BME FAQ
BME FAQ Welcome to the BME FAQ. This FAQ was created to help users familiarize themselves with the functions of BME. This FAQ was last updated January 31, 2020.
Types of Subscriptions
Free Subscription This subscription is designed to let you experience the content and community BME has to offer. You will have access to between 45-100 photos per gallery in each of the following galleries, Piercing, Tattoos, Scarification, Culture and Ritual. By signing up for a free profile and filling it out completely, including providing your mailing address, you allow us the opportunity to do such things as send out free shirts or host other giveaways. Please note that all of the information you share with us is secure. Any information shared with us helps us to customize the user experience as we add new features. We do not share or publish your information. This free subscription does not include access to IAM.
BME Gallery Subscription This is the basic, paid subscription to BME and gives you access to millions of photos and tens of thousands stories. You will have access to the following BME Galleries, Piercing, Tattoos, Scarification, Culture and Ritual.
BME Hard Gallery Subscription This subscription is for those interested in the harder content sections that are part of BME. This subscription provides access to all piercing and tattooing content, including male & female genital piercing and tattooing, and all of the implant photos, 3D art and more. This subscription does *not* include hard videos.
BME Hard Video Subscription The hard video content is the hardest content available within the community. This content is extreme and uncensored and may be unsuitable for some viewers.
IAM Standard This buys IAM time only and does not give you access to any of the BME galleries. Please see the IAM FAQ for more information about IAM.
To subscribe to BME, go to bme.com/subscribe
Subscription Fees
- Gallery Subscription - $10/every 30 days
- Hard Gallery Subscription - $24.99/1st month, rebills at $10 every 30 days after
- Hard Video Subscription - $10/every 30 days
- IAM Subscription - $10/6 months
All subscriptions rebill by default. You can uncheck this option on sign up or cancel rebilling at any time.
To subscribe to BME, go to bme.com/subscribe
IAM access is included with a BME subscription listed above. Please email BME Support to activate IAM on your profile.
Credit Cards
BME accepts all major credit cards. We follow the most stringent guidelines and abide by strict rules to protect the integrity of our members personal information. Your card details are not viewable by anyone other than the last 4 digits and the expiration date, which is common among all websites. If you have any concerns or questions please feel free to contact BME support.
Updating Your Credit Card Information
If the credit card you have on file is expiring or your information has changed, you can update that information yourself by logging in to your account and going to the following:
https://www.bme.com/accounts/profile/accountprofile/
Under the heading Credit Card Information you will see:
Credit card on file: XXXX expires on M/YYYY. Delete
Click on Delete and then you will be able to enter the new information for your card.
Time Zone
Rebilling takes place on EDT timezone, -04:00 hours, regardless of which time zone you are in.
Signing Up
You can create your free profile here. Did you get a message saying your email address must be unique? That means you're already in the system and instead of trying to create a new account, all you need to do is log in. Remember, to log in you enter your email address and password. Forgotten your password? Don't worry, you can have it reset here.
Resetting Your Password
Currently, the password reset link below is not working. If you need to reset your password, email BME Support.
If you have lost or forgotten your password you can have it reset here.
Canceling Billing
If you wish to cancel the billing on any of your accounts you can do so at any time. Canceling billing will cause your account to expire on the date it was set to bill you next so canceling it early won't cause you to lose anything.
If you DO NOT want your membership any more, please follow these steps:
1: Visit https://www.bme.com/accounts/profile/accountprofile/
2: Log in to your account if prompted - then click on the billing info tab, located on the left.
3: Scroll down and locate your membership under "Subscriptions"
4: If you see a link entitled "Cancel", please click on it to cancel automatic renewal of your membership
Make sure you do this before your account bills. You will continue to have access up until your bill date, at which time your account will expire.
You can continue to log in to your profile after your account expires and if you wish to sign up again, you can simply log in to your existing profile and visit the subscribe link.
BME Profile
Your profile is the place where you can manage all of your information. Your profile is broken down into sections.
Personal Info This section contains your name and email address. You can add secondary email addresses here. Any previous email addresses you've used for submissions can be claimed here. You'll need to enter your password for that address. If you don't know your password you can have it reset. If you no longer have access to that email account, you can contact BME Support.
This section also allows you to make your submissions to BME anonymous (otherwise they will include your username).
You are required to fill in your date of birth. Make sure you fill this in accurately.
Billing Info If you want to purchase an account, you'll need to enter your billing address. This should match the address your bank has on file otherwise we may not be able to bill your card. Below your credit card information you can see your subscriptions. Any active rebilling accounts will have a "cancel" link beside them. Clicking this link at any time will stop your account from rebilling and it will expire on the date it was originally set to rebill.
