Frequently Asked Questions - Your Guide to AOTR! - Please Read

[Jezebel]

First of all, welcome to The Age of the Ring.  If you have a question or anything like that, then please feel free to ask, but please make sure you check out this thread before doing so, as the question you are about to ask might have already been answered!

For a quick overview of posting guidelines, check out this web site:

Questions that have been asked and answered

General Posting Q&A

- What is a post and how do I reply?
- I cannot seem to find any of my threads.  Where have they gone?
- How do I lock my own topics?
- I want a certain colour for my text.  How do I do it?
- How do I make my text bold/italic/underlined?

Instant Messages Q&A

- Why can't I send IM's?


Profile Q&A

- How many posts do I need to move up a rank?
- What is my profile?
- How do I change my name on the message boards?

Administration and Moderation Q&A

- Who owns the site and who are the administrators?
- Who are the moderators and how do I become one?

Reporting Abuse Q&A

- Someone is being horrible to me.  What can I do?

Avatars and Signatures Q&A

- Why doesn't my avatar work?
- Who can make signatures/avatars?
- How do I add pictures to my signature?
- Can I upload avatars to the forum?
- What are the avatar and signature rules?

Tags and HTML Q&A

- How do I centre text/images?
- I don't have suitable resizing software, how can I resize images using just tags?

Forum Appearance Q&A

- How do I change skins?
- What resolution is this site best viewed in?
- What browser is this site best viewed in?
- How do I turn the mushrooms on/off?

Computer Problems Q&A

- How do I remove Spyware?

[Jezebel]

General Posting Q&A

What is a post and how do I reply?

A post is just a reply to a topic on any of the boards. If you want to post a reply, click on the reply button at the bottom of the screen. Please avoid multiple posting one after another by clicking the MODIFY button on your post and editing or adding to it.

I cannot seem to find any of my threads.  Where have they gone?

From time to time, the forum automatically clears out topics which are 30 or more days older.  Topics which have been locked also get deleted and also the board moderator do regular clean outs of topics which have not been replied to for a certain time.  

How do I lock my own topics?

You can only lock your own topics that you created.  You cannot lock anyone elses topics unless you are a moderator.  At the bottom of the page, there will be a button saying Lock Topic.  Click this button and the topic will be locked.  People will no longer be able to reply to the topix except admins and moderators of the board.  You can also unlock the topic by using the same button. IF A MOD/ADMIN HAS LOCKED YOUR TOPIC, DO NOT RE-OPEN IT!

I want a certain colour for my text.  How do I do it?

When replying, there is a drop down menu with some pre-defined colours to choose from.  Simply type out what you want to say and select all of your text (Ctrl+A for Windows users) and then choose a colour from the drop down with your text still chosen.  The code will show:

Code: [Select]

[color=red]Text[/color]
You can change red to whichever colour you like

How do I change my text to bold/italic/underlined?

Type out your message as normal.  When it comes to typing out the word you want to bold/italic/underline, simply click on for Bold, for Italics or for Underline.  When you click these buttons, a code like the one below will show:

Code: [Select]

[b][/b]
[i][/i]
[u][/u]
b meaning bold, i meaning italics and u meaning underline.  Type your text inbetween these tags e.g.

Code: [Select]

[b]TEXT[/b]
You can also combine them together and make it Bold, Italic and Underlined!!

[Jezebel]

Profile Q&A

How many posts do I need to move up a rank?

When you join the boards, you are a Newborn member
50 posts = Mighty member
250 posts = Legendary member
More posts = Mythical member
A lot more posts = Lord member
Yet even more posts = Knight member
a ridiculous amount of posts = Man-at-Arms Member

What is my profile?

Your profile is where you set up and change personal details.  You can also change your password and your email address within this feature.

You will be sent a new password if you change your email address, so remember to type your new email address in C-A-R-E-F-U-L-L-Y!!

It is here that you can also give the details of your own web site, MSN, ICQ, AIM or YIM addresses, personal text and signature text.  Profile can only be modified by the site admins and the person whom the profile belong to.  Moderators can also only change their own profile.  If you need assistance with your profile, please IM an administrator.

