PM's, Titles, Avatars, Signatures, and You (Noob Guide)

There seems to be a rash of New members here on the forum asking the same questions about how to do various things. I figured I would post this all in one easy spot to find so that the information is all in one place. (as i do not think it is currently localized anywhere except maybe in the thread index.) Maybe it can be stickied so that new members can easily find it. If you have corrections or additions, please PM me and I will make sure they get added.

Common Questions asked by new members are one of four things:

Quote:

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1. How do I get a picture/avatar/symbol next to my name?
2. How do I get a title/rank by my name?
3. How do I get a signature under my posts?
4. How do I PM/Email/Contact someone from the forum?

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You Can Click the links above, or keep reading. We will take a look at these one at a time...

How do I get a picture/avatar/symbol next to my name?

To change your Avatar (the picture you see next to member's names) you will need to enter the Quick Links Menu at the top of the index page found here. (see the image below.)

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...QuickLinks.jpg

Once you have clicked on the Quick Links Menu, you will see the User Control Panel or UCP. (See the image below.)

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...ntrolPanel.jpg

Once you have entered the User Control Panel, you will see a menu along the left hand side of your screen that will look like this:

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...EditAvatar.jpg

Choose Edit Avatar to pull up the following:

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...stomAvatar.jpg

The instructions on this page are fairly self explanitory. You can use No Avatar or use the field below to select and upload a custom Avatar. (Keep in mind that this image must not exceed 80x80 Pixels or 19.5 KB!)

Choose Save Changes at the bottom of the page. Congratulations!!! You have now Set your Avatar!

How do I get a title/rank by my name?


To get a title next to your name you must first choose something called a UserGroup. To do this, we will be opening the User Control Panel again. (see the above post.) and choosing Group Memberships from the menu on the left hand side.

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...Membership.jpg

From there, you will need to select the group you would like to Join. By Default you are a Registered User, but can select from the Dark, Light, or Grey sides. Once you have selected your side by putting a mark in the corresponding bullet, click Join Group.

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...ershipJoin.jpg

Once you have Joined a group, you can then choose to be identified to the rest of the forum as a member of this group. (In other words get the fancy titles by your name!) To do this you must go to the bottom section and put a mark in the bullet next to the group you just added. (See image below.) Once this is done select Update Display Group.

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...ipIdentify.jpg

Congratulations!!! You now will have a title next to your name that corresponds with your Post Count.

How do I get a signature under my posts?


Now we get into a little bit more restricted material. You are free to use a text based signature as soon as you are approved on the Forums. However, you must wait until you become a Fully Registered Member (or FRM) before using images in your Signature. You will become a Fully Registered Member once you have been registerd for 15 days and have a minimum of 10 posts under your belt. (Those found posting pointless and useless posts simply to get their post count up will be warned and possible disiplinary action will be taken.)

Once you meet these criteria, go to the Quick Links menu we discussed earlier and select Edit Signature. (You can do this from the UCP as well but this is faster.)

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...tSignature.jpg

You can enter your text signature or any BBC code in the top box as shown in the image below, keep in mind the restriction on posting images:

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...gnatureBox.jpg

Once you are a Fully Registered Member, you can add a signature by simply uploading if you wish by using the Signature Picture box. Simply entere the url or upload the image from your Computer! Just remember to select Save Signature when you are done... (Keep in mind that this image may not exceed 500 x 100 pixels or 9.8 KB)

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...gnaturePic.jpg

Congratulations!!! You should now have a Signature under your next posts.

How do I PM/Email/Contact someone from the forum?


Once again there are restrictions here. The same rules apply as a Fully Registered Member here as with the Signature. You have the option to send a Visitor Message before being a FRM, but will not be able to send a PM until you have been on the forums for 15 days and have a minimum of 10 posts. (Once again: Those found posting pointless and useless posts simply to get their post count up will be warned and possible disiplinary action will be taken.)

You can click on anyone's name in a post to be taken to their profile. Alternatively you can look them up using the Community Link at the top of the index page found here.

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x.../Community.jpg

Click on the Members List in the menu that drops down:

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...embersList.jpg

Once there, you can click on a letter at the top of the page to be brought to a list of Usernames starting with that letter, or use the search function on the right hand side of the page:

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...nitySearch.jpg

Once you find the Username you want, click on it to be brought to that Member's Profile. Below the user's name, you will a drop down titled "Send Message." From here, depending on what contact information they have added and your status as a FRM, you will be able to Post a Visitor Message, Send a Private Message (or PM), or Send an Email.

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...endMessage.jpg

Congratulations!!! You have now sent a message to the member you were trying to Contact!

Great job Shad. We really needed that.

Nice, I wish I had that When I joined!

Sticky worthy!

Thread indexed, right by all the other n00b tutorials... Thanks for doing this Shadar :)

Also... TCSS Squadrons. They don't mean much. I used to have a "Red Leader" sig back in the day and it was cool to say who would be the others. We started to fill them out and whatever.

So don't PM or e-mail me. It's more of a who's who back a few years ago more than anything else.