Post by Dante on Mar 21, 2016 11:10:09 GMT -5
Originally written by members including Antenora, Dante, ponygirl, Sherry Ann, swans, and Triangle Eyes. Read the last archived version of the original thread here.
Last Updated August 2021.
This thread exists to help you to understand how 667 Dark Avenue and ProBoards more broadly work, and to introduce you to the way the community is organised.
For general assistance in understanding the functions of ProBoards, please read the official ProBoards Forum Help Guide.
CONTENTS
-THE RULES
-ONLINE SAFETY
-USING PERSONAL MESSAGES
-WHY IS NO ONE RESPONDING TO MY POST?
-UNDERSTANDING RANKS: HOW COME I'M A BEWILDERED BEGINNER?
-WHAT IS A MODERATOR? AND HOW DO I BECOME ONE?
-WHY DO I NEED 100 POSTS TO ADVERTISE MY WEBSITE?
-WHERE DO WE POST NON-SNICKET ART, STORIES AND ROLE-PLAYING?
-WHY CAN'T GUESTS POST?
-WHY IS IT RUDE TO TYPE IN BIG LETTERS, OR STRETCH THE PAGE?
-WHY DO SOME MEMBERS NOT POST? SHOULDN'T WE DELETE THEM?
-FOREBODING FEEDBACK POSTING GUIDELINES
-THIS ABYSS (THE SHOUTBOX)
-WHY ARE SOME WORDS REPLACED? THIS IS CENSORSHIP!!
THE RULES
Read the official ProBoards Terms of Service to understand the rules governing all ProBoards forums relating to legal issues such as account ownership, the security of your personal information, and consent.
Read the official 667 Dark Avenue Administrative Decrees to understand the rules governing 667 Dark Avenue specifically, relating to issues such as acceptable behaviour, general etiquette, and staff rights and responsibilities.
ONLINE SAFETY
667 is a public internet forum, and as such you should take precautions to protect private information. If you feel you are the target of harassment or another user's post makes you uncomfortable, click the gear icon in the corner of the post and then click "Report Post." You can then detail your concern, which will be sent to the moderator of that board. Younger members should be aware of additional safety protocols that apply especially to them, examples of which are detailed here.
USING PERSONAL MESSAGES
There is no information in the present ProBoards Forum Help Guide relating to how to send personal messages, so this will be described here.
1. How to Read Your Personal Messages
At the top of the forum, beneath the banner, there should be a yellow bar containing links to Home, Help, Search, Calendar, Members, Profile, Messages, and Chat. An icon depicting the number of new messages in your inbox will appear over the "Messages" button when you have new messages. Open "Messages" to access your personal message inbox. Drop-down boxes at the top of your inbox allow you to navigate between your inbox, outbox, and archive, to select or deselect individual messages for organisational purposes, and to apply various actions to selected messages. There is also a search box to search the contents of your messages, and the grey button to the right of the search box will allow you to set certain advanced conditions to your search.
Any messages you receive will be listed below these boxes. An icon at the left of each message will depict a closed envelope if the message has not been read, and an open envelope if it has been read. To the right of this icon will be the subject of the message, followed by the name of the person who sent you the message, the number of replies to this message, and the last reply to this message. Messages work on the same principles as threads, but act as conversations only visible to the people that message is addressed to.
2. How to Send a Personal Message
From your inbox, you can click the "Create Message" button to create a new message. You can also send a message to a specific individual by viewing their profile and clicking the "Send Message" button at the upper-right of their profile. Text boxes will appear for you to insert the subject line of the message, the account name of the addressee or addressee, and a normal posting window to write your message in. Clicking "Create Message" below the reply window will create and send your message.
3. Everything Else About Personal Messages
You can reach the outbox by using the drop-down box previously mentioned; the outbox organises messages according to the last message you sent, rather than the last reply you received. The archive contains old personal messages which you have moved there from your inbox, a process described below.
The "Select" box allows you to select all of your messages, deselect all of your messages, select only messages that have been read, and select only messages that are new (unread). You can also select messages by hovering your mouse over each message, and clicking the check box that appears between the message's status icon and subject line.
