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Post by Zimm on Jul 20, 2015 20:22:35 GMT -5
#AKF FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS We understand, that at times, questions will arise about our forum. For that reason, we've created the Forum Support board. Some questions can be answered easily and because of that, we've complied a list of frequently asked questions. The majority of these questions, and their answers, refer to ProBoards forums as a whole. Before posting in our Forum Support board, we ask and recommend that you read through the following FAQs. If your question was not answered by our responses to the criteria outlined in this post and/or needs further clarification, we encourage you to post in our Support Forum board.*NOTE: This post will be updated as needed and is subject to change. If this post is altered, an update date in the form of: (Updated: 01/01/15) will be added to the thread title. If your question, or concern, comes after the date of the last update, we recommend you going through our FAQs again before posting in our Support Forum just to make sure your new question or concern hasn't been answered already.The following list consists of the most frequently asked questions for both our forum and ProBoards hosted forums in General:FAQs |
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Post by Zimm on Jul 20, 2015 20:40:21 GMT -5
How do I register a new account?To register an account on our forum, simply click on the "Register," or "Login," button on the right hand side of the menu/navigation bar. From there, you will be prompted to enter an email address. If you have a registered global email address already with ProBoards, you should be able to continue on by choosing a username and password followed by a CAPTCHA to prove that you are human. Then, you should gain access to our forums. If you do not have an email that is used for a global ProBoards account, you will enter your email address and then you will be prompted to input a password, your name, date of birth, and gender. Please be advised that all ProBoards users must be at least 13 years of age and above to access and participate in ProBoards hosted forums. When you have successfully completed the form, select and click on the "Continue" button to move on to the next step. Next, you will be prompted to choose a forum username. Enter the name you want to use. Your username is the name that you will use every time you login to our forum. It cannot be changed. That being said, you can opt to change your display name (the name other members see on the forums) by editing your profile after registration. Once you've chosen your login username, you will need to read the ProBoards TOS. When you have read through and agree to the TOS, you should click the checkbox stating that you've read and agree to the terms. Then select and click on the "Continue" button to move on to the next step. A pop up box will appear and you will have to prove that you are a human and not a robot by answering a CAPTCHA. Simply following the instructions for the human test and click the "Submit" button to continue. After you've completed this last step, an activation email will be sent out automatically to the email address you provided during registration. ProBoards requires email verification the first time you use an email address with any of the ProBoards hosted forums. When you receive the activation email, you can copy and paste the activation key in to the box provided on the activation page. Alternatively, you can opt to click on the activation link in your email which will verify your email and direct you to the forums. For users who have an email address registered with a ProBoards Global account, we assume that you know how to register an account on a ProBoards forum. If you have any issues or concerns regarding registration, please post in the Forum Support board. Additionally, if you register with an email on our forum and proceed to register on another ProBoards hosted forum with the same email address, you should not have to activate your email address again.
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Post by Zimm on Jul 20, 2015 20:44:32 GMT -5
I did not receive my confirmation/activation email. What can I do?When you create a new account on a forum, the email to activate your account will be sent out immediately. Allow up to three minutes for it to reach the inbox of your email account. If three minutes have passed and you still have not received the email with your activation key, try one of the following steps: - Check the spam / junk folder on your email account as sometimes the activation emails can be routed here instead of directly to your inbox.
- Login to the forum that you created your account on, and on the "Account Activation" page check the email address on the page to ensure that a typo was not made. If you see anything wrong with the way your email address is listed on this page, click the Change Email link found in the corner of the box that displays your email address to correct the issue. When you return to the Activate page, click the Resend Activation Email link on the page to send the activation email to your updated email address.
- Add noreply@proboards.com to your email contacts list. How this is done depends on your email provider, so if you are not sure, check with your email provider for instructions on how to add email contacts. After this email address has been added as an email contact, on the Activate page click the Resend Activation Email link to resend the activation email.
- If you have tried all of the above and are still unable to receive the activation email, contact your email provider to see if they can assist you further in unblocking the emails from reaching your account. Otherwise use the Change Email link on the Activate page and change your email to an account hosted with a known free email provider such as Gmail by Google or Yahoo Mail. These services are known to work well with the emails that are sent out by ProBoards.
