The Linear board is like an old time scroll whereby one can look back and see what is going on and its very public and it is very in the moment. However, it is not to be confused with a chat room type board for posting.
If I register on the threaded board, does that registration work here?
No, the two are not connected.
How do I register on the linear board?
You don't per say. The linear board is designed to work without registration. If you want to make sure only you use your screen name then you should password protect it.
How do I password protect my screen name on the linear?
All you have to do is follow your user name with a colon (':') and your password. For example --> Name:Password. The first time you enter your password it will be saved in the system and the board will not allow any more posts with that user name unless the password is specified. Please keep this in mind. This means every post from this point on using this name must have a password assigned. Other notes, if your screen name goes unused for more than 180 days, it will be removed and anyone is free to use that name at that time. Additionally, your name and password combination must be less than 40 characters in total. And last but certainly not least, please keep in mind your password is entered, transmitted, and stored in plain text. Please make sure you select a reasonable secure password but DO NOT use a password you are using for other secure passwords. We don't want you bank passwords, PINS, Social security numbers. We have the ability to see all these passwords so don't give us anything compromising. Also user names passwords are all case sensitive. Of course since the colon is now used as a delimited it can no longer be used as part of your name. Users can still post anonymously without passwords assuming they are using a name that has not been previously reserved.
Can I change my password?
Yes. Simply enter your old and new password when posting using the following format --> Name:OldPassword:NewPassword. The old password will be verified and the new one will be stored. Again all the password restrictions given above still apply. Additionally you are not required to make a post to actually assign or change your password. Simply use the preview post button and then hit back and your password is changed. When our advanced features are deployed this procedure will change a bit to be a bit more user friendly.
Why am I being told my password is incorrect?
This can happen for many reasons. First off, passwords and user names are case sensitive. Please verify you have typed your password exactly as when you registered it. Secondly since we are using the colon (':') as a delimiter, if you accidentally used that character in your name you may have accidentally locked your self out from posting. If this happens or you may have forgotten your password please drop us a line and we'll fix you up ASAP. Unfortunately, sometimes you may be denied posting because your name has been taken by another user and have reserved it for themselves. Of course if this name had been registered in bad faith, get in touch with us immediately so we can resolve the issue. Bad faith is defined as someone who registers your name to confuse others by speaking on your behalf or knowingly registering a name to prevent another user from legitimately using a identity they are known by others as.
Can I edit a post that I made on the Linear Board?
Yes.
If you are a registered user and you have protected your screen name with a password as described above you may edit your own posts. Now there is one caveat. You may only edit posts from the same IP address that you made the original post from. This is the only way we have right now to ensure the person who is editing the post is the writer of it. For dial up users this will impact you as you wont be able to edit a post if you sign off your ISP and dial back in. This is also a problem if you an AOL user.
What time zone is the board on?
The board is using GMT time which is considered the universal time. This is 5 hours ahead of EST in the winter and 4 hours ahead of EDT in the summer. It is 8 hours ahead of PST in the winter and 7 hour in the summer. We are planning on having the clock localize it self in a future release.
What is a dropped tag, and what should I do if I see one?
A dropped tag is in reference to a users post where they elect to use some html tags listed above but forget to include the closing tag which is required by a great majority of html tags in order to tell the browser where to stop applying the format. An example of this is the [<*b*>] tag which make text bold. If the user fails to close the bold tag all text on the page below that point would appear bold. Since the board puts all new post at the top, it would affect all the post posted prior to that one till the point in time the page was archived. Great care has been taken in the implementation of the board to close any dropped tags we can detect. But occasionally one tag may slip through. If you see this, please contact us at the addresses below and make sure to include the offending post time stamp/IP address.
Why am I being yelled at or ignored for my post?
This is not a chat room. Look over a few of the current posts, pick a topic and jump right into the conversation. Address a specific poster who has said something that you want to comment on. Try to not make one line fluff posts. A well thought out on topic post will get a response where a fluff post will get ignored or worse. If it is spoilery, please remember to use the spoiler tags/font.
Why is there a time limit between posts on the linear board?
The linear board is not a chat room. Many new posters do treat it as a place to 'chat'. Enforcing a wait time between posts gives the poster time to scroll and compose their next post to address many people at once instead of making many 1-2 word posts.
What is this scrolling I keep hearing about?
Scroll or scrolling means reading the posts either on the current page or in the archives. It is often synonymous will reading every post by every poster on the most recent page as well as several pages in the archives. Often posters will state in their current or recent post that they have finished scrolling, or have gone to scroll (as in not active on the board for some time) , or will be absent for a bit because they are trying to catch up with topics by scrolling.
Why should I scroll?
To really know all the in-jokes and other discussions currently going on, one should try to scroll a bit. There may a fascinating discussion in which you would want to participate or some other bit of information you could miss if you didn't scroll. This is a posting board and not a chat room, often conversations and discussions between posters can often take place over several days, or at least several boards of archive. It is helpful to scroll down the page a bit and read several posts so that you can join in the conversations currently happening.
How do I scroll?
Each poster has a different method of scrolling that they use for this task. Most posters pick a starting point and work their way towards the current board. Often this means starting with their last read board or their last post in the archives. Some scroll each board from the top down, others scroll from the bottom of the page to the top. It varies as does the speed with which a poster scrolls. At times I only scroll for a general idea of what is going on and I skip over many post. Other times I read every post of a discussion, looking for specific content, as I did while i was preparing this FAQ. There are also a few posters whose posts I enjoy regardless of what the current topic is at the time, as their posts are humorous and entertaining.
