MrMosley
08-08-2010, 05:10 PM
This FAQ will answer most every question about the forums and act as a "how-to" do a lot of the features that this forum provides. I have taken screenshots of different areas which I will be talking about and have numbered them. The numbers on the screenshot will correspond with the number of the description under each specific heading.
~Forum Index Top Navigation~
* For those of you who are new to forums, this is a short rundown of how it works (at least here at ZD Forums). First, you will notice that the navigation at the top of the page stays the same between the main site and the forums. This is to make navigating the main site easier to do from the forums, rather than having to go back to the main site.
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o372/calebm_89/topnav.png
1.) Clicking the logo at the top-left will link you back to the main index.
2.) The "News" button will also link you back to the main index. "Gallery" will take you to the site's image gallery. "Media" and "Resources" will bring up additional options when highlighting them that will be self-explanatory as to what they contain. "Chat" will bring up an IRC chatroom that can be used to speak with others from the site who are within the chat. "Forums" links you to the main index of the forums.
3.) Here we have our links to the outside world. Zelda Dungeon has a Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter that can all be accessed by clicking each respective image shown.
4.) This area has icons specific to each Zelda game in the series. Clicking one of the icons will take you to the main site's section for everything we have on that game. You can also hover over the icons to make drop-down menus appear for quicker navigation of material on the specific game.
5.) This is where the top navigation is forum-only. "MrMosley" is where your name will be shown. You can click your name to link to your forum profile. "Notifications" links you to your message inbox and will show a (x) number of notifications you have beside of it when you have some. Notifications include visitor and private messages, as well as other things such as group invites. "My Profile" also links you to your forum profile. "Settings" is where you can edit all kinds of things about your profile, such as edit your signature and avatar, as well as view recently posted-in threads that you have subscribed to. "Log Out" does just that and logs you out of the forums.
6.) This is the search tool. Simply put in a keyword having to do with the subject you want to search about and a list of threads pertaining to that keyword will appear. Advanced Search lets you narrow your search down to meet specific requirements, such as searching a keyword combined with showing only those threads posted by "enter forum member's name here".
7.) This menu links to self-explanatory areas.
~Forum Index Bottom Navigation~
* At the bottom of the Forum Index page you can find a few additional things not shown elsewhere. You can view who is currently online, who has been online within the day so far, the top posters of the day, events and birthdays for today, and forum statistics. At the very bottom of the page, you can a drop-down box on the left that allows you to change the forum template, however we suggest that you currently use the default forum style (v19).
~Forum Index: Navigating the Threads~
* On the main forum page, you can see all kinds of different forums, spanning anything Zelda related and even non-Zelda related forums towards the bottom.
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o372/calebm_89/1and2.png
1.) Simply clicking on the title of the forum will take you into that specific section. From there, you will either see more sub-forums listed at the top (such as in the Entertainment section, there are sub-forums for Movies and Music), so if you want to look into those you would click that title.
2.) As shown above, the most recent thread to be posted in within the specific section will show up on the far right. The title of this thread can be clicked from here to go straight into this specific thread.
~How to Make New Threads~
* After clicking a forum section that interests you, there will be a list of threads that have to do with the specific section you selected.
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o372/calebm_89/postin.png
1.) The "Post New Thread" button can be found either at the top or bottom of the page on the left side. Once you click this button, another page will come up where you must put in the title of the thread, type the first post within the larger text box, and add a prefix if the section requires it. Below the larger text box where the first post will be typed in, there are some additional options as well. Post Icons will put whichever picture you select to the far left of your thread, and will be visible for those who are browsing the section where your thread was posted. Tags simply make it easier to find your thread via the search tool by using keywords. Under "Additional Options" there are many other things to add to or take away from this specific thread, such as showing your signature or posting a poll.
2.) If you are browsing a section that requires or supports "prefixes", then they will show up as such. Certain forums require that a prefix be added to the thread. This is simply to make things more organized for the staff and community here at Zelda Dungeon Forums. It also cuts back on having to add the game's title within the title of your thread. Prefixes can also be "clicked" themselves, which will sort all the threads of that section by that prefix alone. So, for example, when browsing the Classic Zelda forum, clicking the "Ocarina of Time" prefix will sort out and show only the threads with the Ocarina of Time prefix. To change this back to showing all threads, simply click the prefix again.