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Post by Zimm on Jul 20, 2015 20:47:13 GMT -5
How do I login to my account?
To login to your account on #AKF, simply click on the "Login" link located on the right hand side of the menu/navigation bar. From there, you will be prompted to login to your account via username or email address.
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Post by Zimm on Jul 20, 2015 20:49:53 GMT -5
I'm having trouble logging into my account. What can I do?Visit a forum that you have already registered a forum account on, and then click the "Login" link typically found in the top-right hand corner of the forum. You'll now be taken to the Sign In page. To login, type in your forum username along with your password on this page. After that is entered, click the "Continue" button found at the bottom of the page. If you only have one account registered on the forum, you will be taken to the index page of the forum and will be automatically logged into that forum account. If you have multiple forum accounts, however, you'll be taken to a "Select Account" page. Once here, simply click on the name of the account you want to login to the forum as. You will then be taken to the index page of the forum you're visiting and will be logged into the account you chose. If the login attempt fails and you get an error message, it's possible the username/password you provided does not match our records. I forgot my username/password, please help!If you forgot your username or password, click on the "Forgot Your Password?" link found in the password box of the sign in page. On the "Recover Password" screen, type in either the username of your forum account, or your email address in the box provided. Once you click the "Recover" button, an email will be sent to your email account with further instructions on how to reset your account password.
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Post by Zimm on Jul 20, 2015 21:07:09 GMT -5
How do I access and navigate through my user profile?To navigate to your user profile, for the purpose of viewing or editing, simply click on the "# Profile" button located on the menu/navigation bar towards the top of the forum. Optionally, you can choose to click on your name if you see it anywhere on the forums and it will also take you to your user profile. From there, you can both view and edit your user profile. At first glance, you will see a summary of your user profile information including but not limited to the following: - Display Name
- Registration Date
- Email Address
- Birthday
- and much much more...
From this summary tab page, you will also have the option to view your recent posts and threads, links to your social media accounts and instant messenger names, as well as how your forum signature appears to forum users. Additionally, you will see who follows you and who you are following as well as the following profile tabs. The Profile tabs, in view mode, are listed below with a description: - Summary: The "Summary" tab page has been described above.
- Activity: If you select and click on the "Activity" tab page of your user profile, your recent activity will be displayed. This will include the creation of threads, posts, and polls. It may also include status updates and changes you have made to your user profile.
- Following: The "Following" tab page will show you the recent activities of the people you are currently following. This activity feed will include their threads, posts, polls, status updates, and changes to their user profile. It is identical to your own activity feed, however it is the activity feed of the people you are following. Activity displayed will be based upon individual user's privacy settings.
- Friends: The "Friends" tab page will display your friends. Friends are members that follow each other. So, if you follow Zimm and she follows you back, you have become friends. This tab page will also show you which of your friends are online or offline.
- Groups: The "Groups" tab page will show you what groups that you have been assigned to. If any groups are available for you to join, you will be able to do so from this area.
- Notifications: The "Notifications" tab page is important. It displays notifications to you across the forums. When you have a new notification, a number will appear next to the "# Profile" menu/navigation button as well as the "Notifications" tab of your user profile. You can and will receive notifications by way of the forum and by email. You will receive notifications as per your preferences. Some notifications that you may receive include but are not limited to: users quoting your content, users liking your content, people following you, when you become friends with another user, etc.
- Gift: The "Gift" tab page is specific to ProBoards forums. From this tab page, you can purchase badges from the ProBoards Badge store, add items to your wish list, and view badges that have been gifted to you.
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Post by Zimm on Jul 20, 2015 22:20:03 GMT -5
How do I edit the contents of my user profile?Editing your user profile is simpler than you would expect. We recommend that our users edit their profile to give other members a sense of who they are as well as a way to connect with them. Aside from the personal agenda of editing your profile, there are a lot of important settings you should go over and edit per your preferences. So, let's get started. How to edit your profile:While viewing your profile, you should notice a button on the right hand side of the Summary tab page that reads: "Edit Profile." Select and click on the "Edit Profile" button to begin editing your user profile. If you do not see the button, make sure that you are looking in the right area. It is located at the top of the Summary tab page on the right hand side next to the "Send Message" button. If you still cannot find the "Edit Profile" button, ensure that you are actually logged into your forum account. Then, head over to the Forum Support board and post a topic/thread letting us know so that we can look into it and further assist you. - Editing your avatar: When you first select and click on the "Edit Profile" button, you are directed to the "Avatar" tab page. Upon registration to our forum, your avatar is automatically set to our default avatar: A dark read colored hashtag.
