Frequently Asked Questions

1. How will my Recipients know that I created a time capsule with messages for them?
2. What is the Electronic Time Capsule service?
3. Am I committed for a lifetime? What happens if I stop paying?
4. Why should I subscribe to this service?
5. Why did you create this service?
6. Who should have an electronic time capsule?
7. Why do you charge for this service?
8. Do you keep all email addresses and payment information private?
9. Will Electronic Time Capsule be there in the future to unlock messages?
10. Can anyone write messages for my Electronic Time Capsule?
11. How much data can be contained in one Electronic Time Capsule?
12. What happens if I disapprove of a message created by a Writer?
13. Can I lose data stored in the Electronic Time Capsule?
14. Will I ever lose control of my account?
15. How will I know that messages are ready to be released and viewed?
16. How will I know about future messages?
17. What happens if I use up all of the storage space allowed in my Electronic Time Capsule?
18. Can I have more than one account?
19. What happens if my 30-day trial period expires before I sign up for a paid account?

1. How will my Recipients know that I created a time capsule with messages for them?

Think of the Electronic Time Capsule as you would the family photo album. You know where it is because it's meaningful to you. And, as with any other time capsule, you're primarily responsible for letting your Recipients know about the wonderful gift you've created for them.

Tell the Recipient about the website, his login and his password. If the Recipient is too young, let a close one know about the account to make sure the capsule and messages are delivered.

If the Recipient has an active e-mail and has updated his personal information, the system will automatically notify the Recipient of an unlocked capsule and messages.

2. What is the Electronic Time Capsule service?

Electronic Time Capsule is a secure and unique online service that brings the traditional time capsule concept to the Web. It allows you to share your feelings, thoughts and memories with the people you love and care about by composing messages for electronic delivery in the future. All messages - which may include text, video and voice files - will be released only at the time you designate.

3. Why should I subscribe to this service?

Electronic Time Capsule is a unique way of sharing your life with those you love. Easy and convenient, too, it ensures that your feelings, life story and family history are documented and told in the future - at a time you designate - when you may or may not be able to tell your loved ones yourself. Efficient, personal and flexible, Electronic Time Capsule allows you to:

• say what you always wanted to say, but couldn't
• say the things you always intended to say, but didn't
• say what you've said before, one more time
• stay in touch
• have fun!

With this service, you can create new messages and access, modify or delete existing messages from anywhere in the world - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! All you need is Internet access. This means you can share your thoughts and feelings at the moment inspiration or memory strikes.

4. Am I committed for a lifetime? What happens if I stop paying?

If you decide not to renew your account, you will not lose any messages in your electronic time capsule; however, your account will become inactive. Neither you nor your Writers or Recipient will be able to access the account until it is renewed. For everyone to regain access to the account, simply purchase a renewal subscription. Then you can continue creating messages right where you left off!

5. Why did you create this service?

Primarily, I created this service for my children. I love to write to them, but I had some issues writing in a traditional paper journal. I couldn't find an online service that filled my needs. My issues included:

• Ability to discuss mature topics - I didn't feel comfortable writing about issues that were too complex for my young children to read or understand at the moment I created the journal entries. Also, I didn't want to start sealing "Do Not Open Until…" envelopes; they can't be easily reviewed and revised or they might get lost. The thought of post-dating messages intrigued me. And, because I'm human, I liked the idea that the messages I write would be released to my wife and children in the future - even if I pass away unexpectedly. Electronic Time Capsule is a great way to help families through the grieving process and stay connected with loved ones that have parted.
  
  
• Convenience and portability - My journal wasn't always with me when I felt the urge to write. Sometimes inspiration would come while I was traveling, but I didn't pack my journal on trips for fear of losing it. Creating little notes to paste in the journal later became too time consuming and messy. Thanks to the Internet, my Electronic Time Capsule is portable - it's with me everywhere I go!
  
  
• Need to keep it safe - I worried about the journal getting lost or misplaced every time I gave it to grandparents or other family members and friends so they could record their thoughts and memories. I was also afraid that it might get damaged in the event of a fire or flood. The Electronic Time Capsule service ensures the safety and delivery of my messages to loved ones in the future.

6. Who should have an electronic time capsule?

Anybody can have one, so you can create and send messages to yourself or others in the future. This service is a terrific way for parents, grandparents and other friends and family to communicate with children - let them know what they were like as young children; record feelings and memories about milestones in their lives, such as first steps or the first day of school; tell them about your childhood and other life experiences; share your hopes and dreams for the future. The possibilities are endless!