Once a message has been selected, the "Actions" box allows you to mark a read message as new (unread), mark a new (unread) message as read, to delete that message, or to send that message to the archive.
Use the ProBoards Forum Help Guide linked above to read about how to set notifications and communication preferences for private messages.
WHY IS NO ONE RESPONDING TO MY POST?
Sometimes there are members who don't understand why there is not a quicker response. This is a forum, not a chatroom, so even if you do type out a response there may not always be someone online to answer quickly like they would in a chatroom. If no one has replied within 24 hours, you may create another post within the same thread. Although it is rare, it is also inevitable that some threads or posts may not be replied to.
UNDERSTANDING RANKS: HOW COME I'M A BEWILDERED BEGINNER?
The title that appears below your name on the posts you make is the forum's ranking system, determined according to the number of posts you have; once you post a certain number of times, your title automatically changes. The number of stars on your profile also relates to your title. The ranks are listed below:
Bewildered Beginner: 0-9 posts
Reptile Researcher: 10-49
Catastrophic Captain: 50-99
Formidable Foreman: 100-199
Pessimistic Professor: 200-299
Devious Doorman: 300-399
Vindictive Villager: 400-499
Splenetic Surgeon: 500-999
False Fortune-Teller: 1,000-1,999
Xenial Xylophone: 2,000-2,999
Miserable Mariner: 3,000-3,999
Corrupt Concierge: 4,000-4,999
Definitely Doomed: 5,000-6,669
When you reach 6,670 posts you will be allowed to request a custom title by sending a private message to the forum administrator, Tragedy.
WHAT IS A MODERATOR? AND HOW DO I BECOME ONE?
A moderator is someone appointed by the admin (the founder and chief of staff of the forum) to help keep the forum organised.
A moderator's duties include but are not limited to moving threads to the proper section, deleting off-topic and/or rude posts and to help answer/assist any members who have forum related questions/problems. Other staff roles exist, but moderators are the most numerous and visible staff members.
If you'd like to become a moderator, keep an eye out for any announcements by staff. When another moderator is needed and the administrator wants to open applications to the entire forum rather than selecting a member privately, an announcement will be posted in order to alert interested parties.
The requirements for becoming a moderator are listed iin the 667 Dark Avneue Administrative Decrees.
WHY DO I NEED 100 POSTS TO ADVERTISE MY WEBSITE?
Reading 100 posts allows you to show that you are a committed member of 667 Dark Avenue and did not sign up purely to advertise your website. After reaching 100 posts, you will be able to advertise your website within the appropriate sections; Wistful Web for websites concerning Lemony Snicket related content and Menacing Miscellaneous for anything else.
WHERE DO WE POST NON-SNICKET ART, STORIES AND ROLE-PLAYING?
For art and stories not related to the works of Lemony Snicket, use the Chaotic Creativity section.
All RPGs are permitted in Relentless RPGS.
WHY CAN'T GUESTS POST?
Guests have been banned from posting because in the past we've had a few troublemakers spam as guests. Instead of having the moderators work overtime and having the peace of the forum be continually disturbed, it was decided that guests should be banned from posting. This is especially crucial now that so many spambots exist to advertise as guests.
WHY IS IT RUDE TO TYPE IN BIG LETTERS, OR STRETCH THE PAGE?
Do you even have to ask? Sometimes as a joke it might be necessary to type in BIG letters. For example:
BOO!
However in general, it's like just polite to type at a normal font level. Also it is extremely polite to NOT stretch the page horizontally, because it's incredibly hard to read when one does so, and it disturbs the entire forum's reading experience. If you notice the page has been stretched after posting, please edit your post to remedy this, or consider using spoiler tags.
WHY DO SOME MEMBERS NOT POST? SHOULDN'T WE DELETE THEM?
Not everyone visits the forum daily, or even weekly, so that's why some members don't post. In addition, many non-posting members used to post very regularly, but have now left for their own reasons. To delete them would be disrespectful to their long history - especially considering that anyone may someday choose to return. It harms nobody to permit non-posting accounts to remain, even if they have never posted or never intend to do so; it is a part of measuring the forum's history and popularity.