You can choose to keep your current, default, avatar or you can change it. ProBoards offers a unique default avatar creator. We urge you to experiment with it as we find it to be pretty neat.
Additionally, you may opt to upload your own avatar. While we allow this, your avatar should be no larger than 150px in height by 150px in width. This will ensure that your avatar is not scaled and displays correctly across the forums.
When you have completed your avatar changes, click on the "Save Avatar Changes" button under the second section of the avatar settings tab page.
- Editing your personal settings: The second tab available to you when editing your profile is called "Personal." From this tab page, you can edit your display name, email address, password, gender, website, status updates, signature, and personal notes. Each section on this tab page has a description. That being said, you need to read each description so that you know how and what you are editing.
When you've finished editing the settings on this tab page, be sure to click on the button located at the bottom of the page that reads: "Save Personal Settings." After that, you can proceed to the next tab page.
- Social Networking: The third tab that is available to you, while editing your profile, is the "Social" tab. On this tab page, you can add links to various social media networks such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc. You can also display instant messenger accounts such as Skype, YIM, ICQ, etc. Please note that this information will be displayed to other members when they view your profile, however you can opt to hide it from guests in your privacy preferences discussed later in this FAQ.
When you've added the social media links and instant messenger names, click on the "Save Social Settings" button at the bottom of the tab page. You need to save before moving on to the next tab.
- Changing your forum preferences: The fourth tab is for editing your personal forum preferences. It is called the "Settings" tab. This tab allows you to edit various forum preferences. While each section on this tab page has a description, there is one important section that you should consider: Enable Drafts.
This section of the "Settings" tab page allows you to turn drafts on and off. A lot of users will find this setting extremely helpful and we recommend that all of our users enable it. If you are the type of person that types out log passages, we highly encourage you to enable this setting. Some users accidentally close a window or hit the back button when typing out long passages. This option allows you to recover the typed content you constructed prior to making either of those two user errors.
- Editing your privacy settings: The fifth tab, "Privacy," is probably the most important part of editing your profile. From this tab page, you can choose who to display your profile to. You can also change the visibility of your email address, birthdate, gender, and activity. Additionally, you can block members from seeing your profile and/or contacting you (with the exception of staff members). Like with other tab pages, each section has a description to help you decide how to manage your profile and account settings.
- Editing your forum notifications: The "Notifications" tab available to you when editing your profile allows you to edit the notifications that you receive and how you will receive them. We highly recommend that all users read through the list and edit the settings according to their personal preferences.
- Editing your badge options: The last tab available, when editing your profile, is "Badges." This tab page allows you to edit your badge display options and summarizes the icon legends. If you participate in badges, or exchanging badges with other members, we recommend editing these settings to your liking.
*NOTE: Do NOT forget to save each tab page before moving on to the next one! This will ensure that you do NOT lose all the work you've put into your profile.
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Post by Zimm on Jul 20, 2015 22:25:01 GMT -5
How do I follow other members and have them as friends?
Following other members of the forum is pretty simple. Click on the username of the person you wish to following. Doing this will take you to their "Profile" page. From there, click on the "Follow" button on the right hand side of their profile's Summary tab page. It is located next to the "Send Message" button.
When you follow a member, they will receive a notification per their notification preferences. If they choose to follow you back, the two of you will become friends.
If you wish to unfollow someone, you can do so. Simply navigate to the user's profile that you wish to unfollow and click on the "Unfollow" button displayed next to the "Send Message" button. If you unfollow someone, you will no longer be friends.
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Post by Zimm on Jul 20, 2015 22:30:37 GMT -5
How do I send and receive private messages?
All ProBoards forums have a private messaging/email system built-in to them. This service allows members to communicate privately with other members of the forum out of the eyes of the entire community base.
