Why should I register a Username? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By registering a username, you will be able to edit your profile and preferences. You may change your profile to suit your individual taste. There are many options in your profile, so please take a few moments to try the various settings. You must be using a registered username in able to take advantage of the "New Posts" feature upon each visit. Some forums are also hidden from non-members and you must be logged into the board software to see them.
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Why do you ask for two email addresses? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The real email address is used for email notifications, forum subscriptions and to email your password to you when needed. The other email address is what other users will see when they view your profile. We realize that you might wish to keep your email address private, but it is necessary for us to have it in case you would like to subscribe to a forum or if you wish to have replies emailed to you. To make this possible and maintain your privacy, you can give us your real email address that will only be seen by us, and you can also provide a different one for the general public. Some people enter something like scream@no.spam.domain.com. In this manner, others can still figure out what your real email address is, but spamming agents can't just parse through the page and spam you.
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Do I have to accept cookies? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Yes. Cookies are used to track your username/password and which posts you have read for your current session. Without accepting cookies, some functions won't work properly.
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How do I login? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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If you have registered an account (username) within these forums, you must login in order to take advantage of the personalization features. To login, look in the upper right-hand corner of your screen for the Login link. This link will take you to a page where you can enter your username and password. Keep in mind that the password is always case-sensitive. This means that S and s are considered different by the software.
Once you have entered your username and password, you'll be taken to what is called the start page. If you have any private messages, you'll see a flashing envelope at the top left of the menu bar. You can now enter the main forum area by clicking the Main Index link at the top of the page. This will list all of the forums for you. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Help! I'm having trouble logging in! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This checklist may help you successfully login:
1) Make sure that you enter your password correctly. It is case-sensitive. 2) Ensure that your browser supports cookies; if so, check the security level you are using. High levels of security restriction in certain browsers will automatically reject cookies. In order to use the key features of these forums, you'll need to accept cookies. 3) Logout completely by hitting the logout link on the page, and then log back in again. 4) After logging in, you may have to hit the reload/refresh button on your Web browser to expedite the authentication. 5) If you continue to have problems, go to the login page. Enter your username in the username field and click the "I forgot my password" button. A temporary password will be generated and emailed to the email address used for the account setup. You MUST enter a username in the username field before you use this feature. If the email address you used to register your username is no longer valid, you're in trouble. Email an administrator and throw yourself upon his or her mercy.
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Help! I get a message about an invalid host when I try to post! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The full message is as follows: We cannot proceed. The host you are trying to send the input from is not a valid host. Please use your back button to return to the previous page.
This is probably because you're running Norton Internet Security or firewall or another security product that disables referrer logging. Here are the steps that have worked for others using this software: In the Options->web Content window, you need an entry for trekbbs.com that entry should have "Information about visited sites" and "information about your Browser" set to Permit. You'll also want cookies and scripts enabled.
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Help! It says I've been banned! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Check the warnings and bans utility. If your username is listed among those banned, the time limit of your ban will be listed. Since you must have broken the BBS rules on multiple occasions to be banned, there is no appeals process for bans issued under the warnings and bans system.
If your username doesn't appear on that list, you might be permanetly banned. If you were using a dual, don't waste time complaining about the ban. The vast majority of times, if you are banned permanently, you have been told and know why. You may email T'Bonz to appeal, but odds are, if you were banned by her permanently, it means just that. If you were permanently banned in the distant past, you might be permitted back if it is determined that you will be a regular poster and are not here merely to make more trouble.
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What is the string that appears beneath my username in posts? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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It's a system-generated user title. You progress through the various levels according to the cumulative number of posts you have made.
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What are these other titles about? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Everyone has a title within the forum. You will notice them below the username in each post. Most titles are automatically assigned based on the number of posts a user has made, and the rest are assigned by the forum owner to denote official representatives of the company or other VIPs in the forums. Here at the Trek BBS, we have Star Trek themed ranks. Depending on the rank you hold, you'll be able to access a different Officer's Lounge forum.