3.) Thread titles are shown here. Threads are ordered by most recent post, so the ones that were posted in last will show first and so on. If you want to look at a specific thread, simply click the thread title.
4.) Some threads have many replies, and thus the posts must be separated by page. Rather than having to go into a specific thread to click say, the last page of the thread if that's the one you are wanting to see, you can click the page number from the main list of threads. This is merely a shortcut to save you some time if you know what you want to see from the start.
5.) There are also many pages worth of threads within each specific section of the forums. Threads are listed 50 at a time, so if you don't see what you want on the first page, you might need to click the "2" shown here to go to the next page. Most forums discourage "bumping" older threads (that is, making a post in a dormant, old thread that brings the thread to the front of the rest). Here, we are not so strict on this. However, we want you to add something at least informative or interesting to the topic if it is so old that it isn't on the first or second page. Simply posting a few words worth of your opinion in a topic that hasn't been posted on in 6+ months is not acceptable.
~Making a New Post~
* After clicking the thread you want to view, a new page will come up. This page will have the specific topic being discussed with replies from various other forum members.
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o372/calebm_89/reply.png
1.) The "Reply to Thread" button works the same way as the Post New Thread button explained before, only this will reply to the specific thread you are looking at.
* At the lower-right of an individual's post, you can also select from other options....
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o372/calebm_89/editetc.png
1.) Edit Post will show up only on the posts you have made yourself. Whenever you want to change something about a post you have made, or want to add to a previous post, simply click the Edit Post button to do just that.
2.) The Reply button simply replies to the thread, just as the one at the top of the page does.
3.) Reply With Quote allows you to quote a specific member's post. If you click this, whichever post you clicked it on will take whatever that member said in the post and add it to your reply. This is usually to direct a reply at one specific person or statement that a person made, rather than replying to the subject as a whole.
4.) This is the multi-quote button which allows you to quote more than one person at a time in a single post. Clicking this button will "highlight" the specific post(s). Then, when you want to post your response to all the quotes, you would select the "Reply With Quote" button on the last one. So, if there were three people you wanted to quote or respond to specifically, you would click the Multi-Quote buttons on the first two and Reply With Quote on the third. Then, all three people's post would show up in your reply box.
~Using BBCode Tags~
* The forums utilize a variety of BB code tags that can be used in any post. A full list of BB Codes and instructions on how to apply them can be found here (http://zeldadungeon.net/forum/misc.php?do=bbcode). A quick rundown of the most common codes and how to use them are as follows:
1) The image tag can be used to place an image directly into a post: url of image here.
2) The url tag can be used to turn a word or image into a link. For example, rules (http://zeldadungeon.net/forum/showthread.php?15358-Zelda-Dugeon-Forum-Rules-and-Infractions) would show up as rules (http://zeldadungeon.net/forum/showthread.php?15358-Zelda-Dugeon-Forum-Rules-and-Infractions).
3) The spoiler tag can be used to hide text. For example, text would display as
text
~More Frequently Asked Questions~
* By now, if you were previously completely new to using forums, you should at least be able to navigate this forum and successfully make posts and new threads, which is really all you need to know how to do. However, there are some things that, as you become more accustomed to the forums, you will notice and have questions about, such as....
1.) I see a lot of different colored names... What do they mean?
Answer.) Different colored names specify a different rank for those members. Purple names are the Hylian Knights, who are the more active, better posting, "role-models" of the forum. Green names are the Hylian Nobles, who comprise a sort of Hall of Fame. Yellow names are Article Writers, who obtain this rank for having an article they wrote published on the ZD main page. Blue names are Webmasters. Orange names signify forum Moderators. Red names are the Administrators of the forum.
Additionally, users who belong to a different rank or group may also have a "rank bar" associated with their posts. This rank bar will be the same color as the rank they have achieved. Certain rank bars may appear for members, however their name color will not change. These ranks are Site Staff and Fansite Worker, the latter of which is a retired rank. There are also grey usernames which signify banned users.
2.) Well, how do I become a Hylian Knight or Noble? Or how can I become a Moderator?