My Content This section includes all of your submissions to BME under any claimed email addresses associated with your account. This is also where you go to upload photos to BME. Your list of favorite photos and videos can also be found in this section.
Uploading Photos
In your profile, under the media section you will find any photos you've submitted to BME in the past under the email address associated with your account. (Hint: You can claim previous email addresses in the Personal Info section). On the right you can see the text that says "Add New: Album Photos Videos Stories". If you want to add a photo, click on the word Photo. Click browse to find the photo on your desktop. You can select just one photo or multiple photos. Once you've selected the photos you want, click upload.
Once your image or images have uploaded you're taking to a new page that contains only unpublished images. Click on the photo you want to edit. Give it a title. This is necessary if you want to submit your photo to BME. If your photo contains nudity or is sexually explicit, please check the box stating that your photo is unsuitable for minors. You must be 18+ to upload this type of content. Below that is a box that says "submit to BME". You're going to want to check that box!
Fill in the artist information if you know it. The name of the studio, where appropriate. The location. If you want to write a short description, you can put that into the box. Before you can move on you need to place your photo into the appropriate category. Once you have done this, you can click "save" . This sends your photo to the moderation queue. Your photo will say "awaiting moderation" under it until it has been approved, after which the photo will say "approved".
See the BME FAQ: Visual Guide for more help uploading photos.
Image Tagging
When you’re tagging an image, make sure you draw a box around the specific mod. If you have a nose piercing, you want to draw a box around the piercing itself, not your entire head or the entire photo. The purpose of tagging is to help people who may not be familiar with this type of mod and to make the search function much more useful. By properly tagging your mods in your photo, you’ll help to make BME much more functional and easy to use.
Image Submission Requirements
The following guidelines should be considered when submitting photos to BME.
- The minimum size for all photos submitted to BME is 640x480. Bigger is better.
- Photos should be in focus and the body modification in question should be the main focus of the photo.
- While you can submit webcam photos, please make sure you have ample light and that the photos are clear.
- Photos that have been photoshopped extensively will not be accepted. While they may look really cool, this site focuses on body modification so your photos should not be artistic renderings but the real you and your real mods. This includes filters and camera phone applications.
- When tagging your photos please make sure you are picking true categories. "Tattoos" isn't a category nor is it helpful to tag your photos with as many categories as you can. Stick to what is actually in the picture.
If you're having trouble getting a clear photo please feel free to check out our Guidelines for Taking Photos.
Some advice when taking photos for submission:
- If you have access to a real camera over a webcam, use the real camera.
- Use the highest settings on your camera for best results.
- Whenever possible avoid taking photos indoors at night. This is particularly true when using a webcam.
- If you are indoors, especially if it's nighttime, make sure the room you are in is well lit.
- Make sure your camera focuses on the object of the photo prior to taking the shot.
- If you are taking a picture in a mirror, make sure the mirror is clean and that you are close enough that your mods are visible in the photo. If the image is reversed and you're taking a photo of lettering, please make sure the photo is flipped the right way before submitting.
- Make sure photos are not sideways or upside, this often occurs when you are holding your camera at a wrong angle. If they are sideways or upside down make sure you fix them before submitting them.
- Whenever possible have someone else take the photo for you. It's extremely difficult to get really good photos of your own mods unless you've got a timer on your camera and a tripod (or a remote).
- Don't stand so close that your camera can't properly focus on the object you're trying to photograph.
- Do not submit photos taken with a camera phone filter or any other application that will obscure or otherwise deteriorate the image. These apps may be fun and the images may look really cool but people who visit the site do so wanting to see clear photos of body modification.
The key is to make sure there is maximum light and that your camera is properly focused on the mod you're trying to photograph.
Video Submission Information
BME accepts the following file formats for video submissions:
- *.avi, *.wmv, *.mov, *.mpg, *.mp4, *.m4v
If you have a choice when exporting videos, then MP4 with h264/x264 encoding or WMV is going to be the best.
There is no maximum file size enforced by the uploader. There is also no maximum length for video submissions.
The most appropriate resolutions are:
- 640x360 or higher for widescreen (16:9)
- 480x360 or higher for normal (4:3)
While we can accept HD video, they will be reduced in quality somewhat as we use VBR (Variable Bit Rate) encoding with a 60% compression ratio.
Submitting by Email
You can submit photos and/or videos to BME via email by sending them to [email protected]. In order to have your submissions properly credited to your account, you must use the email address associated with your account to upload the photos. If you don't already have an account one will be created for you.
