XNLVerifiedAccount – XNL Future Technologies

XNL Verified Account

If you are considering to request a XNL Future Technologies Verification Badge for your account, then make sure to read ALL the documentation here!

Note: This page is only in regards to the XNL Verified Account (XVA) Badge, for information in regards to all other badges please refer to our Website/Username Badges page.

What is an XNL Verified Account

The XNL Future Technologies verified badge lets you (and others) know that the person, company/brand or account (name) is actually who they claim to be. We also refer to this as an XVA which Means XNL Verified Account

The badge appears next to the username of the account on the profile page(s), posts and other locations of the XNL Future Tech Community. Of course it’s also possible that there are locations on the website where there is no badge visible next to the name (when just being mentioned or listed on a page for example). However, if the account is verified it will always appear on the profile page of of the user.

Accounts which do not have the badge displayed on their profile page, but do show the verification badge elsewhere (like in their avatar for example), are not verified accounts. The verification badge has to be ‘awarded’ by us manually! If you encounter an account which is ‘faking verification’ then please don’t hesitate to report the account. Users who try to fake the XNL Future Technologies Verification Badge are subjected to a permanent ban (regardless of their Patreon status or if they have licensed products active!).

A XNL Future Technologies Verification Badge does not imply an endorsement by me or XNL Future Technologies. Neither does it imply (in any way) that I or XNL Future Technologies shares the opinions, statements or any other type of public releases made by this account, user, person, brand or company.

Why verify?

From here on I will use the ‘stupid simple’ example where for example Microsoft® would need to be active on my platform. So let’s say that we’ve released a product which needs the involvement of Microsoft®, and thus a representative of Microsoft® will create an account on the XNL Future Technologies website. If the representative would then post or reply’s to something on our website (to answer questions from users for example), and it shows ‘Microsoft’ as username, it might be difficult to determine if this is actually someone from Microsoft® or not. The XNL Future Technologies Verification Badge will in situations like these instantly clarify that the account is actually who they claim to be.

Q: So this is only for “big ass company’s”?
A: No, not at all. The Verification Badge is available for many other situations to. But I’ll get to that in the next part.

Who can verify?

Basically any company, brand or person who has an ‘significant audience’, platform or role within the maker community (which for example include: circuit design, programming, 3d Printing, tech education etc.). So this can be equipment manufacturers, software publishers, bloggers, vloggers, YouTube content creators, 3D Modelers etc. As long as it’s within the scope of our community, the account might be eligible for verification.

Basic list for account types which are eligible for verification:

Equipment Manufacturers (Multimeters, Oscilloscopes, power supplies etc.)
IC/Component Manufacturers (like Microchip® for example)
Hardware/Module Distributers/Manufacturers (Like Arduino®, Adafruit® and Sparkfun® for example)
Bloggers, YouTubers or (independent) publishers whom only (or mainly) do: Electronics, 3D Printing/Models, DIY or programming (or all at once of course)
Public Figures whom work or have worked in one or more fields mentioned above.

Do note though that there are some additional requirements and rules to get verified!

Verification Requirements & Rules

Q: So, let me guess, I need to have some ‘insane amount’ of followers/subscribers to ‘proof who I am’???
Q: Nope, not at all. Just calm down and read along 😉

I do not require ‘insane minimums’ when it comes to follower count, subscriber count or ‘website views per month’ to be eligible for verification for other content creators. If you are a content creator and you make legit good content, share awesome stuff, put effort in it etc, then it’s not up to me to determine that ‘you are not worthy of getting verified’. BUT to prevent a ‘massive flood’ of ‘senseless verification’s’, I do have some ‘minimal requirements’ which you have to meet.

These requirements are not ‘unfair’, it just prevents that anyone who has a ‘two month interest and then quits the hobby’ gets verified for no reason.
NOTE: For YouTube only content creators there is a small subscriber requirement which you can read about further on!

To be eligible for the Verification Badge, you will need to meet one or more of the following requirements:

You need to have an ‘fair amount’ of content published already (it be video’s, articles, tutorials, blog-posts, 3D Models or (source) code projects etc.) (‘just two publications’ for example doesn’t count!).
You need to have a (well setup) own platform (like your own website/domain).
You have to be serious and devoted about what you do (just a ‘plain YouTube channel’ with no channel art, logo and only “4 shaky cell-phone video’s” does not qualify).
You have to be/represent a registered brand/company.
You have to be/represent a registered sponsor or (component) supplier (for the community or XNL Future Technologies).

