Greetings!
If you’re stopping by after a bit of an absence, you missed the big move to our
new message boards! Please follow the link at the end of this post and join us
in our new home. We’re waiting for you!!
Following are instructions for registering and filling out your user profile.
The instructions can also be found on the new Welcome Board under the title:
TORn 201.
See you there!!
1. Registering & User Profiles
1.1 How do I register? Click on the “New Boards” link at the bottom of
this message, and in the menu on the left of the TORn header, and/or go to
http://newboards.theonering.net. That will bring you
to the main menu page. At the top left of the menu box is the statement: “If
you do not have an account, Sign up here!” Click on “Sign up here” to get to
the Login page, fill in the information and hit the [Signup!] button. You will
receive an email, which you must respond to in order for your registration to
be validated. Please note that passwords are case sensitive and duplicate
usernames are not allowed. There is also a “Sign me up! Link on the Login page
that will accomplish the same thing.
1.2 Are there any limits to usernames? Yes. Usernames are limited to a
maximum of 35 characters and a minimum of two characters. No duplicate
usernames are allowed. Users who posted on the old TORn boards have ‘first
choice’ in keeping their old usernames for up to six months after the new
boards go “live.” To get an idea of what names are already taken, go here.
Please keep in mind that this is a family friendly board. User names that
violate the Terms of Service posted in our Welcome Forum may be deleted.
1.3 I forgot my password, what do I do now? Click the Login icon at the
top of the screen to get to the Login page. Click on the link at the bottom
left that says: “Lost your password?” A new, temporary, password will be
generated for you, and sent to the email address you specified when you signed
up. After logging in, the temporary password will be lost, so you should change
your password immediately upon logging in with the temporary password.
1.4 What’s a cookie and why would (or wouldn’t) I want to use them when
signing in? A “cookie” is a bit of data stored on your computer through
your web browser. The advantage to allowing cookies is that the TORn server can
‘remember’ your settings and other information (such as your username and
password). They are generally not a security risk, and only allow your browser
to send the data back to the server that originally set it. Reasons you might
not want to store cookies include (1) other sites, or “spyware,” may scan them
and keep track of where you have been; and (2) it may allow others who have
access to the computer you are using to log on to TORn as you without having to
enter a username or password – a risk if you are using a computer that is
shared by other users, such as in a library, school, Internet cafe or office.
1.5 How do I change my user profile? After logging in, click on the
[Edit Profile] icon at the top of the board, then click on [User Profile] and
change what you want to change. Don’t forget to click on the [Make Profile
Changes] link button at the bottom of the screen to save any changes!
1.6 Do I have to fill in all the information in my user profile? No,
only fill in the information you feel comfortable revealing.
1.7 How secure is my personal information in my user profile? Anyone who
reads the boards can read your profile, even if they are not registered.
1.8 Can I change my username? Once you have created a user account, you
may not change your user name from within your profile. (Note: on certain days,
such as St. Patrick’s day, Halloween and Talk Like a Pirate Day, it was a long
standing tradition on the old TORn boards to invent a slightly different,
humorous user name for the occasion. That came to and end when it resulted in
crashing the old boards. Good news on the new boards, however! You may create
separate user accounts for those days if you wish. Since sock-puppeting
(posting under a different name) is generally discouraged here (as it is bad
“netiquette”), please limit your use of different user names to the above
special occasions).
1.9 What is an avatar? An avatar (or icon) is an image uploaded to your
profile that appears to the left of your posts under your username whenever you
post on the TORn message boards.
