Parley Info |
| Join the Crew! Rules & Guidelines Navigating Parley FAQ Introductions Latest News: Celebrating 3 Years! Joinable Groups |
"The ship is our's, gentlemen."Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl |
Pirates of the Caribbean 4 Johnny Depp Joe Pancake What's the Last Movie You Saw? Movies You Want to See in 2009 The Person Below Me Game Ask a Pirate | |
Our Button: |
|||
| Welcome to Parley. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Parley FAQ; (updated for Zetaboards) | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Feb 7 2009, 07:51 PM (317 Views) | |
| Alia Atreides | Feb 7 2009, 07:51 PM Post #1 |
Journeyman Craftswoman
|
Original FAQ by DutchS; Modified 19/2/09 by Alia Atreides. Most general information, such as how to upload an avatar, can be found under the FAQ link under the banner. The following is mostly information specific to Parley. If you have any questions, post them here. Or you can PM a Modmin. If you are not registered, or if you're having problems with your account, you can email us at parleyadmin@gmail.com (or leave a note in the cbox) - but this will not be checked as often as our PMs. If you do email, please make the subject line clear, and do not attach any files (such as smilies). Anything that looks spammish or suspicious will not be read. What is spam and why isn't it allowed? Spam are posts without meaning, such as a post that only consists of 'LOL' or a smilie. These posts take up space and are annoying to have to wade through when reading a thread. If you have something to say, by all means post - but if you don't have anything to say, please don't post. When you're not sure if what you want to post is spam, ask yourself this before posting: "If I don't post this, will it be missed?" Also remember that personal reactions are sometimes better conveyed via PM. For further discussion of what is spam, what isn't, and how to avoid it, please read this. How do I make my text bold or italic? How do I change the size or colour of my text? If you are not sure about the right code to use, click 'Full BBCode List' when replying. This link is located to the right of the smilies with the partial BBC code buttons. Alternatively, a full link to supported BB Codes can by found here. My posts/threads have disappeared! Spammy or rude posts may be deleted without warning. Threads started while there is already a thread on the same subject may be deleted too, though they will generally be merged into the old thread. Old threads that have not been posted on in a few months will be moved to Davy Jones' Locker, a closed forum. If your thread was an old one, perhaps it got moved there. Try to find your thread with the Search feature. What is the 'Swabbie' under my avatar, and how can I change it? 'Swabbie' is your user rank. Your user rank is based on the number of posts you have made. From 0 to 200 posts, you are a 'Swabbie'. From 200 to 500 posts, you are a 'Wretch'. After that, you get yet another rank. Another indication of user rank is the number of Aztec gold medallions under your avatar. Members with the lowest rank get one piece of Aztec gold. Members with one rank higher get two pieces of Aztec gold. The third rank gets three pieces of Aztec gold, etc. (Mods and Admins have different user ranks that are not dependent on post count. However, their number of Aztec gold pieces will still go up with their post count, by the same standards as those of the members; one piece of Aztec gold for 0-200 posts, 2 pieces for 200-500 posts, etc.) Can I change my username? Not personally, no, but you can submit a request to the modmins to have them change it for you (unlike on invisionfree, we no longer have the ability to modify your username without you sending us a request). To see the full directions on how to do this, please go here. How do I become a moderator? Some members that are friendly, frequent and good posters, will be asked by the admins to become a mod, however this is always dependent on the amount of activity on the board and the time the modmins have. You may not ask to become a mod. If you do, you will not be made one. What can mods do? What can admins do? Mods can delete or edit all posts on the board, edit thread titles, edit sigs, delete threads, split or merge threads, and move threads to another forum. Admins can do all of the above, but they can also: delete or suspend accounts, edit usernames, add/rename/move/delete forums, put people in another user group (e.g. to make them a mod, or put them in a cabin), add smilies, and change the layout of the board (colours, buttons, etc.). How do I adjust the displayed time to my timezone? On the top of the forum click on 'Preferences', then you will be brought to another page. There will be a special box/table labeled 'Board Controls'; click on the “Board Settings” link and changing the time zone is the first thing that pops up. Ugh, all those pictures are so distracting! Can I get rid of them? Follow the directions above, and three of the options on the page are “show signatures”, “show images”, and “show avatars”. Unchecking sigs and avatars means you will no longer see them, but if you uncheck “show images” you will not be able to show any images a person posts in a thread—such as fan art, or pictures for upcoming movies, etc. This layout/banner is crap! Is there any way to change it? Yes. Above the cbox on any page there is a bar which says, "Choose a theme" and next to it is a drop down menu. There are multiple layout there under that menu, and you can switch around until you find one you like. Alternatively if you'd like to contribute a layout, wish to request a type of layout, or wish to contribute your own fanart to the Fan Art Layout, please contact Alia (via PM, please). Why does my name show up as online on the main page? Is there anyway that it won't? Your name will show up on the main page as a default. If you don't wish for your name to show up there are two ways to prevent this from happening. 