages"), such as our Salon/Nerve Personals service or our Salon Gear shop.
- Banners and other ads may appear on our search pages.
Also, should Premium members read a Salon page inside a "frame" on another site (for instance, About.com or Ask Jeeves), Salon cannot block the ads served by the "framing" site.
Is Salon Premium offered on PDAs and wireless devices?
Yes, in order to easily access Salon on your PDA or wireless device you'll need to be a Premium member at our "without ads" level. To read more about how to read Salon on your PDA or wireless device please click here.
How do I get Salon Premium on my PDA or wireless device?
You can easily access Salon Premium with your mobile device through one of Salon's mobile partners: Mobileplay and AvantGo.
To access Salon using Mobileplay, first register with Mobileplay. Then, sign into Mobileplay and select Salon as one of your content applications.
To access Salon using AvantGo, first register with AvantGo. Then,
1) Subscribe to Salon's AvantGo channel here.
2) Hot sync your handheld device
3) Go to the Salon section of AvantGo on your PDA and select a Salon article. You'll see a truncated article with log in slots at the bottom. Enter your Salon Premium log in information in those slots.
4) Hot sync again and make sure that you can read the full text of Salon articles. If you are able to read the full text then you've successfully logged in and most likely will not have to again for the duration of your subscription.
5) If you cannot log in please e-mail us at pda@salon.com and we'll help you resolve the issue.
Salon also offers a static URL (Web address) that contains our daily download edition, a plain text file including everything we publish within a 24-hour period. Click here to download this.
If you have more mobile questions, please refer to the Salon Mobile page.
Reading Salon on your cell phone or wireless device
To read Salon on your cell phone or wireless device, you'll need to point your browser to this page. You will need to log in through the bottom of a truncated article on your wireless device with your Salon Premium log in information.
PLEASE NOTE: The browser on your wireless device must be WML-enabled and have the ability to parse and store cookies. Not all wireless browsers may function perfectly and some wireless devices may report an "Error 500" or other errors that prevent you from accessing Salon on your wireless device. We are working to resolve these formatting issues but since they depend on specific wireless devices and service providers we cannot provide a completion date for this project.
Does Table Talk come with Salon Premium?
Salon Premium subscriptions at the without ads level now include the opportunity to create one Table Talk login. To take advantage of this offer just go to this page and set up your Table Talk login.
PLEASE NOTE: You will only receive a single Table Talk login. If you share your Salon Premium subscription with family members who are interested in a separate Table Talk login, they will need to set up a separate Premium account using a different e-mail address through this page.
If I'm a current subscriber to one of the magazines you're offering, can I still get the subscription?
If you've previously subscribed to any of the magazines that are offered to Premium subscribers, you are ineligible for the magazine subscription offers, except for The New Republic Digital Edition. You may not cancel your current subscription and receive a subscription through Salon Premium.
If I live outside of the United States can I still receive a subscription to the magazines that you're offering?
Because of prohibitive shipping costs we cannot offer print magazine subscriptions to Premium members outside of the United States. Salon Premium members outside the US can still request The New Republic Digital Edition as well as greenlight Magazine.
What kind of Salon Premium account comes with a WELL membership?
You may use any of the features bundled with an advertising free Salon Premium subscription with your annual WELL membership. You may use any of the features bundled with a monthly Premium subscription with your monthly WELL membership. This includes the creation of one Table Talk login. However, your billing information and renewal policies will be subject to your WELL billing agreement, so please log into the WELL Billing Information Center to update your WELL information.
Additionally, WELL members are eligible to receive greenlight Magazine and can create one Table Talk login through their complimentary Salon Premium membership.
How much does Salon Premium cost?
$6 monthly without ads, $29 a year with ads, $45 a year without ads, or a special rate of $70 for two years. Members of The WELL may receive Salon Premium at no extra charge by logging in and setting up a membership at the WELL Billing Information Center.
What types of credit cards may be used to purchase a Salon Premium subscription?
We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover.
I'm nervous about sending my credit card information across the Internet -- how secure is it?
All credit card transaction information is sent from your browser to our servers via a securely encrypted connection and stored in encrypted form.
May I purchase a Salon Premium subscription with cash?
We cannot accept cash because of many safety concerns, foremost among them the U.S. Postal Service's recommendation that you never send cash in the mail.
I live outside the United States. How can I purchase a Salon Premium subscription?
Please use one of the above-listed credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover.
<p>How do renewals work?Monthly subscriptions will automatically renew on a 30-day cycle. If you do not want Salon to automatically renew your subscription, just visit your Edit Account Preferences page and un-check "Automatically renew my membership" or contact our Premium support team through our help page.
Annual subscriptions will automatically renew 365 days after the subscription began. Salon will e-mail you 21 days before your subscription expires informing you that your account is or is not set for automatic renewal. If your account is not set to automatically renew and you would like to renew manually, click here. You will need to be logged in to access the renewal page. If you do not want to automatically renew your membership, visit your Edit Account Preferences page and check or un-check the appropriate box or contact our Premium support team through our help page to request that your settings be changed. Otherwise, we will renew your subscription automatically one year from your original date of subscription.
Gift subscriptions are not automatically renewed unless you opt into the automatic gift renewal program while purchasing the gift subscription.
What is your cancellation policy?
If you have a problem with Salon Premium's service, please check our help page for common solutions or contact us through that page and we will do our best to resolve the problem for you. If you are still not satisfied with our service, you may cancel an annual subscription within the first 30 days and we will refund your fee.