Here's a list of current Trek BBS ranks:
Note that it is not permitted to post many frivolous messages simply to rise in rank.
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What are those pictures under usernames and how do I get one? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This is called an avatar, and you can have one as soon as you have 100 posts. It can be a photo, cartoon or something completely original.
To get your own avatar, first find the image you want to use or create one yourself using Photoshop or one one the online graphics programs. The avatar must be no more than 20k - 60k for animated gifs - and 100x100 pixels at maximum, and it must not contain any copyrighted material. You'll need some web space which allows "direct linking". Many free web hosts won't allow this, try here for some suggestions. You'll need to upload your avatar to this space. The host should provide help on how to do this. Second, you'll need to specify the URL to your avatar in your TrekBBS profile. Go to My Home, and click Edit next to where it says "Personal information, email, password, etc.". Scroll down to the field labeled "URL to your picture". Click on the little circle next to that phrase, and then enter the URL to where your avatar has been uploaded. Press Submit, and you're done. Your avatar should appear on the My Home screen and next to each of your posts.
We understand that a page full of avatars can be slow to download for some users, therefore if you wish you may hide all avatars. Change this by going to My Home, then click "Edit" next to "Display preferences...", and scroll down to the bottom of the page where you'll see an option to toggle "View user's pictures with their posts?" to Yes or No. Change it to No, and you'll no longer see any avatars. To reverse this, simply toggle it back to Yes. When you've made your choice, press Submit, and the avatars will not appear.
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My avatar vanished or isn't showing up - help! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Remember that your web host must allow remote linking for the image to show up on the BBS. The restrictions detailed above are enforced by a special utility on the BBS. If your avatar is larger than 20k for a jpg, 20k for a png or 60k for an animated gif, then your avatar will be removed automatically. It must not be larger in size than 319x239 pixels - ideally they should be 100X100. You will be sent a Private Message at the same time: so do make sure you turn them on! For more help with avatars, visit the Web Sites & Design Forum. There's more information there as well as people who can help you.
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I posted a message but according to my profile, my post count didn't increase. Why not? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In some forums, the messages you post won't be added to your total post account, and thus count towards your Starfleet rank - until you've made 100 posts in the on topic Trek forums. For example, before posts made in misc will start adding to your total, You must first have made over 100 posts in any of the Trek forums or the Science Fiction and Fantasy forum. Posts made in QSF, the Moderator Actions forum and the Briefing Room will not be added to your total at all.
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Why do I keep getting messages about 'Flood Control'? Why can't I post messages rapidly after one another? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This is 'Flood Control.' It stops people 'flooding' the board with messages, and also prevents strain on the server.
The time limit on the flood control actually varies depending on the load on the server at the time and your rank. If the BBS is busy, with a lot of activity, which slows the server and the BBS down, the flood control will be longer. When there isn't as much traffic, the flood control is reduced automatically. Flood Control applies to many BBS functions, including editing posts and searching as well as posting. This is because all these functions are a drain on the server and thus steps to ensure they can't be used rapidly and slow down the board for other members have been taken. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What are Moderators and Administrators? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Moderators control individual forums. They can edit, delete, or prune any posts in their forums. If you have a question about a particular forum, you should direct it to your forum moderator. You can recognise moderators by the fact that it their usernames are colored green.
Administrators have all the functions of moderators above, but across the whole BBS. They are also responsible for banning users in accordance with the board rules. Think of them as moderators-in-chief. Their usernames are colored yellow.
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How can I be one? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Normally, moderators are chosen by the person running the board, with input from moderators and administrators as needed. If you wish to be a moderator, show that you are a responsible and decent member of the board. Those chosen are chosen because of participation in a forum, behavior, maturity, etc. Pestering moderators, administrators or T'Bonz is not the road to moderatorship. Neither is playing junior moderator in someone's forum. On the other hand, ever expressing the desire to be a moderator doesn't disqualify you from future consideration. If you truly want to be a moderator, you'll post responsibly and you will eventually be noticed. It's not necessary to blow your own horn.
