There is more here than meets the eye

[renodesertfox]

Howdy,
Okay...so you just joined up and registered for free. You even did a little chatting and thought about making friends. What's next? Well you can make friends...go to the Member List Tab and do some research...look at another camper's profile. Maybe there is something in common, who knows. You can also start your own personal photo albums and they don't have to be about camping either...I have one entitled: Nissan 350Z. If you are a little unsure... just go back and read the FAQs Tab again...I do often because at 57 years of age I often think of the here after...what did I come in here after? Ha ha! You get my drift! Take your time and look around...but you have to be a registered user(no charge) of http://www.campingforums.com to get to do all of these wonderful things and more! Please, register today, you'll be glad you did!

[SilverMaggie]

They also have cool shirts to buy to help keep the forum up and running! And stickers too for your rig!

I will be buying one VERY soon!

[renodesertfox]

Thanks Silver for chiming in! I did forget about those shirts and I even have a great one.

Also don't forget to check your own profile page from time to time. Someone may have left a message for you and/or commented on a picture in one of your photo albums.

[SilverMaggie]

^^ Yes, photo comments are fun too!

[renodesertfox]

A person's reputation

Howdy,
Ever wonder about those little symbols mean, found on the bottom left and under neath a person's avatar when you've answered a thread with a post? It's all explained in the FAQ tab, but in case you don't want to leave this thread just yet it is in plain English:

What is reputation?

Reputation is a way of rating users depending on the quality of their posts. If the administrators have enabled reputation, then the reputation icon will be visible in posts.

Reputation may be positive(green), negative(red) or neutral(gray) . Negative reputation may only be given if the administrator has enabled this. Neutral reputation is only given when the person giving reputation does not meet the criteria set by the administrator to affect someone else's reputation.

How do I give reputation?

To give reputation, click on the reputation icon in the relevant post. This will reveal a form to complete with the reputation type and the reason for giving the reputation. If negative reputation is disabled then it will not be displayed in this form. You may not give reputation for the same post twice.

How do I know what reputation I have received?

You can view the reputation that you have received in your User CP (User Control Panel) where it is displayed at the bottom of the User CP page. Here you will see the latest reputation that you have received and whether this is positive, negative or neutral. Your total reputation will be shown as series of reputation indicators in your posts and profile. The more positive your reputation, the more positive icons will be shown. The more negative your reputation the more negative icons will be shown.

How much reputation is given? What is reputation power?

If the administrator has enabled this, the amount of reputation that each user will give (or take away if negative) is shown in the user's posts as 'Reputation Power'. The value of the reputation power is determined by the administrator and may increase over time depending on the settings they have applied.

What if I don't want anyone to see my reputation?

You can disable the display of your reputation by going to your User CP and selecting Edit Options. On this page you will find a check box labelled 'Show Your Reputation Level'. Un-checking this box will remove the display of your reputation and replace it with the Reputation Disabled icon. You can still give and receive reputation while your reputation display is disabled.

It's just another way to either increase a person's reputation here on this great camping forum or decrease it without letting the other person know that you have.

There are four(4) symbols there and the first is the symbol that a camper is either on-line or not. The second on is the reputation symbol. The third symbol is an exclaimation mark allowing a person to report a post. And the last symbol is a computer symbol reporting your server's id numbers. If you are still having trouble finding it scroll down under your signature on a post and see where it says in the bottom right "reply with Quote" now just look to the left of that over in the green section under your avatar. There you go...there's more here than meets the eye! Thanks for looking! And start rating other campers posts...you'll be glad you did!

[renodesertfox]

New term that will be used!

Howdy,
For the longest time I have used the name "registered camper" to address someone that has just registered and is an active member on this the best camping forum in the world! Now I've come up with a new word! This is the word that I shall use from henceforth until I'm no longer needed as your humble but passionate mod. The term is: campateer...it's like mousketer from the old days. Remember Jimmy & Dawn? I Know it sounds corny but it's better than "registered camper or registered user"! So be it! :D Howdy Campateer s! :D:D

BTW: Campateer is now in my signature block...I double-dog-:dare you to look?

[SilverMaggie]

Campateer, thats cute. I like it!

