Forum FAQ - updated 1/28/09

[Sparky]

Welcome to Never Forgotten: a Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends discussion board. If you've never been a member of a vBulletin forum before and need help, please visit the vBulletin FAQ. (That is the FAQ you will go to when you click the FAQ link in your navigation bar, not this one.) Use the vBulletin FAQ for more "technical" issues, such as formatting posts, linking to websites and images, etc. This FAQ is for less technical and more personal questions, specific to this board and community. This is NOT the rules thread; that is elsewhere on the Announcement board.

Who Are the Staff?

The current staff of Never Forgotten are:

• Sparky - Administrator. Can do...well, anything and everything in regards to running the forum. (She also creates some of the graphics.)

• pitbulllady - Co-Administrator. Can moderate all posts and user accounts.

• taranchula - Moderator. Can moderate posts.

• Cassini90125 - Moderator. Can moderate posts.

• One Radical Dude - Moderator. Can moderate posts.

Questions about the avatars and skins are probably best directed to Sparky. All of us can be contacted regarding post moderation/deletion/pinning/locking/etc. The most technical of questions should probably be directed to Sparky. It is the responsibility of all Staff to listen to problems concerning other users etc so contact whomever you wish regarding disputes. Note that if you use the Contact Us form found on the forum homepage it will be read by the entire staff, not just Sparky.

What Are the Ranks?

Ranks progress depending on how many posts a user has made on the boards. 0+ = Newly Abandoned; 50+ = Settling In; 100+ = At Home; 250+ = Permanent Resident; 500+ = Foster's Legend. Members who have been with us (including time spent on the old board) for one year gain the ability to set their own custom title.

How Do I Change My Avatar and Signature?

Your avatar is the picture that appears under your username. You can use one of the premade ones or upload your own. Avatars are limited to 100x100 pixels and either 40K, 100K, or 150K depending on if you’re a regular User, a Senior User, or a Sponsor (see below). You set your avatar by entering your User CP, and clicking Edit Avatar.

Signatures are the blocks of text and/or images at the bottom of a user's posts. You can set yours in your User CP by clicking on Edit Signature. Your entire signature is limited to 150 pixels high and 600 pixels wide; if your sig exceeds those dimensions it will simply be cut off in the forums. Sig images must be hosted elsewhere. Large filesizes slow the entire board down for everybody, so try to keep it reasonable.

If either your avatar or signature is found unacceptable (either due to objectionable content, excessive animation, or in the case of the sig images huge filesize) you may be contacted to change it/them.

Am I Allowed To Have More Than One Account?

NO. Multiple accounts are not allowed here. If you have a very good reason for wanting a new username, PM Sparky to discuss it. But do not create a second account unless you are notifying Staff asking them to disable your first one. (Two accounts may also be "merged" togther.) If you are found using two accounts simultaneously you will probably be banned.

How Do I Get a Custom Title?

You may have noticed the extra line beneath some user's names, such as Sparky's "Ruler of Terrencania" one. That is called a custom tile, and all Staff and Sponsors are entitled to one. But so are all regular Users who have been members for a full year, so if you're new, you'll just have to be patient!

I want to leave, can my account be deleted?

We're sorry to see you go, but only brand-new unused accounts can be deleted without wrecking the database. Once an account has been used to post and send PMs etc, deleting an account can corrupt the database. I don't know exactly how it works but I do know that on a vBulletin it can be dangerous to remove an account ao I won't do it. So again unless you just now made the account and you have never posted or anything with it, I cannot delete it. If you wish to leave and never return, go into your user cp and change the email to something that doesn't exist and then reset your password to something random so you can never log back in. That's pretty much all I can suggest.

Can I swear on here?

Please remember that this forum is accessible to everyone, including children, parents, and folks who work at Cartoon Network! So curb your language accordingly. "Milder" words such as hell, crap, damn, and ass are permitted but watch it. Nothing harsher is allowed. You may use asterisks to blot out harsher words if you feel it is absolutely necessary but try to avoid using those words at all. Note that there is a difference between "ass" and "assh*le" for example. And "jackass" for instance isn’t really a swear word at all, depending on how you look at it. But please don't say the b-word even if you’re referring to a female canine because it is a derogatory word for woman. Whether or not some words count as expletives can depend on a judgement call, but when in doubt err on the side of caution please.

What About Donations?

You may make a monetary donation to Never Forgotten at any time by clicking on the “Donate” button on the forum or by visiting the Donate Page. If you are a registered member of the forum Sparky will keep track of your donations and display the number on your profile page (if you prefer to keep this number confidential tell Sparky). Once you have donated five dollars (there is no one-time minimum donation amount) you will be added to the “Sponsor” usergroup. Sponsors can have custom titles, a larger PM box, and avatars up to 150K in size; plus you will receive a special icon underneath your username so everyone will know you have donated.

Please note that donating does not earn you any more special treatment than what I have listed. If you have or have expressed intent to donate, that does not make you immune to punishment for breaking forum rules; nor will it bring you back if you have been banned. Donations are pretty much non-refundable as well, so if you decide to leave the forum or are banned, no, you don’t get your donation back.

