- Why can’t I login?
This might happen if an incorrect name or password is used, if your account has been banned, or if the site administrator has made a configuration error. The quickest possible solution is to
click here to delete any cookies set by this site and then try to log in again. If that does not work, please contact a moderator or administrator.
- Why do I need to register at all?
You don't, but registering will let you customize settings to make using the site more enjoyable.
- Why do I get logged off automatically?
If you see the Stay logged in indefinitely checkbox and if you check it when you login, your account will stay logged in until you log out. This is not recommended if you access the board from a library, computer lab, or other public computer. If you don't check this box, your account will be logged out after an hour, to prevent others from using your account.
- How do I keep people from seeing that I'm online?
Within
your account settings, under “Site settings”, check the
Hide my online status box and click
Submit.
- I’ve lost my password!
- I registered but cannot login!
First, check your username and password. If they are correct, then one of two things may have happened. If COPPA support is enabled and you specified being under 13 years old during registration, you will have to follow the instructions you received. Some boards will also require new registrations to be activated, either by yourself or by an administrator before you can logon; this information was present during registration. If you were sent an email, follow the instructions. If you did not receive an email, you may have provided an incorrect email address or the email may have been picked up by a spam filer. If you are sure the email address you provided is correct, try contacting a moderator or administrator.
- I registered in the past but cannot login any more?!
Attempt to locate the email sent to you when you first registered, check your username and password and try again. It is possible an administrator has deactivated or deleted your account for some reason. Also, many boards periodically remove users who have not posted for a long time to reduce the size of the database. If this has happened, try registering again and being more involved in discussions.
- What is COPPA?
COPPA, or the Child Online Privacy and Protection Act of 1998, is a ridiculous law in the United States requiring sites to have written parental consent before collecting any personal data from any U.S.-located users under 13. Please
contact your Senators and Congressional Representatives and ask them why preventing twelve-year-olds from giving out their personal information should be the responsibility of this site's owners instead of said twelve-year-olds' parents' responsibility.
- Why can’t I register?
It is possible the website owner has banned your IP address or disallowed the username you are attempting to register. The website owner could have also disabled registration to prevent new visitors from signing up. Contact a moderator or administrator for assistance.
- What does the “Clear site cookies” do?
“Clear site cookies” deletes the "login cookie" that your browser got from this site which keeps you authenticated and logged into the board. If you are having problems logging in getting logged out, deleting board cookies may help. Once this is done, you may be asked to log in again.
- How do I post a topic in a forum?
To post a new topic in a forum, click the relevant button on either the forum or topic screens. You may need to register before you can post a message. A list of your permissions in each forum is available at the bottom of the forum and topic screens. Example: You can post new topics, You can vote in polls, etc.
- How do I edit or delete a post?
Unless you are a board administrator or moderator, you can only edit or delete your own posts. You can edit a post by clicking the edit button for the relevant post, sometimes for only a limited time after the post was made. If someone has already replied to the post, you will find a small piece of text output below the post when you return to the topic which lists the number of times you edited it along with the date and time. This will only appear if someone has made a reply; it will not appear if a moderator or administrator edited the post, though they may leave a note as to why they’ve edited the post at their own digression. Please note that normal users cannot delete a post once someone has replied.
- How do I add a signature to my post?
To add a signature to a post you must first create one via
your account settings. Once created, you can check the
Add signature box on the posting form to add your signature. You can also add a signature by default to all your posts by checking the appropriate radio button in your profile. If you do so, you can still prevent a signature being added to individual posts by un-checking the add signature box within the posting form.
- How do I create a poll?
When posting a new topic or editing the first post of a topic, click the “Poll creation” tab below the main posting form; if you cannot see this, you do not have appropriate permissions to create polls. Enter a title and at least two options in the appropriate fields, making sure each option is on a separate line in the textarea. You can also set the number of options users may select during voting under “Options per user”, a time limit in days for the poll (0 for infinite duration) and lastly the option to allow users to amend their votes.
- Why can’t I add more poll options?
The limit for poll options is set by the board administrator. If you feel you need to add more options to your poll then the allowed amount, contact the board administrator.
- How do I edit or delete a poll?
As with posts, polls can only be edited by the original poster, a moderator or an administrator. To edit a poll, click to edit the first post in the topic; this always has the poll associated with it. If no one has cast a vote, users can delete the poll or edit any poll option. However, if members have already placed votes, only moderators or administrators can edit or delete it. This prevents the poll’s options from being changed mid-way through a poll.
- Why can’t I access a forum?
Some forums may be limited to certain users or groups. To view, read, post or perform another action you may need special permissions. Contact a moderator or board administrator to grant you access.
- Why can’t I add attachments?
Attachment permissions are granted on a per forum, per group, or per user basis. The board administrator may not have allowed attachments to be added for the specific forum you are posting in, or perhaps only certain groups can post attachments. Contact the board administrator if you are unsure about why you are unable to add attachments.
- Why did I receive a warning?
Each board administrator has their own set of rules for their site. If you have broken a rule, you may issued a warning. Please note that this is the board administrators’ decision, and the phpBB Group has nothing to do with the warnings on the given site. Contact the board administrator if you are unsure about why you were issued a warning.
- How can I report posts to a moderator?
If the board administrator has allowed it, you should see a button for reporting posts next to the post you wish to report. Clicking this will walk you through the steps necessary to report the post.
- What is the “Save” button for in topic posting?
