Post by Marie-Cris on Feb 4, 2008 21:15:54 GMT 9.5
So, you've succumbed to the dark side and registered at Unexpected Song - or "US", for short; excellent! You've been watching the site, reading the posts, and though you'd like to jump into the conversation you're not quite sure how to.
Well, I'm writing this to tell you it's okay to be shy; naturally I'm a very shy person, so writing gives me a form of expression ((as many have painfully learned XD)). Even so, you'd like to talk, but where to start?
Start here:
RULES: Yes, I do expect you to follow these rules; they're very simple and basic, after all. You must, must, MUST read this too before posting. Rules get added now and again, but it's still a very short and simple guideline on what you can and can't do on this forum. Things you can say, things you can't ... plus there's a section on post counts that you really need to know.
((Unspoken rules are rules that that shouldn't need to be spoken but are anyway, just to make it clear))
Introducing ...: Like most forums, Unexpected Song has a place to state your name ((username usually; only post your real name if you're absolutely comfortable with doing so)) and saying your big hello. It's the one place where you can make a first impression within a very muddled conversation and not feel like a fool. You don't have to do the introductory quiz thing I posted; there was a time when I got hooked on those things and would always use that quiz, which was quoted off a Rocky Horror forum I was a part of, but it's only one option to introducing yourself.
Don't fret that you'll be interrupting any conversations going on in that thread; as you'll find throughout the board, conversations tend to stray from their original topics now and again ((We do get back to the point, of course - eventually ...)) and it's something you're not going to get the cane for if you do it. I'm not a strict admin; I have rules, yes ((read them!)), but I'm not uptight like some forum runners.
Warlovian Dictionary: This is probably the most handy tool you can arm yourself with; here at Unexpected Song we've developed a rather ... interesting language of our own, and if you come across a word on this site that you don't understand and is in no dictionary you can get your hands on, chances are it's a Warlovian word. Armed with this little baby, you'll soon be speaking Warlovian like the rest of us, and you may even be able to contribute new words to the list once you get into the swing of things.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Even if it's something that seems so simple it's embarrassing. Hopefully I've covered most of the basic stuff in the following posts, but if there's anything I've missed or something in them that you don't understand, ask away!
So, after you have read the following posts, run along, have fun, and welcome to Unexpected Song! We look forward to getting to know you!
- Ask the Admin
- Avatars and Signatures
- How Do I ... ?
- Where Do I ... ?
- HELP!
PS: A few more helpful hits:
1: If you're sure no one else in your household will log on to this site, select "Remember Me" as your log in session time. Still make note of your e-mail and password in a safe place, of course, but it makes things so much easier if you have "Forever" Don't worry, it won't say that you're still on the site if you close your browser window; it only picks up that you're on when you're on. If you don't want to select Remember Me, that's cool too.
2: Don't be afraid to interrupt. Say you want to talk about Phantom of the Opera; you head on over to the Phantom of the Opera thread in the On the Boards board, enter, and find there's a conversation going on about food. So? Jump in. Say what you think about the show and people will respond according to your post. You can, of course, talk about the food too. Whatever you say, chances are more often than not someone will respond to it. Unless people are not sure how to relate to your post, in which case it might go unanswered for a while, but don't fret, you won't be a failure if this happens! It happens to everyone now and then. Once you start to get a feel of the atmosphere, get to know other people on the forum, and when they start to know you better, jumping into conversations won't be so scary.
Well, I'm writing this to tell you it's okay to be shy; naturally I'm a very shy person, so writing gives me a form of expression ((as many have painfully learned XD)). Even so, you'd like to talk, but where to start?
Start here:
RULES: Yes, I do expect you to follow these rules; they're very simple and basic, after all. You must, must, MUST read this too before posting. Rules get added now and again, but it's still a very short and simple guideline on what you can and can't do on this forum. Things you can say, things you can't ... plus there's a section on post counts that you really need to know.