What Is "Multi-Quote" and How Do I Use It?

When you wish to quote multiple posts in your reply, just click the Multi-Quote link on *each* of the posts you wish to quote (in the order in which you wish to quote them) and then click on the regular Reply button. Each of the posts you wanted to quote will appear in your reply box.

What Is the Forum Calendar For And Can I Add Entries To It?

The Forum Calendar automatically shows the birthdays of registered members. Beyond that, every entry must be added manually. All registered members have the ability to add to the calendar, and you are encouraged to do so. But please only use it for either Foster’s-related events, holidays, or important personal events for yourself or other members; as we are a community and such dates are important to all of us. Please do NOT use the calendar for anything else though, such as dates relevant to other fandoms.

How Come Some People Have Been Here Longer Than the First Posts Made On the Forum?

This is not the first Never Forgotten forum - it is the second. The first one opened in July of 2005 and was hosted on Proboards, a free forum service. We moved to a vBulletin interface, hosted on Sparky's site fosters-home.com, in August of 2006. All "legacy" members had their join dates and post counts manually tweaked by Sparky to reflect their old stats on the first board. Unfortunately Proboards does not share databases with their account holders, so it was impossible to physically import all the old posts to the new board. As long as it lasts, feel free to visit the old board by clicking on the link on the main page.

Are there any usernames that are not allowed?

Currently usernames containing the words/word fragments "admin", "moderat", and "sparky" will be denied registration. This is to prevent people impersonating me or pretending to be on the staff. Beyond that, no one is permitted to keep the username "Never Leave Steve" or a close variation as that is the name of our "secretary" account; nor will anyone be permitted to keep a username that is too close to a staffmember's username. Other usernames may be disallowed on a case-by-case basis. And as described in the Forum Rules, NO username that refers to a pairing will be allowed. And of course, nothing vulgar etc. will be allowed.

Hpw do I customize my profile?

Registered members may customize their profiles with a profile picture, a custom color and font scheme, background image, and image albums. Profile pictures can be no more than 200x200 pixels, 64 KB, and cannot be animated. Images in photos albums can be no larger than 600x600 pixels and 97 KB (album images will be automatically resized when uploaded). A special album for profile images can be created; these images can be used as your profile background. You may also choose whether or not you want your regular albums to be viewable to all or restricted only to your friends list. Oh, did I mention you can friend members? You can either send someone a friendship request or simply make them a contact (a one-way friendship). Not all friendships have to be mutual, and you can sever a friendship whenever you want. Messages can also be left on profiles of members who allow it - these are viewable to all who are able to visit the profile (profiles can also be made private). Users can moderate all comments left on their profile, and everyone is expected to follow general forum rules pertaining to foul language and inappropriate images.

How do I use the comment feature on my and other members' profiles?

To leave a comment on a member's profile: First make sure you have selected "Visitor Messages" in the tabs, then type your message in the Message box and click Post Message (clicking Go Advanced will give you full posting controls including your smilie box).

To reply to a post made on your profile: If you want the person to actually get your reply, your post must be made on their profile, not your own. You can easily do this by clicking the View Conversation link at the bottom of the post; you will be taken to another page showing all posts made between the two of you so far. Type your reply in the box on that page and click Post Message. (Yeah I'm hoping in a future version of vBulletin there will just be a Reply link under posts.)

To edit messages left by anyone on your profile: Just click the Edit button. You have the ability to moderate all posts made on your own profile. You may also report offensive posts with the Edit button, just like you can report offensive posts on the forum.

[Sparky]

Update: Notice about multiple accounts not being allowed. (Yes, I do have a "test account" but it is used for admin purposes only.) There's no reason for someone to have more than one account, and usually people who do that are trying to hide their identity so they can troll or otherwise try to deceive people into thinking they are two (or more) different people. Do not register for multiple accounts, it looks suspicious. If you are found with multiple accounts I will have to assume you're up to no good. Sorry.

[Sparky]

CG, while she is still the Graphics Coordinator, has been promoted to full Moderator as well, and I updated the Staff List accordingly.

[Sparky]

And now CG is a Co-Admin. It's a plot, I tell ya! (Lol.)

[Sparky]

Added a section about the forum calendar. You guys *can* use it, just keep the non-relevant stuff out, please.

[Sparky]

Added a bit of info on making donations and the Sponsor usergroup.

[Sparky]

Added paragraph about usernames that are not allowed.

[Sparky]

Added a paragraph about swearing on the boards. Yes you may report any posts that contain profanity not noted as acceptable.

[Sparky]

Added paragraph about custom profiles.

[Sparky]

I added a bit more about profiles, specifically the posting feature. I'm seeing that a lot of people don't know how to reply directly to comments left on their profile and for that I don't blame them...why there isn't simply a Reply link is beyond me. Anyways you have to make sure you click on View Conversation and then post in the box on that page. I dunno why they did it that way but they did.