F.a.q.

[Flutterings]

General Forum Questions

i. Is there an age restriction on TPF?
Yes, we do not allow under 18's to have access to our 'Erotica' forum, our 'Mature Triggering Content' forum, or the 'Mature Discussion' forum. This is for legal reasons.

ii. Why do you link to those websites?
We have links (on our forum home page) to websites we think our members might find useful or interesting, and sites run by our members. To link to our site and have us link to yours just click here (http://www.thepoetryforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=353).

iii. Why have I been banned?
We remove people from our forums for breaking our forum rules. Click here (http://www.thepoetryforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=2485#post2485) to read them.

iv. Can I suggest new features?
Of course! Just post in our troubleshooting forum if you think something would work here that we don't already have, the forum is always evolving to become more userfriendly! Please check the forum in case someones already suggested it, but if they have back up their case by replying with your support!

iii. Why do 'VIPs' have more permissions than me?
VIPs pay a subscription fee to have extra priveleges, like bigger inboxes, bigger avatars, coloured names, usertitles, ability to see who gave reputation...

v. Why do you charge for VIP?
Running the forum costs money (aww). We pay a yearly fee to use the software (vbulletin), domain and hosting fees to keep the forum up. Not to mention our advertising costs. All in all the forum costs about £110 ($220) a year. We offer VIP services and a donation button at the bottom of the forum to help the forum keep running for as long as the users want it!

vi. I've just joined, how do I post poems?
A commonly asked question is how do I post poems. To post your works here go to the Poetry Showcase forum which can be found HERE (http://www.thepoetryforum.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=103). Select a sub forum which suits the topic of your poem, e.g. happiness, sadness, etc. Then from this sub forum click on the button on the top left of the page titled 'NEW THREAD'.

vii. What is reputation and how does it work?
The reputation system on this forum is for a bit of fun and to get feedback from other members.

On the left hand side of your posts you will see 2 items, one is a label saying 'Rep Power:' and under this a green square or bar.

Rep Power is the amount of reputation you give to another person each time you give them reputation. Your reputation power starts off at one. You gain one point of power for each year you are a member here and one of power for each thousand posts you make.

Reputation The amount of reputation you have is shown by the length of the green bar. Additionally if you hover the cursor over the bar a message will pop up describing the amount of reputation you have. The green bar moves at increments which are set to 10,50,150,250,350,450,650,1000,1500,2000. When you hit the next increment the bar will grow longer and the hover message will change.

To see how much reputation you have click on the link to you control panel 'User CP' in the navigation bar at the top of the forum. Under 'Settings & Options' is a link called 'Edit Options', click on this and the second item down on your new page is reputation. Here it will display your current points level. There is also a check box which allows you to turn off display of your reputation points. Any users with a grey box under their Rep Power have turned the display off.

Negative Reputation It is possible to give negative as well as positive reputation, though it is very unusual. People with a reputation level below zero will have a red reputation bar instead of a green one, if they get more negative reputation than the system allows the message 'is off the scale' will appear when their bar is hovered over.

Giving Reputation To reputation to a poem, post or comment you like you need to click on the pair of silver scales at the bottom of the column to the left of the post you like. A box will pop up asking if you wish to give positive or negative reputation and allow you to include a message. To see reputation you have received and the messages included click on User CP in to the top navigation bar, on this page will be listed the 20 latest items of reputation you have received. If you are a subscribed member you also get to see who gave you the points.

viii How do I subscribe to or unsubscribe from threads?
At present the system subscribes you to any thread you make or you comment on. This means you will be notified by email if additional comments are made on a thread. This default might not be to everyone's taste. To alter this go to your control panel (User CP on the top navigation bar), under Settings & Options click 'Edit Options'. On the new page under 'Messaging & Notification' there is an option to alter your 'Default Subscription Mode' change this to what you want and then scroll to the bottom of the page to save changes.

You can manually subscribe to or unsubscribe to a thread there is a drop down menu at the top of every thread labelled 'Thread Tools', on this menu is an option to subscribe to a thread or if you are subscribed, unsubscribe to it.



Shoutbox

i. How do you do actions in the shoutbox?
Easy, type /me followed by your action and it will add the asterixs *Isa types /me!*

ii. Is the shoutbox moderated?
Sort of, its not moderated live, (as in watched all the time by our staff) but we are able to delete and edit comments if they are inappropriate. The normal forum rules apply in the shoutbox.

iii. Can't we have a chat room instead?
No. The administrative team have decided that at this time a chat room can't be integrated into the forum. We are a growing forum and chat rooms stop people posting on the actual forum! We need you to keep posting and bringing in new members. Our current status on this debate is that when we have 500+ members we will reconsider.


Staffing

ii. How can I become a TPF moderator and help keep the forum safe?
Click this link (http://www.thepoetryforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=271) for information on how to become a moderator, you must be friendly and have a fair few posts!

iii. How can I become a TPF co-administrator?
The co-administrators are chosen from our moderation and mentoring teams. People dedicated to the forum who spend a lot of time here and have the maturity and skill to take on such a challenge will be approached by the administrators when a position opens.