Please remember that the submissions must be sent as attachments in the email. These emails are handled automatically by a bot so you must include the photos as an attachment, not send a link to where we can find your photos.
Story Submission Requirements
The following is required when submitting stories to be published on BME:
- Stories must be a minimum of 800 words. They must be on topic. That means you cannot fill up the quota by adding nonsense text, lyrics or other information unrelated to the story itself.
- Stories should be about one mod only. The only exception is when multiple mods take place in one session, for example if you were to get your lip and your eyebrow pierced at the same time.
- You cannot use your story to make libelous allegations towards any individuals or shops. While we encourage people to write about negative experiences they may have, we cannot publish stories that contain unfounded allegations, references to events that did not involve you personally, etc. Stick to the facts of your own experience. We realize that people who have had negative experiences are often angry. It may be wise to wait until you have cooled down somewhat before writing your story to avoid unnecessary name calling and "trash talking".
- Stories involving nipple piercings, genital piercings and anything of an adult nature can only be submitted by those over the age of 18.
- Stories can only be written and submitted by the person involved, either as the one getting the modification or the one doing it. You can't write about your friend's experience.
- All stories must be written using proper spelling and grammar. No text speak. Try to avoid the use of too much slang. BME is an international online magazine, readers all over the world will be viewing your story. The use of copious amounts of slang may make it impossible for non-native speakers to understand your story.
- Please make sure your story has proper structure. All links should be working. It should include paragraphs separated by a blank line, not one giant block of text. Remember that the goal is to allow others to share in your experience and in order to do that your story needs to be readable.
- Please note that any stories containing racist or otherwise offensive language will be denied and you will be asked to remove such content before resubmitting. BME is a site built around tolerance and it's membership is diverse. Please keep this in mind when choosing your words.
- Please ensure that you choose the correct category for your story. It may be turned down if you choose an incorrect category.
It may be helpful to check out the BME Reviewer's FAQ. These are the guidelines those reviewing your story will follow. For the most part, when a story is denied, it is encouraged to fix whatever issues caused the denial and resubmit. Please do not take a denied story personally.
If you receive a rejection and feel that the comments left for you by a reviewer or reviewers was inappropriate, please contact [email protected]
Age Requirements
Please note that you must be 18 years old or older to submit photos, stories or videos involving sexual activity, genitals or nipples.
Type of Content for Access
Male genital piercings get a BME Gallery subscription (to the main galleries like piercings, tattoos, and ritual, as well as to genital piercing, implants, and erotic tattoos) and female genital piercings get a BME Hard subscription. Media for the public galleries get a BME GAllery subscription.
All submissions allow you to start (or extend your access to the) IAM community site as well.
Bonus Galleries
Bonus galleries are galleries for individual members. You can find individual member galleries in the following places:
- Piercer Portfolios
- Tattoo Artist Portfolios
- Scarfication Artist Portfolios
- Studio Staff Scrapbooks
- Suspension Crews
- Body Modification Artists (18+)
- Hard Bonus Galleries (18+)
If you would like to set up a bonus gallery of your own, please email BME Support. Please state what type of gallery it is you would like to set up and what name the gallery should use. Note that a user can have multiple galleries in some instances. For example, an artist may have both a Piercing Portfolio and a Body Modification Portfolio. Users are limited to one hard bonus gallery per user.
Once a bonus gallery has been set up for you, you can begin tagging your submissions under the name you provided. Note that you are encouraged to continue to submit content both under your bonus gallery tag and whatever other tag your media may belong in. For example, a tattoo artist may tag a photo to their bonus gallery as well as the floral tattoos gallery.
Safe Mode
After logging in to BME, at the very top of the page there is an option to either turn Safe Mode on or off. Turning "safe mode" on means that all images containing adult content will be blocked. Turning it off means that all images with adult content may be viewed. Please note that you must be 18 years old or over to view adult content on the site.
Leaving Comments
Comments can only be left by users who are logged in. Comments you leave are attached to your account. You are responsible for your behaviour on the site. Please be aware that any comments which are malicious, libelous or otherwise inappropriate can result in the termination of your account. Try to adhere to the rule, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."
If someone has left comments on your own piece of media and you find them to be inappropriate, please contact BME Support.
Favorite Photos & Videos
Within the BME galleries you will find an "add to favorites" button beside each photo and video. By clicking on this button you will add the piece of media to a personal list of "favorites". No one else can see this list, it is just for you. To see your favorite media, go to "edit account & profile" and scroll down to My Content. Under this heading you will find the link for Favorite Media. You can also go directly to your favorite media by clicking here.
