Forum Help

If you know of anything else that should be addressed on this page please contact us.

Why should I register?

By registering with the forum, you will be able to edit your member profile and preferences. You will get the most out of your time here if you change your profile and preferences to suit your individual tastes. There are many options in your profile to make your experience here more enjoyable, so please take a few moments to try the various settings. Also, only users that are registered and logged in can take advantage of the "New Posts" feature upon each visit. Once you've registered and logged in, click "Edit Profile" or "Edit Preference" in the Forum Navigation island to edit your settings.

Why do you ask for two email addresses?

The Email Address field is used for email notifications, Follow Lists and to email your password. The Public Email Address field is what other users see when they view your profile. We realize that you may not want everyone to know your real email address, but we need to know it in case you want to follow certain content or if you want to have replies emailed to you. For this reason you can give us your real email address in the Email Address field and only the Administrators of the forum will see it. You can provide a different email address for the general public using the Public Email Address. Some people like to put in something like example@no.spam.gmail.com. This way people can still figure out what your real email address is, but spamming agents can't just parse through the page and obtain your email address to spam you.

Does my browser have to be set to accept cookies?

Yes. Cookies are used to remember your login information as well as what posts you have read during your current session. Without accepting cookies some functions won't work properly.

How do I log in?

If you have registered with these forums, you must log in to take advantage of the personalization of settings. To log in, look in the upper right-hand corner of your screen for the "Log In" link. This link will take you to a page where you can enter your Login Name (or email address) and Password. Keep in mind that the password is always case-sensitive. This means that the software considers "S" and "s" to be different characters.

Help! I'm having trouble logging in!

This checklist may help you successfully log in:

What is the title that appears beneath my Display Name in posts?

It's a system-generated User Title to give ranking to your post count. You will progress through the various levels according to the cumulative number of posts you have made.

What are these titles about?

Everyone has a title within the forum. You will notice the title below the Display Name in each post. Some titles are automatically assigned based on the number of posts a user has made, and some titles are assigned by the forum owner to denote official representatives of the company or other VIPs in the forums.
0 Grom
151 Legend (inyourownmind)
551 Nep status
951 Gerry Lopez status
1353 Billy Hamilton status
1754 Michael Peterson status
3550 Miki Dora status
5700 Phil Edwards status
7700 Kelly Slater status
8500 Rabbitt Bartholomew status
10000 Tom Curren status
15000 Duke status

I forgot my password!

If you have forgotten your password, don't worry! You can very easily have a temporary password emailed to you. Go to the Log In page and click "Have you forgotten your login information?". Enter your real email address into the email Address field and a temporary password will be emailed to the email address used for the account setup.

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?

You may change your password any time. On the Forum Navigation island, click "Edit Profile". Edit the Password and Verify Password fields and then click "Submit" to save the information. (Keep in mind that passwords are case-sensitive.)

How do I add an image to my message?

In order to add an image to your message or your signature, you must have the image already available on a web server and reachable by a URL. This can be an image on your own personal web page, for example. To place an image within a message, simply use the following Markup Tag:

[image]http://www.url_to_image.com/image_name.gif[/image]

For example, if you have an image called cateye.gif and its available from your own website at http://www.mywebsite.com/pics, then you would use the following image markup:

[image]http://www.mywebsite.com/pics/cateye.gif[/image]

You can do the same for your signature. Click the My Home option found on any page. Then, under the Main Configuration heading, click on "Personal Information, email, password...". Look for the Signature box, and enter your desired information, including any images/markup as above.

Note: To keep the forums loading quickly for everyone, it is recommended that you do not exceed 35k for your image size.

Is there a limit to the size of an image I can have in my signature?

We ask that you keep your images relatively small. As a rule, please do not exceed 600 x 125 pixels and/or 35k for a signature image. This will ensure that the forums load quickly for all users.

How do I edit my display preferences?

Yes, you'll be missing a trick if you fail to take advantage of the versatility offered. There are many aspects of how the Forums are displayed that may be customized. On the Forum Navigation island, click "Edit Preferences".

You can choose the stylesheet in which you wish to view the forums, how many posts are displayed on each 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?

The first post of a given topic establishes the subject by which all subsequent replies will be known. Once there's been a reply, the topic subject cannot 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 topic to be subsequently located.

How do I find posts that may already have the answer to the question I have?

One of the key benefits of the discussion forum 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 island. Using the Search island, you can perform a quick keyword search, or click on the "Advanced" button to search by more specific criteria. Various options are available, both for how the search term is specified and for controlling how many forums you want to search. This is where the specificity of topic subjects is important, making it much easier to locate precisely what it is you're after from a list of search results.

What does the flashing envelope icon on the My Messages link in the Navigation Island indicate?

It means that you have unread Private Messages. When you hover over this image it should display how many unread Private Messages that you have.

Can I send a Private Topic to more than one person?

On the "New Message" page, you can type in a new user then press "Add" or you can select them from the "Friend List" dropdown. You can add up to the forum maximum of users (this limit will show on the "Private Messages" page) to the Private Topic.

I'm having problems getting the URL tags to work.

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.

What if I make a mistake in my post?

