YOBI.tv is a network of Original Webseries, Talent Contests and Member-Created Content.

What should I do if I don't receive a verification email?: The verification email might have gone into your spam box. If you can't find it, though, that's no problem. Simply send a blank email message to verify@yobi.tv from the email account you registered with. You should then be able to login.

Why does it say my email address is already in use?: This message is displayed after you've registered with YOBI.tv but before you've verified your email account. Verify your email account by replying to our verification email (you may have to check your spam box) or by sending a blank email message to verify@yobi.tv

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YOBI.tv Webseries

How can I get on the Take the Stage webseries?: The singers on Take the Stage are cast directly from our YOBISing contest. To compete on Take the Stage, you need to enter and win the YOBISing contest.

How can I get cast in a scripted webseries?: Our scripted webseries are cast directly from our YOBIAct contest. Your best shot at landing a spot in the cast is to enter and win that contest. We occasionally post calls for extras on Facebook, Twitter, and the Michigan Film Office website, so you could also watch for these calls and take action accordingly.

How can I get onto the film crew of a scripted webseries?: The primary film crew spots on our scripted webseries are cast directly from our YOBIFilm and YOBIPics contests. Your best shot at landing a spot on the film crew is to enter and win one of those contests. We occasionally post calls for additional crew members on on Facebook, Twitter, and the Michigan Film Office website, so you could also watch for these calls and take action accordingly.

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Entering the Contests

How do I enter a contest?: Follow the Enter Contest link, complete the short contest entry form, and click Submit.

Can I enter more than one contest?: Absolutely!

Can I upload multiple entries into a contest?: Yes. You are allowed 15 entries into each contest for YOBIAct, YOBISing, and YOBIFilm. You are allowed 40 entries into the YOBIPics contest.

Do I have to be from the United States to enter a contest?: Nope. YOBI welcomes participants from across the globe, except where prohibited by law and from countries without diplomatic relations with the United States.

Do I have to be a certain age to enter a contest?: Yes. All contestants must be at least 18 years old.

What video formats are supported on YOBI.tv?: Our video encoder supports all formats, but .m4a and .mp4 seem to work the best for our members. If you're having trouble uploading, try one of those formats.

What video and audio specifications will result in the best quality on YOBI.tv?: We have no particular audio recommendation, but do recommend a video resolution of at least 320x240.

Should I upload my entry again if I don't see a thumbnail?: It can take up to 15 minutes for our system to encode your contest entry. If after 15 minutes you still don't see your entry, you can either try your upload again or email support@yobi.tv for assistance.

What should I do if I accidentally entered the wrong contest?: Click the Unpublish button corresponding to the entry in question. Then reupload the entry into the correct contest.

Do I need to resumbit my entries to each contest every week?: No. Once submitted, a contest entry is eligible for the current and for future contests.

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Contest Entries

Does my entry video have to be a certain length?: The maximum length a video contest entry can be is 5 minutes and 59 seconds.

Are there restrictions on what content my entry video can contain?: Yes there are. As stipulated in the contest rules, contest entries may not contain trademarks, logos, or copyrighted material; extreme profanity, sexual content that would warrant a strong R rating, or pornographic content; or any material containing the name, likeness, or logo of any person or persons without permission. Contest entries may not promote hateful content of any kind; violence or harm to another person or creature; obscene or offensive behavior; tobacco, firearms, weapons, or illegal drugs; or alcohol if you are under legal drinking age. Contest entries may not reveal personal information about another person or persons, nor may they defame or misrepresent another person, persons, or entity.

Do I have to own the copyright to the music that I use in my contest entry?: You do not have to own the copyright to the music you use, but you must have permission to use the music. For more information, please see our copyright resource page.

Why did my contest entry disappear?: The most common reason for an entry to be removed from our contest pages is because the entry was flagged for a rule violation by our Contest Officials.

Why did my contest entry get flagged?: Flags are explained on the Entry Status tab of the contest entry page in question as well as by email from the YOBI Legal Team. The most common reason for an entry to be flagged is for a copyright violation. Flags are issued for a variety of other rule violations as well.

Where can I learn more about copyright issues?: Copyright issues can be complex and difficult to understand. Our help page is a good place to start, though.