1. When logging on, if you are using the full form, there is an option “Show my name on the online users list”, if you select “no” for that, you will no longer be shown as being online. 2. If you don't wish to log out and log back on in order to change your status, go to 'Preferences', then yo will be brought to another page. There will be a special box/table labeled 'Board Controls'; click on the “board Settings” link and the “Show my name on the user online list:” will come up, deselect it, if you don't wish to be shown as being on (you will be on as anonymous). Can I delete my own posts? No, you can't. But if you've made a post you want to disappear, you can always PM a mod or admin and ask them to delete it for you. (Modmin list with PM links Is there anyway on Parley to see all the posts a member has made? Yes, there is (and this will work for your own account as well). In order to do this you must go to your's/the person's account profile, and place your mouse over 'Profile options' (on the upper left side of their profile), and then click on “List Member's Posts”. You will then be able to look at their posts by month and date. How can I post a poll? Posting a poll with Zetaboards is a bit different than with Invisionfree. Go to the forum where you want to start the poll, and click on “new topic”, on the left side should be “Poll Setup” and next to that a link which says “Add Poll” (I'm still working on some visibility issues with layouts, it is there, but may be hard to see, but it should not stay that way for long hopefully). Once you click on it it ill add the poll options. You'll still have to put something in the main writing area (as with any thread/reply), however, just keep in mind that it will be posted below the poll portion. When should I use the REPORT button? What happens when I click it? There are two types of report buttons you can use, one is in threads/posts, the other is for PMs. Reporting Posts: Basically, there are two reasons for clicking the report button (which is located to the bottom right of every post). The first is to indicate that the content of the post is against Parley's rules. This could mean that the post is spam, that the content is rude, that there is already a thread on the subject - anything like that. The other reason for reporting a post has nothing to do with the post itself, but with the member's account; his/her sig and/or profile info. If the member's sig is too big, you can report it so a modmin can fix it. (Sure, we may notice the oversized sig ourselves - but if you're seeing it anyway, you can make sure we will notice it by reporting.) There might also be some dubious information in the member's profile, like hobbies that are... nasty. (Without naming any names, we deleted 'killing children' as a hobby from someone's profile. Sure, it was just a joke - but not everybody will appreciate jokes like that.) When you click on REPORT, you will be taken to a screen where you can type a message specifying the reason why you are reporting the post. That message will be emailed to the admins. They will then check the post at the earliest possibility, see if we agree with your complaint, and act accordingly. If you're not sure whether a post is all right, you can report it anyway; nothing will happen if we don't see anything wrong with the post. (Of course, if you have any questions about what goes, you can always PM a staffmember.) No one but the staff will know you have reported a post, and we will never share information about who has reported certain posts with any member. Reporting PMs: (New with Zetaboards) The Report button for PMs is located in the upper right of each PM message. It functions essentially the same as reporting the post. The PM you report will be sent to the modmins (they will be able to read it), and there is a space for you to write why you're reporting it. Good reasons to report a PM message include if the person sending the message is harassing/threatening you (within that PM), or if they are doing something in that PM that is a violation of Parley's rules. Reporting PMs is a slightly more delicate thing than reporting posts (since PMs are private, as the name states), but if someone is threatening you or making unwanted advances, etc, please send this to us, and action can be taken. Spoilers - Can they be posted? How can I avoid them? POTC spoilers can only be posted in the sequel forums. Any thread you read in those forums may contain spoilers, so if you don't like spoilers, I wouldn't advise visiting those forums. When posting a thread in the sequel forums (or anywhere else, really), please try to avoid spoilers in the thread title. After all, people who use features like Active Topics will see thread titles, even if they avoid the sequel forums because they don't want to read any spoilers. If you want to post a spoiler somewhere, and you're not sure if everybody who visits the thread will want to read it, you can use this code (and they will have to click on it to read the spoiler):
Spoiler-free example: Spoiler: click to toggle If you post a spoiler like this, you may want to indicate which character(s) it concerns, and how severe a spoiler it is, so people will better know whether they want to read it or not. If you see an 'unprotected' spoiler anywhere, please report the post/thread so the modmins can make the spoiler invisible. How can I post in the Cbox? Type a name in the box meant for that, then click 'profile'. There, you can give up a password, to make sure that no one else uses your name. If someone is using your unique name to post in the Cbox, and/or that person is pretending to be you, contact a modmin. The same goes for any other Cbox abuse you may see. Edited by Alia Atreides, Feb 20 2009, 02:39 AM.
