TopDog.ie - Top For Dogs! FAQ

You can reply to threads using the normal big reply box by clicking on at the top or bottom of each thread, or using the quick reply box which requires you to click on any button on any post.

Using quick reply requires you to click on the button on the right of each post.

The arrow second from the bottom highlights "quote message in reply" - whichever post you click the quickreply button on, it will quote it in the quick reply box if you have the little box ticked.

If you begin typing in the quick reply box, but decide you want to add smilies, or a picture, or change the colour of the writing, all you need to do is click "Go advanced" - the software will keep your post that you started in the quick reply box, and put it in the full reply box for you.



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At the right of each of your posts you have an "edit" button to edit your posts - correct spelling, add extra text, add a picture etc.

At the right of someone elses post you will also have a quote button . You can use this to quote someone elses post in your reply.

You will also see a multiquote button.
Click this on each post (to a max of 5) that you wish to quote, then click the Post Reply form - all those quotes will be in the reply box waiting for you to add your post to them.
When you click the multiquote button on each post, it will turn to a different red button to let you know you have already clicked on that post to include it in your reply. If you wish to cancel "multiquoting" that message, all you need to do is click the red button, and the button will return to the multiquote button.

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Post Icons

You can use post icons (smileys that display NEXT to the thread) to indicate what kind of thread it is.



You'll find the option for these under the box you type in when you click "New thread"



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Username menu's

On each post/thread, if you click on a person's username you get a menu.
You can add them to contact list, send private message to them, visit their homepage, etc



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On each post, on the right hand side along the top strip of each post is a number.



If you click on the number, it will open the post in a new window, with its own close button at the bottom. Its handy for referring someone to a single post that might be of interest, rather than them having to scroll through pages of replies to find the post that you are on about.



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You can make posts in loooads of different colours.. (available in the quick reply box AND the full reply box)



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And different fonts too! (only available in the full reply box, when you click on the POST REPLY button, not the QUICK button)

You'll find both options (as well as size), in the full reply box, with some options on the quick reply box.



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The image is numbered as it's easier to explain.



1: Reputation status.
This green square indicates a persons "reputation". Other members can approve or disapprove of other members posts, and add/remove reputation from them. The more reputation a user has, the more green squares they'll have. They do go up in increments so just because you add reputation, doesnt mean that another square will appear

Its a handy way of thanking someone for posting good information, or saying "well done" on a good post. It can also be used to let another user know that you dont approve of their post/attitude/etc.

2: Online indicators
Under each person's username is a little green dot (if they're online) or grey dot if they're offline. Handy when you're browsing through posts and wondering if you're alone

3: Reputation - adding to it using the weighing scales.
You can click on the weighing scales and approve or disapprove, along with adding a comment like "thanks" or "well done" etc. as you can see from the image below.



4: Report bad post. (top image again)The last arrow indicates the "report post" function. If you think a post needs to be brought the attention of the Admin/Mods, whether its spam, a bad post or just something you think we need to take note of, you can press this button, write a little bit, and send it on.

We will get a queue of reported posts the next time we log on, and then review them.

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Icons at the side of the threads, besides the post icons.



Explained below in the image - these are under each thread so you can refer to them if needs be.



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1: A bent arrow by the envelope means you have posted on the thread.

2: A tiny tag at the side of the thread means the thread has been tagged with keywords.

3: A tick to the right of the post title means you are subscribed to the post

4: The thread rating as voted by users.

Not shown: A drawing pin to the right of the post title means the topic is "Stuck"



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Post preview

If you hover your mouse over the title of each thread, you will get a preview in a little drop down box, to help you decide if you want to read it or not



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At the side of each thread, is a list of how many posts and how many views a thread has.

The amount of posts is on each thread under the REPLIES listing is underlined and clickable

Find out who has replied and how many times



Click on the underlined posts number. It will pop up a little box listing who has replied, and how many times



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User CP (User Control Panel)

(brown bar along the top of each page, first option)



You can control all aspects of your profile here.

All of the options available are down the left hand side of your User CP, which I will explain in detail in the next few posts.

On the right, any threads that you are subscribed to that have new posts, are listed here. This is very handy for when threads are moved out of a forum if they have been posted in the wrong section. Instead of searching through many forums, or posting a new thread asking where you old thread has gone, go to your user CP and check your subscribed threads. You will find it in your list if you have subscribed to the thread.

Any reputation you have recieved is also listed under that, indicating if you have received good or bad by the colour of the square, and next to it, a link to the post you received the reputation click from.