How do I report an entry that I think violates the contest rules?: Send an email to our contest officials at reportabuse@yobi.tv Be sure to tell us which contest the entry is in, either the name or the url of the contest entry, and what about the video you feel is in violation of the contest rules.

How do I edit the video content of my contest entry?: Editing or changing the video content of contest entries is not allowed. Because YOBI members may have already voted for your existing entry, changing the content of the entry would be unfair. If you like, however, you can delete the existing entry and upload a new one.

How can I delete my contest entry?: You can delete a contest entry by clicking the Unpublish button on the Contest Entry page.

How do I edit the title or description of my contest entry?: You may edit the title and description of your entry by clicking the Edit link on your Contest Entry page.

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Voting in the Contests

How do I vote for a contestant?: Click the Vote button located on the Vote tab beneath one of the contestant's contest entries.

Can I vote for myself?: Absolutely!

Can I create multiple accounts to vote for myself?: No. Section 4 of the YOBI.tv Terms of Service prohibits members from having more than one account. We scan frequently for suspicious accounts and voting activity. If we determine that a YOBI member is in violation of our Terms of Service, we disable all of that member's accounts, reverse all of that member's votes, and permanently ban that member from the YOBI community.

Can I ask my friends to vote for me?: Actually, that is exactly what we recommend you do! Recruiting votes from your friends, family, and acquaintances is the best way to secure a pool of steady voters for your entries.

How can I attract more attention and votes?: We highly recommend that you use the sharing links, vote for me buttons, and embed codes on the Sharing and Embed Codes tab on your contest entry pages. Utilize the online social networking tools at your disposal. Word-of-mouth and traditional offline networking strategies are useful too.

How many contestants can I vote for?: Every YOBI member can vote for 5 contestants per contest per week during the qualifying rounds. This number may change during the final rounds.

Can I increase the number of contestants I can vote for?: Yes. Upgrading to a YOBI Premium Membership will allow you to vote for 2 additional contestants per contest per week during the qualifying rounds. A set number of additional votes are also available for purchase. These numbers may change during the final rounds.

Who is eligible to vote?: Every member of the YOBI community is eligible to vote.

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Talent Scouting

Who can be a YOBI talent scout?: All YOBI members who vote are talent scouts.

Why do you call voters talent scouts?: Our voters view entries by unsigned and independent contestants and vote for those whom they like best -- essentially scouting the talent in the YOBI community.

Do you keep track of the talent scouts?: Yes. We acknowledge a Top talent scout for each contest for each preliminary round. The Top talent scout is the voter whose ballot most accurately predicted which artists our community would advance that week.

Can the Top talent scouts win anything?: Yes. Although we are still in the process of developing the talent scout initiative, we will indeed be offering some sort of prizes to the Top talent scouts.

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Profiles

How do I create or edit my profile?: Click on your username in the upper right corner and follow the Update My Profile link.

Why can't I upload a profile picture?: Currently, profile pictures must be at least 100px wide. Please make sure the picture you are uploading fits this requirement.

Why won't my bio video upload?: Our video encoder supports all formats, but .m4a and .mp4 seem to work the best for our members. If you're having trouble uploading a bio video, try one of those formats.

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Premium Memberships

What does a gold star emblem mean?: The gold star emblem designates our YOBI.tv Premium Members.

Where do I purchase a Premium Membership?: Premium Memberships can be purchased here. http://yobi.tv/premium_subscriptions/purchase

What are the benefits of becoming a Premium Member?: Premium Members are recognized as valuable members of the YOBI community and are able to cast additional votes throughout the duration of our contests.

What is the Premium Membership length?: We offer three different Premium Membership lengths: 30 days for $0.99, 90 days for $2.79, and 365 days for $9.99.

Is this a one-time purchase or can I do a subscription?: Your choice. PayPal will give you both options to choose from.

How do I pay?: Transactions are handled via PayPal.

Why is my Premium Membership gold star emblem not appearing on my profile?: It can take a few minutes for the emblem to appear. If it's still missing after 15 minutes, send an email to support@yobi.tv and we'll investigate.