1.10 How do I add an avatar by my username in my posts? First, make sure
the image file you want to use is on your personal computer (if you found it on
the internet, you must download it to your computer first). Avatars as
displayed are no larger than 100 pixels by 100 pixels, so resizing images
accordingly before uploading is recommended. Also, please make sure that is 65
KB or smaller. Trying to upload a larger image may result in an error message
and difficulty posting (See 2.28 and 2.29 below). (Hint: converting it to a
.jpeg format will help as it saves the file in a compressed format). Once you
have the image on your computer, click on the [Edit Profile] icon at the top of
the board, then click on [User Profile]. Find the word “Icon” and click the
[Browse] button near it. A small window will pop up that will allow you to
locate the file on your own computer. (Note: icons are limited to the following
types of files: gif, jpg, jpeg, png and bmp). Select the file you’d like to use
and click [Open]. Once you’ve selected the file, scroll to the bottom of the
page and click [Make Profile Changes]. Keep in mind that whatever avatar you
are using at the time you make a post is the avatar that will stay with that
post for all eternity.
1.11 What is a portrait URL? A portrait URL is a unique address on the
Internet that specifies the location of an image file for use as a portrait in
a member’s user profile (an example format for a portrait URL is
http://www.example.com/path/to/file.jpg).
1.12 How do I add a portrait to my user profile? To add a portrait to
your user profile, click on the [Edit Profile] icon at the top of the board,
then click on [User Profile]. Enter the address to your portrait URL in the box
next to the words: “Portrait URL” and then scroll to the bottom of the page and
click on [Make Profile Changes]. If you have an image you’d like to use as a
portrait, but it’s on your personal computer, you can upload it to your own
website, use free hosting provided by your web browser (if applicable), or you
can use a free image hosting service such as or http://photobucket.com/ or
http://villagephotos.com. Please do not “hot-link” directly to a picture on
another public internet site. See the Terms of Service rules for footers
regarding more on hot-linking.
1.13 How do I create a footer/signature that will appear in my posts?
After you log in, click on the [Edit Profile] icon at the top of the board,
and then click on [User Profile]. Add your footer/signature in the box next to
the word “Signature.” You may have text, a photo, or both. To add a photo to
your footer, follow the same steps as adding a portrait to your profile (See
step 1.12 above). Be sure to click on the [Make Profile Changes] link at the
bottom of the page to save any changes. Keep in mind that whatever signature
you are using at the time you make a post will stay with that post for all
eternity. Please see the Terms of Service for rules regarding footers.
1.14 How do I set the board to reflect my time zone? The TORn message
board’s default time is set to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). To set the boards to
reflect you time zone, click on the [Edit Profile] icon at the top of the
board, then click on [User Profile]. Scroll down to the last option: “Time
Offset (in hours).” If your time zone is ahead of GMT (London, depending on
daylight savings time), enter the number of hours you are ahead of GMT as a
positive number. If your time zone is behind GMT, enter the number of hours you
are behind as a negative number. For example, if you live in New York, you
would enter a -5; Auckland, a 13 and Los Angeles, a -8. Please note that these
offsets will change when your time zone goes on and off daylight savings time.
For help in determining your offset, go the World Clock on timeanddate.com, and
or Google “Time Zones.”
1.15 I don’t want anyone to see that I’m online ... how do I make myself
invisible? After you log in, click on the [Edit Profile] icon at the top of
the board, then click on [User Profile]. Where is says; ‘Visible in "Who's
Online"’ select ‘No,’ then be sure to click on the [Make Profile Changes] link
at the bottom of the page to save any changes. This option mimics the old
boards in that you won’t be visible to other users until you make a post. This
will accommodate all our lurkers (we know you're out there ;-)) who will still
be able to log on, get their PMs, etc., but can still retain privacy).
1.16 I haven't received my registration validation email. What should I
do? Return to the Login Page and click again on "Sign me up." Above the
signup area is a sentence that reads: If you have already signed up but still
have not received a validation e-mail, click here to have the validation email
resent. Follow the instructions. If that doesn't work, email altaira @
theonering .
net.
************
Koru: Maori symbol representing a fern frond as it opens. The koru reaches towards the light, striving for perfection, encouraging new, positive beginnings.
"I take a moment to fervently hope that the camaradarie and just plain old fun I found at TORn will never end" -- LOTR_nutcase
************
TORN 101
TORN Calendar
