How do I use the MARS System?

MARS is a password secured system to protect your personal information and the integrity of the information provided by people asking for help.  To use MARS you must log in with your User Name and Password, which can be done in one of two ways.

1.     The notification of assignment email from the mentor administrator includes a link in the following format:  http://mars.truthmedia.com/login.php?eid=12345678. This allows you to login to view and respond to a specific single help request.

2.     You can, at any time, use the general MARS login page http://mars.truthmedia.com, which allows you to login to view ALL your current and past help requests, as well as change your personal profile and input/edit your Pre-Written Responses.

What is my Password and User Name?        

• Your Password and User Name are the codes that allow you to access your personal MARS account.
  
  
• MARS Administration pre-sets these codes for you based on your first and last name. For example, if your name is John Mentor, your codes would look like this:
  

             USER NAME: John Mentor
             INITIAL PASSWORD: @John

Your User Name and Password are case sensitive. This means they must be entered exactly as shown above.  In other words, your User Name is your first and last name separated by a single space.  Your Initial Password is the “@” symbol followed directly by your capitalized first name.

What if I have problems logging via the link(s) in the notification email?

We have identified several mail systems (AOL, Hotmail, MSN) that modify the clickable links in an email, which prevents the MARS system from correctly determining which email you are trying to view and ensuring you are authorized to do so.  If you encounter repeated login problems and are positive you are using the correct username/password, then try “cutting and pasting” the general login url http://mars.truthmedia.com into your browser’s address bar, and logging in that way.

Another frequent login problem is caused by the browser being set to automatically save passwords on web pages, and the wrong password was entered the first time. 

Can I change my Password?

• Yes, you can change your password. It’s simple. Just follow the 5 easy steps below.

1. Login to your MARS account using your current password
   
2. Click on My Profile at the top of your screen.
   
3. Enter you new password in the Password field
   
4. Re-enter your new password in the Retype Password field
   
5. Once you are satisfied with the change, scroll up to the top of your profile and click on the Save button.
   

Congratulations! You have now successfully changed your password!

How long do I have to respond to a request?

• You have 6 days to complete a request after you receive it. If you don't send a reply within that time period, the request will be sent back to the mentor administrator on the seventh day, and she will reassign the e-mail to a different mentor.

Options for responding to a request

You have several possible options when responding to a request that has been assigned to you.

1.       First you must access your MARS account.

2.       Second, click on the subject line of the e-mail you have been assigned to.

3.       A new window will pop up entitled E-mail Reply Display

4.       Once you are in the E-mail Reply Display window you will see 4 grey buttons just above the Text box. These buttons read: 
Send / Save Draft / Reject / Cancel / File No-Reply (if applicable)

Send: Once you have composed your response in Text box, located directly above the mentorees original e-mail, you can click on the Send button. This will send your reply back to the mentoree.

Save Draft: While you are composing your reply please be sure to frequently click on the Save Draft button. This allows you to save your work as you go.

Please Note: For security reasons we use an inactivity time-out. If you need to spend a long time inputting your reply you need to SAVE DRAFT often, otherwise your data might be lost when the system times out. You will you’re your system has timed out if you suddenly see the MARS login page when you click any button. If this happens, don’t panic (yet).  Often you can recover your data by just clicking your browser’s [BACK] button, going back to the previous page and “cutting” your response. Then login again and “paste” your response back into the window. Another alternative is to write it in Notepad offline.

WARNING: To get back a draft reply you’ve saved, simply edit the email and the previous draft will automatically display in the text input window.

IMPORTANT:  Do not use the browser’s [X] button (top right of screen) to exit from email.  If you do this we can’t prevent the system from losing your data.  Use the [CANCEL] button to leave the email edit session.

Reject: If you select Reject, the e-mail that you have rejected will be sent back to our Mentoring Coordinator and she will reassign the e-mail to a different mentor.

Cancel: If you select the Cancel button you will close the E-mail Reply Display window and any data that you have entered will be lost if you had not previously saved the draft.

File No-Reply: This option is only applicable when the Mentoring Coordinator sends you an e-mail that does not require a response. For example, if an e-mail is sent from the mentoree that simply reads: "Thank you for your help" our Coordinator will give you the option of selecting File No-Reply  which enables you to 'close' the response without sending a reply. Selecting this option will file the e-mail in your  ' All '  e-mail  list.

One new functionality to include is that if the request is actually a "follow-up" response from the person you replied to, then the mentor will also see a [File No-Reply] button, which enables them to "close" the response without replying to it.  Although they still can reply if they want/need to.

How do I let you know that I will not be able to respond to a request?

If you should choose to reject an e-mail or a prayer request, either because you do not have the time to reply, or you do not feel qualified to reply, simply follow the 3 steps below.

1.       Once you have accessed your MARS account, click on the subject line of the e-mail you wish to reject.

2.       A new window will pop open, showing the email and with the following option buttons above the e-mail text: Send / Save Draft / Reject / Cancel

3.       Select Reject, and the e-mail will return to the Mentoring Coordinator

You have now successfully rejected an e-mail.

Where can we store Pre-written Responses?

You can store pre-written response directly in your MARS account. Here is how to store your pre-written response:    
     
1.       When you have successfully logged into MARS, scroll to the top of your screen and select Pre-written. This will pop up a new screen with the Pre-Written Response.

2.       At the top of the new screen, click on the Insert button

3.       Once you have clicked on Insert a new window will pop open entitled
Pre-written Response Editor. In it you will be able to do the following:

     Keyword: Insert a single word into this field that will help you identify your pre-written message

     Owner: MARS will recognize you as the owner by default

     Site: Select a site that you would most likely use this response with. If it is a response that is applicable to more than one site, feel free to leave that field blank.

     Phrase: This is a phrase that best describes your pre-written response.

     Text: Compose your pre-written response in the text box.

4.       When you have completed your response you can select one of the following three choices:

Insert: This will save your pre-written response.

Reset: This will erase your settings and allow you to create a new pre- written response.

Cancel: This will close the Pre-written Response Editor window.

How do I continue correspondence with those I am mentoring?

One of the many benefits of MARS is that it allows our coordinator to match the mentors up with the same mentorees to maintain the mentoring relationship. In this way you are never obligated to give out your personal contact information such as your e-mail address. MARS provides a safe and anonymous way for you to maintain that mentoring relationship. However, you are welcome to give out personal contact information and continue the relationship outside of MARS.

What is a pop-up blocker?

A pop-up blocker is functionality within an internet browser that blocks pop-up windows from being launched. This can be a plug-in piece of software downloaded from the internet (eg. Funwebproducts or Panicware), or it might be built-in to the browser, as with Internet Explore v6 SP2, Netscape, Mozilla, Opera).

What problems does it cause?

Browser pop-up blocking prevents MARS from working properly. When you edit an email or your profile, MARS will open the newly edited item in another window.

Setting MARS for MS IE Ver. 6.00 SP2
Menu Item Tools
Select Internet Options...
Select Tab Privacy

In section Pop-up Blocker do one of the following::

1) remove check mark Block pop-ups.  This is the simplest solution and perhaps not desirable in your
circumstances.  If you are concerned about pop-up windows and wish to block them proceed to the next
point.

2) select button Settings... in Pop-up Blocker section and select Filter Level:
    Medium: Block most automatic pop-ups. 

If you want to block all pop-ups proceed to point 3

3) select button Settings... in Pop-up Blocker section and enter under label Address of Web site to allow:  http://mars.truthmedia.com  -hit Add button . For  Filter Level: select  High: Block all pop-ups (Ctrl to override)