Author Topic: Board FAQ?  (Read 19846 times)

Offline Paynesgrey

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Re: Board FAQ?
« Reply #15 on: February 01, 2008, 05:39:12 AM »
What are the rules for personal avatars?  Size, content, etc.  I had a killer one from one of my sister's photo shoots, great set, great model, etc,  but feared the Girl in the Machine would be too risque or somesuch.  I've got heaps artistic and just plain cool stuff I could use, but don't want to cause fuss and bother.  And definately don't want it to turn into one of those forums whre everybody gets their avatars at Beds, Boobs, and Behinds.  You know the ones I'm talking about.  All close up thong or cleavage shots, with the occassional God of Bowflex thrown in.

Offline Priscellie

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Re: Board FAQ?
« Reply #16 on: February 03, 2008, 06:30:08 AM »
What are the rules for personal avatars?  Size, content, etc.  I had a killer one from one of my sister's photo shoots, great set, great model, etc,  but feared the Girl in the Machine would be too risque or somesuch.  I've got heaps artistic and just plain cool stuff I could use, but don't want to cause fuss and bother.  And definately don't want it to turn into one of those forums whre everybody gets their avatars at Beds, Boobs, and Behinds.  You know the ones I'm talking about.  All close up thong or cleavage shots, with the occassional God of Bowflex thrown in.

Keep them tasteful and kid-friendly.  Standard size is 100x100, but as long as it's under 125x125ish, it's cool.  (Like the banners, though, we only ever really enforce it when there's a really egregious example.)

Offline Shandra

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Re: Board FAQ?
« Reply #17 on: February 06, 2008, 10:52:24 PM »
Alright, this is the collected works of Shakespeare of the FAQ we've created here.  Moderators, I also have an unformatted .txt version of this if you'd prefer to work from that.  If anyone else has any more FAQ questions or answers, keep them coming!

Jim Butcher Online Message Boards FAQ

How do I get my own personal avatar?
---By becoming a wizard, that is, by having 100 posts on the board.

What do the various titles and stars mean under peoples names?

---They are titles that are based on your post count (with the exception of the White Council (see below).
   
How do I become a member of the White Council of the boards?
---The White Council is our moderation team, with special guests (including Jim and Shannon Butcher).  There are currently no openings on the Moderation team (so don't ask).

What are the rules for signatures and how do I add one to my posts?
---Go to your profile, and click on "Forum Profile Information".  It'll bring up the place where you can edit your avatar, and if you scroll down, you'll see a box for signature.  The only rule I'm aware of is you have 300 characters, so whatever you want to say can't go over that.  And keep it clean, this is an all ages message board.  Also, your sig can only be as tall as 5 lines of text, which works out to be about 75 pixels.  The moderators usually only enforce it in particularly egregious instances, but it's there.

What are the rules for personal avatars?
Keep them tasteful and kid-friendly.  Standard size is 100x100, but as long as it's under 125x125ish, it's cool.  (Like the banners, though, the moderators only ever really enforce it when there's a really egregious example.)

How do I create links on the boards?
---You should be able to simply type (or paste) the website URL (the www stuff) in to your post and it will create a link to that URL. However if for some reason this does not work, highlight the URL in your post and click the 'insert hyperlink' button (it looks like a globe) located in the tool-bar above the main body of your post. (Be sure you inserted the URL in it's entirety, the best possible result for this is: right-click your address bar, click copy. Then right-click the body of your post and click paste.)

How do I shorten links to a single word/phrase?
---This is slightly different than a normal link and there is no easy click button. The 'code' should look something like this
Code:
Code: [Select]
[url=your_url_here]Link text[/url]So for example, if I wanted to put a link to www.jimbutcheronline.com but have the link read as "Dresden" in my post, I would type:
Code:
Code: [Select]
[url=www.jimbutcheronline.com]Dresden[/url](Again, it's best to use the copy/paste method when inserting URL's to ensure the accuracy of the link)

How do I add an image to a post?
---First, you need the URL (or 'link') to the image. If the image is on your computer, you should host it online (www.photobucket.com is the most popular/safe image hosting site that I'm aware of and it's free).     
---Place the image's URL in your post (by typing it or pasting it there). Some websites (Like Photobucket) add the 'code' for you. If this is the case, stop here.
---Highlight the URL in your post, and press the 'insert image' button located in the tool-bar above the body of your post.
The end result should look something like:
Code:
Code: [Select]
[img]www.photobucket.com/mypicture.jpg[/img]
(you can also type this out if you type faster than you find buttons)

How and when do I use spoiler tags?
---Spoiler tags are used to cover text (until it's specifically highlighted for viewing) that gives information from a book/movie that others haven't had a chance to read/watch. This typically doesn't involve content that's on-topic or a year or so old, unless you're giving away major plot lines/scenes, however it's always better to use it and not need it than to not use it and spoil it for someone else. Also note that Administrators may post spoiler rules for the newest of content, be sure to read and respect said rules when discussing new releases.
To insert a spoiler tag simply:
Highlight the spoiling text (example: omg so-and-so died so viciously omgz!)
Click the button 'SP' located in the tool-bar above the body of your post. (can't miss it, Black S , white P).
The end result should be:
Code:
Code: [Select]
[spoiler]omg so-and-so died so viciously omgz[/spoiler]Which looks like:
(click to show/hide)

How to set up RSS feeds?
---First thing is first, you need to locate the proper URL.  For a feed that provides updates for the whole of these forums, the URL is: http://www.jim-butcher.com/bb/index.php/feed.xml?action=.xml;type=rss.  A feed for Announcements only would be http://www.jim-butcher.com/bb/index.php/feed.xml?action=.xml;type=rss;board=11. (The difference is that for a single section you add the ;board=# , the # being located in your address bar when you're viewing that section.) (Note: This information is based off This Thread)
Now, you can use the URL for the desired feed in various ways:

(1) RSS Reader programs. These are typically stand alone clients that will update every so often (depending on personal settings) and display X amount of new posts (Typically the 5 newest since last check). And can even play a sound to inform you of updates if you're not at the computer.  A simple and free RSS reader can be found here: www.rssreader.com (I tested this reader to work with the feeds for this site).