Is there a faster way?
Yes!!! You can use Ctrl F or Open Apple F.
To use the Control F function, or Open Apple F function for Mac users, push the control key and the letter F key. This brings up a box in which you can type whatever word, words or subject you are wanting to search for. Very simply it is way to search the current page or an archived page for information.
CTRL-F is useful to check for any posts left for you by searching for your posting name.
The CTRL-F search is an invaluable tool when catching up with posts at this board, and it is by no means limited to searching for your name or others' screename. For example you could very simply jump to and read every single post disscussing "spoiler" issues, or "Dom", or "VIP"s far more quickly than having to scroll and read every post. This way you can keep up with topics and discussions a bit quicker than if you were just scrolling up through the archives. For newcomers to the board and the Linear format, its a simple way of finding what they are looking for.
To find multiple posts by CTRL+F'ing....Press CTRL and the "F" key simultaneously. a "Find" panel will appear in the middle of your screen. In the text box type "your posting name" and then press enter. This will take you to the next intance of that word on the current page. Press enter again and it will take to the next one. Repeat this until you have found them all! It's easy to find all posts adressed to you in this way. Of course once you reach the bottom of the page you will need to click to go back to the next board (previous page/posts) and search there in the same way.
All posts are permanenetly archived, so you can actually go and search at any time for every single mention of your name. Great for finding your own old posts when you're feeling a sense of deja vu, or thinking "I am sure "Whoever" answered that yesterday...
If posters do abbreviate your name to, you can still search, but you would need to check the "Match Whole Word Only" box in the "Find" panel.
The second coolest thing about CTRL+F'ing is that you can use it to search for anything! If you are a big Kate fan, you can search for every post about Kate by typing "Kate" into the "Find" panel.
What is the preview feature?
It is a feature that allows you to view how others will see your post. It is also a great double check for spelling and making sure that you haven't dropped any html tags.
Why should I preview my post?
Aside from double checking spelling and tags, it is also another chance to reread your post to make sure that your post says exactly what you meant. Sometimes a post may be made that could be misunderstood or is not clear, this is a good time to fix it. Remember, the people reading your post are not in your head and will not be knowing exactly what you are trying to say. What sometimes seems like an innocent joke, comment or post can often be taken in a completely different way.
Why should I address my post to a specific person/poster?
It helps to address a specific poster to get a response. There are some posters who only look for their names so to get them to respond. Remember to place their name in the post. Please be patient for them to respond. Sometimes days can go by before a response occurs. It does not mean the poster is ignoring you.
Why cant I see any new posts? How do I refresh the page?
This site does not automatically refresh the page you are reading. You can click on the refresh button on your browser or you can use the F5 button.
Why do I keep losing my posts?
Sometimes, the browser will just not post your comments. No particular reason. It could be user error or it could be browser error or who knows? Either way there is a way to prevent this loss. In order to prevent losing an entire post it is suggested that you type your post in another window or use notepad. This helps you save you the time/trouble of retyping what was probably a rather wonderful, brilliant post.
Why won't anyone reply to me? I am getting ignored.
This does happen at times. This board has many posters and new posters can get LOST if there are too many posts at once. Don't feel like you are being left out on purpose. Jump right into a conversation that interests you and address it to a specific poster. Once the chaos subsides, you will eventually be "talked" to. Just remember, when traffic on the board is high, for example: when a VIP is on the board, or just after an episode airs, it is easy to be missed. Try again in a less busy time. Be persistent. Don't be discouraged. Everyone here was once a new poster. See also comments above about posting to a specific poster.
At a loss as to how to get started posting?
Here are a few simple Newbie Questions to get things started:
Favorite episodes?
Favorite character?
Episode/s that made/make you cry?
Episode/s that made/make you scared to do something and please list.
Color is reserved for VIPs. It is how you know a VIP is legit and is not someone impersonating a VIP.
Why does my post appear "long and skinny?"
If you type continuously in the post box you should notice your typing should wrap around if you type more text than the box is wide. This is ok in most browsers as the text is process normally and carriage returns are only inserted at points where the user actually hits return. However some browsers decide to put a carriage return at each point where the text will wrap. This causes a post that appears to have only 3 to 5 words a line. For some users this is cool for other this may be unintentional. On rare occasions, the posted may have inadvertently hit return as the approached the end of the post box. This of course will hard code the returns. On other occasions, a user may be copying the text to post form another document and or editor (i.e. the wanted a spell check). If this is a case there is a change the text may have inadvertent carriage returns. The big problem is, there is nothing we can do about it on the server end. By this point we have no way of telling whether the carriage return inserted is one put there by the browser or one actually entered by the user. If this happens to you frequently, our recommendation is to go into the preview post mode and make your post there. The box is much wider on that page and therefore you post should appear to be wider. We have yet to determine which browsers do this the most but we are hearing the AOL browser does this occasionally. If this happens to you when you are cutting and pasting text, please use the edit and or the preview functions to make sure the text is in the alignment you desire.
Odd, a second ago a number of my posts were a different color. Now they aren't. What is going on?
A number of your posts were different? Now a number of someone else's are? That is odd.
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