How to: the FAQ for everything after the basics (Youtube videos, quoting, thanks etc)

Spear

Note: due to the platform move, the info listed here it outdated, and in some parts quite explicitly wrong. It'll be updated over the coming few days.


This is a guide to the most commonly used additions to your posts to help add content or other extra options. It covers:

1. Problematic posts
2. The use of BBcode tags
   • Embedding Youtube videos
   • Spoiler tags
   • Multi quoting
3. Posting as a guest or anonymously
4. Thread and post of the day
5. Thanking a post
6. Post count and restrictions
7. Polls, After Hours restrictions, test posts
8. Beyond the normal forums i.e. private and hosted
9. Special case forums
10. Other frequently asked questions
11. Smilies

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to add them.



Problematic posts
If you believe a post warrants a mods attention, be it spam, abuse, off topic etc, then use the report post button present on every post. This will send an automated alert to every mod of the forum involved. Mods most likely won't provide any feedback to you as this would generate an undue workload, mods are unpaid volunteers after all. Mods may also not act immediately, they have their own lives to lead, jobs to work etc, so don't be impatient.


BBCode:

Boards.ie uses the standard BBCode common to all Vbulletin forums around the net. This allows you to add tags around text to manipulate them, i.e. put tags around a picture link to make it display the image instead of the text.

You can see the full list of BBCode options here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/misc.php?do=bbcode


In the editor that's used when posting, you'll see various buttons to add the tags around the test for you, or you can add them manually.

The simplest way is to simply press the Youtube button which will prompt you for the link.

Or you can add the tags manually, wrapping the tags around the video link after v= .

So [noparse]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrNK1Rm3r6I[/noparse]

becomes [noparse]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrNK1Rm3r6I

[/noparse]

and produces:

We can also expand on this, by adding the start time variable "t" or "start" in seconds or minutes ( e.g. t=30 or start=0m30s), to make the video start at a specific time.

[noparse]

[/noparse]

Due to a current technical limitation, you'll need the full URL to use the t/start starttime, not just the video ID.


Spoiler tags

It's possible to temporarily hide text in a spoiler tags to help avoid unintentionally revealing a plot/twist/ending of something.

hidden text here

Select the text with your mouse and you can read it.

Spoiler: as you can see here

Multiquote

With every post there'll also be a multiquote button, to the right of the normal quote button.



You can select multiple posts in a thread, and when you press reply, it'll quote all of them at once, rather than the single post used by the normal quote button.

Tables

The [noparse] and [/noparse] tags can be used to insert formatted tables into posts.

[noparse]item1|item2|item3|item4|item5
item6|item7|item8|item9|item10[/noparse]

gives:

item1|item2|item3|item4|item5
item6|item7|item8|item9|item10

Each entry is separated by a divider |, and a new line becomes a new line in the table.




Posting as a guest or anonymously

It's possible to post anonymously in the following list of forums:

1. Adoption
2. Bereavement
3. Creative Writing
4. Gift & Party Ideas
5. Long Term Illness
6. Parenting
7. Personal Issues
8. Relationship Issues
9. State Benefits
10. The Gentlemens Club
11. The Ladies Lounge
12. Work problems
13. Oulwans 'n' Oulfallas
14. LGBT
15. Separation and Divorce
16. Safety and Off-Season

To do so, first log out of boards.ie. Go to the forum in question and press the new thread/post reply option. You'll be given prompts to follow. Please note that anon posts are pre-moderated and may not appear immediately.


Thread of the day

The Thread of the Day is chosen randomly from the new threads started on that day. You can find this thread via the dropdown menu (Talk To > Boards.ie > What's New > Thread of the Day) or by visiting www.boards.ie/totd

Post of the day

The Post of the Day is the post that received the most thanks that day. You'll also know if a post made Post of the Day as there'll be a thanks from an account named simply "boards.ie". You can find this thread via the dropdown menu (Talk To > Boards.ie > What's New > Post of the Day) or by visiting www.boards.ie/potd



Thanking a post

To thank a post, to show your support/approval/gratitude etc, you can press the thanks button on the lower right of the post







Post count
In its simplest form, your post count is simply your number of posts, and each one increase the count by one. However not all forums count towards this, as a precaution to avoid people using those forums to artificially boost their post count. Examples are the Thunder Dome and the Cuckoos Nest.


Post count based restrictions
As an anti-spam measure, certain options are limited to a minimum number of posts,

Signatures: 50
Posting a link: 5 posts.

Don't post rubbish or spam for the purpose of upping your post count to meet these conditions, your posts will be removed and your account probably banned. The same applies for appending a faked signature.

Posts in these forums don't count towards your post count:

1. Recycle Bin
2. Prison
3. Test
4. Soccer Access Requests
5. The Cuckoo's Nest
6. The Thunderdome
7. Puzzles & Quizzes
8. Reported Posts
9. FlirTar
10. Creative Writing

Polls

How can I add a poll to a thread?
Once you've created a thread you can edit your post to add the poll options.


Testing these out

Where can I test these out?

We have a test forum here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=361

where you can experiment and try things out safely.

Posting beyond the normal forums:

Hosted forums:

Hosted forums are otherwise separate forums given a home on the boards.ie infrastructure. They have their own mods, called hosted moderators, separate from the normal moderators.

You can see the list of them here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=80


Private Forums:

Private forums are just that: private. Access is purely at the discretion of the mods in question and can be removed or granted as and why they see fit.




Special cases

1. Prison
   Posting in prison is limited to those who are banned and to admins only.
2. Helpdesk
   Anyone can start a thread and anyone can reply, but all replies are pre-moderated, so either the Helpdesk mods or admins can approve them.
3. Soccer
   Soccer can be read by everyone, but permission to post is only granted on application. The rules and application forum are here:
   http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...p?t=2055637888
4. Sex and Sexuality
   Currently this is restricted to those who request access and mods only.
5. Politics Café
   Politics Café 2.0 can be read by everyone, but permission to post is only granted on application. The application request thread and rules are here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057753734
6. Ranting & Raving
   Currently this is restricted to those who request access and mods only.

Other frequently asked questions
How do I unfollow/unsubscribe from a closed forum?
To unsubscribe from a closed forum, enter http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/subscription.php?do=removesubscription&f=535 in your address bar. You can remove a sub for any forum by swapping the number after f= for any other form ID number.

How do I unsubscribe from email notifications about a thread?
If you've changed your default e-mail notification, you will still have to retrospectively change your thread subscription in the User Control Panel.

Why can't I see Private Messages that I've sent? Have they actually been sent?
To enable the storage of Sent Private Messages, you'll need to enable it in your User Control Panel. Scroll down to where it says "Save a copy of sent messages in my Sent Items folder by default" (under Private Messaging) and ensure the checkbox is ticked. Please note that these count towards your stored messages limits, so you may need to delete Private Messages more frequently.

How long do I have to edit / delete a post?
The edit button will appear on your post for 48 hours after you submit it, during which time you can edit or delete the post. It will be recorded if you edited your post within this time. Outside of this, you will need to contact the mods, Admins, or the office (hello@boards.ie) to have a post edited or deleted. Please bear in mind that they are under no obligation to do so.

Boards.ie: Mark

Smilies
You can find the smilies to the right of the Advanced Editor (which can be accessed when starting a new thread, or when you click Post Reply, Go Advanced, or Quote an individual post.

You can also insert a smilie manually with the following:

[PHP]:D :rolleyes: :mad: :eek: :cool: :pac: [/PHP]

Which produces:
:rolleyes: :mad: :eek: :cool: :pac: