The Ultimate Brokeback Forum

Author Topic: Using the Forum: FAQs  (Read 108172 times)


Offline peteinportland

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Frequently Asked Questions
« Reply #1 on: June 04, 2006, 01:29:50 PM »
Are there any rules for posting on this forum?

Forum Rules are posted in the thread, conveniently titled...  The Rules
There you can read about:

The rules for posting on this forum
You Really Need a Rule For This? rules
How should I interpret the Rules?
« Last Edit: March 11, 2018, 07:30:35 AM by gwyllion »

Offline peteinportland

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Re: Frequently Asked Questions
« Reply #2 on: June 04, 2006, 01:36:50 PM »
How do I post an image?

Instructions for Posting Images: The first thing you have to do is to make sure the pics you want to post are located on the internet on a server that allows linking, and not just sitting on your pc's desktop. I use snapfish.com.  Other free image hosting sites are: pixum.com, ranchoweb.com, shutterfly.com and photobucket.com.  Once the photos have been uploaded to the image host, click each individual photo so that so you get the larger version. Now, right click on the photo, then click on Properties.  Using your cursor, highlight the full Internet address of the photo.  Make sure that you highlight the ENTIRE address.  Oftentimes, it is more than one line, so move your cursor till it stops. Now, right click and do a “copy”.  Then, "paste" the internet address on the comments box.  Highlight the full internet address, then click on the "insert image" icon above (this ensures that the internet address is inside these command tags:
Code: [Select]
[img]Image URL Here[/img]"Preview" it first, then if you're satisfied with it, click "Post".

NOTE:  Most image hosting services now include the command tags, which makes it easier to copy/paste image URLs.
« Last Edit: January 17, 2009, 07:39:26 PM by BrokenOkie »

Offline peteinportland

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Re: Frequently Asked Questions
« Reply #3 on: June 04, 2006, 01:55:34 PM »
How can I jump to the last post I have not yet read in a topic?

If you’re a registered member, there’s a handy but not entirely obvious feature that makes it easier to jump back into long threads. When you go into a board and see the list of topics, some of them will probably have the “New” icon () next to the name of the topic. As is pretty obvious, that icon indicates that there are posts in the topic that you haven’t yet read.

TIP: you can click on the icon. When you do, it jumps to the point in the thread where the new posts appear.

As the threads get longer, using this trick will save you a lot of scrolling through pages of posts you’ve already read. There are a couple of other ways to get there, but this one is probably the most useful.

(By Parenthetical Greg)

Offline peteinportland

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Re: Frequently Asked Questions
« Reply #4 on: June 04, 2006, 01:57:28 PM »
How does one navigate to a specific page on a thread? For example, I'm working my way through the "Are they gay" thread, but every time I come back on line, I have to cycle back (or forward) to where I left off. The 'new' button is no good since it always takes me to the end, since I've already been there.

If you've already been to the end of a thread that's popular, you're right about the new button not being much help. The forum doesn't really have a bookmark feature, but your browser certainly does. That might be a better choice if there are just a handful of threads that you want to be able to return to a specific point. (Obviously, bookmarking everything thread on the forum would be unwieldy.)

BTW, you can bookmark a specific post (rather than just a page of posts). The subject line at the top of each post ("RE: something or another") is a hyperlink back to that specific post. If you're a Windows user, you can just right click that link and choose the add a bookmark/add to favorites link.

(By Parenthetical Greg)

Offline peteinportland

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Re: Frequently Asked Questions
« Reply #5 on: June 04, 2006, 02:00:08 PM »
Can I block personal messages?

Personal Messages are just that: personal. Anything contained in them is strictly between the members concerned. The forum administrators will not intervene regarding Personal Messages, except in extreme situations.

You can, however, choose to block Personal Messages from specific members.

  • Go to your forum profile by clicking the Profile button near the top the page.
  • Click the Personal Message Options link on the profile page’s left navigation bar.
  • In the Ignorelist box enter the name of the member you want to block messages from.
  • You can enter more than one member by putting each on a separate line in the Ignorelist.
  • Click the Change Profile button.

(By Parenthetical Greg)

Offline peteinportland

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Re: Frequently Asked Questions
« Reply #6 on: June 04, 2006, 02:05:39 PM »
How can I find other users?

Registered members have access to the list of other registered members (that's right, Guests, another good reason to register, even you if prefer to lurk!).

To find and communicate with other members:

  • Go to the forum home page
  • Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the "Member List" link (right under dark green bars that separate the discussion board listing from all of the other useful tidbits)
  • When you click on that link, you'll see all of the members, arranged alphabetically by screen name (you can also search for a member from that page, or use the alphabet links in the upper right corner)
  • Some users are willing to publish their e-mail addresses (in which case you can click on the envelope icon) as well as websites and various chat-system handles), all of which appear with icons in that listing too
  • If you click on a user's name, you'll see a few factoids about that person; scroll down to the bottom of the user info screen and there's a link entitled: "Send this member a personal message," which is available for all registered users.

Only registered members have access to this information.

(By Parenthetical Greg)

Offline peteinportland

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Re: Frequently Asked Questions
« Reply #7 on: June 04, 2006, 02:10:06 PM »
How can I subscribe to a thread?

To subscribe to a thread (and have all replies come to your email), just go into the thread and then click on the NOTIFY button at the top right corner.

Offline peteinportland

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Re: Frequently Asked Questions
« Reply #8 on: June 04, 2006, 02:14:49 PM »
How do I post a reply?