How do I change my name on the message boards?

Click on the Profile link at the top of the page and then click on Account Related Settings.  You cannot change your original (aka username), which is the name you must use to log in but you can change your display name which will change wherever you post.  If you do change your name, you will still need to log in with your own name.  If you wish to have your actual username (login), please ask on of the admin and they will be more than happy to change it for you (this means that if you choose a new login name, you will need to login with your new name!)

[Jezebel]

Administration and Moderation Q&A

Who owns the site, and who are the administrators?

This site is owned by:
Elril Galia


The site is run by the aid of (the Vala):


Anne

Beleriel

Lessa

Théodwyn


Who are the moderators and how do I become one?

Below is the list of the forum moderators (the Maia):

Deallyra, Keeper of Mice - Dual Commander of LINK!
Durin, Deathless
Elecyla, Sheildmaiden of the Golden Hall
Gollum Girl, Remmirath - Green Meanie
Ice Girl, High Dúnedain King
Isodia, Moriquendi
Starzi, Servant of the Secret Fire
Théo, Remmirath - Empress of Chaos
Waelith, Remmirath - Nazgûl Queen of Mordor
Kamui, Ska Superhero!
Boromir, Necromancer
D, Angel of Depravity

Aulë, Mahal the Maker
Elbereth, Twilight Queen of the Stars
Starzi, Servant of the Secret Fire
Uchiha Itachi

Moderator can be identified by their purple stars.  Please do not ask to become a mod.  Please do not pester the mods/admin into becoming a mod.  Posts are not relevant.  The way you act is not relevant.  Nothing is relevant.  All moderator positions are currently filled.

[Jezebel]

Reporting Abuse Q&A

Someone is being horrible to me.  What can I do?

If someone is giving you abuse on the public boards, there is a link in everybodys post called Report to moderator.  Simply click this and follow the instructions.  Do not abuse this link!  When you have finished reporting the person who has been abusing you, an email will be sent to all the administrators and they will take further action.  Please remember to click the right link or you could be reporting the wrong person!

You can also IM one of the admins or moderators.  If someone if giving you abuse in IM, then please tell an admin or moderator at once!  If you can, try and "quote" what they say into the IM so that the admin/mod can deal with the problem.

[Jezebel]

Avatars and Signatures Q&A

Why doesn't my avatar work?

There could be many reasons why your avatar doesn't work.  Here are a few examples to why it might not be:

- You are trying to link from a site that doesn't allow hotlinking
- The site you are trying to hotlink from has exceeded their bandwidth limit
- You are trying to link from your hard drive - the avatar needs to be on the Internet for others to see
- Your avatar is bigger than 100x100
- Your avatar is not in jpeg, gif, png or bmp format

A good site to use if you can't host your avatar is Photobucket.  They give you plenty of space and bandwidth.  You need to sign up!  Once you've uploaded your avatar, you can link from there to this site.

Who can make signatures/avatars?

Please refer to this topic: Avatar and Signature Makers

If you happen to ask someone to make a signature/avatar for you, please only ask one person!  Please also be grateful for their work because signatures and avatars can take a long time to make!  Please also be precise in what sort of signature or avatar you'd like.  Theres nothing more annoying than people asking "Can you make me a signature?" without giving details.

How do I add pictures to my signature?

First of all, you will need to have the signature picture somewhere on the Internet (e.g. Photobucket).  Once you have your signature on the Internet, you will then need to click on Profile at the top of the page and then choose Forum profile Information from the list on the left hand side.  Near the bottom is a text box for where you can insert your signature.  In here you can add pictures and text.  To add a picture, do the following:

Code: [Select]

[img]http://www.whatever.com/picture.gif[/img]
Replace the URL between the IMG tags with the URL of the image.  If you are using Photobucket, you should be able to copy and paste this information directly from the Photobucket site (it can be found under the preview of your image).

Can I upload avatars to the forum?

No.

What are the avatar and signature rules?

