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What's the deal with the stars and the ratings business?

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It's just a little "for fun" feature. It can be altered, or disabled all together, but I figured, what the heck! It's based solely on number of posts ... the more posts you've made, the higher up the ranks you go, and consequently, more stars. Don't worry, it doesn't mean all that much; you're ALL stars in my eyes, except for maybe Lainey & Doc M!!!!

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Rich--

The rating and emoticom feature--Too Funnee!!

Diana

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What's the deal with the stars and the ratings business?

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It's just a little "for fun" feature. It can be altered, or disabled all together, but I figured, what the heck! It's based solely on number of posts ... the more posts you've made, the higher up the ranks you go, and consequently, more stars. Don't worry, it doesn't mean all that much; you're ALL stars in my eyes, except for maybe Lainey & Doc M!!!!

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PS Frankly, I'm still a little baffled by this board but I guess I'll manage.

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OK! FINE! I'm average! Get over it! Moving on ...

Well, Diane, you're not alone, though some folks are catching on ... Let me try, again, to simplify some of the functions for you & anyone else out there struggling with this format. By no means, am I an expert. This is new for me, too! So, anyone else with good tips, chime in!

Rules of the Board ... Part One

1. As the site is now on a Windows N/T server, everything is geared for Windows. Internet Explorer is a part of Windows. Thus, it works better with this format. Download & use IE6. It's great. I switched over about a year ago. However, Netscape DOES work, for the most part. Lainey uses it. Colors might appear off, a bit, but most functions work.
2. LOG IN! That activates your "cookie" & makes browsing easier!
3. If you've done those 2 things, half your battle is over! Now, utilize the "Active Topics" link. This functions in much the same way as the old "View Today's Messages" did - only better! Once there, you can set preferences to show Active messages [those you haven't read since your last visit - YOU NEED TO BE LOGGED IN] for specified periods of time. Plus, if you'll be hanging around a bit, you can set it to automatically refresh - showing any new messages - while you're here. This is great and makes finding all the new stuff MUCH easier.
4. When composing your posts, use the "Prompt" mode [just below the text composition screen] if you're not familiar with the Forum Code and would like to use it. Remember, I have HTML turned OFF. This Forum Code is a very basic code that allows use of bold, italics, underline, different text colors & fonts, bulleted lists, and images & URLs. Using the "Prompt" mode opens up a little window that walks you through their use.
5. Explore the little icons ... you can E-mail folks right from the Board, view their profiles [nice pic, Ilse!!!!], reply with a quote, etc.

So, as not to overload, I'll stop there ... again, I'm learning as I go, too! We just upgraded [yes, already!] to gain some security fixes, plus enabled the little flaming folders. I've tinkered with the code, a bit, bringing in the History Applet, date & time, link to the archives, etc. I have control over many functions, like color scheme [hey, it looks good from this end - though I can't control the color of the little folders - there IS a free Add-On for that, though!], number of posts per "page," the order of the forums, the number of posts to achieve higher rank [Ha HA!!! I could have some REAL fun with that!!!! ], archiving, deleting, all kinds of stuff ... If YOU feel there might be a need for modification, let me know! And, speaking of Add-Ons ... there are many available. I haven't fooled with them yet, but you know I will, once I understand a little more about this system ... I know there are more "smiley" groups. Some might prove useful!

OK? It's really not hard ... just different. Play around in "The New Deal" forum, and experiment. Any suggestions will be cheerfully considered!

Rich
Mohican Press

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