You are in New York City	Suggestions? Bugs? Send them here.

Glossary There are a lot of things you can do with Dodgeball that you might not have known. To jump to a complete list of those, check out the Glossary. FAQs There are a lot of questions that we get here. Below is a list of the most frequently asked ones. They're broken down in the following way: GENERAL, TEXT MESSAGING, and WEBSITE. If your question isn't answered below, please send us an email at help@dodgeball.com QUESTIONS GENERAL What is it? What does it do? Give me an example. How do you know who my friends are? How is this different from other social networking sites? Can I bring my friends over from another social networking site? I like the idea, but you're not in my city. Can you add my city? How much does dodgeball cost? TEXT MESSAGING So, how do I use it? What kind of things can I do with dodgeball? What are the different messages I can send? Can I sign up my friends from my phone? Can I add existing Dodgeball users to my network from my phone? I'm sending messages to the dodgeball shortcode (36343), but I never get anything back! What gives? What should I do when I get a text message saying that a friend-of-a-friend is 2 blocks away? How come I never get messages about nearby friends? Help! I'm getting messages from people I don't even like! Can I block people from my phone? I want to go to bed! Stop sending me messages! How do I delete friends? I have a camera phone, but I'm not getting any photos. All my friends are getting messages, but I'm not, even though we're all connected as friends. What gives? I left Ace Bar 2 hours ago. Why am I still getting messages about people that are nearby? I have a [Treo / Blackberry / Sidekick] and I'd rather get my messages via email. Can I still do that? I am going away on vacation for a week and would like to suspend my dodgeball messages. Can I do that? I want to stop having Dodgeball send me text messages Can I do that from my phone? I am travelling to another city and want to use Dodgeball with my friends in that city. Is there a way for me to switch cities from my phone? WEBSITE I forgot my password. How can I retrieve it? Why are the images so small? How do I delete my profile? I only want certain people to receive my check ins, shouts, etc. Can I do that? Can other people see my history? I don't want my image to show up as a "recently checked-in user" on the home page. Can I prevent that? Why should I add my picture? Does it have to be a picture of me? I keep getting the same friend-of-friend message every time I go out. Can I block friend-of-friends? ANSWERS GENERAL What is it? [ top ] dodgeball.com is a new social networking site built specifically for mobile phones. What does it do? Give me an example. [ top ] The idea is simple: tell us where you are and we'll tell you who and what is around you. We'll ping your friends with your whereabouts, let you know when friends-of-friends are within 10 blocks, allow you to broadcast content to anyone within 10 blocks of you or blast messages to your groups of friends. For example, you're having drinks at Ace Bar. Send a text message to 36343 ("dodge") with the message "@Ace Bar" and we'll send out a text message telling all your friends where you are AND send you back a message letting you know if any friends-of-friends are within 10 blocks. If you have a camera phone, we'll even send you their picture. How do you know who my friends are? [ top ] You need to tell us who your friends are, just like you did with those other social networking sites. How is this different from other social networking sites? [ top ] dodgeball is designed to help you meet up with friends and friends-of-friends while you're out, not while you're sitting in front of your computer. Try it out, next time you meet a friend for drinks... tell us where you are and we'll let all your friends know of your whereabouts and alert you if any friends-of-friends are nearby. Can I bring my friends over from another social networking site? [ top ] Unfortunately, some of those other social networking sites (we're not allowed to name names) don't allow you to "export" your list of friends, so no, you have to re-invite those people all over again. Come'on, it'll be fun! I like the idea, but you're not in my city. Can you add my city? [ top ] We're always thinking about how to expand dodgeball to new cities. If dodgeball is not currently available where you live, check back wth us soon. How much does dodgeball cost? [ top ] We don't charge you anything for the service, though standard rates do apply for text/photo messaging. TEXT MESSAGING So, how do I use it? [ top ] You use dodgeball by sending text messages from your mobile phone to 36343 ("dodge"). You can use these messages to do things like broadcast your location (e.g. "@Ace Bar") or shout out messages (e.g. "!party at my apartment") to your friends. What kind of things can I do with dodgeball? What are the different messages I can send? [ top ] Whether you're new to Dodgeball or a Dodgeball Power User, we bet there's something on this list that you probably didn't know you could do. Get to know our basic commands below and make sure you check out the Glossary to see eveything you can do. Make sure you send all your messages to 36343 ("dodge") CHECKIN-IN (@) -> to broadcast your whereabouts to your friends Send us: @Bar 74 Your friends get: "Ryan is at Bar 74. Stop by and say hi!" SHOUT (!) -> to broadcast a message to your friends Send us: ! anyone want to go to the movies? Your friends get: "Ryan says: anyone want to go to the movies?" LOOKUP (?) -> to lookup the address / cross street of a bar or restaurant Send us: Bar 74? You get: "Bar 74 is located at 7443 E. 6th Avenue in Phoenix, AZ." All you need to remember is: @ = check in ! = shout ? = information Can I sign up my friends from my phone? Can I add existing Dodgeball users to my network from my phone? [ top ] Of course you can. Check out the examples below in orange to see how to do this. As usual, all messages should be sent to 36343 ("dodge") SIGN UP A FRIEND (if they're not on dodgeball, have them send this from THEIR phone) Send: join [your mobile number] [their first name] (like this: "join 9175551212 dennis") ADD A FRIEND (if they're already on dodgeball, send this from YOUR phone) Send: add [your friend's number] (like this: "add 9175551234") I'm sending messages to the dodgeball shortcode (36343), but I never get anything back! What gives? [ top ] Dodgeball works with most cellphone providers. Some users have experienced problems with the providers listed below. If you're one of these users, please email us and we'll try to help out. MetroCall MetroPCS SunCom MetroCall