Need input on some how-to guides [PEACH]

[Rawhide]

Hehe, couldn't resist using the PEACH acronym ;). Here are some how-to guides I have been thinking about for a while as I have seen the need (and finally got some encouragement!). These consolidate and tidy up some of my earlier informational posts, they are in early first draft and need lots of input/critique. Some are only very roughly finished, but I'm sick of looking at black text on a white background.


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Help! I'm having problems changing my avatar!

If you're having problems changing your avatar, try these steps. Not that this how-to does not explain how to make an avatar, for that you should see this thread: http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb...num=1115586717


Step 1:
You need to host the image somewhere that supports remote linking. Many sites block this so make sure your image host supports it. One such site is Photobucket. http://www.photobucket.com/

Step 2:
Tick "I have my own pic"

Step 3:
Paste the complete url to your image, this will be in the form of "http://www.host.com/folder/image.gif", this may either be a .gif or .jpg image. You can use a .png image, but be aware that .png format is not universally accepted by all browsers and, although it displays the image, internet explorer does not support transparencies in .png images. It must contain the http:// and must not contain any characters before the http:// or after the .gif/.jpg extension.

Step 4:
Most important. Do not click anything else, do not click an image next to "Personalized Picture", this will override your personal picture selection.

Step 5:
Scroll down and click "Change Profile".



If you are still having problems, then <insert instructions here, I assume that would be to PM RawBearNYC with the link to the image?>


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Tips for searching

At the top of every page of the forums there is a 'Search' button. Its use is not however, completely intuitive.

SPECIAL TIP: By default, the search function will only search for threads that have been posted or replied to in the last 7 days, if you are looking to see if something has been posted within the last month and a half to avoid creating a new thread when you should be using an existing one, you will need to set Max Age since last post: to 42 (6 weeks which is a lunar month and a half) or more days. If you wish to search every post, you will need to set a really large number. Be aware that this uses a lot of server resources, to help reduce this you should search one forum at a time.


By default your search will be limited to a maximum of 25 results. For popular search terms you should try to narrow your search results or increase this number. Be aware that very high numbers place additional strain on the server and can create large pages that take a very long time to load.

You can search for any post by any user in any (or all) forums. But note, you must have something in the Search for: field. There is a special procedure if you wish to search for all posts by a specific user (see below).

If you only want to search for posts in a particular forum or forums, you should untick all forums except the one(s) you want to search. This will narrow your results and reduce server load.


Search for posts by a specific user

Although you are searching and it uses the same search engine as the one listed above, you don't access this from the 'Search' button. Intuitive huh? This search function is useful to, for example, search all recent posts by The Giant for OotS news.

First, you click the username of the person who's posts you wish to search. This will bring up their profile.

On the bottom of their profile, you will see Show the last 10 posts of this person. GO!, 10 will be in a drop down selection box. You can press GO! to search for the last 10 posts by this person or change the number of posts to display. You can choose 5, 10, 50 or All. Be aware that searching for all posts of a user with many posts can take a long time or may result in a '500 Internal Server Error', it also places a drain on server resources.

Why am I finding posts from 2017?

There was a short time where the server was misconfigured and the server was set to the year 2017. Posts that were made during this time did not have their dates retroactively fixed and are still listed as being posted in the future.


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Basics for getting started in Dungeons and Dragons 3.5

Dungeons and Dragons is a roleplaying game, of which Order of the Stick is based on. The current revision is '3.5' which was an incremental update to the 3rd edition of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragon rules. As of the 3rd edition Wizards of the Coast (who currently own and publish Dungeons and Dragons), dropped the name 'Advanced' from the title.

Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) can be as simple or as complex as your group wants it to be. You can play with only the three core books or (at your DM's discretion) you can choose from some of the dozens and dozens of expansion books.

Most of the rules, sans discriptive text, can be found in the System Reference Documents (SRD). Unfortunately, it does not contain rules on how to make a character. Everything from the SRD is available legally under an open gaming license, character creation rules do not fall under this. One such SRD is here: http://www.d20srd.com

If you are going to be playing this game, I strongly urge the purchase of the core rulebooks. The books contain full descriptions and descriptive text as well as illustrations which will assist with roleplay. As a player you only need one, the Players Handbook. As a DM you also require the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster Manual. Information on all three books including ISBNs can be found here: http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/er/20040801x

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Before you launch into one of the Play by Post games on this forum, you should read this guide:
http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb...num=1117680919

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Other useful links

System Reference Documents:
http://www.d20srd.com
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/article/srd35

Point Buy Calculator:
http://home.san.rr.com/thegraggs/dnd/Misc/pbcalc.htm

Online Character Sheets:
http://www.sylnae.net/3eprofiler/

Indexes of Rules:
http://www.crystalkeep.com/d20/rules/
http://realmshelps.dandello.net/datafind/index.shtml

Wizards of the Coast's Rules Pages
(Includes errata, FAQs, consolidated lists, etc.)
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rules


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Changing your nickname

With YaBB it is possible to change your nickname. This is different to your username which cannot be changed.

Click the Profile button which is at the top of every page of the forums. From there change the entry beside Name:.


Pitfalls of changing your nickname:

The forum software will still know you as your username. Thus you will need to log on with your username, your profile will still be listed by your username and anyone looking for you or posts by you will need to use your username.

Your name is still partially alphabetised by your username. If you look for your name under the alphabetical listing of users, it will use your nickname to decide what letter it should sort your name under, but it will sort it alphabetically by your username. Thus, someone who has the username as ZZZ but changed their nickname to AAA will be shown last under the letter 'A'.

[Sneak]

It's good!

Does anyone know what happened to those threads asking for input on frequently asked questions? I believe the mods removed them, but what's happening to them now? Because I have an important question.

[WampaX]

It's good!

Does anyone know what happened to those threads asking for input on frequently asked questions? I believe the mods removed them, but what's happening to them now? Because I have an important question.

Shush. :P
Just PM me with your FAQ rather than cluttering up another thread in Board issues with off-topic banter.