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YOBIAct Contest Entries

What kind of entry is eligible for YOBIAct?: All YOBIAct entries must feature the contestant as a performer. Eligible entry types include but are not necessarily limited to sketches, shorts, and stand up comedy routines. Entries must be submitted under the appropriate gender category, and entries may not contain copyrighted musical or visual material.

Can my comedy troupe submit entries to YOBIAct?: As a group, No. You, however, as an individual in a comedy group, can -- provided that you are the main character or one of the main characters in the entry. We recommend you indicate in the description of the entry which character or part you play, as YOBI voters will be voting on your individual performance.

Can more than one person upload the same entry to YOBIAct?: Yes, provided that each person who uploads the entry plays one of the main characters in the entry. We recommend that each performer indicate in the description of the entry which character or part they play, as YOBI will be voting on their individual performances.

Can I enter my funny film into both YOBIAct and YOBIFilm?: Yes, provided that you are the primary film maker of the film and are featured as one of the primary performers in the film itself.

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YOBIFilm Contest Entries

What kind of entry is eligible for YOBIFilm?: All YOBIFilm entries must be shorts or trailers and must have some sort of storyline in which at least one character participates. Entries may not contain copyrighted musical or visual material.

What if more than one film maker worked on a film?: Only the primary film maker involved in the filming, directing, and editing of the film should submit the entry to the contest. Groups of film makers will have to decide who the primary film maker is.

Can more than one film maker upload the same film into YOBIFilm?: No. Each YOBIFilm contest entry can only be associated with a single film maker.

Can the film maker be in the film?: Absolutely.

Can I enter my funny film into YOBIAct?: Yes, provided that you are the primary filmmaker of the film and are featured as one of the primary performers in the film itself.

Can I submit a music video to YOBIFilm?: No. YOBIFilm entries should be either shorts or trailers.

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YOBIPics Contest Entries

What kind of entry is eligible for YOBIPics?: All YOBIPics entries must be original photographs. No copyrighted visual material is allowed.

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YOBISing Contest Entries

What kind of entry is eligible for YOBISing?: All YOBISing entries must be vocal performances of original songs or of songs that are in the public domain. No copyrighted musical or visual material is allowed.

If I write original music but don't sing, can I still enter YOBISing?: YOBISing contest entries must have a vocal component.

Can I submit a cover into YOBISing?: No. Covers and other remakes of copyrighted songs will be flagged for copyright violation and removed from the contest pages.

Can I enter my band into YOBISing?: Not exactly. You can certainly upload entries in which your band plays the music. YOBISing is a contest for singers, though, so you must enter the contest as an individual vocalist.

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Winning and Prizes

What can I win in the YOBI Contests?: Our contest winners have the opportunity to be involved in original webseries that star some of today's hottest media personalities. These opportunities are designed both to maximize the exposure of our winners' talents and to provide our winners with unique career opportunities that are available nowhere else.

Where can I find prize listings for each contest?: The prizes for each contest will be announced on the individual contest channels.

How can I increase my chances of winning?: The most successful YOBI contestants utilize social networking to promote their entries across the web. Word-of-mouth and traditional offline networking strategies can yield positive results as well.

Why is the YOBI.tv Legal Team asking for a photo of my ID?: We must verify the identity of all contest winners for legal reasons. If you do not wish to send us your verification materials, you will unfortunately become ineligible to collect your prize.

Why is the YOBI.tv Legal Team asking me to authorize a background check?: We are required to conduct a criminal background check on individuals who win prizes that include travel and/or direct interaction with the cast and crew of YOBI, LLC Productions. If you do not wish to authorize the background check or if you fail the background check, you will unfortunately become ineligible to collect your prize.

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Miscellaneous

Is YOBI.tv accepting resumes?: We will post announcements when we are. Unsolicited resumes or requests for employment will generally not be responded to.

How do I delete my YOBI.tv account?: You may deactivate your account.

I want to enter one of my YouTube videos into a YOBI contest, but don't have the original video file. Is there a way to download the file from YouTube?: Search "YouTube download tool" in your favorite search engine to see your options.

Your ads intermittently invade my computer. Is this a virus? How do I remove YOBI.tv from my laptop?: You do not have a virus or anything invading your computer, and we are not in your laptop in any way. For more info, visit http://yobi.tv/pages/how-to-delete-yobitv