If you cancel your monthly subscription, you are responsible for paying the monthly subscription fee through the last day of your current one-month billing cycle. Monthly subscriptions are billed in advance and may be cancelled at any time. Your account will be closed at the end of the current pre-paid billing period.
Can I give Salon Premium as a gift?
Yes. You can purchase gift subscriptions for friends and family by clicking here. Gift recipients will receive a randomly generated password and may change it as soon as they activate their account. (Gift subscriptions are not available on a monthly basis).
Current Premium subscribers receive a 20% discount off gift subscriptions. In order to receive the discount subscribers must be logged in when they purchase the subscription.
May I sample Salon Premium on a trial basis before paying?
We do not offer a trial membership but you can sample Salon Premium by getting a Site Pass through this page.
If I sign up for a monthly subscription, can I convert to an annual subscription?
Yes, you can convert to an annual subscription at a pro-rated rate by going to this page.
I notice that your site uses cookie technology. What does this mean?
Salon Premium depends on special files called "cookies" so our servers can recognize you as a Premium member. A cookie is a small amount of data that is sent to your browser from a Web server and stored on your computer's hard drive. If you have disabled cookies on your browser at any time in the past please enable them for the domains salon.com and sub.salon.com. Without cookies, you cannot access most Salon Premium features (including Premium-only content and viewing the banner- and popup-free version of Salon).
We use cookies only to facilitate your use of the Salon Premium site and to identify pages you've visited during Premium help requests. Otherwise we will not use cookies for any other purposes, nor will we share cookie data with any third parties. You can confirm this by reading our privacy policy.
May I save my username and password so I don't need to enter them each time I visit?
As long as cookies are enabled on your browser, you won't have to log in -- the Salon Premium site will automatically recognize you. Most browsers do this automatically, so you probably won't have to worry about cookies unless you've disabled them. If you deleted your cookie for any reason, just log in again to replace it.
Your browser may also have a function to save your username and password information for various sites. The Help menu in your browser will help you use it. If you're logging in from public locations like a library we ask that you log out after you're finished reading Salon Premium through this link which is also available in the Premium box in the upper right hand section of Salon's home page.
Can I use my subscription from more than one computer -- say, at work and at home?
Yes. For your personal convenience, just enter the same username and password at each computer where you wish to use your subscription. To protect Salon from abuse of accounts, if our servers detect that the same membership is being used from an unreasonable number of discrete locations (IP addresses), we reserve the right to cancel it. Remember, if you're using Salon Premium in a public location, please log out of your membership through this link when you're done.
I'm a subscriber, I'm logged in and I'm still seeing the ads, and/or I can't access Premium content. What gives?
First, make sure you haven't turned "cookies" off in your browser. Then, confirm that you're visiting Salon through our main Web address -- http://www.salon.com -- and not http://salon.com, http://www.salonmag.com, or any other address. If you still have trouble, please send us a help query through this page.
How do I log out?
You can log out by clicking the "log out" link in the Premium box in the upper right hand corner of our cover. You can do the same thing right here: Log out now. (When you need to log in again, just find the "log in" link in the upper right hand corner of any Salon page.)
Do you have an RSS feed?
Yes. All of Salon's RSS feeds are available here. Additionally, an RSS link appears at the top of each article on Salon. Simply click the orange RSS icon and you'll subscribe to that article's RSS feed.
What's your privacy policy?
You can read our privacy policy here.
I entered my name and address when I registered. How will you use that information?
Salon will only use your name and address to verify payment information. If you checked the box indicating that you would like to receive additional communications about Salon Premium, we will occasionally e-mail you about new features. Please note that your personal address information will be shared with partners in order to fulfill subscription requests. If you choose to not receive any rewards, we will not share your personal information with any third parties.
I've forgotten or lost my user name and/or password. What do I do?
To find your Salon Premium user name, please go to this page or to find your password please visit this page. We'll send a reminder to the e-mail address with which you have registered with Salon Premium. If that doesn't work, contact us through our help page, and our customer service team will assist you as soon as possible.
Can I re-use my username and password from Table Talk or The WELL for Salon Premium?
At the current time, Table Talk, The WELL and Salon Premium username and password information cannot be automatically shared between these services. However, you are perfectly free to enter your Table Talk or WELL username and password when registering for Salon Premium -- if they are available, you will be able to use them.
WELL members are entitled to create one Salon Premium login and to set the password for that account. All Salon Premium subscribers are entitled to create one Table Talk login at this page and can set the password for that account.
What if I made a mistake during the subscription process?
If your subscription was successful, we'll send you to a confirmation page and we'll follow up via e-mail. If you need to change any account information, use the Edit Account Preferences page.
If your subscription was unsuccessful (you'll know because you won't see a confirmation page nor a confirmation e-mail) you can try to subscribe again through this page. If you continue to experience problems please contact our support team through our help page.
How can I change my password?
You can change your password on the Edit Account Preferences page.
How can I change the e-mail address associated with my Premium account?
You can change your e-mail address on the Edit Account Preferences page.
PLEASE NOTE: You may keep a different e-mail address on Salon Premium, Table Talk and/or The WELL.
What if I have a question that's not answered here?
Please visit our help page for solutions to most common problems, or you can use the same page to send us a help query. We'll do our best to get back to you quickly, usually within two business days.