Answer.) Choosing anyone for a promotion to a new rank is a highly selective process. Each month, Hylian Knights will gather to discuss possible nominations for new Hylian Knights. These nominees can then be voted on by all Hylian Knights and Nobles to decide if they are worthy enough of achieving the rank. Selecting new Hylian Nobles works roughly the same way, only Nobles are very rare to be promoted since it is such a high rank. Some of the requirements to be on board for a possible Hylian Knight promotion include having been a registered member for at least 3-4 months, having a higher-than-average post count, a "role-model" attitude, and finally, receiving at least 75% approval by all members who would vote on you during nominations.
Moderators are promoted on a need by need basis. They are typically chosen for their activity and trustworthiness, usually after being suggested by an administrator and then discussed by the forum staff.
3.) I have received an "infraction". What does this mean?
Answer.) Receiving an infraction means that you have broken one of the forum rules. For a more detailed description of the infraction system used here at ZD forums, as well as the list of forum rules, Click Here (http://zeldadungeon.net/forum/showthread.php?15358-Zelda-Dugeon-Forum-Rules-and-Infractions).
4.) I noticed there were more users registered a few days back, but now there are less. What happened to them?
Answer.) At the beginning of each month, ZD Forums prunes members that they distinguish as inactive. These include members that have signed up and have not logged in over 60days and have 0 posts. There are also extended pruning of users with extreme low post counts who haven't posted or logged in for several months. Don't worry, even if you don't post at all, as long as you log in every two months, your account is safe. We do this to try and get a more accurate account for our community fan base.
5.) My threads aren't appearing! What should I do?
Answer.) Contact a moderator or administrator with the name of the thread and the section. They should be able to fix it. Odds are it was automatically disapproved by the forum which prevents anyone but the aforementioned groups from seeing it. Please do not repeatedly make the thread in the hopes that it will eventually work.
6.) I have a problem and want to ask somebody for help, who should I contact?
Answer.) You can contact Kybyrian, Austin, or Xinnamin who are all Administrators and should be able to assist you. If they are unavailable for one reason or another, the secondary option would be to contact a Moderator or David, one of our webmasters.
7.) I don't like my username and want it changed, can I do that?
Answer.) Name changes are not handed out like candy in preschool. Send a message to an Administrator requesting a name change. Members are restricted to one name change. Please keep in mind that Moderators and Administrators reserve the right to deny any and all name changes.
~Forum Index Top Navigation~
* For those of you who are new to forums, this is a short rundown of how it works (at least here at ZD Forums). First, you will notice that the navigation at the top of the page stays the same between the main site and the forums. This is to make navigating the main site easier to do from the forums, rather than having to go back to the main site.
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o372/calebm_89/topnav.png
1.) Clicking the logo at the top-left will link you back to the main index.
2.) The "News" button will also link you back to the main index. "Gallery" will take you to the site's image gallery. "Media" and "Resources" will bring up additional options when highlighting them that will be self-explanatory as to what they contain. "Chat" will bring up an IRC chatroom that can be used to speak with others from the site who are within the chat. "Forums" links you to the main index of the forums.
3.) Here we have our links to the outside world. Zelda Dungeon has a Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter that can all be accessed by clicking each respective image shown.
4.) This area has icons specific to each Zelda game in the series. Clicking one of the icons will take you to the main site's section for everything we have on that game. You can also hover over the icons to make drop-down menus appear for quicker navigation of material on the specific game.
5.) This is where the top navigation is forum-only. "MrMosley" is where your name will be shown. You can click your name to link to your forum profile. "Notifications" links you to your message inbox and will show a (x) number of notifications you have beside of it when you have some. Notifications include visitor and private messages, as well as other things such as group invites. "My Profile" also links you to your forum profile. "Settings" is where you can edit all kinds of things about your profile, such as edit your signature and avatar, as well as view recently posted-in threads that you have subscribed to. "Log Out" does just that and logs you out of the forums.
6.) This is the search tool. Simply put in a keyword having to do with the subject you want to search about and a list of threads pertaining to that keyword will appear. Advanced Search lets you narrow your search down to meet specific requirements, such as searching a keyword combined with showing only those threads posted by "enter forum member's name here".
7.) This menu links to self-explanatory areas.