7. Why do you charge for this service?

The small fee helps ensure that the service and Web site is kept secure, reliable, functional and available when you need it. As technology evolves, so will the service, ensuring your loved ones can access and open files created with today's technology at designated times in the future.

8. Do you keep all email addresses and payment information private?

Yes! All email addresses and information collected on this site are kept strictly private and confidential. They won't be used for additional marketing, nor will they be sold or rented to any third party. Please see our Privacy Policy for detailed information.

This is a secure site that uses a 128-bit SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) digital certificate to ensure that nobody can "sniff" the information sent from your browser to our server. The SSL certificate allows your browser and our server to exchange data using secret key encryption technology.

9. Will Electronic Time Capsule be there in the future to unlock messages?

Yes! At Electronic Time Capsule, we are committed to maintaining this service for one simple reason: our children. They're why we created this service in the first place. We've invested a lot of time, money, energy and emotion into this service, to ensure that our children will receive valuable messages from us in the future. We want to ensure your loved ones receive your special messages in the future, too.

For extra assurance, Account Owners have the option of saving a back-up copy of each message on their home computers one time each year.

10. Can anyone write messages for my Electronic Time Capsule?

As Account Owner, you are the only person who can give access to someone else. It's easy to invite an unlimited number of friends and family members to share in the time capsule experience. Ask them to join as Writers - they can create their own messages, then add to, modify or delete them, as they choose. Writers do not have access to any other Writer's messages. You can also set up your account so that special notices or announcements are emailed to your selected Writers, reminding them to contribute more messages.

11. How much data can be contained in one Electronic Time Capsule?

Currently, each Electronic Time Capsule is allotted 50 MB of space for storing text, voice and video messages. Every year of membership provides and additional 50MB of storage space. After three years of membership, your account would have 150MB of storage capacity. Formats supported include MP3, VMA, MOV and MPEG.

12. What happens if I disapprove of a message created by a Writer?

Account Owners have the ability to view messages left by other Writers. If you disapprove of a message, you can delete it immediately or you can contact the Writer to explain why you disapprove of the message and ask him or her edit it.

13. Can I lose data stored in the Electronic Time Capsule?

All data in the Electronic Time Capsule system is stored in a Class A data center where every message written will be safely stored for years. Data is also backed up regularly and at multiple sites to ensure your data is safe from risks such as fire or disk corruption. For extra assurance, Account Owners have the option of saving a back-up copy of each message on their home computers one time each year.

14. Will I ever lose control of my account?

The only way to lose control of an account is to give that control to someone else. If you purchased the account, you are the Account Owner and are responsible for it - unless you designate ownership to someone else (e.g., as a gift). We strongly recommend that you do not give full control of any account to a child under 18. If you do, you can no longer approve or disapprove of messages that are designated to be delivered before the child reaches age 18. Ultimately, though, that's your decision and your responsibility.

15. How will I know that messages are ready to be released and viewed?

Recipients have two choices: The first is to go directly to the account to check if new messages are ready to be unlocked. The second is for Account Owners or Recipients to set up automatic notifications, ensuring that an email is sent whenever a message is ready for viewing. (If a Recipient's email address changes, the Account Owner or the Recipient can update the personal information page so future notifications can be received.)

16. How will I know about future messages?

Recipients can log on to their accounts to see a list of all messages stored in the Electronic Time Capsule, as well as the dates they're scheduled to be unlocked and ready for viewing.

17. What happens if I use up all of the storage space allowed in my Electronic Time Capsule?

Currently, each account is allotted 50MB of space per year of membership for storing text, voice and video files. If an account reaches the maximum space allowance, the Account Owner can delete some of the messages or buy additional storage for $7 US per 50MB per year or wait for the renewal of the subscription at which time another 50MB will be made available.

18. Can I have more than one account?

Yes, you can create and manage as many Electronic Time Capsule accounts as you like. The Electronic Time Capsule service is specially suited for mothers, grandmothers and anyone else who wishes to create a special gift for the children and other loved ones in their lives. It's the gift of a lifetime … for a lifetime.

19. What happens if my 30-day trial period expires before I sign up for a paid account?

If your 30-day trial is scheduled to expire, Electronic Time Capsule will send you an email to remind you that it's time to sign up for an account, if you choose. All messages you created during your trial will be kept for an additional 30 days.

Send Us Your Question!

Do you have a question you don't see here? Send an email to info@electronictimecapsule.com.