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How do I contact one?If you have a question about the BBS, please post in the Questions, Suggestions & Feedback forum. The email address for moderators and administrators is in their profile - click on their name when you see a post by them. Please note though, that general board questions should be asked in the Questions, Suggestions & Feedback forum. Matters relating to the actions of a member of staff should be raised in the Moderator Actions forum. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I forgot my password! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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If you have forgotten your password, don't worry! You can very easily have a temporary password emailed to you. All you need to do is go to the login page of the forums and enter your Username in the Username field. Then click the button marked 'I forgot my password', and a temporary password will be emailed to the email address of the username you registered.
This process is safe because the password is only emailed to the original owner of the account. There is no way to steal the password by using this feature. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
How do I change my password? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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You may change your password any time. All you need to do is click the My Home option found on any page. Then, under the Main Configuration heading, click on "Personal Information, email, password...". To change your password, simply edit the password and verify password fields on this page. Once you have entered the new password, click submit to save the information. (Keep in mind that passwords are case-sensitive.)
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How do I add an image to my message? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In order to add an image to your message, you must have the image already available on a web server. This must be an image on your own personal web page, or you must have someone hosting it for you. Linking to images on other's sites without permission is called "hot-linking" and is not to be done.
To place an image within a message, simply use the following Markup Tag:
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Can I attach a file to my post? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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No. File attachment has been turned off for these boards.
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Can I donate money to support the BBS? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Thanks for the offer! We may have specific donation drives - if you wish to donate, contact Christian.
There are several other ways to help support the board. You can click an advertisement occasionally. If you shop online at Amazon, you can use a special affiliate code so the BBS will benefit from your purchase. Here are the links to use: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I hate that advertisement. Can you make it go away? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Can you do something about that advertisement?
The advertisements that are displayed at the top of the board come directly from our affiliate, UGO. As a result, we don't directly control their content. If you have a complaint about an ad, you could try contacting them directly. Please don't be tempted to use or place links to ad blocking software on the BBS. We rely on the ads to pay for the board, and blocking them blocks any income. If you post links to such software, it will be removed by a moderator.
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Can I change my username? Can I transfer my exiting post count? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Post count will not be transferred between accounts. The only circumstance this will be wavered in is if your user profile was somehow destroyed. Changing member names is discouraged as a security measure and only minor cosmetic changes (typos, dropping numbers from the end of the name, or such) are permitted to be changed. Once you have a username, it's yours for your tenure on the Trekbbs. Misleading members with false or duplicitous identities (duals) is an offense on the BBS. However, if you are adamant about changing your username, register your new name and contact an administrator to inform them so they can lock your old account. You will begin over as a cadet, so think carefully before you do this. You can reach the administrators in QSF or via email.
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What are the rules? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Registration as a User implies acceptance of the following terms and conditions: - Participants shall not post any material likely to cause offense, that is protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary right - without the express permission of the owner of such copyright - or that contains personal phone numbers or addresses. - Participants may not use the Forums to post or transmit advertisements or commercial solicitations of any kind. - The appropriate Forum Moderator has the right to edit, censor, delete or otherwise modify any posted message. - This web site does not verify or guarantee the accuracy of the material posted to the Forums or bear any responsibility for any loss, damage, or other liabilities caused by any posted message. Do not participate on the Trek BBS unless you have read, understood and agreed to be bound by the Trek BBS Rules. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
How do I edit my profile? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Click the My Home link on the Menu bar. At the bottom of the next screen you will see options for editing your profile.
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What happened to TNZ? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TNZ has been replaced by two separate discussion forums. The Think Tank is the first. It is moderated in the same way as any other forum. The other, The Briar Patch, is more akin to the old style TNZ. It is a hidden forum, open to any who wish to join. You may join by PMing or emailing T'Bonz.