Member Related Questions

i. Are profiles moderated?
Yes, the profiles fall under the same forum rules as posts. Graphic violence, sexual content, racism, sexism, etc all will be removed.

ii. Why was my avatar changed?
If a complaint is made about a members avatar we will decide if it is 'offensive' or not. If it is it will be removed, or the member will be asked to change it.

iii. Members aren't replying to my poems!!
Quite simply? Give it time. Poems get replied to eventually. In the mean time, why not return the favour in advance and reply to some other poems?

[decide]

can you tell me what the little evelopes to the left mean?

[smorzando]

if you mean to the left of a thread title, then the little envelopes to the left tell you what kind of thread it is:

if it is beige - its new and you have not seen it, or if theres an arrow in it, you've replied and someone replied back

if its blue - its old, if its blue with an arrow, then you've replied but theres no new replies.

if its red and little - its a popular thread with no new replies

if its red and big - its a popular thread with new replies

smorz.

[FingerpaintingsoftheInsane]

What is Karmic Power?

[smorzando]

Karmic power is how much karma you can add to someone's karmic level/reputation. All members start with a karmic power of one, and this can go up by posting more, and by people giving points to you as well. It can also go down, if you receive a warning for breaking forum rules.

[FingerpaintingsoftheInsane]

I am honestly curious about this. Have any of you had to put a restriction on how long you were on the forum? I find myself on here an inhuman amount. I lose sleep over this darn forum. By the way. I love you guys...

[Nightfire]

Just wondering about the Albums. It throws me off because I either think of photo albums or albums of your work :D Which one is it? >_>

[Silver Wind]

in the profiles albums means pictures

[not a poet]

how do i post a poem ?

[life~death]

the exact same way you made that post :)
just pick what kinda poem it is, is it a happy one? a sad one? etc...
on the forum index, the page you get when you type in poetry forums address look for where it says "Poetry Showcase". theres different forums just under that, pick which one best suits your poem, after clicking the link, find where it says new thread and one the page that comes up when you click it, it'll give you an area to write your poem or paste it if its already written. if you need more help, just reply here or PM one staff here and they'll be happy to help :)

[doucit2]

Could someone please inform me of the general consensus regarding critiquing. i.e Is it considered rude to post an unsolicited critique of someones work? It's difficult really because some people are more sensitive than others...I for one welcome all opinions, negative or positive, but i understand not everyone shares this point of view!

thanks

[smorzando]

ugh... um... to be honest there is no black-and-white, yes-or-no answer to this. I personally LIKE recieving critique (for all that I hardly post poetry anymore), BUT I know that not everyone else shares the same view. I guess as long as you keep a positive note, it should be okay? It depends on the person I guess.

We've had members in the past who just slammed poems and said they were bad, but didn't say why and didn't offer any good points or any places to improve, and that is a big, big no-no, for obvious reasons.

I guess as a general rule, poems in critique are up for in-depth critique on every tiny little thing that you want (unless the OP is asking for a certain sort of critique, I guess...) otherwise, in the other parts of the forum, try not to go too in-depth unless the OP asks for it.

Hmmm... I sort of skated around the answer there, though does it at least sort-of answer your question? To be honest when all is said and done it really just depends on the person whose poem it is.

smorz.

[PoeticFish]

Is it against the rules to post asking for homework help regarding poems written by other people, i.e. famous poets? If not, where should such questions be posted?

[Silver Wind]

As long as the work as been published before 1923, at which point it will be considered public domain, it is perfectly fine to post the poems. If they have been published after 1923 than you can only post excerpts of the poems.

As far as where to post such questions, I would say maybe either General Discussion, or perhaps Poet to Poet

[Alia'a]

Is there a place where I can ask for help on writing a poem. I like to write poems about emotions that I cannot explain in one word. However, if I can't find the right word to explain how I feel....where do I even start? I'm in the process of writing another poem at the moment but all I have so far is words and ideas splattered on a piece of paper. I'm not even sure where to start with it

[BenJohnson]

Try posting in Poet to Poet link here (http://www.thepoetryforum.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=123) . Have you considered using a metaphor or simile to say how you are feeling sometimes they can be stronger than just the right word.

[YoungLady]

Just wondering... What does a spotlighted poem actually get you?

[smorzando]

more attention drawn to the poem, and you used to get a shiny little award picture of a pen nib that showed up under your username, but i accidentally did something to the forum template a while ago, and disappeared the awards and they have not come back, since, despite my attempts at recoding everything. nowadays, if you recieve a spotlight, you still do get the award, but no one else can see it.

smorz.