~Forum Index Bottom Navigation~
* At the bottom of the Forum Index page you can find a few additional things not shown elsewhere. You can view who is currently online, who has been online within the day so far, the top posters of the day, events and birthdays for today, and forum statistics. At the very bottom of the page, you can a drop-down box on the left that allows you to change the forum template, however we suggest that you currently use the default forum style (v19).
~Forum Index: Navigating the Threads~
* On the main forum page, you can see all kinds of different forums, spanning anything Zelda related and even non-Zelda related forums towards the bottom.
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o372/calebm_89/1and2.png
1.) Simply clicking on the title of the forum will take you into that specific section. From there, you will either see more sub-forums listed at the top (such as in the Entertainment section, there are sub-forums for Movies and Music), so if you want to look into those you would click that title.
2.) As shown above, the most recent thread to be posted in within the specific section will show up on the far right. The title of this thread can be clicked from here to go straight into this specific thread.
~How to Make New Threads~
* After clicking a forum section that interests you, there will be a list of threads that have to do with the specific section you selected.
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o372/calebm_89/postin.png
1.) The "Post New Thread" button can be found either at the top or bottom of the page on the left side. Once you click this button, another page will come up where you must put in the title of the thread, type the first post within the larger text box, and add a prefix if the section requires it. Below the larger text box where the first post will be typed in, there are some additional options as well. Post Icons will put whichever picture you select to the far left of your thread, and will be visible for those who are browsing the section where your thread was posted. Tags simply make it easier to find your thread via the search tool by using keywords. Under "Additional Options" there are many other things to add to or take away from this specific thread, such as showing your signature or posting a poll.
2.) If you are browsing a section that requires or supports "prefixes", then they will show up as such. Certain forums require that a prefix be added to the thread. This is simply to make things more organized for the staff and community here at Zelda Dungeon Forums. It also cuts back on having to add the game's title within the title of your thread. Prefixes can also be "clicked" themselves, which will sort all the threads of that section by that prefix alone. So, for example, when browsing the Classic Zelda forum, clicking the "Ocarina of Time" prefix will sort out and show only the threads with the Ocarina of Time prefix. To change this back to showing all threads, simply click the prefix again.
3.) Thread titles are shown here. Threads are ordered by most recent post, so the ones that were posted in last will show first and so on. If you want to look at a specific thread, simply click the thread title.
4.) Some threads have many replies, and thus the posts must be separated by page. Rather than having to go into a specific thread to click say, the last page of the thread if that's the one you are wanting to see, you can click the page number from the main list of threads. This is merely a shortcut to save you some time if you know what you want to see from the start.
5.) There are also many pages worth of threads within each specific section of the forums. Threads are listed 50 at a time, so if you don't see what you want on the first page, you might need to click the "2" shown here to go to the next page. Most forums discourage "bumping" older threads (that is, making a post in a dormant, old thread that brings the thread to the front of the rest). Here, we are not so strict on this. However, we want you to add something at least informative or interesting to the topic if it is so old that it isn't on the first or second page. Simply posting a few words worth of your opinion in a topic that hasn't been posted on in 6+ months is not acceptable.
~Making a New Post~
* After clicking the thread you want to view, a new page will come up. This page will have the specific topic being discussed with replies from various other forum members.
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o372/calebm_89/reply.png
1.) The "Reply to Thread" button works the same way as the Post New Thread button explained before, only this will reply to the specific thread you are looking at.
* At the lower-right of an individual's post, you can also select from other options....
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o372/calebm_89/editetc.png
1.) Edit Post will show up only on the posts you have made yourself. Whenever you want to change something about a post you have made, or want to add to a previous post, simply click the Edit Post button to do just that.
2.) The Reply button simply replies to the thread, just as the one at the top of the page does.
3.) Reply With Quote allows you to quote a specific member's post. If you click this, whichever post you clicked it on will take whatever that member said in the post and add it to your reply. This is usually to direct a reply at one specific person or statement that a person made, rather than replying to the subject as a whole.
4.) This is the multi-quote button which allows you to quote more than one person at a time in a single post. Clicking this button will "highlight" the specific post(s). Then, when you want to post your response to all the quotes, you would select the "Reply With Quote" button on the last one. So, if there were three people you wanted to quote or respond to specifically, you would click the Multi-Quote buttons on the first two and Reply With Quote on the third. Then, all three people's post would show up in your reply box.
