What are Verified Members?
Verified Members are members of this site that have submitted photos of themselves and we believe are real people.

Members are verified by inspection of their mybeard.org verification photos for authenticity and that they are representative of their posts. Verified posters will have a badge on their profile page.

Is this mandatory?
No. Becoming a verified member is optional.

Why participate in this?
Verification photos are used on sites where you post pictures of yourself and is being implemented due to the fact that there are so many people who steal other peoples photos and claim to be that person. When you have another picture of yourself being the person that is in the photos clearly holding up a sign showing your user name used here and the words mybeard.org, it is indisputable that you are the person in the photos you have posted.

How do I become a Verified Member?
We review all members that submit genuine "mybeard.org" verification photos. If you submit pictures according to the photo verification rules listed below, then once your photos are reviewed, we will verify you.

Photo Verification Rules:

1) Post an mybeard.org photo that is obviously you and is representative of your other photos. The mybeard.org text must not be added to the photo afterwards using a graphics editor.

2) The photos must contain your username and the words mybeard.org. Again, it must not be added afterwards. This is to help stop your photos from being reused by others for verification.

3) We require at least 2 shots of the same mybeard.org text and username from different angles.

4) Make sure you upload it into the category called "verification submissions". This category is used to find the photos requiring verification.

5) The mybeard.org text and your username must be handwritten and not printed on a piece of paper. Otherwise it becomes difficult for us to tell whether the mybeard.org text is real.

6) Members must have at least 5 photos previously uploaded to their gallery (in addition to the verification request photos) in order to qualify for verification.

If there is any doubt as to the authenticity of the mybeard.org verification photo and whether it is the same person as the other pics we will not verify.

Verifying members is typically done once a day. Once you are verified the verification photos will be deleted from the main site.

We feel that a high standard should be maintained in this area so if you see a verified member who is posting pics that aren't their own we would like to hear about it via the Report User system and we will remove the Verified Member badge and possibly delete the user's account.

Below is a good sample of a verification image, or "Salute" image.
Below is a BAD sample of a verification image. Typing your username into your picture using a photo editor wouldn't be acceptable as a verification image.