|
 |
 
|
| Alia Atreides | Feb 7 2009, 07:57 PM Post #2 |
|
Journeyman Craftswoman
|
More on SPAM (not the Specially Processed American Meat...) Without going into the history of SPAM, and spam, in too much detail, let me say that it first shares a name with the most disgusting and mushy canned meat I have ever eaten. Also, there have been issues with it recently--not everyone is entirely sure what spam is or when it is happening and such. Hopefully this will help rectify the situation. Spam can be difficult to clearly define. Some posts on a message board are very clearly spam--posts that contain only a smiley, that contain only one line that professes agreement with something stated without adding anything new or in-depth to the conversation. Double-posting (unless it is absolutely new pressing information--in certain situations that is fine) is also spam. Spam can also be something that is off-topic, or aids to bring a thread off topic. Now I know, it's often quite natural to say, start a topic on Jack's boots, and then move onto how good they look with the rest of his outfit and to then try and then discuss how his hat also complements his outfit. It's natural there isn't always stuff we can do about it, but we really do prefer that the threads do stay on topic. If you want to discuss another topic--look for another thread on that topic you wish to discuss, or start a new thread. That way, when people go looking for something--the title actually reflects the content of the thread. Things that we would count on spam here would be: double posting, one word replies, smiley replies, one liner replies/statements that add nothing to the conversation, one liners that have nothing to do with the topic, advertisements for goods and services, or a website that has nothing to do with potc and related topics, stuff that should be left for PMs (reactions to something, unless it is a fanfic or such), or holding a conversation in a thread that is better suited to some sort of IM system. Examples of Spam and non-spam: Spam 1:
How to make that non-spammish:
Spam 2:
That is somewhat difficult to avoid making spam...in many cases this is better to keep as PMs or hold as an IM conversation. Why? Well, that will be dicussed further down once we cover more examples of spam. Alternatively, with this thread, if you wished to make it not spam, you could make one long post that sort of gives a "report" of your experience... ex:
Now, since I've only gone to Disney once, I can't quite give a full long description here (nor do I have the patience to write one out), but I hope that it give you an idea of what could be done. One large post about something like that, is not only spam, but it opens a multitude of potential other topics to discuss. Spam 3: Double post--
How to make that non-spammish: Everyone has the ability to edit posts. If no one has replied to your post yet, then it's easiest or best to edit it, unless under certain circumstances--ie a new chapter to your story, a new graphic to post, bumping a topic wit a relevant post:
Why using the board for IM Chatting is bad: Because of Bandwidth and time. Every time a page is loaded it uses up bandwidth, and boards and all website usually only have so much of it. If you have to constantly keep refreshing a page to see new replies every minute or so....lot's of bandwidth, and not to mention, it can be very difficult for those who only have a certain amount of time online (yes, there are those on here without broadband, DSL, internet cable, etc who use dial up and such). Plus, if each of those people have sigs and graphics and stuff....it makes it much larger to load. Not fun. Really, one of the best rules to use for posting is the "will I add anything useful to the discussion if I post this? If I leave it out will it matter?" If all you post is a smilie, what sort of epiphany can someone have reading that? Not that we expect everything posted to be an epiphany, but see where we are going here? How the Staff deals with Spam: When the staff runs into spam, if it is very clear cut, and obvious as such, it will be deleted and a post docked from your post count. If there is ever any question about it, the staff will discuss it and come to a decision. Other times, where it is starting to flirt with spam, we may come into a thread and post, warning that it is getting spammy. If it continues, posts will be deleted and docked from the posting total. Admitting to spamming just to get your post count up is not good under any circumstances, it's fairly insulting to everyone's intelligence. If you have a question about whether or not something is spam, ask a modmin! Don't just post something and go, "oh, I'm not sure if this is spam or not," because it shows that you 1-recognise it might be spam, and 2-don't at least give the appearance of caring whether or not it is spam. If a modmin tells you something is spam, and you disagree, do not whine about it in the thread. If you really think that the classification is wrong, please PM us about it. Nothing is going to harm your case more than just posting as a response to our warning, "But...that wasn't spam! :angry: " Because that is spam. And we will delete it, and will dock points for it. Why not Spam: Spam takes up people's time. It's generally not worth the effort of reading, and like said before, bandwidth and time. If you don't have a lot of time on, you are very selective about what you read, and if you go looking everywhere and it is all spam....what's the point? You just wasted a few precious minutes of your time reading it, that you could have been reading something else. I'd also like to take a moment to remind everyone that in you Parley profiles (what people get when they click on your username), there is a very nice section for list emails and your IMs. You don't have to list them there, you may always PM someone your IM if you are concerned about strange people getting a hold of you screenname and then IMing you (not a pleasant experience, I know). |
|
|
|
| « Previous Topic · On Deck · Next Topic » |
5:13 AM Sep 4