Please note that you must have a BME profile to use this feature. Signing up for a BME profile, as mentioned above, is completely free.
Tattoo Categories
Tattoos can fall in more than one category. Where one would avoid selecting multiple categories is in cases of something like a flower tattoo. Submitting it to the floral tattoos section is the most appropriate place for it to be rather than wildlife and nature. However if your tattoo contains more imagery than just a flower, you may find it appropriate to submit to more than one category.
These are not hard and fast rules. Don’t worry if you’re not sure if you chose the right category. This is meant merely as a guide to help you out in choosing the most suitable category for your images. It isn’t meant to be a debate on whether or not a certain type of tattoo is actually considered one style or another, just a way to help sort through the categories and hopefully make choosing them a little easier.
If your image gets rejected because it was submitted to the wrong category all you need to do is go back to your edit screen and choose the category again. Click save and the photo will go back into the moderation queue. In the future we hope that you can help us to clean up any miscategorized images but for now you can help by carefully selecting the appropriate category for your photo.
A list of tattoo categories and an explanation of the gallery's contents can be found here.
You can also find a list of all of the categories on BME on the BME Gallery Map page.
Free Memberships
Submitting photos, videos or stories to BME will get you a free membership. The type and length of membership depends on the type and number of submissions.
3 photos in the regular galleries (tattoos, piercings, etc.) will get you a 1 month Gallery membership.
3 photos in the hard galleries (hard and surgical) will get you a 1 month Hard Gallery membership.
1 hard video will give you 1 month Hard Video membership.
1 story will grant you 1 month of membership. The type of membership depends on the type of story, regular Gallery or Hard Gallery.
Submitting more will grant you a longer membership. The membership awards works on a cumulative basis. You cannot "work the system" by submitting 3 photos at a time. That is, you submit 3 and gain 1 month membership. When you've reached 10 photos you gain a 2 month membership, etc.
| Months | Photos | Hard Photos | Hard Videos | Stories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 20 | 20 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | 40 | 40 | 10 | 10 |
Once you reach the maximum number of submissions on the list above, the rewards process cycles back to the start and repeats itself.
What's New
Are you looking for the newest content added to the site?
Each of the following main categories displays the latest content that has been added to the entire section.
Each of these links displays the latest content added to the entire gallery:
The scroll bar displays a list of the sub-galleries located within each section. Use the scroll bar to find a specific gallery or view the latest images in the entire parent section via the links above.
Leaderboards and Awards
At the end of the year, BME announces the top contributors to the website. Generally this is posted to ModBlog in early January. In the past, BME has awarded top contributors with a t-shirt. The 2011 awards saw contributors receive a BMEshop gift certificate.
To view the submissions leaderboards, go here.
Browsing the Galleries
If you are looking for help browsing the site, go to the BME FAQ: Visual Guide.
Research
If you are using BME for academic research please view the following page, BME Research Guide.
Legal
BME is a registered trademark of BMEzine.com LLC
All pages and images copyright © 1994-2022 BME.com, LLC unless otherwise noted. BME is a registered trademark of BMEzine.com, LLC. All rights reserved. Duplication or distribution of this media is forbidden except with express permission. Many of these pages contain documentation of dangerous or life-threatening activities of questionable legality — BME accepts no responsibility or liability for the actions of others and urges anyone interested in this subject to educate themselves completely and seek professional assistance. Please view with respect and intelligence, or don't view at all. Experiences, articles, and pictures on BME are not an endorsement and not always representative of the opinions of BME. Experiences are written and reviewed by the general public and have not generally been edited by BME staff in any way, and are wholly the opinion of the authors.
If you see someone using a photo from BME on another site, you can report it here.
Privacy
The information you share in your personal profile is private. BME does not share or publish any of your information without consent. By signing up for a free profile and providing your mailing address you allow us to customize the user experience as we continue to add new features to the site. Having your information on file means that we will be able to host free giveaways and other exciting new features which we are working to develop.
Suggestions
Do you have a suggestion for a feature you'd like to see on the site? Or maybe a suggestion for a gallery you feel is missing? All suggestions can be emailed to BME Support.
Contact
If you have a question or concern that isn't addressed here, please email BME Support. We do our best to answer all emails in a timely manner. If you do not receive a reply within 1-2 days, please feel free to write inquire again. Please note that the only way to contact BME's customer support is via email.
If you have a question about an order or product from BMEshop, please contact [email protected].