NOTE: You do not have to meet all the requirements above! A ‘one-or-more’ situation applies here. Some rules which however do apply for every verification request:

You have to be active in/with what you claim to do (you are not supposed to apply ‘just to get a fun badge’)
The content/publications etc. you make/do have to be within the topics or interests of our community.
If you are a content creator, then all (>95%) of the content needs to be your own (‘compilations’ “stolen from others” etc. are NOT accepted)!

If you ONLY have a YouTube channel with less than 1000-5000 subscribers (depending on your content type, style etc.), you do not have your own website (.com for example) and you are not (prominently) active on any other (social media-)platform, then there is a requirement where you have to pledge at least once with tier 2 or higher on my patreon page (this would only cost around €2 / $2 excluding vat!).

The reason for this is, that I have had issues with a lot of applications for account verification’s on another platform which I’ve managed a few years ago. These applications where mostly from people whom where from the ‘two months hobby and then ditch again’ group. This did however took a lot of my time. Which is why I’ve decided to include this small ‘fee requirement’ for ‘Smaller YouTube Only Creators’. If you however have pledged once (tier 2 or up) and then decide to stop your pledge again, you will just keep your verification badge. So you do not have to keep paying to keep your badge.

When you’re a maker-channel for example, I / XNL Future Technologies does not require you to have some ‘fancy degree’ or whatever. HOWEVER: If you make educational/tutorial video’s, the information/tutorials etc. you post have to be somewhat helpful and ‘generally correct’! Of course you can also ‘just’ be an vlogger, which shows your own progress and work. In this case it’s not a problem if it’s ‘incorrect’ or if you make many mistakes, because you probably also want feedback from viewers to improve. But I want to avoid too much ‘garbage content’ to be recognized on my platform (‘garbage content’ is defined in the next section).

When not to request verification

This section mainly applies to content creators.
There are also several reasons why I will not verify an account on my platform, some of these reasons may sound ‘blunt as hell’, some reasonable while others might feel ‘unfair’ for some content creators.

I will list a couple of reasons which may cause your Verification Badge Request to be rejected:

Just to say it bluntly: ‘free energy idiots’ will not get verified! PERIOD!
If you are one of those ‘content creators’ whom have the strong urge to create video’s with ‘luring & fake click-bait titles’ like “Life hack which will change your life” followed by an video where you shove a basic component (often a LM7805) with a few passive components and a crapload of ‘hotsnot’ into something like a soda bottle, then please don’t even bother to apply for verification.
If you are one of those ‘content creators’ whom solder a piece of copper to a Jack(headphone) plug and then pretend like you suddenly have ‘free wifi everywhere’ when putting it in your phone: Then please just stay away from my platform. If you are that ‘low’ just to obtain views and mislead viewers, you definitely do not qualify to get verified (and then I don’t care if you have 1 subscriber or 10 million subscribers either!).
If you are one of those ‘content creators’ with tips like ‘fix board/phone water damage’ by putting it in rice: please educate yourself properly, return as viewer to learn something and try getting validated again in a couple of years.
If your content contains highly dangerous content without any proper warnings etc. (for example but not limited to: messing around with high-voltage without proper knowledge, working with toxic/dangerous materials without warning(s) etc.), you most likely will just cause harm to viewers than doing any good. If such behavior appears to be ‘mainstream’ on your channel(s), you will not get verified either.
In general you can assume upfront that ‘amazing life hack’ channels and such will not be accepted for verification!

There might be other reasons which might result in your verification request getting denied, these reasons may or may not be disclosed. Keep in mind that this is my platform, and I’m trying to keep it as ‘clean and useful’ as possible for all users. Aside from being able to enter some ‘promotional details’ about yourself (website, YouTube link etc.) the verification badge does not give you ANY special permissions or ‘rights’ at all.

How to request the Verification Badge

In order to request the verification badge I might require some additional information to verify it is actually the person or brand (representative) who you claim to be. This can be (just for example) directly via your YouTube Channel, your twitter, patreon page/account, email (ONLY if it’s a registered domain though!), through your own website, per phone (in RARE circumstances!) or other forms of validation. PRIVACY NOTE: Additional information like phone numbers and such will NOT be stored in any way on our servers!

If you are trying to get a company/brand account verified, then your account has to be registered from an official domain email address. For example: If you are trying to verify ‘the account Microsoft’, then the account itself should already be linked and activated from an official Microsoft® owned (email) domain (microsoft.com for example).

Of course if your company/brand has sub divisions which use other domain names, this would not be an problem either. But Gmail, outlook, hotmail, iCloud mail, Yahoo, AOL, GMX etc. email addresses do NOT qualify to verify official brand names.

To apply for verification you can use our contact page and request a XNL Verified Account through the form. Make sure that you are logged-in to the account you’re applying for and that you provide information about your platform, and if you have them: Your website link, Youtube channel (link) and/or a link to your twitter profile page.