To send a private message, click on the user's name and select and click on the "Send Message" button located on the right hand side of their profile's summary tab page. Additionally, you can select the "# Messages" button on the menu/navigation bar. Doing so will take you to your inbox. From there, click on the "Create Message" button on the top right hand side. Then, in the recipients box, begin typing the user's name. The box will prompt you with options. When you've found the right person, select their name and continue with the message.
Receiving messages
When you receive a new private message, a number will appear in a bubble above the "# Messages" button on the men/navigation bar. If you click on that button it will take you to your inbox. Simply click on the title of the message to read it. Also, you can reply by selecting the "Reply" button and/or using the "Quick Reply" box at the bottom of the message.
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Post by Zimm on Jul 20, 2015 22:47:50 GMT -5
How do I create threads, posts, and polls? How do I edit them?
The purpose of a forum, or message board, is to have conversations with members about a specific topic and/or various topics. To do that, all of our members have to create threads, or reply to them with posts, and/or create polls. The following explains how to create threads, post replies, and polls, as well as editing or removing them.
Threads
To create a thread, navigate to the board where you want to start a conversation. Then, towards the top right of the board, you will see a button that says "create Thread." Click on the button, enter a subject/title, enter the message/content, and then click on the button towards the bottom of the editor that reads "Create Thread" to post the thread to the board.
Polls
To create a poll, you will follow all of the steps outlined in the thread creation instructions above. Additionally, while in the create thread area, you will see a button that reads "Add Poll." It is located next to the subject/title box towards the right hand side of your screen. When you select and click on the "Add Poll" button, you will input the poll question, answers and options.
Posts/Replies
To add a post or reply to a thread, simply click on the "Reply" button at the top or bottom of the thread page when viewing a thread. Additionally, you can opt to use the "Quick Reply" box at the bottom of the page by typing in your message and clicking on the "Post Quick Reply" button just below it.
Quoting another person's post or several within a thread
When replying, you can quote an individual, or multiple individuals at one time. To quote one individual, select the "Quote" button on the post that you wish to quote and your browser will direct you to the full reply editor with the quote inside it. To quote more than one person at a time, select the "Settings/Cog" icon (it looks like a gear) to the right of the post. From the drop down menu, select the option "Select Post." You will need to do this for each post that you wish to quote. After you've selected all of the posts that you want to quote in your reply, select and click on the "Reply" button. This will open up the full editor to include each of the posts you wanted to quote. From there, switch the editor to "Preview" to see the quotes in quoted format and answer them accordingly.
Editing Threads/Posts
Users can edit their own threads and posts by clicking on the "Edit" button of their content. For threads, if you wish to edit the title, or other information in the main post for the thread, you will need to make sure that you click the "Edit" button in the first post of the thread you want to change. For posts, simply click on the "Edit" button of the the post you wish to edit, make your changes and then save them.
Deleting Posts/Threads
We do not allow users to delete threads or posts. That being said, if needed a staff member may move a thread or post to the Archives area only visible by staff members.
Removing Polls
As far as we can tell, there is no way to edit a poll. However, you can remove your poll and add a different one. To do this, click on the "Edit" button in the first post; which is where the poll is located. From there, select and click on the "Remove Poll" button where the "Add Poll" button originally was. To start a new poll, follow the instructions for creating a poll as outlined above.
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Post by Zimm on Jul 20, 2015 22:53:22 GMT -5
How do I report posts for moderation?We want our members to know and understand that our staff simply cannot be online 24 hours a day 7 days a week. That being said, certain posts and rule-breaking users may go unnoticed. If you happen to see a post that violates our Forum-Wide Rules or the ProBoards TOS, you should report it immediately. To report a post, navigate to it and select the "Settings/Cog" icon (it looks like a gear). Click on it. From there, a drop down options menu will pop up. Select and click on the "Report Post" option. You will then be prompted to input a reason for your report. Your reason must be as detailed as you can make it as well as short. You are only allowed 256 words in your post report. When you are finished, click on the "Report Post" button at the bottom of the box. All of our forum staff that deals with the reported posts will be notified and the issue will be taken care of as soon as possible.
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