MUFON CMS FAQ

 

Introduction

What is CMS?

The new MUFON Case Management System, also known as MUFON CMS or just CMS, replaces WUFOD as MUFON’s Worldwide UFO Database. In short it is a comprehensive UFO reporting and investigative tool that moves the UFO investigative process into the 21st century and will;

  • Allow a witness to easily report a UFO Sighting to MUFON via the Internet
  • Act as a repository for sighting reports, investigation reports, as well as any audio, video, photographic, drawings, sketches or other files related to a case.
  • Allow a State or National Director to manage their organization and the investigative process including the assignment of  Field Investigators (FI) to a case and easily following up on the status of their portfolio of a case or cases.
  • Give investigators the ability to manage their cases and attach their investigation reports and associated documentation directly to the sighting reports so that everything is available and stored in one place.
  • Easily search the MUFON CMS database for other sightings of a similar or different nature as you wish.

 

Login

How do I log in to CMS?

To log in you first must be a member of MUFON and hold the status of International Director, State Director, Assistant State Director, State Section Director or Field Investigator.

  1. Go to the CMS login page
  2. Enter your Username and password
    • If you are logging in for the first time your username and password will be the same as your MUFON member ID number
    • Immediately change your username and password to one of your choice.
    • Your password must be alphanumeric (letters and numbers) and must contain at least one digit.

I'm a member of MUFON. Why can't I log in to CMS?

To log in you  must be a member of MUFON and hold the status of International Director, State Director, Assistant State Director, State Section Director or Field Investigator.

If you do hold one of these positions and still can't log in, or otherwise feel you are entitled to access CMS, please contact Jan Harzan.

 

User Profile

I've selected my cellphone provider. Why doesn't it show when I visit my profile?

Your cellphone provider is not stored in the CMS database. Once you have entered your cell number and selected a provider an SMS address (text message address) is generated. When you press "Save" this address is stored for UFO Report notification. On subsequent visits to your profile your cell provider box will be blank.

I've made changes in my CMS (Profile, UFO Case Reports etc.). Why aren't they showing up?

If you've made changes to your profile or UFO cases you may need to refresh your browser to view your changes. Open your page and press Ctrl-F5 on your keyboard to do a full reload of your page.

My cellphone provider isn't listed. What do I do?

If your provider isn't listed please contact Jan Harzan or Terry Groff and provide them with the name of your provider. It's possible that the name may be listed differently than what you are looking for. If not we will research your provider for the correct SMS data and add it to the options list.

 

Investigator Case Files

Why are some of the values I've entered are empty when I re-edit a case file. 

While CMS is compatible with most major browsers some users have noted this problem. One solution is to try different browsers. Some excellent browsers besides Internet Explorer and Netscape are: Firefox, Opera and FlashPeak SlimBrowser It could also be a memory allocation problem. Try increasing the memory in your computer.

What is that "BGE" button at the top of my case file page?

This will take you to the Ballester-Guasp Report Evaluator.

  • The BGE will calculate the
    • Information Quality,
    • Witness Reliability,
    • Strangeness
    • and Certainty values of a given report.

 

Search

How do I search the CMS database? 

  1. login to CMS
  2. Click "Search the Database"
  3. Select search criteria
  4. Press "Submit"