((Unspoken rules are rules that that shouldn't need to be spoken but are anyway, just to make it clear))
Introducing ...: Like most forums, Unexpected Song has a place to state your name ((username usually; only post your real name if you're absolutely comfortable with doing so)) and saying your big hello. It's the one place where you can make a first impression within a very muddled conversation and not feel like a fool. You don't have to do the introductory quiz thing I posted; there was a time when I got hooked on those things and would always use that quiz, which was quoted off a Rocky Horror forum I was a part of, but it's only one option to introducing yourself.
Don't fret that you'll be interrupting any conversations going on in that thread; as you'll find throughout the board, conversations tend to stray from their original topics now and again ((We do get back to the point, of course - eventually ...)) and it's something you're not going to get the cane for if you do it. I'm not a strict admin; I have rules, yes ((read them!)), but I'm not uptight like some forum runners.
Warlovian Dictionary: This is probably the most handy tool you can arm yourself with; here at Unexpected Song we've developed a rather ... interesting language of our own, and if you come across a word on this site that you don't understand and is in no dictionary you can get your hands on, chances are it's a Warlovian word. Armed with this little baby, you'll soon be speaking Warlovian like the rest of us, and you may even be able to contribute new words to the list once you get into the swing of things.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Even if it's something that seems so simple it's embarrassing. Hopefully I've covered most of the basic stuff in the following posts, but if there's anything I've missed or something in them that you don't understand, ask away!
So, after you have read the following posts, run along, have fun, and welcome to Unexpected Song! We look forward to getting to know you!
- Ask the Admin
- Avatars and Signatures
- How Do I ... ?
- Where Do I ... ?
- HELP!
PS: A few more helpful hits:
1: If you're sure no one else in your household will log on to this site, select "Remember Me" as your log in session time. Still make note of your e-mail and password in a safe place, of course, but it makes things so much easier if you have "Forever" Don't worry, it won't say that you're still on the site if you close your browser window; it only picks up that you're on when you're on. If you don't want to select Remember Me, that's cool too.
2: Don't be afraid to interrupt. Say you want to talk about Phantom of the Opera; you head on over to the Phantom of the Opera thread in the On the Boards board, enter, and find there's a conversation going on about food. So? Jump in. Say what you think about the show and people will respond according to your post. You can, of course, talk about the food too. Whatever you say, chances are more often than not someone will respond to it. Unless people are not sure how to relate to your post, in which case it might go unanswered for a while, but don't fret, you won't be a failure if this happens! It happens to everyone now and then. Once you start to get a feel of the atmosphere, get to know other people on the forum, and when they start to know you better, jumping into conversations won't be so scary.
before you do ((that will make more sense in time)) you will notice that when you post you have a picture under your name with the caption "Temporary complimentary avatar" ((although some members may have "complementary" as I'm not a very good speller)). The icon ((made by moi [admittedly the third one is just a cropped picture, but even so, I cropped it], so if you take any PLEASE CREDIT AND DO NOT CLAIM AS YOUR OWN)) is just one in the dropdown list of Anthony Warlow icons available for you to use. The images in the list are:
. When you click this it will lead you to a page that has a big white box in the middle for you to type your message, along with various tags, coloured boxes and smilies ((I get carried away with the smilies)). Once you have written your message, look underneath the message box for the "Post Reply" button 
, hit that, and it will take you straight back to the thread and voila! There's your post!
in the top right-hand corner of your post. Once you've finished altering your post, hit the "modify post" button 
.
above the person's post ((top right-hand corner)) that you wish to quote and it will immediately lead you to a reply page. Type in what you want and hit the 
and away it goes!
. This will lead you to a new page which has a few options for your PM. The first is a Block Users setting, whereby typing someone's username ((not their display name)) into the white box and saving your preferences will block all private messages from that particular user.
, which will come up with this:
, then put your URL in between the squares like you did for the link.
.
. On your profile page, look for Account Preferences 
and under that, Select Skin 
. As you can see Phantom - the grey one - is the default skin for the site ((if you are logging in for the first time in the long time and your page looks somewhat pinky purple when you log in, it means you've been gone for too long!)). Change it to what you want, go to the bottom of the profile and hit Modify Profile 
.
Please feel free to introduce yourself in the Introducing thread in the General board, also to contact myself or anyone here if you have any questions. We hope you enjoy your time with US!