There are a few rules to follow with signatures and avatars.  If you do no follow them, you risk losing the feature of having signatures and avatars, thus spoiling it for everyone.

Signature Rules

- All signature must be 500x150 pixels or less
- They must be 100Kb or less (Generally speaking reducing the number of frames or compressing an animated gif file will reduce the file size)
- You are only allowed one!
- If you have text, you must have no more than 5 lines (this includes blank lines)
- Advertising must be arranged with Blades UK (please contact an admin for more information)

Avatar Rules

- Avatars must be 100Kb or less
- Avatars must be 100x100 or less
- Avatars must be in supported formats (jpeg, jpg, gif, bmp or png)

Avatars and signatures must NOT display pornography, racism or anything that may be unsuitable for the forum!!

[Jezebel]

Tags and HTML Q&A

How to centre text/images?

You can do this by using the following code:

Code: [Select]

[center]TEXT[/center]
Simply change TEXT between the CENTER tags to whatever you like.  For images, do the following:

Code: [Select]

[center][img]http://www.whatever.com/picture.gif[/img][/center]
I don't have suitable resizing software, how can I resize images using just tags?

You can do this by using the following code:

Code: [Select]

[img width=500 height=500]http://www.whatever.com/image.gif[/img]
Simly change the width and height numbers to something more suitable.  Aim to keep the width under 600 so it doesn't stretch people's screens (especially those on low resolutions)

[Jezebel]

Forum Appearance Q&A

How do I change skins?

Under Profile, on the left hand side, there will be a link saying Look and Layout Preferences.  Under here, there will be another link saying Change.  This will be next to some text saying Current Theme.  Click on Change and all the skins that are available will be displayed.  To use a certain theme, simply select Use This Theme and the theme will change to whichever one you selected.

What resolution is the site best viewed in?

This site is best viewed in 1024x768 but can be viewed in 800x600 and anything higher than 1024x768.

What browser is this site best viewed in?

Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox are favourites for this site.  Other browsers may be compatible, but we do not know about them or how compatible they are.  If you use any other browser other than Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, please let us know how the site runs for you when using it.

How do I turn the mushrooms on/off?

To turn mushrooms on or off, look under Profile and then under Look and Layout Preferences.  Under here, there will be the option to Turn Mushroom Off.  If the check button is selected, it means it is off.  If it is unchecked, it means it is on.  Select to whichever you prefer.

[Jezebel]

Computer Problems Q&A

How do I remove Spyware?

Spyware is a very common thing for those who use Windows computers.  Spyware is something that can be downloaded without your permission and can be annoying to get rid of.  Spyware takes personal information such as log in information, password, credit card details etc and literally sends them back to the creator of whoever made the Spyware that has landed on your computer.  There are many ways you can get rid of it, but we suggest the following:

- Download Ad Aware.  You can download Ad Aware from this site.  Install it and run the program using a FULL SCAN.  If you do this one a week, you should be Spyware free (and preferibly more than once because one scan never seems to pick up everything...)

- Download Spybot Search and Destroy.  You can download this from here.  Similiar to Ad Aware.  Might be worthwhile having both pieces of software to keep you clean.

Spyware is also majorly associated with Kazaa.  If you have Kazaa on your computer, uninstall it and run one of the programs as mentioned above.

While scanning, the software may come across some Tracking Cookies.  These are safe to delete.

[Anne]

Instant Message Q&A

Why can't I send IMs?

Unfortunately we had a number of spammers attempting to annoy members by registering an account and sending spam IMs to every member.  In order to counter this, for the moment new members do not have the right to send IMs.  Once you have made sufficent posts then IM rights will be granted.  

[Theo]

 The appeals representatives are:

Debz - Ernil i Pheriannath
piecrust - Quendi of the Stars
Lady*Elentári - Paladin of Khazad-dûm
† Gilly † - Lord of Darkness
Aiwendil - Brown Istar, Gwaith-i-Mírdain
M - Guard of the Citadel
Lúthien Elanessë - Elven Ranger of the Arthedain

 Click on their name to view profile..

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