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(Referring to the numbered USER CP picture)

1: Edit Details.
Click on Edit details and you'll be brought to another page with options for changing your details about yourself

~ This is where you can change your email and password.
~ You can enter your date of birth - so your birthday will show up on the calendar and along the bottom of the front page by "Currently Active Users"
~ You can enter a link to your own personal webpage
~ You can enter your ICQ, MSN, AIM, Yahoo and Skype details
~ You can also enter a little bit about yourself in the biography box, change your location, enter your occupation, and fill in the box for who owns you
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(Referring to the numbered User CP picture)

2: Edit Profile Picture
As well as an avatar for your profile, you can also display a picture of yourself. When you click on it, you will be brought to this page



The first red arrow indicates where you can link to a small picture - if you have one already on photobucket, flickr etc, you can copy and paste the link into this box, and the picture will display on your profile.

The second red arrow indicates the browse box. If you have a small picture stored on your computer, you can click the browse box, which opens up a window, and using that you can then browse to whereever the picture is on your own computer.

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(Referring to the numbered User CP picture)

3: Contacts and Friends

Clicking on the Contacts and Friends list will bring you to the page shown below.



It will list your friends on that page, showing their avatars, and it will also show any Friendship Requests - Spring is the example here, she has not accepted my friendship request yet, so that status is different to the others who have accepted my friendship request.

It will also show you your total amount of friends, in the top right hand corner of the image as indicated by the arrow.

You can add any member to your contact list or to your friends list.
The instructions on how to do this are on that page.

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(Referring to the numbered User CP picture)

4: Pictures and Albums

Clicking on the pictures and albums link will bring you to a screen like below



If you dont have an album, instead of where the album is, you will have a link to Create an album.

You can add an additional album by clicking on the Add Album link indicated by the arrow.

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Creating an album

When you click on Create/Add an album, you will be brought to a page like below



Give your album a title

And a description

Then choose what type of album it is - public or private.

Public albums are not completely public - public albums just means that other registered members can view it. Unregistered visitors cannot view albums set to public.
If you wish to include a picture you have in your album, in one of your posts, your album mustbe set to public.

If you choose your album to be private, only your friends from your friends list and Admin/Moderators can see them.

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Uploading pictures



Click on Upload Pictures and you will be brought to this screen



Use the Browse button to browse to where the picture is stored on your computer. You will usually have 3 browse buttons so you can upload 3 pictures at a time.

Picture Limits: (the list under it)
Pictures Remaining: I have only 1 picture space left in my album, hence it displaying 1. Everyone can store up to 25 pictures in their album. When you create an album, this number will be 25. As you upload to your album, the number decreases.

Maximum filesize per picture: This is a limit on the physical size of your picture, not the length and width. If you right click on a picture on your computer and select properties, the physical size of the picture will be displayed in KB. Each picture you upload must be under that physical size that is shown.

Maximum picture dimentions: This is the width and length of your picture in pixels. 600 pixels long and 600 pixels wide are usual dimensions for forums. the picture usually displays nicer than other sizes and it doesnt skew the forum settings stretching pages.

An example of a picture 600 pixels long and 600 pixels wide:



Using your album to post pictures on a thread - your album must be set to public to do this.

Click on the picture you want to add to a thread.
Scroll down to under the picture.
There will be two code boxes under the picture.

The first one is just a straight forward link. If you copy it, it will paste a link into your post. If someone clicks on it, they will go directly to that picture in your album.

The second one is the image code. If you copy the whole lot of it, and paste it into a post, it will post the picture directly inside the post. No one has to click on anything or go to your album to view it. Its displayed in the post just like if you used photobucket or flickr etc.



People can also comment on your pictures

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(Referring to the numbered User CP picture)

Similar to Edit Profile Picture.

You can link to a small picture - if you have one already on photobucket, flickr etc, you can copy and paste the link into this box, and the picture will display on your profile. Or you can use the browse box. If you have a small picture stored on your computer, you can click the browse box, which opens up a window, and using that you can then browse to whereever the picture is on your own computer.

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(Refering to the numbered User CP picture)

6: Edit Signature

When you click on Edit Signature you will be brought to a page like below



If you wish to use text in your signature, you can type what you want in the box.
All the same formatting controls that are available in posts, are also available in your signature, so you can change colours, centre it, change the font, bold it etc. You can also add smilies.

If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you will see a box for Signature Permissions. This will tell you what is and isnt allowed in your signature regarding code - like bold, centre, smilies, etc.

We allow both writing and images in signatures, but so they aren't over the top taking up half the page we've set limits on certain aspects of them.