Foreboding Feedback Posting Guidelines
-Do not use this section for complaints about people's profiles. If someone's profile offends you, contact them first.
-Do not perpetuate arguments in this section by complaining about specific posts. Try to work things out with the member in question, first. If you're being persistently harassed, contact Tragedy or the moderator of the section that harassment takes place in. If someone's harassing you by PMs, you can also set your inbox to ignore them.
-Do not complain about specific members without a valid reason (unless they are clearly breaking the rules or being consistently troublesome, and nothing is being done about it yet).
-Do not advertise your website, Proboard, story, artwork, or imaginary fascist organization. (Feel free, however, to put links to your site or art/story thread in your profile.)
-Do not chat off-topic.
-Do not reply to threads that are blatant spam. Avoid replying to threads that are misplaced or redundant(and which will likely be locked or moved), unless you include a link to the correct thread or section.
-Do not post questions about Lemony Snicket's books. See the many threads in Burdensome Books, or search those sections, for information on Mr. Snicket's work.
-Do not post questions about matters covered by the topics of other boards in general. Try searching those sections for information, doing a general Internet search on the topics you wish to know more about, or posting in the appropriate section to ask.
-If a thread in this section appears to have vanished, check the Archives section for it. I generally archive threads after they've become obsolete(such as complaints about a problem we've fixed or applications for a moderator position that's since been filled.)
THIS ABYSS (THE SHOUTBOX)
A miniature chatroom exists at the bottom of each page, though the discussion in that box is universal and will record the same things no matter where you read or post them. The Shoutbox, which at 667 we named This Abyss, is integrated into the forum's systems and uses ProBoards accounts, so it will not be possible to impersonate another individual there. Although the rules of etiquette are more relaxed in the Abyss, please report anyone behaving inappropriately to a moderator.
WHY ARE SOME WORDS REPLACED? THIS IS CENSORSHIP!!
Certain profanities and obscenities use an amusing automatic filter on 667 Dark Avenue to replace them with less offensive terms. Please bear in mind when you post that mentioning anything inappropriate or behaving in an offensive manner may cause certain of your words to be replaced with different terms, and consider whether you might not be better off saying something entirely different.
Last Updated August 2021.
This thread exists to help you to understand how 667 Dark Avenue and ProBoards more broadly work, and to introduce you to the way the community is organised.
For general assistance in understanding the functions of ProBoards, please read the official ProBoards Forum Help Guide.
CONTENTS
-THE RULES
-ONLINE SAFETY
-USING PERSONAL MESSAGES
-WHY IS NO ONE RESPONDING TO MY POST?
-UNDERSTANDING RANKS: HOW COME I'M A BEWILDERED BEGINNER?
-WHAT IS A MODERATOR? AND HOW DO I BECOME ONE?
-WHY DO I NEED 100 POSTS TO ADVERTISE MY WEBSITE?
-WHERE DO WE POST NON-SNICKET ART, STORIES AND ROLE-PLAYING?
-WHY CAN'T GUESTS POST?
-WHY IS IT RUDE TO TYPE IN BIG LETTERS, OR STRETCH THE PAGE?
-WHY DO SOME MEMBERS NOT POST? SHOULDN'T WE DELETE THEM?
-FOREBODING FEEDBACK POSTING GUIDELINES
-THIS ABYSS (THE SHOUTBOX)
-WHY ARE SOME WORDS REPLACED? THIS IS CENSORSHIP!!
THE RULES
Read the official ProBoards Terms of Service to understand the rules governing all ProBoards forums relating to legal issues such as account ownership, the security of your personal information, and consent.
Read the official 667 Dark Avenue Administrative Decrees to understand the rules governing 667 Dark Avenue specifically, relating to issues such as acceptable behaviour, general etiquette, and staff rights and responsibilities.
ONLINE SAFETY
667 is a public internet forum, and as such you should take precautions to protect private information. If you feel you are the target of harassment or another user's post makes you uncomfortable, click the gear icon in the corner of the post and then click "Report Post." You can then detail your concern, which will be sent to the moderator of that board. Younger members should be aware of additional safety protocols that apply especially to them, examples of which are detailed here.