To post a reply to any topic (except those few that have been locked), look for the reply button at the top and the bottom of every page in the thread (please note--the reply button cannot be found above the post, only at the top and at the bottom of each page).

Offline peteinportland

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Re: Frequently Asked Questions
« Reply #9 on: June 04, 2006, 02:15:56 PM »
How do I quote from someone else's post?

Just hit the QUOTE button at the top of every post.

Offline peteinportland

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Re: Frequently Asked Questions
« Reply #10 on: June 04, 2006, 02:17:02 PM »
Is there a way to edit a quote or a set of quotes, so I can only quote the parts I need?

For those more technically inclined or those who like a challenge, here's how to edit quotes so that you don't have redundant material in your posts:


1.  When you click Quote, you get an editable copy of the entire message you selected to quote.  Things are pretty straight-forward if you've quoted a message that contains no other quotes of earlier messages because you only have one quote in your message.  In this case, just type your message at the very end of the information displayed, to ensure your own comments will appear in the white area of the new message frame.

However, IF the message you chose to quote already contained quotes of previous messages, these are all identified in the first few lines of code.  You can tell how many "nests" are contained in the quote by the number of header lines which all appear right at the start of the editable quote you are looking at.  The header lines are the more complicated ones that contain the writer's name, the message number, date, etc.
 
Each of those "headers" - all of which appear at the start of the information displayed - has a corresponding "footer" or "end-quote" code.  An "end-quote" is the word "quote" with a slash in front of it, contained in square brackets.  Each end-quote belongs to one of the headers.  The last header pairs up with the first end-quote.  Everything in between those 2 markers defines what will be in the centre-most box of the nested quotes.  The 2nd header pairs up with the 2nd end-quote and everything in between those 2 markers defines what will be in the next box of quotes nested around the centre-most box of quotes.  Etc., etc.

3.  Let's imagine that you see 4 different headers - all by 4 different writers, but you're really only responding to one of the 4 writers.  Get rid of all the headers except the one that contains the writer's name who you are responding to.

Pay attention to square brackets.  Square brackets denote the start and end of "code commands".  Don't leave square brackets hanging around as orphans, and don't delete square brackets that you need to surround the commands you intend to keep.

4.  Get rid of all the previous message content that you're not really responding to.

5.  Once you are done editing you need to have, in this example, only ONE "end-quote".  An "end-quote" is the word "quote" with a slash in front of it, contained in square brackets.  You only need one, because in order for the yellow box frames to display correctly, each header at the top needs its own corresponding "end-quote".

You must have one and only one "end-quote" for EVERY header you have kept at the top which contains the original writers' names.

So in this example, where we are intending to keep only one of the 4 writer's original quotes, we only need one end-quote to remain at the end of the quote that we are keeping.  Of course it gets a little more confusing to sort out if you're trying to isolate more than one quote to keep, but in most cases the one quote is all you need to make the context of your own message clear.

Remember that most people are scanning through pages and pages to get caught up, so unless you are responding to something that is very old, you probably only need to keep one quote, if any, as most responses you make are made very shortly after the original comment to which you are responding.

[Sorry, techie training is hard to convey in the written word.  It always gets very verbose.  Questions are welcomed.]

6.  Always put your own new comment below the final "end-quote".  This causes your own words to display in the white area of the frame so that it's clear what you're writing as opposed to what someone else previously wrote.

7.  To avoid unnecessary repetitions of photos, when you are commenting on a photo shortly after it appears and you are using quotes, get rid of the "img" header and footer and the url which appears between them which points to the photo file's location.  That will avoid repeating the recent photo in your post.
 
If you want to try out features you haven't used before, visit the Sandbox, where you can experiment to your heart's content:

http://ultimatebrokebackforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=2514.0
« Last Edit: March 11, 2018, 07:31:45 AM by gwyllion »

Offline peteinportland

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Re: Frequently Asked Questions
« Reply #11 on: June 04, 2006, 02:20:54 PM »
How can I create an avatar or signature?

To create an avatar or a signature, click on the PROFILE button at the very  top of each page (under the dozy embrace picture). That will take you to your profile. On the right side, you will see a set of buttons that will allow you to edit and change information.

Offline peteinportland

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Re: Frequently Asked Questions
« Reply #12 on: June 04, 2006, 02:23:36 PM »

Is there a search function?

Yes. At the top of each page, you will see a row of five buttons. The middle one should be the SEARCH button. Just click on that button to start your search.
« Last Edit: March 11, 2018, 07:32:18 AM by gwyllion »

Offline peteinportland

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Re: Frequently Asked Questions
« Reply #13 on: June 04, 2006, 02:27:54 PM »
Can members post their own topics?

Yes. We have an entire board under Your Space so members can start their own threads. The name of the board is "Start Your Own Threads." You can find it here:

http://ultimatebrokebackforum.com/forum/index.php?board=4.0
« Last Edit: March 11, 2018, 07:32:54 AM by gwyllion »

Offline peteinportland

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Re: Frequently Asked Questions
« Reply #14 on: June 04, 2006, 02:30:42 PM »
I have a question not answered here. Is there any place I can ask it and get an answer?

Yes, we have a thread entitled "New members ask: expereinced members respond." You can find it here:

http://ultimatebrokebackforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=4687.0
« Last Edit: March 11, 2018, 07:33:20 AM by gwyllion »