For images you can have the following limits;
Signature Image Maximum Width (pixels) 500
Signature Image Maximum Height (pixels) 100
Signature Image Maximum Filesize (bytes) 10000

For script we have the limits set at 500 characters and maximum of 5 lines taken up with it.

We also allow website links in signatures to their own websites once they're not distasteful, members are asked to bear in mind that there may be younger members on the board and use their discretion.

Any combination of the image/script will be looked at on individual basis. As you can imagine, something like 5 lines of oversize script followed by an image to the limits would make the pages very long, take time to load, and basically damage peoples enjoyment of the forums.

If we deem something to be too much in a signature then we reserve the right to edit the signature, but will also take the time to let the user know exactly why we felt we had no choice but to edit it.



Underneath the text box are controls for uploading an image for your signature.
The same instructions apply for this as with the Edit Avatar, and Edit Profile Picture.

Please note that signature images are restricted due to not wanting the threads to look too messy with huge images in peoples signatures. Signature image limits are 500pixels wide by 100 pixels long. There is also a physical size limit. If you right click on a picture on your computer and select properties, the physical size of the picture will be displayed in KB. Each picture you upload must be under that physical size that is shown.

An example of a 500 pixel wide image by 100 pixels long



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(Referring to the numbered User CP picture)

7: Edit Email & Password

As well as being able to edit email address and your password by clicking on Edit Your Details (1) you can go directly to edit them, and will be brought to a page like below.



If you are changing anything you must enter your current details first. This is just a security thing built into the forum.

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(Referring to the numbered User CP picture)

8: Edit Options

When you click on Edit Options, you can change the way the forum works for you.

You can go invisible if you so choose

You can allow a vCard download - which allows other members to download your username and email address (like a business card on a mobile phone). If you want to keep your email address private, do not allow vCards to be downloaded.

Email addresses are kept private by the forum software. If someone wants to sent you an email through the forum, they must do it using a special for that displays when someone clicks on the option to "Send an email to this member". This way your email address is kept private, but it also allows other members to email you.

Other options under Edit Options include:
~ Allowing/disallowing other members to be able to email you.

~ How you subscribe to threads by default (instant email notification, daily email notification of all your subscribed threads, weekly email notification of your subscribed threads, no email notification, or do not subscribe to threads. If you choose do not subscribe to threads, when you click on your User CP, it will not list your subscribed threads.)

~ Turn on/off private messaging. Or turn it on only for friends and moderators.

~ Turn on/off email notification of new private messages

~ Turn on/off the little pop up window when you get a private message.

~ It also includes options for Visitor Messages which are similar to PM options (which everyone can see. If something is private, use the PM function)

~ You can decide how you want to display threads, and how many posts per page

~ You can setup/change your time zone

~ You can change which editors you use by default on the full Post Reply page. Basic, WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), or full editor.

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(Referring to the numbered User CP picture)

9: Edit Ignore List

Just as you can add a member to your friends and contacts list, you can also add a member to your ignore list



If you dont get on with a member, dont like them, dont like their attitude etc, you can add them to this list. Their posts will not display for you automatically, but if you choose you want to view their post (or a particular post), each of the ignored posts will have a link to "View" the post.

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(Referring to the numbered User CP picture)

10: List messages

When you click on the private messages link you will be brought to a page like this



Anywhere on the forum where there is a small white arrow as indicated by my red arrow in the picture above, it means that there are more options available from a drop down menu.

The green/red/yellow bar indicates how much space you have left in your private message inbox AND outbox.

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To save space when sending a private message, scroll down to underneath the text box where you type, and you can untick the option to "Save a copy in sent items".



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When your private message box is getting full, you can download them to your computer



Tick the boxes beside the private messages you want to download then click on XML, CSV (comma separate values) or Text (opens in notepad, or you can choose to open it in anything else that reads text files)

A small window will pop up with the options to Open, Save or Cancel.
Select Save, and choose where on your computer you want to save the downloaded private messages.

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Replying to Private Messages:

At the end of each private message there are two buttons
One is forward - if you want to forward it on to someone else, similar to email
The other is Quote. If you use this, it will automatically start a reply to the sender, and quote the original Private Message.



There has been a suggestion to change it to Reply, but unfortunately the same image is used on threads, so it would take a lot of digging around in code to change that.

If you want to reply to a message, just use Quote. It does the same thing as Reply, its just named differently

(Referring to the numbered User CP picture)

11: Send new message

This takes you to start a new private message

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(Referring to the numbered User CP picture)

12: Track messages

This is similar to requesting a read receipt on an email. It lets you know if your private message has been read or not. I cant remember if this is turned on or not, but thats its function.