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What are Spoilers and how do you deal with them? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Spoilers are details of a show that give away what has happened. Out of courtesy to fellow posters, do NOT put spoiler information in the thread title! If spoilers are in a thread, make sure that the title of the thread has *spoiler(s)* in it and also at the beginning of your post so that those who don't want to be spoiled, aren't by your post.
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Why doesn't my birthday cake show? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sometimes the birthday cake doesn't show automatically. It will be set to show if you email or PM T'Bonz. She will set it as soon as she gets your PM/email.
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I hate PosterX. How can I avoid his posts? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Click on the poster's name to get his or her profile. At the bottom, there will be a list of options which begins with "send a private message". "Ignore this user" will be one of the options somewhere to the right of that. Click it and you will be able to ignore that particular user.
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How do I permanently delete my account? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Go to "My Home" then click on edit for the "personal information, email, password, etc." option. This brings up the profile screen. At the very bottom of the list, there is an option to lock your account, which will be deleted in due time.
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How do I edit my display preferences? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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There are many aspects of how the Forums are displayed that may be customised. The procedure is similar to that for editing your profile, but in this case, after clicking the My Home link on the Menu bar, you need to select the 'Display preferences, .....' option in the Main Configuration area.
You can choose which language you want the Forums to use, the stylesheet that you want to govern the Forums' look and feel, how many posts there are per page, whether or not you want to view users' pictures alongside their posts, and much more. Once saved, these become your default settings. You may edit these preferences again at anytime. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Why is a post's subject so important? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The first post of a given thread establishes the subject by which all subsequent replies will be known. Once there's been a reply, the thread subject should not be subsequently changed. It's therefore important to get the subject right from the outset. Make it as descriptive and as specific as possible. For example, 'LCD burn-in questions', is much better than something completely generic, such as 'Newbie needs help!'. Not only is it more likely to elicit a response, but it'll also make it much easier for all posts in the thread to be subsequently located.
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How do I find posts that may already have the answer to the question I have? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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One of the key benefits of the discussion board format is that it enables commonly asked questions to be answered once, for the benefit of all. Before posting your question, it is always worth checking to see if it has already been asked - and answered! You can do this via the Search link on the Menu bar. Various options are available, both for how the search term is specified and for controlling how much of the Forums database you want to search. This is where the specificity of thread subjects is important, making it much easier to locate precisely what it is you're after from a list of search results.
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What does the flashing envelope icon on the Menu bar denote? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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It means that you have unread Private Messages. To send and receive 'PMs' both you and the person to whom you are sending a message must have enabled them from within your user profiles. You must both also have over 100 posts.
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What are PMs? Why can't I send them? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The BBS comes with its own Private Message Feature. To use the feature, both you AND the person to whom you're sending the message need to have enabled the feature in the 'My Home' options. It is disabled by default. You also need 100 posts to utilize the feature.
Please do not spam other members via PM. Exclusive use of the PM system will also not be tolerated - in other words, you must be an active poster to use the PM feature. Not posting and using the board like an email system isn't a legitimate use of your BBS account, and we ask that you not do it. Your account may be locked if you abuse the BBS in such a manner. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What do the letters in the Received Private Messages display denote? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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'N' denotes an unread message. 'R' denotes a message that's been replied to. A space denotes a message that's been read but not replied to. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I'm having problems getting the URL tags to work! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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If the tags are showing up in your text or you're getting a link, but it's to 'http:///', you're including some unwanted spaces in the syntax. Avoid any intervening spaces, and everything will work fine.
Tip: You can make shorter links which are more user-friendly and avoid problems other users may have with varying page sizes according to their preferences.
When posting a link to a topic, you can cut out all of the arguments OTHER than the Board and Number. For instance, rather than 'http://www.trekbbs.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board;=UBB18&Number;=99999&page;=0&view;=collapsed&sb;=5&o;=7&fpart;=&vc;=', you can post 'http://www.trekbbs.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board;=UBB18&Number;=99999'
. If that confused you, just ignore. ;)
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How do I lay out my posts so as to have white space between paragraphs? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By hitting carriage return twice at the points where you want to insert a blank line. If you opt to preview your posts, you get the opportunity to do a further iteration of editing before you finally accept the post.
