Frequently Asked Questions

Login and Registration Issues

Why can’t I login?
The most likely is you have entered your username and/or password incorrectly. if you are unsure of your password, it can be reset by following the instructions at the log in screen. if this does not overcome your problem or you are confident the details are correct please feel free to contact us.
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Why do I get logged off automatically?
If you do not check the Log me in automatically box when you login, you will only kept logged in for a preset time. This prevents misuse of your account by anyone else. To stay logged in, check the box during login. This is not recommended if you access the board from a shared computer, e.g. library, internet cafe, university computer lab, etc.
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I’ve lost my password!
Don’t panic! While your password cannot be retrieved, it can easily be reset. Visit the login page and click I’ve forgotten my password. Follow the instructions and you should be able to log in again shortly.
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I registered but cannot login!
First, check your username and password are entered correctly, also your account will also require activated by us before you can logon as started on your account registration confirmation email. If you did not receive an e-mail, you may have provided an incorrect e-mail address or the e-mail may have been picked up by a spam filer. If you are sure the e-mail address you provided is correct, please feel free to contact us.
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User Preferences and settings

How do I change my settings?
If you are a registered user, all your settings are stored in the board database. To alter them, visit your User Control Panel found at the top the page. This system will allow you to change all your settings and preferences.
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The times are not correct!
It is possible the time displayed is from a timezone different from the one you are in. If this is the case, visit your User Control Panel and change your timezone to match your particular area, e.g. London, Paris, New York, Sydney, etc and also dont forget to select Summer Time/DST correctly if applicable. Please note that changing the timezone, like most settings, can only be done by registered users. If you are not registered, this is a good time to do so.
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How do I show an image along with my username?
There are two images which may appear along with a username when viewing posts. One of them may be an image associated with your rank, generally in the form of stars, indicating how many posts you have made or your status on the site. Another, usually a larger image, is known as an avatar and is generally unique or personal to each user. to add an avatar you will need to upload a correctly sized image in your user control panel, no offencive or vulgar images will be tollerated and will be removed.
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What is my rank and how do I change it?
Ranks, which appear below your username, indicate the number of posts you have made or identify certain users, e.g. moderators and administrators. Please do not abuse the board by posting unnecessarily just to increase your rank as a moderator or administrator may lower your post count.
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When I click the e-mail link for a user it asks me to login?
Only registered users can send e-mail to other users via the built-in e-mail form, and only if the administrator has enabled this feature. This is to prevent malicious use of the e-mail system by anonymous users.
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Posting Issues

How do I post a topic in a forum?
To post you must first be registered on the site, once you have registered and your account has been activated to post a new topic in a forum, click the relevant button on either the forum or topic screens.
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How do I edit or delete a post?
You can only edit or delete your own posts with the exception of members of the support team who are able to edit other users posts . You can edit a post by clicking the edit button for the relevant post, sometimes for only a limited time after the post was made. If someone has already replied to the post, you will find a small piece of text output below the post when you return to the topic which lists the number of times you edited it along with the date and time. This will only appear if someone has made a reply; it will not appear if a member of the support team has edited the post, though they may leave a note as to why they’ve edited the post at their own discretion. Please note that normal users cannot delete a post once someone has replied.
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How do I add a signature to my post?
To add a signature to a post you must first create one via your User Control Panel. Once created, you can check the Attach a signature box on the posting form to add your signature. You can also add a signature by default to all your posts by checking the appropriate radio button in your profile. If you do so, you can still prevent a signature being added to individual posts by un-checking the add signature box within the posting form.
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How do I create a poll?
When posting a new topic or editing the first post of a topic, click the “Poll creation” tab below the main posting form; if you cannot see this, you do not have appropriate permissions to create polls. Enter a title and at least two options in the appropriate fields, making sure each option is on a separate line in the box. You can also set the number of options users may select during voting under “Options per user”, a time limit in days for the poll (0 for infinite duration) and lastly the option to allow users to amend their votes.
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How do I edit or delete a poll?
As with posts, polls can only be edited by the original poster or a member of the support team. To edit a poll, click to edit the first post in the topic; this always has the poll associated with it. If no one has cast a vote, users can delete the poll or edit any poll option. However, if members have already placed votes, only support team members can edit or delete it. This prevents the poll’s options from being changed mid-way through a poll.
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How can I report a post?
Simply click the report post button next to the post you wish to report. Clicking this will walk you through the steps necessary to report the post.
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What is the “Save” button for in topic posting?
This allows you to save passages to be completed and submitted at a later date. To reload a saved passage, visit the User Control Panel.
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How do I bump my topic?
By clicking the “Bump topic” link when you are viewing it, you can “bump” the topic to the top of the forum on the first page.
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Formatting and Topic Types