This allows you to save passages to be completed and submitted at a later date. To reload a saved passage, visit
your account settings.
- Why does my post need to be approved?
The board administrator may have decided that posts in the forum you are posting to require review before submission. It is also possible that the administrator has placed you in a group of users whose posts require review before submission. Please contact the board administrator for further details.
- How do I bump my topic?
By clicking the “Bump topic” link when you are viewing it, you can “bump” the topic to the top of the forum on the first page. However, if you do not see this, then topic bumping may be disabled or the time allowance between bumps has not yet been reached. It is also possible to bump the topic simply by replying to it, however, be sure to follow the board rules when doing so.
- What is BBCode?
BBCode is a special implementation of HTML, offering great formatting control on particular objects in a post. The use of BBCode is granted by the administrator, but it can also be disabled on a per post basis from the posting form. BBCode itself is similar in style to HTML, but tags are enclosed in square brackets [ and ] rather than < and >. For more information on BBCode see the
BBCode guide which can also be accessed from the posting page.
- Can I use HTML?
No. It is not possible to post HTML on this board and have it rendered as HTML. Most formatting which can be carried out using HTML can be applied using BBCode instead.
- What are Smilies?
Smilies, or Emoticons, are small images which can be used to express a feeling using a short code, e.g. :) denotes happy, while :( denotes sad. The full list of emoticons can be seen in the posting form. Try not to overuse smilies, however, as they can quickly render a post unreadable and a moderator may edit them out or remove the post altogether. The board administrator may also have set a limit to the number of smilies you may use within a post.
- Can I post images?
Yes, images can be shown in your posts. If the administrator has allowed attachments, you may be able to upload the image to the board. Otherwise, you must link to an image stored on a publicly accessible web server, e.g. http://www.example.com/my-picture.gif. You cannot link to pictures stored on your own PC (unless it is a publicly accessible server) nor images stored behind authentication mechanisms, e.g. hotmail or yahoo mailboxes, password protected sites, etc. To display the image use the BBCode [img] tag.
- What are global announcements?
Global announcements contain important information and you should read them whenever possible. They will appear at the top of every forum and within
your account settings. Global announcement permissions are granted by the board administrator.
- What are announcements?
Announcements often contain important information for the forum you are currently reading and you should read them whenever possible. Announcements appear at the top of every page in the forum to which they are posted. As with global announcements, announcement permissions are granted by the board administrator.
- What are sticky topics?
Sticky topics within the forum appear below announcements and only on the first page. They are often quite important so you should read them whenever possible. As with announcements and global announcements, sticky topic permissions are granted by the board administrator.
- What are locked topics?
Locked topics are topics where users can no longer reply and any poll it contained was automatically ended. Topics may be locked for many reasons and were set this way by either the forum moderator or board administrator. You may also be able to lock your own topics depending on the permissions you are granted by the board administrator.
- What are topic icons?
Topic icons are author chosen images associated with posts to indicate their content. The ability to use topic icons depends on the permissions set by the board administrator.
- What are Administrators?
Administrators are members assigned with the highest level of control over the entire board. These members can control all facets of board operation, including setting permissions, banning users, creating usergroups or moderators, etc., dependent upon the board founder and what permissions he or she has given the other administrators. They may also have full moderator capabilities in all forums, depending on the settings put forth by the board founder.
- What are Moderators?
Moderators are individuals (or groups of individuals) who look after the forums from day to day. They have the authority to edit or delete posts and lock, unlock, move, delete and split topics in the forum they moderate. Generally, moderators are present to prevent users from going off-topic or posting abusive or offensive material.
- What are usergroups?
Usergroups are groups of users that divide the community into manageable sections board administrators can work with. Each user can belong to several groups and each group can be assigned individual permissions. This provides an easy way for administrators to change permissions for many users at once, such as changing moderator permissions or granting users access to a private forum.
- Where are the usergroups and how do I join one?
You can view all usergroups by via the “Usergroups” link within
your account settings. If you would like to join one, proceed by clicking the appropriate button. Not all groups have open access, however. Some may require approval to join, some may be closed and some may even have hidden memberships. If the group is open, you can join it by clicking the appropriate button. If a group requires approval to join you may request to join by clicking the appropriate button. The user group leader will need to approve your request and may ask why you want to join the group. Please do not harass a group leader if they reject your request; they will have their reasons.
- How do I become a usergroup leader?
A usergroup leader is usually assigned when usergroups are initially created by a board administrator. If you are interested in creating a usergroup, your first point of contact should be an administrator; try sending a private message.
- Why do some usergroups appear in a different color?
It is possible for the board administrator to assign a color to the members of a usergroup to make it easy to identify the members of this group.
- What is a “Default usergroup”?
If you are a member of more than one usergroup, your default is used to determine which group color and group rank should be shown for you by default. The board administrator may grant you permission to change your default usergroup via
your account settings.
- What is the point of the “Moderators” link?
This page provides you with a list of board staff, including board administrators and moderators and other details such as the forums they moderate.
, 
, 
, 
: These point to YouTube, Last.fm, Amazon.com or the iTunes store, respectively.
and 
: These point to video or audio, respectively.
and 
: These links may take you to a page you don't want to see. The caution sign indicates the link may or may not be "bad".
: This points to a PDF file.
: This link is likely to take you to a "Rick roll" page, which plays a Rick Astley music video your browser will not to let you close.