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Is there a spellchecker? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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No. If you want to be sure that you're word perfect, you'll have to spellcheck your post in some text editor and then cut and paste it into the Forums edit box.
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What if I make a mistake in my post? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Users can edit their own posts up to 6 hours after they are made. Where the change is substantive, you should mark the post as edited so as to alert viewers to the changed content.
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What if I post in the wrong forum? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Let the forum moderator or an Administrator know - he or she will be able to move it for you.
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Can I use HTML in my posts? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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No, but you can use UBB Code. The following tags are available for your use if UBBCode is enabled:
[b] text [/b] = Makes the given text bold. [email] joe@email.com [/email] = Makes the given email address clickable. [i] text [/i] = Makes the given text italic. [image]url[/image] = Puts the given url in an img src tag. [code] text [/code] = Surrounds the given text with pre tags. [quote] text [/quote] = Surrounds the given text with blockquote and hr's. This UBBCode tag is used for quoting a reply. [url] link [/url] = Makes the given url into a link. [url=link] title [/url] = Makes the given title into a hyperlink pointing to link. [list] [*]Item 1 [*]Item 1 [/list] = Makes a bullet list. [list=A] or [list=1] will make order/numbered lists. [redface] or :o =  [cool] =  [evil] =  [frown] or :( =  [biggrin] or :D =  [mad] =  [borg] =  [smile] or :) =  [tongue] or :p =  [wink] or ;) =  [lol] =  [rolleyes] =  [eek] =  [confused] =  [devil] =  [angel] =  [wtf] =  [scream] =  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Can I run my own forum? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Yes, UBB.threads is available at www.infopop.com
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How do I put a poll in my post? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Putting a poll in your post is simple, but remember: Posts with polls in them cannot be edited but they may be deleted. To add a poll to your post, use this format: [pollstart] [polltitle=Name of your poll] [polloption=First Choice] [polloption=Second Choice] [polloption=As many choices as you would like] [pollstop] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I want to see more (or less) posts per page. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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You can change the number of posts to be displayed per page by editing your profile. You can set this from anything between 1 and 99 posts per page. When you first sign up this gets set to 40 posts per page.
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What's with all of the buttons? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The buttons are used for navigation and displaying posts. Depending on the screen you are on they may serve different purposes.
When displaying a list of all threads: - The  and  buttons will take you to the previous or next page of posts.
- The  button will take you to the index of all available forums.
- The  button will let you make a new post on that board.
- The  and  buttons will allow you to toggle between expanded and
collapsed threads. Expanded threads will show the subject of all posts and replies in a threaded format. Collapsed threads will show the subject of the main post along with the number of replies to that post.
When viewing individual threads: - The and buttons will take you to the previous or next thread.
- The button will take you back to the listing of all posts on that page.
- The  button allows you to view the entire thread on one page if there are any replies to the original message.
- The  button allows you to view the current post with all other posts on that thread displayed below in a threaded format.
- The  button allows you to reply to a post.
- The  button allows you to edit a post.
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Why are Subject, Poster and Posted On clickable? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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You can click on any of these to change the order in which the posts are sorted and displayed. If you click on Subject once, it will display posts by Subject in reverse alphabetical order. If you click on it again it will display posts by Subject in alphabetical order. Poster and Posted on works similarly.
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I sent you an email. Why didn't you answer? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Did you read the whole of this FAQ document and the board rules? Most questions are answered in either of those documents. Did you ask your question in the Questions, Suggestions and Feedback forum? That is usually the fastest way to get an answer.
Emailing T'Bonz is OK, but she gets a HUGE amount of email and it might take anywhere from a day to three days to get a response. Usually she tries to answer the day she gets it, but due to real life, that might not always be possible. If you don't hear within a reasonable time, feel free to nag her. ;) But remember, always address your problem directly to the mod or admin involved if at all possible before emailing T'Bonz.
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