USING PERSONAL MESSAGES
There is no information in the present ProBoards Forum Help Guide relating to how to send personal messages, so this will be described here.
1. How to Read Your Personal Messages
At the top of the forum, beneath the banner, there should be a yellow bar containing links to Home, Help, Search, Calendar, Members, Profile, Messages, and Chat. An icon depicting the number of new messages in your inbox will appear over the "Messages" button when you have new messages. Open "Messages" to access your personal message inbox. Drop-down boxes at the top of your inbox allow you to navigate between your inbox, outbox, and archive, to select or deselect individual messages for organisational purposes, and to apply various actions to selected messages. There is also a search box to search the contents of your messages, and the grey button to the right of the search box will allow you to set certain advanced conditions to your search.
Any messages you receive will be listed below these boxes. An icon at the left of each message will depict a closed envelope if the message has not been read, and an open envelope if it has been read. To the right of this icon will be the subject of the message, followed by the name of the person who sent you the message, the number of replies to this message, and the last reply to this message. Messages work on the same principles as threads, but act as conversations only visible to the people that message is addressed to.
2. How to Send a Personal Message
From your inbox, you can click the "Create Message" button to create a new message. You can also send a message to a specific individual by viewing their profile and clicking the "Send Message" button at the upper-right of their profile. Text boxes will appear for you to insert the subject line of the message, the account name of the addressee or addressee, and a normal posting window to write your message in. Clicking "Create Message" below the reply window will create and send your message.
3. Everything Else About Personal Messages
You can reach the outbox by using the drop-down box previously mentioned; the outbox organises messages according to the last message you sent, rather than the last reply you received. The archive contains old personal messages which you have moved there from your inbox, a process described below.
The "Select" box allows you to select all of your messages, deselect all of your messages, select only messages that have been read, and select only messages that are new (unread). You can also select messages by hovering your mouse over each message, and clicking the check box that appears between the message's status icon and subject line.
Once a message has been selected, the "Actions" box allows you to mark a read message as new (unread), mark a new (unread) message as read, to delete that message, or to send that message to the archive.
Use the ProBoards Forum Help Guide linked above to read about how to set notifications and communication preferences for private messages.
WHY IS NO ONE RESPONDING TO MY POST?
Sometimes there are members who don't understand why there is not a quicker response. This is a forum, not a chatroom, so even if you do type out a response there may not always be someone online to answer quickly like they would in a chatroom. If no one has replied within 24 hours, you may create another post within the same thread. Although it is rare, it is also inevitable that some threads or posts may not be replied to.
UNDERSTANDING RANKS: HOW COME I'M A BEWILDERED BEGINNER?
The title that appears below your name on the posts you make is the forum's ranking system, determined according to the number of posts you have; once you post a certain number of times, your title automatically changes. The number of stars on your profile also relates to your title. The ranks are listed below:
Bewildered Beginner: 0-9 posts
Reptile Researcher: 10-49
Catastrophic Captain: 50-99
Formidable Foreman: 100-199
Pessimistic Professor: 200-299
Devious Doorman: 300-399
Vindictive Villager: 400-499
Splenetic Surgeon: 500-999
False Fortune-Teller: 1,000-1,999
Xenial Xylophone: 2,000-2,999
Miserable Mariner: 3,000-3,999
Corrupt Concierge: 4,000-4,999
Definitely Doomed: 5,000-6,669
When you reach 6,670 posts you will be allowed to request a custom title by sending a private message to the forum administrator, Tragedy.
WHAT IS A MODERATOR? AND HOW DO I BECOME ONE?
A moderator is someone appointed by the admin (the founder and chief of staff of the forum) to help keep the forum organised.
A moderator's duties include but are not limited to moving threads to the proper section, deleting off-topic and/or rude posts and to help answer/assist any members who have forum related questions/problems. Other staff roles exist, but moderators are the most numerous and visible staff members.
If you'd like to become a moderator, keep an eye out for any announcements by staff. When another moderator is needed and the administrator wants to open applications to the entire forum rather than selecting a member privately, an announcement will be posted in order to alert interested parties.