What is BBCode?
BBCode is a special implementation of HTML, offering great formatting control on particular objects in a post. BBCode itself is similar in style to HTML, but tags are enclosed in square brackets [ and ] rather than < and >. For more information on BBCode see the guide which can be accessed from the posting page.
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Can I use HTML?
No. It is not possible to post HTML on this board and have it rendered as HTML. Most formatting which can be carried out using HTML can be applied using BBCode instead.
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What are Smilies?
Smilies, or Emoticons, are small images which can be used to express a feeling using a short code, e.g. :) denotes happy, while :( denotes sad. The full list of emoticons can be seen in the posting form. Try not to overuse smilies tho!
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Can I post images?
To add photos to you post you simply have to upload the image to the internet, there are many sites that will host images for free including for example photobucket.com & tinypic.com. Once you have this image uploaded simply press the [IMG] button and paste the image address inbetween the tags.
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What are global announcements?
Global announcements contain important information and you should read them whenever possible. They will appear at the top of every forum and within your User Control Panel.
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What are announcements?
Announcements often contain important information for the forum you are currently reading and you should read them whenever possible. Announcements appear at the top of every page in the forum to which they are posted.
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What are sticky topics?
Sticky topics within the forum appear below announcements and only on the first page. They are often quite important so you should read them whenever possible.
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What are locked topics?
Locked topics are topics where users can no longer reply and any poll it contained was automatically ended. Topics may be locked for many reasons and were set this way by the support team.
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What are topic icons?
Topic icons are author chosen images associated with posts to indicate their content.
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Friends and Foes

What are my Friends and Foes lists?
You can use these lists to organise other members of the site. Members added to your friends list will be listed within your User Control Panel for quick access to see their online status and to send them private messages. Subject to template support, posts from these users may also be highlighted. If you add a user to your foes list, any posts they make will be hidden by default.
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How can I add / remove users to my Friends or Foes list?
You can add users to your list in two ways. Within each user’s profile, there is a link to add them to either your Friend or Foe list. Alternatively, from your User Control Panel, you can directly add users by entering their member name. You may also remove users from your list using the same page.
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Searching the Forums

How can I search a forum or forums?
Enter a search term in the search box located on the index, forum or topic pages. Advanced search can be accessed by clicking the “Advance Search” link which is available on all pages on the forum.
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Why does my search return no results?
Your search was probably too vague and included many common terms which are not indexed. Be more specific and use the options available within Advanced search.
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Why does my search return a blank page!?
Your search returned too many results for the webserver to handle. Use “Advanced search” and be more specific in the terms used and forums that are to be searched.
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How can I find my own posts and topics?
Your own posts can be retrieved either by clicking the “Search user’s posts” within the User Control Panel or via your own profile page. To search for your topics, use the Advanced search page and fill in the various options appropriately.
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Topic Subscriptions and Bookmarks

What is the difference between bookmarking and subscribing?
Bookmarking here is much like bookmarking in your web browser. You aren’t alerted when there’s an update, but you can come back to the topic later. Subscribing, however, will notify you when there is an update to the topic or forum on the board via your preferred method or methods.
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How do I subscribe to specific forums or topics?
To subscribe to a specific forum, click the “Subscribe forum” link upon entering the forum. To subscribe to a topic, reply to the topic with the subscribe checkbox checked or click the “Subscribe topic” link within the topic itself.
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How do I remove my subscriptions?
To remove your subscriptions, go to your User Control Panel and follow the links to your subscriptions.
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