T-Mobile pre-paid What should I do when I get a text message saying that a friend-of-a-friend is 2 blocks away? [ top ] Go over and introduce yourself! If you have a camera phone, we'll even send you their photo, so you really have no excuse. How come I never get messages about nearby friends? [ top ] You need to tell us where you are before we can tell you who's nearby. Make sure to check in whenever you go out with friends. The more you check in, the more chances you have to run into friends-of-friends. Help! I'm getting messages from people I don't even like! [ top ] Then why did you accept them as your friend in the first place?! See, that's the problem with some of those other social networking sites. It's all about "everyone is my friend!" With dodgeball, you need to be a little more choosy about who your friends are because every time you check in, all your friends get a text message with your whereabouts. That's why we built our Manage Friends tool which allows you to easilyblock people who you don't want to send or receive messages from. The best part is that your "friends" will never find out that you blocked them. Try it out, but make sure you sign in first! Can I block people from my phone? [ top ] Yes you can! No longer want to receive check-in messages from a certain friend or friend of friend? Now you can block them when you're out too! Just reply to their check-in message with the word "block" and that person will now no longer receive your messages, nor will you receive theirs. It's the same as managing them and you can go there to un-block them. Wasn't that easy? I want to go to bed! Stop sending me messages! [ top ] No problem - just send us a message that says "off" and we'll leave you alone for the rest of the night! How do I delete friends? [ top ] Sometimes we all need to clean house. If you look right below all of the photos of your friends on your "My Profile" page, you should see a "Delete Friends" link. I have a camera phone, but I'm not getting any photos. [ top ] Remember, you only get photos from friends-of-friends. But just to make sure, go to Prefs and make sure that you told us that you have a camera phone. All my friends are getting messages, but I'm not, even though we're all connected as friends. What gives? [ top ] Before we fire off text messages to a phone, we need to make sure it's "activated". This is why we sent you that 4-digit code when you first signed up. To activate your phone (or to re-send the 4-digit code), sign in, then click the red "activate your phone" link in the header. I left Ace Bar 2 hours ago. Why am I still getting messages about people that are nearby? [ top ] When you check in, dodgeball will remember your location for 3 hours. There's currently no way to "un-check in" (e.g. if you decided to go home) If you want to stop getting messages, you can always send the "off" command and we'll stop sending you messages for the night. I have a [Treo / Blackberry / Sidekick] and I'd rather get my messages via email. Can I still do that? [ top ] Sure, under your Phone Prefs you can choose whether you'd like to receive dodgeball messages via text messaging or mobile email. If you opt for mobile email, just be sure to tell us what email address you want us to send messages to. I am going away on vacation for a week and would like to suspend my dodgeball messages. Can I do that? [ top ] No one wants to get text messages when they're lounging on the beach. To stop getting messages on your phone for a bit, go into your Prefs page and uncheck the "mobile phone" box. When you get back from your vacation or whatnot, just head back to this page and switch it back! I want to stop having Dodgeball send me text messages Can I do that from my phone? [ top ] Just send "stop" to 36343 ("dodge") and we'll stop sending you text messages altogether (just like going into your My Phone settings and un-checking the SMS box) Don't worry though, this will not delete your account. You'll always have the chance to sign back in to the site and turn the option back on in your My Phone settings section. I am travelling to another city and want to use Dodgeball with my friends in that city. Is there a way for me to switch cities from my phone? [ top ] Yup! Just send "switch [city name]" to 36343 ("dodge") and you'll automatically be checking into venues in your new city and sending/receiving messages to/from your friends in your new city. (Like this: "switch nyc" or "switch twin cities") WEBSITE I forgot my password. How can I retrieve it? [ top ] All you have to do is go to our lost password page and we'll take it from there. Why are the images so small? [ top ] We put restrictions on the images you upload for your profile because these are the images that are sent to other users' phones when we send out Friend Of A Friend (FOAF) messages, as well as Crush Messages. How do I delete my profile? [ top ] First off, we hate to see you go. If you insist on leaving us, there's a "delete my dodgeball account" at the bottom of your profile page. Think really hard about it though. We hate breaking up with people. I only want certain people to receive my check ins, shouts, etc. Can I do that? [ top ] Of course you do! That's exactly why we built our Manage Friends feature where you can decide who gets (and does not get) your messages. Keep in mind that if you manage someone, they will no longer get your messages, nor will you get theirs. Can other people see my history? [ top ] Don't worry - your secrets are safe with us. We're providing the History view so you can have a little diary of your dodgeball social experience. If we ever do make it possible to share your history with your friends, we'll always allow you to opt out. I don't want my image to show up as a "recently checked-in user" on the home page. Can I prevent that? [ top ] Of course! Just go to your Prefs page and you can toggle your preferences regarding this. Why should I add my picture? Does it have to be a picture of me? [ top ] Sure, your friends already know what you look like, but we're also trying to introduce you to friends-of-friends. One night, two dodgeball users were able to meet up at Luna Lounge because they got photos of one another. Cool, eh? It's only possible if you throw a photo of yourself up there, so play nice. I keep getting the same friend-of-friend message every time I go out. Can I block friend-of-friends? [ top ] Of course! Just go to your History page to view the most recent friend-of-friend messages you've received. After you click the "block" link under a user's photo, you'll stop receiving messages from that person. home | glossary | privacy | terms of service | contact | © 2008 Google Inc. All rights reserved.