HBP FAQ

Here are a few questions I get from members, etc on occasion; I thought it would be good to list them here for you so that you don't have to come ask me...LOL

~Where did you come up with the name of your site?? Isn't it kind of silly???

Oh sure, its kind of silly, but I had a very good reason for naming it "Happy Bee". My granddaughter, Fallon, and I have a very special bond. As a toddler, she spent a lot of time with me. At the age of 2, she decided every insect that had wings, and some birds, were "Happy bees". She got this from a key chain she had given me as an infant, that had a smiling bee on it. I started calling her my "happy bee". So really, the name of my site is sort of a homage to her :-)

~How long have you been in business??

HBP was opened in July 2006 (after saying for 2 years I would NEVER have a paid members site...LOL) I must say its been very rewarding and I'm so glad I finally decided to go this route!

~Do you trade memberships?? Why??

Yes I do and here's why; I myself have very little by the way of funds, and know what a pain it is to not be able to join a site. Trading to me is more fun anyway....and I treasure ALL of my traded memberships!!! I only trade lifetime with tube license, and if your site has a special character license, we can trade those too!

~Do you trade ad space??

YES!!! In fact, ALL my ads are traded. I do have pricing for anyone who wants to pay, but I really perfer trading. After all, its very effective in getting the name of your site out there, and who doesn't want to do that??

~ Everyone is doing "As is"...but you aren't. Why not???

Sigh.... well, to be honest, I really don't LIKE the idea of your work being spread out like it is. I prefer to try to keep my content right here in my site. Tubing etc is one thing; sending out your lines far and wide seems counterproductive. Now that's not to say I won't have some myself from other sites; if thats what they want to do, who am I to say anything different?? But at this time, I do NOT plan to ever offer my lines "as is". I believe in orginality, and even my tubes from my licensed memberships is different.

UPDATE: I finally broke down and started doing SOME As Is...as long as my terms are being followed, I will continue to do some.

~Why did you decide to start offering Special Character License to tube your characters??

While I don't believe in a license for this, a license for that, I felt this license WAS necessary. This way, my characters are more exclusive, and not everyone is going to have them. A special note; my lifetime members (which is about 80% of my members) may have the license simply by requesting it. Just an added perk for my dear members!! :-) And hey, the license is only $10 for everyone else!

~Do I need a website to join HBP?? Does my having a pixel share group at MSN/Yahoo count??

YES, you MUST have a website to join and NO a pixel sharing group does not count. In fact, if you belong to one, I'm afraid it makes me very leary of allowing you to join. The reason being pixels should NEVER be shared. Having a website tells me you will use my pixels for your site or members area. Otherwise, what would you do with them?? My terms state that you may NEVER share your login info, offer my lines and tubes as they are, or put into collections to sale or trade. This includes sharing them in groups where credit is considered a card for shopping. We pixelers work hard to provide our work for our members and its so upsetting to see your hard work going through groups without a care. So, sorry, if you don't have a website, I'm afraid you won't be able to join us.

~ Are you in this for the money??

ROTFLMAO...no, sorry I'm NOT in this for the money!! Believe me, while it may seem that this is a money cow, doing a pixel site does not generate that much money!! But I didn't start it for that; I truly enjoy what I do, and I trade most of my memberships. I like keeping my members happy! And every penny that I do make goes right back into the site (domain name, hosting, buying tube packs/line packs for my membersarea). The only exception was last Christmas, when I did take the money and bought gifts for my 3 grandchildren.

~What do you think about the latest "rating" sites and drama over the "telling it like it is" stuff??

Personally, I thought it was rather moronic. Rating a site based on a few people who have nothing better to do than stirring up trouble isn't my idea of "good info". I only care what my OWN members think. They are the ones who count, not someone outside the site who really has no idea how my site works. If anyone who isn't a member wants some feedback on my site, I will gladly point you out to any of my members and let them tell you. The "telling it like it is" was so insignificant, it doesn't really bear mentioning. My site wasn't listed, and if it had been, oh well. I gather it was a couple of people who wanted to see what kind of stuff they could stir up. Not worth my time.

~Ok, if I have a tubing license from your site, does that mean I can tube all your lines and offer the results at my site?

Yes it does (with the exception of the special characters, which have their own license). Tubing license is part of your membership with HBP and will never be a separate fee. You must, of course, give credit to HBP for the lines.

~Can I use your tubes for my members area?

Well, yes and no. You can use them combined with other things (and please, not just text!) to offer your members, but you cannot offer my tubes "as is", meaning just a stand alone product. You can use them to make sigtags, websets, graphics, etc, but you cannot put them up individually with nothing else.

~Can I offer your lines in my members area??

Nope nope nope...that is "as is" and isn't allowed from HBP. (update - As Is will be sold ONLY in my purchaseware area and terms must be followed)

~ Can your linkware be offered in my members area??

Afraid not. The linkware is for linkware only AT HBP. Its for personal use ONLY, which includes the free tubes.

~How long do you plan to stay open?? You're not going to close shop anytime soon, are you?? If you do, do we all get a refund??

I plan to remain open as long as my fingers will continue to create pixels!! I don't foresee closing anytime in the near future. Should something happen to prevent me from doing this anymore, and I'm forced to close, I'm sorry, but I do not offer refunds. You joined for the life of the site, and if it closes, I guess that means the life of the site is over. But don't worry...I plan to be around a LONG time!