~Using BBCode Tags~
* The forums utilize a variety of BB code tags that can be used in any post. A full list of BB Codes and instructions on how to apply them can be found here (http://zeldadungeon.net/forum/misc.php?do=bbcode). A quick rundown of the most common codes and how to use them are as follows:
1) The image tag can be used to place an image directly into a post: url of image here.
2) The url tag can be used to turn a word or image into a link. For example, rules (http://zeldadungeon.net/forum/showthread.php?15358-Zelda-Dugeon-Forum-Rules-and-Infractions) would show up as rules (http://zeldadungeon.net/forum/showthread.php?15358-Zelda-Dugeon-Forum-Rules-and-Infractions).
3) The spoiler tag can be used to hide text. For example, text would display as
text
~More Frequently Asked Questions~
* By now, if you were previously completely new to using forums, you should at least be able to navigate this forum and successfully make posts and new threads, which is really all you need to know how to do. However, there are some things that, as you become more accustomed to the forums, you will notice and have questions about, such as....
1.) I see a lot of different colored names... What do they mean?
Answer.) Different colored names specify a different rank for those members. Purple names are the Hylian Knights, who are the more active, better posting, "role-models" of the forum. Green names are the Hylian Nobles, who comprise a sort of Hall of Fame. Yellow names are Article Writers, who obtain this rank for having an article they wrote published on the ZD main page. Blue names are Webmasters. Orange names signify forum Moderators. Red names are the Administrators of the forum.
Additionally, users who belong to a different rank or group may also have a "rank bar" associated with their posts. This rank bar will be the same color as the rank they have achieved. Certain rank bars may appear for members, however their name color will not change. These ranks are Site Staff and Fansite Worker, the latter of which is a retired rank. There are also grey usernames which signify banned users.
2.) Well, how do I become a Hylian Knight or Noble? Or how can I become a Moderator?
Answer.) Choosing anyone for a promotion to a new rank is a highly selective process. Each month, Hylian Knights will gather to discuss possible nominations for new Hylian Knights. These nominees can then be voted on by all Hylian Knights and Nobles to decide if they are worthy enough of achieving the rank. Selecting new Hylian Nobles works roughly the same way, only Nobles are very rare to be promoted since it is such a high rank. Some of the requirements to be on board for a possible Hylian Knight promotion include having been a registered member for at least 3-4 months, having a higher-than-average post count, a "role-model" attitude, and finally, receiving at least 75% approval by all members who would vote on you during nominations.
Moderators are promoted on a need by need basis. They are typically chosen for their activity and trustworthiness, usually after being suggested by an administrator and then discussed by the forum staff.
3.) I have received an "infraction". What does this mean?
Answer.) Receiving an infraction means that you have broken one of the forum rules. For a more detailed description of the infraction system used here at ZD forums, as well as the list of forum rules, Click Here (http://zeldadungeon.net/forum/showthread.php?15358-Zelda-Dugeon-Forum-Rules-and-Infractions).
4.) I noticed there were more users registered a few days back, but now there are less. What happened to them?
Answer.) At the beginning of each month, ZD Forums prunes members that they distinguish as inactive. These include members that have signed up and have not logged in over 60days and have 0 posts. There are also extended pruning of users with extreme low post counts who haven't posted or logged in for several months. Don't worry, even if you don't post at all, as long as you log in every two months, your account is safe. We do this to try and get a more accurate account for our community fan base.
5.) My threads aren't appearing! What should I do?
Answer.) Contact a moderator or administrator with the name of the thread and the section. They should be able to fix it. Odds are it was automatically disapproved by the forum which prevents anyone but the aforementioned groups from seeing it. Please do not repeatedly make the thread in the hopes that it will eventually work.
6.) I have a problem and want to ask somebody for help, who should I contact?
Answer.) You can contact Kybyrian, Austin, or Xinnamin who are all Administrators and should be able to assist you. If they are unavailable for one reason or another, the secondary option would be to contact a Moderator or David, one of our webmasters.
7.) I don't like my username and want it changed, can I do that?
Answer.) Name changes are not handed out like candy in preschool. Send a message to an Administrator requesting a name change. Members are restricted to one name change. Please keep in mind that Moderators and Administrators reserve the right to deny any and all name changes.