[renodesertfox]

Howdy Campateer s,

Cute is cute but sometimes a campateer has to be a pioneer especially if planning on camping in one local for a long time. So since you're here camping out here(sort-of) at http://www.campingforums.com, let's review some basics about being a campateer. First the Profile Page:

What is the Public Profile Page?

Every member has a publicly viewable profile page. This page includes information provided by the member, either during the registration process or later on via the User Control Panel.

There are a number of ways to view a member's profile. Whenever you see a member's name, clicking on it will usually take you to view their profile page.

The members list allows you to browse all registered members, and quickly click through to public profiles.

When logged in, you can also view your own public profile by logging into the forums and clicking on your username shown in the header at the top of the page.

You can also go straight to a profile if you know the username of the member by typing in the following into your web browser: http://www.example.com/member.php?username=<username of the member>

What's on the Public Profile Page?

The public profile lists information about the member under the 'About Me' tab. It also includes statistical information, such as the number of posts they have made and their registration date. This information is shown under the 'Statistics' tab.

Other information includes a list of Friends (?), their profile picture (if set by the member), and a list of members who have recently visited the profile page.

A list of the members' albums (?) and social group (?) memberships are also shown.

What are Visitor Messages?

Visitor messages are publicly viewable messages posted on member profile pages. To post a message, click on the 'Visitor messages' tab, and use the form at the top of the section. You will only be able to use certain formatting in these messages, as described underneath the edit box. This message will be viewable by all visitors to this profile, including guest users and search engine robots if the administrator has allowed this. To communicate privately with a member, send a Private Message instead.

Visitor messages can be edited or deleted by site moderators or the member who owns the profile. If you see a visitor message that is not appropriate, you can alert the moderators by clicking on the 'Report' link. The 'View Conversation' link allows you to view all visitor messages between the member and the owner of the profile.

Okay...short and sweet...it's taken word for word from the FAQ's Tab. I just wanted to see if you're payin' attention. Next we'll jump into some other often by-passed, wonderful things that are waiting to be discovered within this great camping forum. Thanks for looking!

[renodesertfox]

The User Control Panel: Intro

Howdy Campateers,

The User Control Panel (also known as the User CP) is where you control your personal settings, options and preferences. To visit the User CP, you must have first registered on the forums. Once logged in, click on 'User CP' in the header bar near the top of the page.

The User CP main page will list any new notifications, including new private messages and pending friend requests. Additional pages and forms allow you to control:

Your email address and password
Custom public profile settings
Private messages
Subscribed threads and forums
Contacts and friends
Social groups

Next time we'll look a little closer at the user control panel. Thanks for your time and thanks for looking! If you're not camping right now you should be here, chatting camping!

[renodesertfox]

Private Messages (PM)

f the administrator has enabled the Private Messaging system, registered members may send each other private messages.

How do I send Private Messages?

Private messages work a little like email, but are limited to registered members of this forum. You may be able to include BB code, smilies and images in private messages that you send.

You may send a private message to a member of this forum by clicking the 'Send A Private Message' link in the private messaging section of your user control panel (more info), or by clicking the 'SendPM' button in a member's posts.

When you send a message, you have the option to save a copy of it in your 'Sent Items' folder.

How do I work with Private Message Folders?

By default, you will have two folders in your private message area. These are the 'Inbox' and the 'Sent' Items folders.

The 'Inbox' folder contains any new messages you receive. It allows you to view all the messages you have received, along with the name of the person who sent it, and the date and time it was sent.

The 'Sent Items' folder contains a copy of any messages that you have sent, where you have specified that you wish to keep a copy for future reference.

You can create additional folders for your messages by clicking the 'Edit Folders' link.

Each folder has a set of message controls which allow you to select messages, then either move them to one of your custom folders, or delete them. Once you have selected your messages, you can choose the following options in the 'Selected Messages' box at the bottom of the list:

Move to Folder
Delete
Mark as Read
Mark as Unread
Download as XML
Download as CSV
Download as TEXT
You will need to periodically delete old messages, as the administrator has probably set a limit to the number of private messages you can have in your folders. If you exceed this number, you will not be able to send or receive new messages until you delete some old ones.