Users can edit their own posts up to minutes after they are made. Where the change is substantial, it is courteous mark the post as edited so as to alert readers to the changed content. For cosmetic changes, it's better not to do so.

What if I post in the wrong forum?

Let the forum Administrator or Moderator know - he/she will be able to move it for you.

Can I use HTML in my posts?

There are 2 ways that this can be configured on a per-forum basis. If HTML is On then you will see HTML is On and you can use normal HTML in your posts. If UBBCode is on you will see UBBCode is On.

How do I put a poll in my post?

Putting a poll in your post is simple.

If polls are enabled, start by creating a new post in a forum. Below the body of your post, you will see a text box that allows you to specify how many polls you want to have in your post and the system will guide you through the rest.

How do I change the number of posts displayed on a page?

You can change the number of posts displayed on each page by editing your display preferences. You can set this to anything between 1 and 99 posts per page. By default, this is set to 23 posts per page.

What's the difference between Reply and Quick Reply?

Quick Reply is made as a "Quick Response" block, so you can make a response to a post (or thread) before you forget or as you read them. Quick Reply is meant as a "no thrills" response box, as it's just there for a fast/non-formatted response. Reply however brings you to a "Full Response" page that allows for heavy posting.

You can also click the "Full Reply" button from the Quick Reply box which will forward you (and all of your Quick Reply text) to the Full Reply page.

What's the difference between Quote and Quick Quote?

Quote will quote the users text to the Full Reply page. Quick Quote will quote the users text to the Quick Reply box below the thread.

How do I edit my profile?

Click on your Display Name (located in the top-right of every forum page) and select the "Edit Profile" link.

How do I use Gallery Forums?

Using Gallery Forums are just like using any other forums... However, you can post images too! After you create your post (subject and post, both required) you can click on the "Image Manager" link.

Adding images are as easy as:

1. Click "Browse" and a navigation area will appear that shows your computers files, navigate around to locate the image you'd like to upload. Once located, click on the image and select "open"; you can also choose to add a description (note that in v7.2 you do not have the option to change the description once another image is added).
2. If you wish to add another image, repeat step one; otherwise, select "done".

From here, just press submit, and your new "Gallery Posting" should appear for users to comment on your image(s).

Can I attach a file to my post?

When creating a new thread or response, you'll see a "Attachment Manager" link on the "Full Reply" or "New Post" page. When selecting this option you'll receive a popup which will allow you to attach files to your post.

Steps:

1. Click "File Manager" to bring up the "Attachment" window.
2. Click "Browse" to bring up the file browser window; this will allow you to browse your computer for any files or images you wish to upload; please note that you're bound by whatever the "allowed file type" setting is for the board.
3. Click "open" on the file you wish to upload.
4. Enter a description of what the file is (if you want to).
5. Click "add file" to add another file, or "done" to close the window and complete your posting.

Please note that you must enter some text in both the "subject" and "post" fields when responding otherwise you will receive an error; you cannot just respond with an attachment ;).

How do Follow Lists work?

Subscribing to a Forum
Enter the Forum and Select "Add Forum to Watched Forums" from the "Forum Options" dropdown.

Subscribing to a Topic
Enter the Topic and Select "Add Topic to your Watched Topics" option from the "Topic Options" dropdown.

Managing Watch Lists
Select "My Watch Lists" from the "My Stuff" dropdown, from here you can select the type of List that you wish to edit and by clicking the "Edit Watched Topics" (or "Edit Watched Forums" or "Edit Watched Users") link you can remove them or toggle the "Email Notification" option.

Toggling EMailed Watch Lists
See the above "Managing Watch Lists" directions.

Toggling the Default "EMail Watchedlist" Options
Select "My Preferences" from the "My Stuff" dropdown. From here you can manage the "By default should anything added to your Watch Lists be emailed to you?" option.

How do I email myself a Thread or Private Message?

Emailing a Post or Thread
To email a post, simply navigate to the post and select "email post" from the bottom set of buttons (near reply, quote, notify, etc).

From this "email post" screen, you can select to mail yourself:
Just this post
This post and all replies
The entire thread

EMailing a Private Topic
When viewing a Private Message, simply click the "EMail Topic" button from the bottom set of buttons (near reply, quote, etc).

How do I use RSS Feeds?

RSS Feeds for Forums
For forums which have an RSS Feed configured for them, you can enter the forum and select the feed link from the "Forum Options" dropdown.

My Feeds
If the administration has enabled the "My Feeds" option, you can manage RSS feeds from the "Feeds" link in the "My Stuff" dropdown in the navigation area.

From the My Feeds area you can see all of the RSS Feeds available to you, including all of the forums which have individual feeds. You will also be able to retrieve the feeds for your inbox and the global feeds for recent topics. Please note that these may or may not be available based on admin preferences.

What do the different Display Name colors mean?

The username colors generally specify a users status. Some select users can can also have special colors signified by the Administration.
The default user status colors are:
Administration
Global Moderator
Moderator
Search Engine Robot

What do the numbers in parenthesis next to the "Post Numbers" mean?

The numbers in parenthesis indicate how many new topics (or posts) have been made since your last visit to the forums.