Next on our tour, if you'll look to the left, you'll notice...

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Cathy C

Ooo! Shiny new cover!
Kind Benefactor
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 5, 2005
Messages
9,907
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Location
Hiding in my writing cave
Website
www.cathyclamp.com
Hi, new members!

I just noticed on the main page that we've recently acquired a lot of new people. Some of you may be former guests, or might be brand new. I thought I'd mention a couple of cool features that you've probably seen, but don't know what they are. If you look to the left of this post, you'll see my profile information. Here's what all that stuff means:

Cathy C- This is the person's username. If you click on the name, you'll find a drop-down menu that allows you to visit the person's profile, send them an email or a Private Message (PM). You can also link to that person's website home page if it's not listed in their signature block, or find more posts that person has written on other threads.

Ooo! Shiny new cover! - This is what's known as your "User Title". If you go up to the top of the page, to the left, you'll find a link to User CP. This is your own personal page. On the left, there's a link to "Edit Profile." In the Optional Information on the right, you can pick a few words to insert that describes you or says something fun about you. (just keep it clean!)

Absolute Sage - This is what is known as a "User Group". Some of these are assigned by the number of post counts you have. You'll start out an "Esteemed New Member" and "One of the Locals." Once you have posted 50 times, you'll become a "Super Member", and so on. Other groups are assigned by the moderators. "Mod Squad Member" means the person is responsible for one or more boards on the forum. You can contact that person (listed to the right on the main board) if you have any questions about their board, want to report something good (or bad), etc. "Super Moderator" means that they can do their magic in any board. "Absolute Sage" means that the owners of the board and other moderators have voted to consider the advice that person gives about writing and the publishing industry to be sound. While that doesn't mean that ONLY Absolute Sages can be trusted to offer good advice (because there are plenty of great advice givers here), these people haven't so far steered anyone wrong. "Runs the Joint" means just that. They're the boss that the rest of us answer to...
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- This is called an avatar. After you've posted more than 50 times, you'll be allowed to upload your own picture. Until then, select one of many from the built-in set.

Join Date: Jun 2005 - This is pretty self-explanatory. This is when the person joined.

Location: Texas Hill Country - Some people will tell you where they're from. Others won't. Don't hold it against them if they want to stay hidden. It's no reflection on their advice.

Posts: 2,370 - This is how you tell how many posts you've written or others have written. When you reach 50 Posts, you're entitled to some extra goodies. We like to encourage people to stick around.

The line below the Post Count is HIDDEN. This feature of the board is what are called "reputations." If you put the VERY tip of your cursor arrow below the "P" in "Posts" (the "Posts: 2,370" line) as though there was another line of text (which there is), and hold it still for a second, you'll discover a pop-up box that tells you what other people think of that person. Now, you have to have Java initialized in your system to see this, since it's a pop-up, and you might have to move around the cursor a little to find it. The phrase you'll see is based on points earned by the person for useful advice, making someone laugh or making them think. I'll tell you how to do that in a minute. To find out the "rankings" for reputation points, you can go here: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums...?t=10217&page=1


Now, drop down to the bottom of the box to the left, and you'll notice three symbols that are a little hard to identify. These are, in turn:

user_online.gif
- Online/Offline. Green means the person is online at this moment. Dark means they are either offline or have chosen to remain "invisible." These are often called "lurkers". They're perfectly normal, and not dangerous, so ignore the people standing in the shadows as you wander the building. ;)

This is where you can click to add to someone's reputation if you like a post they've written. You'll get a pop-up box to make a comment if you want, or you can leave it blank. General members can leave one point. Moderators can leave two points at a time, and the owners can leave ten points. You start out with ten points. To check your own rep points and rep comments, click on 'User CP' in the toolbar at the top of the page.

Finally, is this:
This is used to report a BAD post. Now, that DOES NOT mean a post you don't happen to like, or the opinion bothered you. Using this means you think the person has been unconscionably rude, or has broken one of the board's rules.

There are also a couple of threads that you'll find INVALUABLE! One is our "Index to Agents, Publishers & Others" on the Bewares & Backgrounds board. This is an alphabetical list of every company or person that has been discussed on this forum. Before you make a new post about a company you have a question about, take a moment to look to see if they've already been discussed.

There are also "sticky" posts on the main page of EVERY board here with useful information about formatting manuscripts, writing lessons, learning genres, software FAQ, etc. If we think people will benefit, we'll sticky the information so it's easily found.

Finally, please remember to say "Please" and "Thank You." I can't stress this enough! People here are very helpful and often spend an extraordinary amount of time to do critiques and offer helpful comments when new people post samples of their work. Make sure you stop back to any thread you start and acknowledge the time people have taken with a quick thank you. Even if you don't AGREE with the advice, the person deserves an acknowledgment merely for the time they spent. (And also, if you don't stop back, we'll wonder if you ever SAW the responses. People here worry when posters disappear without a trace... :Hug2: )

So, now you know all sorts of things about how to have fun here at AW. Wander around and join in the fun. Most importantly, enjoy your stay!
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