* How to use this forum *

[nowheregirl]

If you have never used a Proboards forum before, here are some of the basics:

Posting messages

Please note that you must be a registered member and you must be signed in to post on this forum.

Starting new threads

You can start a new thread simply by choosing the correct section of the forum, then clicking 'New Thread'. You may also start a poll by choosing 'New Poll'. Feel free to change your post at any time by clicking 'modify'.

Replying and quoting

You can reply to an existing post by clicking 'reply' at the top or bottom of the post. If you'd like to quote part of the existing post, choose 'quote' instead of 'reply'. Please don't quote a very long post in its entirety.

Post features

When you are making a new post, above the box where you are typing your message you will see options for making your text bold, italic, underlined, different colours etc.

Posting links

Click the icon that looks like a globe (bottom row, second from left), then between the [ url ] and [ /url ] codes that appear, type your link. For example,

[ url ]lennonfans.proboards81.com[ /url ]

(Without the spaces at either side of 'url' of course!) It will look like this:

lennonfans.proboards81.com

To make ordinary text into a link, use the following example:

[ url=lennonfans.proboards81.com ]Come Together - A Place For John Lennon Fans[ /url ]

It will look like this

Come Together - A Place For John Lennon Fans

Posting pictures

To post a picture choose the 'insert image' icon, fourth from the left on the bottom row. Then between the [ img ] and [ /img ] codes, paste the link to your picture. Some good image hosting sites are www.imageshack.us and www.photobucket.com.

Please be sensible and don't post too many huge pictures. Anyone posting pornographic images will be banned from the forum without notice.

Private messages

You may send a personal message to any other member by clicking the 'send PM' icon beneath their name. Please be aware that the same rules apply to PMs as to the rest of the forum. If anyone is sending you abusive messages, please notify me, the administrator, immediately so I can deal with the problem.

[nowheregirl]

Avatars and signatures

Avatars are the pictures that appear beneath your name. To add or change an avatar, choose 'Profile' from the menu at the top of the forum. Then choose 'Modify Profile' and scroll down to the avatar options.

I have uploaded several avatars to the forum for you to choose from and will be adding more soon. However, you'll probably want to use your own avatars - if so, please upload your image to an image hosting site such as www.imageshack.us or www.photobucket.com. You can then paste the URL to your image into the Avatar Url box.

Please try to keep your images to 100x100.

You may also use images in your signature, but nothing too big please. Be sensible!

To place an image in your signature, put this code in the signature box and replace the 'URL of your picture here' with the link to your picture.

[img]URL of your picture here[/img]

[nowheregirl]

Instant Karma

You may notice that every member has a Karma rating. When you are logged into the forum you have the option to Exalt them (increase their Karma) or Smite them (decrease their Karma).

You can only Exalt or Smite someone once every hour.

Please don't Smite people just for no reason. It's not nice!

[nowheregirl]

Rank Titles

Your rank title is displayed directly beneath your name. (I don't have one - mine just says Administrator ).

As you post more messages on the forum, your ranking will change as follows:

0 - It's a long way to go
5 - Nowhere is the place to be
10 - On the old dirt road
25 - Magic in the air
100 - Trying to change the whole wide world
250 - Dreaming of the past
500 - Living life in peace
750 - Playing those mind games forever

There are more rankings, but they're a surprise!

The rank titles are all lyrics from John Lennon songs. Can you name the songs?

[nowheregirl]

Bookmarking threads

If you would like to subscribe to a thread so that you receive email notification every time someone posts in it, just follow these three steps:

1. Click the word 'bookmark' at the top or bottom of the thread.

2. Go to your profile, choose 'bookmarks', then 'manage bookmarks'.

3. You can then set Email Notification or PM Notification for each thread you've bookmarked.

[nowheregirl]

If anyone has any other questions about how to use the forum, you can post them here or send me a PM.