Technical FAQs

Frequently asked questions: General | Technical | Donations

Email subscriptions

1. How do I change my email address?
2. How can I make sure I'll be notified about Grist-sponsored events in my region?
3. I'd prefer to get my Grist newsletters in plain text instead of HTML (or vice versa).
4. I accidentally deleted the latest Grist email before I finished reading it! Can you send it again?
5. I used to get Grist, but it stopped coming to my inbox. What happened?
6. How can I keep Grist from getting caught in my spam filter?

Website & blog

1. How do I find a particular article?
2. I just wanna browse material on a particular topic.
3. How do I post a comment?
4. Can I edit a comment that I've already posted?
5. When I enter my username and password, it just reloads the page and tells me that I'm still not logged in! What have I done to deserve this?
6. I can't remember my username/password.
7. How do I change my password?
8. Can I submit a post to Gristmill?
9. Do you have RSS feeds?
10. Can I add Grist content to my website/blog?

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Email subscriptions

1. How do I change my email address?

Why, via our Profile Update page, of course! To protect your privacy, this page is only accessible through a link that we send directly to your currently subscribed email address. You can obtain this link:

• in a Grist newsletter, by clicking the "Update your email address" link.
• by typing your currently subscribed email address into the field below and clicking "Go!"


Current email:

If the email address you were subscribed with no longer accepts mail, send a message to and we'll update your address for you.

2. How can I make sure I'll be notified about Grist-sponsored events in my region?

Make sure your zip code is up to date in our records. Use the Profile Update page mentioned above.

3. I'd prefer to get my Grist newsletters in plain text instead of HTML (or vice versa).

At Grist, we send out our newsletters in MIME format. This means that the newsletter is sent with both the plain text and HTML version combined into in one email. By default, most email clients will display the HTML version. This means if you want the plain text version, you'll have to tell your email client to read the newsletter as plain text. Given the wide variety of email clients available, we would suggest consulting the included help files if you need further information on this.

4. I accidentally deleted the latest Grist email before I finished reading it! Can you send it again?

Unfortunately, no. However, all content that goes into Grist newsletters is also archived on our website. For the Grist List, check here. For everything else, we recommend browsing through In the News, from which most of our newsletter content is pulled. Or, if you're looking for a specific article, try using the website search.

5. I used to get Grist, but it stopped coming to my inbox. What happened?

Most likely, one of two things has occurred. Either Grist newsletters are getting caught in a spam filter, or your address has "bounced," meaning your email server rejected the newsletter we sent, for whatever reason. The more common of these two scenarios is the spam filter. Check to see if Grist messages are in your junk folder. Then make sure Grist is "whitelisted" so that the spam filter knows email from Grist is OK. See the next question for specific ways to do this.

If it's not a spam filter issue, your email server may be rejecting messages from Grist outright. Try re-subscribing to the newsletter(s) you were receiving. If you don't receive the subscription confirmation email in your inbox, we recommend contacting the tech support for your email provider and asking them if they can determine what's happening to incoming emails from Grist. If you're still having problems, email us at and we'll do our best to find a solution.

6. How can I keep Grist from getting caught in my spam filter?

The simplest way to "whitelist" Grist with your spam filter is to add us to your contact list/address book. The email address you need to add is .

Yahoo!

• Click "Contacts" in the left column
• Click "Add Contact"
• Type into the "Email" field
• Click "Save"
*this will also allow you to automatically load images in Grist emails

Hotmail

• Click "Options"
• Under "Junk email," click "Safe and blocked senders"
• Click "Safe senders"
• Add grist.org to the list

Or

• Click "Contacts" in the left column
• Click "New"
• Type into the "Personal e-mail" field
• Click "Save"

AOL
Read this for detailed instructions, or try one of the methods below:

• Send a message to . It should get automatically added to your address book

Or

• Open your Address Book
• Click "Add"
• Type into the "Email" field
• Click "Save"

Note: Grist has experienced problems delivering messages to AOL addresses. If you have another address at a different domain, we recommend subscribing with it instead.

Gmail

• Click "Contacts" in the left column
• Click "Create Contact"
• Type into the "Primary Email" field
• Click "Save"

For other email clients, we recommend one or more of the following:

• Add to your contact list/address book
• Check your preferences/options/account settings for "allowed senders," "whitelist," etc., and add Grist where appropriate
• Set up a filter that will automatically send incoming mail from grist@grist.org to your inbox (or other mail folder)

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Website and blog

1. How do I find a particular article?

There are many ways to find what you're looking for on the Grist website. The simplest is to enter your search terms into the "Search Grist" box in the upper-left corner beneath our logo. The advanced search lets you search by Title, Author, Date Range, and/or Section.

From any article page (except on the blog) you can also:

• Find related articles by clicking one of the topics listed near the top of the current article
• View the three most recent articles from the same section, in the box labeled "From the archives" in the right-hand column
• See all the articles in that section sorted by date, by clicking the link labeled "archives" in that same box
• View all the articles by a particular contributor by clicking on their byline at the top of the article

2. I just wanna browse material on a particular topic.

Check out our topic cloud, and browse away!

3. How do I post a comment?

You need an account on Gristmill, our blog, before you can post comments on any Grist article. You can create an account by going here and following the instructions. Once you have an account, and you're logged in, you're ready to add your two cents.

On all Grist articles besides the blog, the comment form is at the bottom of the page, beneath all previous comments.

On Gristmill blog articles, the comment form is at the bottom of the individual post page, beneath all previous comments. If you're reading the main blog page, click on the link that says either "Link and discuss" or "Read more" at the bottom of the post to find the comments and post your own.

4. Can I edit a comment that I've already posted?

Nope. Make sure you preview your comments before you submit them!

5. When I enter my username and password, it just reloads the page and tells me that I'm still not logged in! What have I done to deserve this?

You must repent for your eco-sins before you're allowed to comment. Just kidding! You need to have HTTP cookies enabled, or our system won't be able to tell that you're logged in. To enable cookies, check the privacy settings on your web browser.

6. I can't remember my username/password.

To retrieve your password, go to the Gristmill homepage. On the account login form in the upper left, enter your username (not your email address) into the Username field, and click "Mail password." A new password will be sent to the email address that you submitted when you registered on Gristmill. Once you've logged in, be sure to change your password to something you'll remember!

If you can't remember your username, please send a request to and be sure to include the email address that you registered on Gristmill with.

7. How do I change my password?

Go to the Gristmill homepage and log in to your account. Click "Your user info." In the main column, click the third option, "Your email and password." Enter your current password in the field above your email address. Then enter your new password in the two fields beneath. Click "Save All Changes."

8. Can I submit a post to Gristmill?

Only designated "contributors" can post new material to the blog, and we're pretty choosey about who gets to be one. If you have a tip or a story that you think would be a good fit for Gristmill, send it to .

9. Do you have RSS feeds?

Indeed.

10. Can I add Grist content to my website/blog?

For sure. Check this out.