The requirements for becoming a moderator are listed iin the 667 Dark Avneue Administrative Decrees.
WHY DO I NEED 100 POSTS TO ADVERTISE MY WEBSITE?
Reading 100 posts allows you to show that you are a committed member of 667 Dark Avenue and did not sign up purely to advertise your website. After reaching 100 posts, you will be able to advertise your website within the appropriate sections; Wistful Web for websites concerning Lemony Snicket related content and Menacing Miscellaneous for anything else.
WHERE DO WE POST NON-SNICKET ART, STORIES AND ROLE-PLAYING?
For art and stories not related to the works of Lemony Snicket, use the Chaotic Creativity section.
All RPGs are permitted in Relentless RPGS.
WHY CAN'T GUESTS POST?
Guests have been banned from posting because in the past we've had a few troublemakers spam as guests. Instead of having the moderators work overtime and having the peace of the forum be continually disturbed, it was decided that guests should be banned from posting. This is especially crucial now that so many spambots exist to advertise as guests.
WHY IS IT RUDE TO TYPE IN BIG LETTERS, OR STRETCH THE PAGE?
Do you even have to ask? Sometimes as a joke it might be necessary to type in BIG letters. For example:
BOO!
However in general, it's like just polite to type at a normal font level. Also it is extremely polite to NOT stretch the page horizontally, because it's incredibly hard to read when one does so, and it disturbs the entire forum's reading experience. If you notice the page has been stretched after posting, please edit your post to remedy this, or consider using spoiler tags.
WHY DO SOME MEMBERS NOT POST? SHOULDN'T WE DELETE THEM?
Not everyone visits the forum daily, or even weekly, so that's why some members don't post. In addition, many non-posting members used to post very regularly, but have now left for their own reasons. To delete them would be disrespectful to their long history - especially considering that anyone may someday choose to return. It harms nobody to permit non-posting accounts to remain, even if they have never posted or never intend to do so; it is a part of measuring the forum's history and popularity.
Foreboding Feedback Posting Guidelines
-Do not use this section for complaints about people's profiles. If someone's profile offends you, contact them first.
-Do not perpetuate arguments in this section by complaining about specific posts. Try to work things out with the member in question, first. If you're being persistently harassed, contact Tragedy or the moderator of the section that harassment takes place in. If someone's harassing you by PMs, you can also set your inbox to ignore them.
-Do not complain about specific members without a valid reason (unless they are clearly breaking the rules or being consistently troublesome, and nothing is being done about it yet).
-Do not advertise your website, Proboard, story, artwork, or imaginary fascist organization. (Feel free, however, to put links to your site or art/story thread in your profile.)
-Do not chat off-topic.
-Do not reply to threads that are blatant spam. Avoid replying to threads that are misplaced or redundant(and which will likely be locked or moved), unless you include a link to the correct thread or section.
-Do not post questions about Lemony Snicket's books. See the many threads in Burdensome Books, or search those sections, for information on Mr. Snicket's work.
-Do not post questions about matters covered by the topics of other boards in general. Try searching those sections for information, doing a general Internet search on the topics you wish to know more about, or posting in the appropriate section to ask.
-If a thread in this section appears to have vanished, check the Archives section for it. I generally archive threads after they've become obsolete(such as complaints about a problem we've fixed or applications for a moderator position that's since been filled.)
THIS ABYSS (THE SHOUTBOX)
A miniature chatroom exists at the bottom of each page, though the discussion in that box is universal and will record the same things no matter where you read or post them. The Shoutbox, which at 667 we named This Abyss, is integrated into the forum's systems and uses ProBoards accounts, so it will not be possible to impersonate another individual there. Although the rules of etiquette are more relaxed in the Abyss, please report anyone behaving inappropriately to a moderator.
WHY ARE SOME WORDS REPLACED? THIS IS CENSORSHIP!!
Certain profanities and obscenities use an amusing automatic filter on 667 Dark Avenue to replace them with less offensive terms. Please bear in mind when you post that mentioning anything inappropriate or behaving in an offensive manner may cause certain of your words to be replaced with different terms, and consider whether you might not be better off saying something entirely different.