[YoungLady]

ThaNk you:)

[Ghetto Poet]

Hi, wonder if you can help, I have a 9 year old poet (my daughter) who is keen to become a member. While I'm happy for her to become a member on here I don't particularly want her having her own email address and potentially exposing her to the www and all it has to offer. My question is is it possible to create an additional profile which is attached to my email address so I can keep tabs on her? - I'm quite hot on internet security with my daughter... or if you can think of any other resolutions. Thanks Bobby x

[smorzando]

yeah, you're welcome to create another account for her, with your email address -- when she does get her own email she is welcome to swap it around, too. though i believe the minimum joining age is 12 or 13 years old, if you permit it i don't see what the problem should be.

alternatively, if you give me the information through PM or something, i can set up an account manually, and make her a COPPA user with the correct date of birth. it's not really much different from being a normal member, except that if she makes any changes to her profile, you get sent an email.

in other words, yes it's fine. =)

smorz.

*edit* oh and if there's any forums that you don't want her to have access to (excluding stuff like erotica which she wouldn't see anyways cause she's under 18), let me know and i can sort that out for you, as well.

[Ghetto Poet]

Hi Smorz, Thank you what a great forum - you don't get this service on many forums :-) I've sent a pm with her details if you need anymore let me know. I think the COPPA account is the best option as I tend to write a bit gritty and she probably needs protecting from me :-) Thanks again x

[Alia'a]

is there a way of blocking individual users from seeing your threads, posts and profile?

[smorzando]

To be honest, not unless they blocked you... you can block them, and it means you can't read/see any of their posts, etc, though.

[Clifton]

i can't post for some reason? i just joined

[BenJohnson]

i can't post for some reason? i just joined

Looks like you figured it out, this is a common question since you are new could explain what confused you and how you found the solution? It would help if we knew what needs changing for new users or what the best reply to this question is.

[AngryButterfly]

Hey,

Can you explain what exactly 'reputation' is, such as where does it come from and what do the 'points' account for?

Thanks

[smorzando]

Ben can give you a better idea of how reputation works because he just revanped the system, but seeing as he hasn't replied yet:

in layman's terms, reputation is, ummm... a points system, I guess. When you first join I believe it's 0, or 1 or something, and your reputation points accumulate as you post more, and as people give you reputation points. You can also give people reputation points as well -- your rep power tells how many you can give at one time. You give good reputations for things like poems you like, good replies, etc... and bad reputation is pretty self explanatory, but if you give one be sure to explain why.

To add or subtract from someone's reputation, you go to the post that you like/don't like, and there should be a little picture of a scale underneath his/her name. just click it, fill out the form, and then press 'add to reputation'

hope that explained it =)

[AngryButterfly]

Ye that just about clears it up, thanks

[BenJohnson]

As Smorz said, a few extra details. New users start with 10 rep points, your reputation is shown by the green bar under Rep Power, if you hover over it it will give you a message describing your current rep points. You move to a new rep levels in increments that start in blocks of 50. The maximum level of reputation that the forum will display is 2000 points, it is possible to have more than this but the green bar won't get any longer and the message wont change after this point.

Your rep power starts at 1 and increases by one point for each year you are here and one point by each 1000 posts you make so long time and regular contributors to the forum have more reputation points to give out. You also can not keep giving reputation points to the same person, you need to give reputation to around 10 other people before returning.

You can see the messages left with your rep points if you enter your User CP, subscribed members can also see who gave them the points. It is possible to turn of the display of your points if you wish.

This is off the top of my head but I will double check later and add a full explanation to the f.a.q section.

The most important thing is that it is there as a bit of fun it is not anything to take too seriously.

[Alia'a]

hey.

with this new subscribing to people thing. How do I stop the emails going into my junk mail? i tried adding the email address to my contacts but its still going into junk

dont know if thats something we can do something about


thanks


LA x

[starling]

Can anyone tell me how I link my poems to the bottom of my profile like so many people have. I followed the instructions but when I click on thread tools there is nothing that says Add This Thread To My best Threads.

[tsu-bastet]

hi starling :)
when you click thread tools..the drop down bar appears and "add this thread to my favourtie threads" (or some such) is the first line you should see..once clicked you should be able to add..hope this helps :)

[starling]

hi starling :)
when you click thread tools..the drop down bar appears and "add this thread to my favourtie threads" (or some such) is the first line you should see..once clicked you should be able to add..hope this helps :)

Thanks Tsu. I was using the "easy read" forum skin, which doesn't have that feature on the thread tools.

[tsu-bastet]

eek..easy read???
..lol! i stick to the black!!..cant handle change!
glad it helped out though :)

[BenJohnson]

Thanks for mentioning that starling I'll have fiddle with the easy read skin to make sure it is the same as the others.

Sorry Lauren I didn't notice your post here. You will need to alter the settings on your spam filter. If you get a lot of mail from the same address most spam filters decide it is spam you need to set the address the mail comes from as an exception.

[starling]

Thanks guys. I'm just old tsu and find it easier to navigate. :headache: Also my sig fits on there, I didn't realise it was hanging over the edge, I'll try and fix it.