(2) Email accounts. Some email accounts allow you to add RSS feeds which will be displayed in various ways. Gmail for example will show the most recent post as a link above your in-box. You can find how to accomplish this by entering 'settings' in your email client/page. (For Gmail you want to go into settings and click the Web Clips tab

(3) Websites. Some account based websites will allow you to add RSS feeds (Google Reader for example). This works pretty much the same as a reader program, except you have to be online, at that site, and some of them wont accept the feeds for this site. (MyYahoo for example).
Alternatively, if you use a browser which supports feeds (such as Firefox). You can simply access these forums and press the 'Subscribe to this page' button (located at the end of your address bar or under bookmarks). This will allow you to add the feed to certain locations without having the exact URL. These locations are: Live Toolbar, Google, MyYahoo (doesn't work at least not for this site), Bloglines, or a Rss Reader program of your choice (doesn't always work). The down side to this option is that you get the 5 newest posts on the forums rather than specified sections, regardless of what section you're on when you subscribe.
« Last Edit: February 06, 2008, 11:00:22 PM by Shandra »
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Offline Helen™

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Re: Board FAQ?
« Reply #18 on: February 07, 2008, 02:36:39 AM »
What's a RSS feed?

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Re: Board FAQ?
« Reply #19 on: February 07, 2008, 07:41:52 AM »
What's a RSS feed?

 Basically it's like an Update Notification Email (if you get those emails anytime someone replies to your post).  Except it's a lot more versatile, updates you regardless of if you've posted, and doesn't clutter your inbox.

 If I were to take an RSS Feed of Weird and put it on my website. It would update every X amount of minutes and the people viewing my website would be able to see the 5 newest posts in the thread.  The information displayed on my site would change as the thread changed.  Then people could click on it from my site and be brought here to chat.

 For the general user, it doesn't have many uses over-all, as most would just as soon come to the forums for their update needs, but for some users who have to bounce around to a bunch of sites, it's easier to use feeds to just get a bunch of updates from a program while they did other work. (IE: If Jim wanted to keep up to date on a forum section or thread while he wrote, he could use RSS feed and have it update him every hour. He could stay up to date without disrupting his work until he felt the need to reply.)

Offline Helen™

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Re: Board FAQ?
« Reply #20 on: February 07, 2008, 12:50:32 PM »
Clear and concise.  I like that.

Thanks for the explanation.

Offline Helen™

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Re: Board FAQ?
« Reply #21 on: February 23, 2008, 07:21:46 PM »
Perhaps a guide as to where new threads belong?  Y'know, if it's just general silliness or personal chat, it goes in McAnnaly's, any discussion likely to raise blood pressure goes in Touchy Topics, any whining or moaning in Angst.  All media related topics...books, movies, TV shows, magazines, etc.., goes in Media.  As for the book discussion sections,  I understand Spoilers, but have a problem with differentiating between Book and Book discussion areas, and I've seen threads moved to the TV section, that I would have thought belonged in the Book area.  So are there any hard and fast rules about this?

Offline BookLover♥

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Re: Board FAQ?
« Reply #22 on: June 11, 2010, 04:21:01 PM »
Is there going to be a time limit in this section of the site?  I would hate to loose this thread...

Offline Berrylovely

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Re: Board FAQ?
« Reply #23 on: June 28, 2010, 08:43:33 PM »
Please clarify.

For the Chat Room:

In the Public Channel--yes or no spoliers? I thought I saw somewhere no spoliers in that channel. Just checking.
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Offline Mal_Luck

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Re: Board FAQ?
« Reply #24 on: June 28, 2010, 08:46:40 PM »
Please clarify.

For the Chat Room:

In the Public Channel--yes or no spoliers? I thought I saw somewhere no spoliers in that channel. Just checking.
As a follow up, define spoilers. Someone mentioned once the book is in paper back it's fine to talk about in non-spoiler sections.
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Offline Priscellie

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Re: Board FAQ?
« Reply #25 on: June 29, 2010, 01:31:13 PM »
You can freely discuss material in the Public channel once it's been out a full year, though it's generally considered polite to give advance warning, just in case someone hasn't gotten that far.  For material that has been out less time than that, you need to discuss it in one of the Spoiler rooms.

Offline XavierDLH

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Re: Board FAQ?
« Reply #26 on: June 29, 2010, 06:34:45 PM »
Could the FAQ answers please be numbered? It would make referencing them easier.


Also, in the answer to the question regarding the shortening of links, there's a small error. The plural form of URL is URLs, not "URL's". The apostrophe could be misconstrued as applying possession, or as a contraction.
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Offline Murphy's Stunt Double

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Re: Board FAQ?
« Reply #27 on: June 30, 2010, 02:01:16 AM »
*pits Xavier and Shecky in a Grammar Nazi cage match*

*starts taking bets*
If you are up to no good, please do no good for me too, okay?   ;D

Offline Shecky

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Re: Board FAQ?
« Reply #28 on: June 30, 2010, 10:45:25 AM »
Yeah, I'm a professional editor and proofreader, and even I am not terribly fussed by that technical misuse.
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Offline Paynesgrey

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Re: Board FAQ?
« Reply #29 on: June 30, 2010, 12:48:00 PM »
And then there's those of us who just hold the english language down and do unkind things until it cries out of pure old meanness...