The Ultimate Brokeback Forum

Author Topic: Using the Forum: FAQs  (Read 105893 times)

Offline Monica LoveEmBoys

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Re: Frequently Asked Questions
« Reply #15 on: September 20, 2006, 07:21:14 AM »
I just activated my account, but I can't figure out how to send a PM

Our first membership category, "Virgin", is restricted from sending PMs until you have made several posts to the forum.  When you've graduated into our second membership category, "Getting Acquainted", the ability to send PMs will be enabled.

Offline Monica LoveEmBoys

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Re: Using the Board: Site Map, FAQs, Rules
« Reply #16 on: October 19, 2006, 10:45:03 AM »
Photo Posting Reminders & Tips

Images can be big in two ways -- by file size (KB/kilobytes) and/or by pixels (display size).  When looking at photos on the web, it is the file size that will affect how quickly or slowly the image loads in your browser.  The forum software will automatically resize any image posted that exceeds 640 pixels, horizontal or vertical, so we are primarily concerned with file size when people post pictures to the forum.  Members who have slower internet connection speeds can really be affected when they try to open a page with large pictures in them.

Please keep these rules of thumb in mind when posting pictures:

•   No pictures or animations larger than 200 KB (204,800 bytes) (Allowed file size increased 7/08 from 100KB to 200KB)
•   Limit of one picture per post
•   Avatars should be 65x65 pixels and no more than 40 KB
•   Banners within signatures -- no more than 50 pixels high and 600 pixels wide, and 40 KB

If your image file size is larger than 200KB, please resize it before posting.

NOTE:  The automatic display size adjustments do not reduce the file size or the time it takes for an image to load.

If you have questions or need more information, please refer to the Forum FAQs.  If you'd like to experiment The Sandbox is a great place to practice.



Hotlinking:  As you all know, this forum has a policy against hotlinking images.  However, there seems to be confusion about exactly what hotlinking is.  We hope this information will be helpful to you.

Scenario #1.  You want to post an image here.  You go to a photo-sharing website and do a search on the public images.  After finding one you want, you follow the photo-sharing site’s directions for linking to an image, and post it here.  The image then appears on the page here.  This is NOT hotlinking, because the photo-sharing website is hosting the image.

Scenario #2.  Now, let's say you do a Google image search for that same image.  The page with all the thumbnails appears.  You click on the thumbnail, and go to a page with the image on it, and the thumbnail on the top.  If you click on the thumbnail again, you get just the image, with a URL on the top.  You then highlight that URL, and paste it here, between the image codes.  The image then appears in a post.  This is hotlinking, and is against forum policy.

Why is it a problem?

It's a problem because Google doesn't host the picture.  Google has searched for the image, and connected you to a website that does host the picture.  When you "hotlink", you are using bandwidth of the host website, which someone else is paying for.  Linking photos on the forum is permitted, but only if the rules of the photo-sharing site you choose are followed.

Policies about Signatures & Avatars

No garish or distracting signature blocks or animation: We want the focus on the content. Please keep signature blocks to 10 pt font max--which will match the page--and free of large pictures. Please refrain from distracting animations.

This image shows the maximum size of a signature banner:


Avatars should be 65x65 pixels and no more than 40 KB.

Please take a moment to check your signature blocks & avatars to be sure they're in compliance with our forum policies.  If you have questions not covered in the Rules, Policies or FAQs please contact a Tech Team member or a Moderator.  We'll be glad to help!

« Last Edit: March 11, 2018, 07:34:33 AM by gwyllion »

Offline Monica LoveEmBoys

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Re: Using the Forum: FAQs
« Reply #17 on: May 02, 2007, 07:22:21 AM »
No Nude or Pornographic Images

As stated in The Rules

Do not post nude or pornographic images: If you must post such a thing--because of non-prurient value--post a link, but clearly mark it as Not Safe for Work (NSFW). Consider how many people check out the web at work. You can cause someone a lot of trouble if you fail to warn them.
« Last Edit: March 11, 2018, 07:35:10 AM by gwyllion »

Offline BrokenOkie

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Re: Using the Forum: FAQs
« Reply #18 on: June 13, 2008, 11:00:41 PM »
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New Forum Feature!
Save Personal Messages


Thanks to the tireless efforts of BayCityJohn, forum members can now save their Personal Messages (PMs) to their own computers!  Saving your PMs, then deleting them from your PM account improves forum performance for everyone. 

These instructions are for Internet Explorer.  If you use a different browser, such as Opera, or are a Mac user, the steps may vary.

Step 1 - In the Control Panel for your PMs you'll see the new 'Save all PMs' link.  Click the link and wait for the page containing your messages to open.  Depending on the number of PMs in your In or Out box and the number of images included, this may take a moment.
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Step 2 - After the page opens, click on 'File' and then 'Save As' from the dropdown menu.
 
Step 3 - When you clicked on 'Save As', a window like the one shown below will open.  First choose the location where you want to save your PM file.  In the example, the file would be saved in 'My Documents'Next you may want to edit the File Name.  If you are saving the contents of both your 'In' and 'Out' boxes, you may want to identify your files that way for easy reference.  If your PMs accumulate quickly and you plan to save them periodically, you may want to also include the date.  Now it's time to select the type of file you want to save from the dropdown menu at 'Save as Type'This is a very important step because of the differences in the file types:

  • Web Page, complete (*.htm); (*.html) will save your file as a webpage that opens in your browser.  If there are images in your PMs they may be saved in a separate folder.
  • Web Archive, single file (*.mht) will save both text and images to your harddrive.  This may result in a significantly larger file if there are images included.  This file type can be opened in a browser window, Word, etc.
  • Web Page, HTML only (*.htm); (*.html) will save your file as a webpage that opens in your browser.  Images will be linked and could be lost later if the URLs are broken, or if the images are later deleted at the source (PhotoBucket, etc)
  • Text File (*.txt) will save only the raw text, including URLs, but they will not be clickable links.

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Step 4 - After you have chosen the file destination, name and type, click 'Save'

IMPORTANT:

Step 5 - When you have finished saving your PMs, please delete them from your forum account.  Please see the next post for Pruning (deleting) information.



If you have questions or need assistance, please contact a moderator.

(Published in The Daily Sheet - June 15, 2008)
« Last Edit: March 11, 2018, 07:42:40 AM by gwyllion »

Offline BrokenOkie

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Re: Using the Forum: FAQs
« Reply #19 on: August 26, 2008, 02:12:16 PM »
Pruning (Deleting) Personal Messages

Forum members can now easily delete PMs by using the 'Prune Messages' option.  Here are the step-by-step instructions.  Pruning removes messages from both the 'In' and 'Out' boxes. 


Step 1 - In the PM Control Panel click 'Prune Messages'

Step 2 - The next page gives you the option to choose the number of days 'older than' for the messages you want to remove.  After choosing the number of days (default is 14), click 'Delete'.

Step 3 - The system will ask for confirmation with this popup image.  Click 'OK' and messages will be deleted from your 'In' and 'Out' boxes simultaneously.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact a moderator.
« Last Edit: March 11, 2018, 07:43:17 AM by gwyllion »