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13: Edit Folders

As standard, you have an inbox and an outbox.
By clicking on the Edit folders option, you will be brought to a page like below



You can create new folders to store messages in if you wish, like all messages from a particular friend, or all messages about a particular subject etc.

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Along the top of every page are quick links, some with menus, some are just a link to another page.

The image is numbered so its easier to explain.

1: User CP
Clicking on it takes you to your user cp (control panel), which has been covered in previous posts.

2: Takes you to the FAQ section.
It contains both the standard FAQ that ships with the forum software, and also some added section with pictures to explain how the forum works.

This is the FAQ page



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Clicking on any of the links indicated will take you to a broken down section like so



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Clicking on any of those links will take you to an explanation.



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You can also search through the FAQ for something specific if you need to, by typing what you need into the box.

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3: Member list

By clicking on the member list, you can view a list of the members that have joined TopDog.ie. Members must have at least 1 post before they appear on that list.

This is the page you will see



You can view it in different ways.

The Username heading by the red arrow is underlined.
You can click on it and display the member list ascending alphabetically, or decending alphabetically.

The Posts heading is also underlined.
You can click on this and it will display the member list in order of posts from highest to lowest. Clicking on it again will display it from lowest to highest.

The Reputation heading is also underlined and works the same way. Highest to lowest, and lowest to highest.

You can search the member list for a particular member, by using the box on the top right hand side of this page.

You can also view members beginning with a certain letter by clicking on the letter at the top of the page.

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4: Calendar

When you click on the calendar you get to view the default calendar, like below.



You can change the view - monthly is default.

You can also add an event (indicated by the arrows)
You can choose from a Single All day event, or a Ranged Event (like over a weekend)
All you have to do to add an event, is give it a title (its the title that shows on the calendar) and give it a description - maybe time, location etc (its these details that are displayed then when someone clicks on the event)

I've already added a lot of events to our calendar but feel free to add more.

If you click on an event, it will bring to to more details. You can also request a reminder for an upcoming event. This is an automatic feature of the forum, so no one knows which even you're getting notified of.

Events are displayed under the Currently Active Users on the forum front page.

Today is shown with a red box around it (hard to see in the image but it's a whole lot clearer in a larger version of the calendar)

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5: Arcade

You must have at least 50 posts to play in the arcade. And you must have at least 2 posts on the forum the days you wish to play (though this may change in time).
This is a preventative measure to stop the arcade feature being abused. It has happened before on some of our other forums, so these measures are in place from the start here.

The arcade is an added enhancement. It is not the only reason to log on to the forum, hence needing to have posts to play it.

The arcade is useful to while away a few minutes (or hours) when there's no one online while the site is getting off the ground, or if you can't sleep and you're not in the humour for posting when no one is around, the arcade is really handy

Our worst case of abuse of the arcade enhancement was a user that signed up to one of our other forums, posted once, then spent 98 hours in the arcade. This member was asked not to repeat the offence, the arcade was there as added fun, not the whole reason to join the forum. The member repeated the abuse of the arcade feature and ended up with a lifetime ban.

Please use it sensibly.

If it is used properly and people participate in the forums as well as having fun in the arcade, we will add more games

. Now for the fun stuff

When you click on the arcade link, this is what you see (some of it, its a long page)



Newest Games are listed on the left.

Champs are listed in the middle - in this image, both Wrangler and Franza1 have tied for second place, hence there being no 3rd place cup showing.

Most played games are shown on the right.

Along the top you have other options.

~ Arcade takes you to the front page of the arcade

~ Tournaments takes you to the tournaments page where you can see any running tournaments, start your own etc

~ Your settings takes you to where you can adjust your settings

~ Your favourites takes you to a page where you have your favourite games listed (more on this later)

~ Your Rankings shows where you rank for ALL games

~ Leaderboard brings you to the leaderboard rankings

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Individual Games



You can play the game in the current window, or open it up in another window.

Handy if you're playing one game but wanting to reply to posts before restarting.

You can add the game to your favourites.
As we currently only have 8 games, this really isnt a necessity right now. When there are lots of other games added, to save you going through pages of games to find the special ones you like, you can click Add to Favourites, and all your favourite games will be displayed on a page when you click the "Your Favourites" link up the top of the Arcade page.

You have best scores listed, and your own personal best score in that game. If you havent played the game, the space for your personal best score is filled with N/A.

You also can view the game statistics - how many times it has been played. This gives an indication of popularity, or of whether it might be a good game for you to try if you havent played that particular game before.

Game rating: Just like threads, you can give feedback on the games by rating them. This also indicates to others whether it is a good game or not.

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