If you would like to keep a record of your messages before you delete them, you can use any of the 'Download as..' options listed above to take a copy and store them on your own computer.

Whenever you read a message, you will have the option to reply or forward it to another member of the forum. You may also have the ability to forward that message to multiple members of your contact list.

How do I track messages?

When you send a new private message, you may have the option to request a read-receipt. This lets you check whether or not a message has been read by its recipient. To do this, go to the 'Message Tracking' page.

This page is divided into two sections: unread and read messages.

The unread messages section shows all messages that you have sent with a read-receipt request, that have not yet been read by their recipient.

The read messages section shows all messages you have sent with a receipt request that have been read and acknowledged by their recipient. The time that the message was read is also shown.

You may choose to end the tracking on any message you choose by selecting it and clicking the 'End Tracking' button.

When you receive a message with a read-receipt request, you may have the option to read the message while denying the read-receipt request. To do this, simply click the 'Deny Receipt' link rather than the title of the message, if it appears.

[renodesertfox]

Profile Page Customization

How do I customize my profile page?

You may be able to edit the design and styling of your public profile page (if this is enabled by the board administrator) via the 'Customize Profile' section within the User CP. You can adjust the color scheme, fonts, borders and layout of elements on the page.

You can also use images as background for various sections of you profile. First you will need to upload the background images to an album you have created (?). Background images can be sourced only from albums defined as public, or 'profile' type. Images in private albums cannot be used.

[renodesertfox]

Changing your User Details

Howdy Campateers,
You can change your account information using the User Control Panel. For basic profile details (including your email address and password), click on the 'Edit Your Details' option from within the User CP. This page allows you to set a number of required and optional details, some of which will be displayed on your public profile. With the exception of your email address, do not enter information that you do not wish to be publicly viewable. Please this is very important: Do Not list your private email address.

[renodesertfox]

Other Settings &amp; Options

Howdy Campateers,
What do the other settings do?

In your User CP, there is a section under Settings & Options named 'Edit Options'.

Login & Privacy: set your
'Invisible Mode' - sets whether or not other members can see if you are online and what page you are viewing

'Show Reputation Level' - shows your reputation level on posts if this option is enabled by the administrator

'Allow vCard Download' - sets whether or not to allow other members to download a vCard containing your email address and username.

Messaging & Notification - options include:
'Receive Email' - whether or not you want to receive emails from other Members and administrators

'Default Thread Subscription Mode' - how you want to be notified about new posts in threads to which you have subscribed

'Private Messaging' - control how you want Private Messaging to work for your account
'Visitor Messaging' - control how you want Visitor Messaging to work for your account

Thread Display Options - these include:
'Visible Post Elements' - whether or not you want to be able to see

Signatures, Avatars and Images in posts
'Thread Display Mode' - how you want to view threads by default (more info available here)

'Number of Posts to Show Per Page'
'Default Thread Age Cut Off' - the time period for threads to be displayed - threads older than this age will be hidden

Date & Time Options - these include:
'Time Zone' - your local geographical time zone offset from GMT/UTC

'Start of the Week' - for the Calendar.

Miscellaneous Options include:
'Message Editor Interface' - This option allows you choose what kind of editor you will use when posting messages. Your choices include a basic text-only editor, a standard editor with clickable formatting controls, or a full WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor that will show your formatting as you type.

'Forum Style' - only available if there is more than one style (or 'skin') available and the administrator has enabled this selection
'Forum Language' - only available if there is more than one Language enabled. This will change the language in which all controls and board messages will be shown. It will not translate members' posts

[renodesertfox]

Lost Passwords

Howdy Campateers, thought maybe that I should keep this on page one to help with reminding everyone what there is to do on this web site besides just chatting about camping and as a help if anyone has minor problems. Here's what you do for Lost Passwords.

I forgot my password. What can I do?

If you forget your password, you can click on the 'Forgotten Your Password' link. This will appear on any page that requires you to fill in your password.

This link brings up a page where you should enter your registered email address. An email will be sent to that address shortly, with instructions for resetting your password.

Since passwords are encrypted, there is no way to resend your original password. This option provides you with the ability to reset your password.

You must be able to receive emails to your registered email address for this to work. You may need to check your spam filters and folder if you do not see this email in a few minutes.