What are the ‘extra’s’ for verified accounts?
Basically and very simplistic? Nothing besides that ‘fact’ that you can ‘proof’ your ‘online identity’. Next to that we will add some additional profile information like for example your verified website url, verified YouTube channel url or your verified Twitter account url. These accounts/url’s will be manually added/assigned by me or one of our team, and will be visible on your account profile page. You can however NOT change these verified links and will have to file a request through our contact form if you ever need to change them or if you need to have them removed. This is for ‘fraud prevention, and as an ‘extra security layer’, which serves as ‘extra communication methods’ which we (us and you) can use in case of situations where for example one or more of your platforms or accounts have been compromised.

My Verification request got denied what now?
Well first of: Don’t put too much value into the verification, and secondly: There might be additional information provided why your validation request has been rejected. Whether I’ve provided information in regards to rejecting your verification or not, you will be able to re-apply after about 30 days again.

What not to do when you’re verified

Some basic rules (aside from the other conditions and rules states on this page!) are:
– Don’t pretend like you’re some ‘elitist’ due to the Verification Badge, because you’re not. We all go to the toilet, and so do you!
– Don’t make ‘exceptions or exclusion’ when communicating with other users on our platforms just because they are either verified or not! All people on our platforms are equal.
– Don’t use your verification badge or XNL Verified Account (XVA) ‘status’ as “something special” in for example promotional materials, campaigns or in any other form (as in: ‘don’t brag!’, like I’ve said: It’s not some ‘special status’, it’s an anti-fraud method!)
– Don’t make anything of your business, platform or anything else depend on your XNL Verified badge, your XNL Verified Account (XVA) depends on such status. We do not accept any liability in any way if you for example lose either your verification badge, XNL Verified Account (XVA) or your account completely! Basically: DO NOT let your business or income depend on one ‘stupid badge’!
– Don’t ask for special perks, discounts or any other “extra’s” just because you have a verified account, like mentioned before: It does not provide you with ANY extra rights compared to our other members.
– And again, just because we can: Don’t feel like you’re better or more special than the rest just because you have a ‘blue check’ next to your name. Well okay We can’t tell how you feel (obviously), but at-least don’t act on it, don’t be smug about it etc etc.. in short: Don’t be an A$$.

What does it not mean when you’re verified

That you have a verification badge is nothing more than an indication for other users that we/I have validated/confirmed that you are who you claim to be. The verification badge does not mean that I (or XNL Future Technologies for that matter) share your views, opinions etc. Neither does it mean that I or XNL Future Technologies approves or condones your behavior, posts (on your own or on our platforms) or that “we’ve got your back”, and neither does it mean that we are “best buddies” to say it very simplistic. The verification badge does not confirm (nor it denies) any partnerships, collaborative works or any other type of partnering.

Disclaimer Regarding Verification Badges

In RARE circumstances it might happen that someone gets falsely verified, this is most likely to happen when someone for example has (or had) access to one or more of your official accounts on other platforms (which I will use to verify with personal direct contact). If this is the case then first realize it’s probably your own fault for either using weak passwords, leaking data or giving ‘the wrong people’ access to your account(s). However, if such verification occurred, and you are NOT in control of the account, the owner or creator of the account, then please don’t hesitate to contact me. We will then discuss the possibilities on (re-)claiming the account and it’s full ownership. Such procedure would however obviously require ‘hard evidence’ that you are indeed the real owner of the brand/platform name!

Do also keep in mind that (as mentioned earlier) the XNL Verification badge and/or the XNL Verified Account (XVA) status does not grand you any extra rights compared with other users. This also means that you do not get any extra priority in support or so.

Despite doing my best efforts to guarantee a correct verification process, I (nor XNL Future Technologies) can be held responsible for incorrect verification, I always try to use more than one verification method during verification, but if one or more of those used methods are for example compromised, it can be (very) hard to determine if it’s really the ‘real person’, entity, brand or company.

Legal

XNL Future Technologies reserves the right to revoke any verification badge for any reason, whether or not for Cause. We reserve the right to change our XNL Verification Badge and our XNL Verified Account (XVA) Terms and Conditions, guidelines and/or the ‘rules’ at any time without prior notice. The XNL Verification Badge or the XNL Verified Account ‘status’ does not give you any legal rights and/or advantages, nor does it provide you with any ‘diplomatic powers’ on our platform(s) and/or it’s affiliated websites. XNL Future Technologies does not accept any liability or responsibility in regards to you having or not having an XNL Verified account, or the fact that you for example might have lost your XNL Verification Badge or the XNL Verified account in it’s whole.

Last Updated: 01-03-2022

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