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READ ME! The Newcomers Guide to MusicBanter
The moderators team have put their heads together and written up a guide for newcomers to our community. All newbies should read the welcome section, then use the index or search to find answers to their questions.
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Welcome
Welcome to musicbanter! As you've probably found out, musicbanter is a large internet community for people who want to discuss music, write/read album reviews and so on. Musicbanter is heavily moderated by a moderators team that do their best to keep this place ad-free and friendly to registered users. As a result, there are some strict rules that you need to pay attention to, otherwise you might get perma-banned. Let's hope it doesn't get to that. In general, we want members who are here to be part of our community and not those who only sign up to promote themselves, events or an artist. Newcomers who are here to advertise something are generally not allowed to stick around for long. Posting links requires that you have a 15 posts post count. The forums are divided into different reasonably self-explanatory sections. Posting in the introductions forum and lounge section does not add to your post count and posts in the editors pick and members journal area need to be validated by moderators before they show up. Introduce yourself If you wanna be a part of our community, you should start by introducing yourself. Do so by creating a new thread in the introductions forum. What you wanna write is up to you, but some things you might include is who you are, age and gender, where you come from and, of course, what sort of music you like. First impressions are very important, so make an effort! Put yourself up for adoption If you want, you can try putting yourself up for adoption in the http://www.musicbanter.com/introduct...pt-newbie.html thread. Exactly what a foster parent / adoptee do is up to them, but if you make a good impression in your introductions thread, some might want to take you on as a young padawan / grasshopper / apprentice. In any case, it's a good way to get to know someone on the forums! Dos and donts On musicbanter, you have to post according to the rules. Posting here is a privilege and not a right. Rule breaking may result in bans or gained infraction points. Infraction points can accumulate over time and if you get enough, they eventually result in a ban. Moderators can also see the infraction history of all users and the severity of punishment tends to increase with the amount of infractions previously recieved. Other than obeying the rules, there are a couple more things you should be aware of. These are threads will be deleted on sight :
Please don't start any of these threads unless you have our explicit permission. Also, new members should stick around long enough to become a part of our community before they start promoting stuff. Other than that, whenever you make a new thread, make an effort. For example, if you start a thread about a band, please add a little info on who they are or some kind of opinion about them and so on. Try and write a little more than just "anyone heard them?"! |
Simple Users Guide
This is a simple user's guide which should help with some of the basics. Our forums use BBCode, an html-ish set of code tags that let's you format text and do other things in your posts. You might wanna also check out our list of MusicBanter's BBCodes and how to use them. Quoting, Editing & Deleting On any forum, it is prudent to avoid double/triple posting as it clutters up threads. You can do this by making use of the multi-quote/edit features of the forum. If you want to use more than one quote in a post, use the multi-quote button http://www.musicbanter.com/images/bu...iquote_off.gif to quote each post instead of using the regular quote button and creating a new post for each post you are quoting. The multi-quote button is located at the bottom right of each post, right next to the quote button. Simply click the multi-quote icon for each post you want to quote before you press the "QUOTE" button on the final post. When you click the icon, it will change, indicating that the next time you click "quote" on a post, its content will also be quoted. If you make a post and then decide you want to make a revision to it, rather than making a second amended post, you can simply edit the first post. Post Interfaces There are two main interfaces for making a post/reply on this forum - the Quick Reply interface and the Advanced Reply interface. If you type up a post using the quick reply interface and decide that you want to switch to the advanced posting interface, there is a Go Advanced button available. The Quick Reply box is located at the bottom of any thread. To use this, simply type your message in the box and click the reply button. Provided in this interface are basic text formatting functions, and image/hyperlink/quote functions. The second more advanced posting interface is accessed by clicking the Quote button at the bottom of any post or by clicking the Post Reply button at the bottom of any thread. Thread creation defaults to the advanced posting interface. This interface includes all the basic Quick Reply widgets as well as extensive emoticons (smilies) support, advanced text formatting and additional vBulletin tag widgets. Furthermore, the advanced reply interface allows you to manage attachments, rate and subscribe to threads etc. Posting / Attaching Images to Posts This is also covered in the BBCode list. For simply posting off-site pictures in a post, use the [IMG] BBCode tags. Usage : [img]value[/img] Example Usage : [img]http://www.musicbanter.com/images/statusicon/forum_new.gif[/img] If you want, you can also attach an image with your post. Please don't do so unless you have ownership of the picture you attach. The file size limit for such attachments is 976.6 KB for pictures. Other attacheable formats are zip and doc files, though at very limited file size. When you write a post, click "Go Advanced" if you're not in the advanced editor, then look for the "Manage Attachments" button somewhere under the post editor box. Embedding youtube videos This is also covered in the BBCode list. You can use the [youtube][/youtube] BBCodes to embed youtube videos in your post. Usage : [youtube]value[/youtube] Example Usage : [youtube]JFwCCL0Vh6U[/youtube] The "value" is the ID of the video you want to embed. As an example, the ID values of the following two youtube video URLs have been bolded. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TcDLCkW5SM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TcDLCkW5SM&feature=PlayList&p=840A040DB10EDCA1&playnext=1 &pl aynext_from=PL&index=8 Creating New Threads If you plan to create a new thread, please check that there isn't already a similar thread in existence. To do this, use the search function at the top of the screen. Your search will yield more accurate results if you do an advanced search and try searching by both title and post content. If you want to make a thread about a band whose name consists of three or fewer letters such as Can, Yes or U2, searching for earlier made threads can be hard since search terms have to be four letters or more. In those situations, check out Comus' thread http://www.musicbanter.com/general-m...haracters.html to see if there already is a thread about the band or artist. Ensure that the thread is meaningful and well set out, if you make a thread, also make an effort. Also note that VS threads are very heavily moderated - if you're going to make one, at least choose a sensible comparison and formulate a good argument yourself. Searching Near the top of the screen, there is a search menu which offers a basic and advanced search function. The advanced search function consists of many different criteria, and these are the primary ones of interest: * Search Entire Posts / Search Entire Titles * Show Results as Threads / Show Results as Posts * Search By User Name The basic search function searches entire posts by default and offers a search parameter for displaying results as threads or posts. Please note that the minimum search string length is 4 characters - this is a limitation of the vBulletin system. In order to circumvent this limitation and perform a successful search, search for a related relevant string instead of searching using the original string. For example, if you are looking for a thread about the band called XTC, it would be sensible to search for an album by the band, i.e. English Settlement. Private Messages Private Messages can be sent between users. You can send a message to one or more users. A link to your private messages can be found in the forum's upper right corner or in the left-hand menu in your control panel. From that page, you can see the contents of your inbox and can also navigate to the outbox to see your sent messages. Links in the menu on the left let you send new messages, set up your own folders or track messages. Remember that there's a limited amount of messages that can be stored on your account. How much space you have left is shown on the bar of your "list messages" page. Delete messages in the inbox/outbox if you have too many. |
Frequently Asked Questions
These are questions commonly asked answered. However, if you have a question and you can't find the answer below, in the Users Guide or in the BBCode list, just leave a post with your question in this thread. How do I upload a large/animated avatar? By default when uploading an avatar in the user control panel, the vBulletin system restricts it to 80x80 pixels or 19.5 KB. If you want a larger avatar, simply post your desired picture in the Avatar Requests thread after reading the instructions in that thread. Currently our maximum size is 175 pixels wide by 250 pixels high. If you want to create an animated avatar, there are many programs on the internet with which you can do this. How do I put my last FM in my sig? You can include your last.fm chart using [last.fm.charts=YOUR_CHART_STYLE]NAME_AT_LAST.FM[/last.fm.charts]. Usage : [last.fm.charts=Option]value[/last.fm.charts] Example Usage : [last.fm.charts=lastfmplain]Seltzer[/last.fm.charts] Check out last.fm charts to get an overview of the chart options. Can I link my blog / website / whatever in my sig? Advertisement is not allowed on musicbanter. If you want to put up an ad to a personal project, show you're here to be a part of our community and not just here to promote yourself first. Can I post download links to my own stuff? Same answer as above. How do I change my name? Moderators do not have the power to change user names, so you need to send a request to Yac, the administrator. How do I change my user-title? Provided you have enough posts (post count of 50ish we believe), you can do so in the "Custom User Title" box in the Edit Your Details of your Control Panel. Can I make my own members journal? Members journals are a very good way to promote yourself, your reviews or your ramblings. However, before you make one, you should first try and become part of our community. When you think you're ready, request one in the About Members Journal thread. Why can't I see my post in the members journal? The Members Journal forum is more heavily moderated than most other forums on musicbanter and each post there must be validated by a moderator before it appears. Because of this, make sure you put a little effort in your posts there and have patience! |
Useful guides and other links
Navigation These are threads that help you find stuff on the site.
Guides and how-tos These are threads that give you instructions or tips on how to do something.
Informative / Educational threads These are informative and educational threads that aim to teach you something about a subject, typically a broad genre of music.
Community / Fun Stuff These are recreational threads with predicted long survivability (typically stickied).
If you wanna read album reviews or discussions, thoughts and opinions around music, then the Editors Pick or Members Journal forums are well worth checking out. |
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.. So this is what the newcomers guide looks like. As I mentioned in the first post, the guide is a collaboration effort by the mod team. If you have any questions not answered in this guide or in the BBCode list, feel free to ask them here and we'll try and answer them and/or add them to the faq or user guide. Also, if you have any suggestions for helpful links, changes, etc - just leave a post!
Hope you like it! :) |
Bump!
Any members feel they can add to this thread, please post suggestions... |
Maybe add this and contribute to it to help stop multiple threads: http://www.musicbanter.com/general-m...haracters.html
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^Added to the "Creating New Threads" section of the user guide and under useful guides and links. :)
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Tore, I would just like to add that you should be getting paid.
Well done. Edit: You've already got what I was suggesting. Re-edit: What about a PayPal donate button for each mod... We'd have ourselves some angels. ;) Again, superb effort. |
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those widgets in your signature...
...how do I customise mine so it isn't just the plain last.fm one?
EDIT: Couldn't my question have just been answered rather than moved to a different thread? |
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http://www.musicbanter.com/announcem...-question.html
^ There it is. Should tell you everything you need to know. There's a link that'll take you to all the different chart types and so on. I'd give you a better explanation, but I can never be bothered with those widget things myself. Sorry it took so long getting back to you on that one. |
useful guide, thanks
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Yes
I think it's about 50 or 60 |
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thanks super useful for me!
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I know this has been up a while but great job here tore. It fantastic.
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Yeah, brilliant job tore, and your minions... :)
I wonder, when you get a moment would you maybe link in my "guide to writing your own journal" in the appropriate spot, so people can see there is one, and be directed to it? Thx and again well done. TH |
Well, I'm late to the party as well, but this guide is great. And I finally found out how to put in that last.FM chart. :)
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thanks for this!
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Thanks for this guide.
I just created an account and I stumbled upon this thread lol... Glad I read this... Thanks again mate ! |
How come few newbies stick around? They introduce themselves, often with great gusto, post maybe a dozen posts, and are never seen again. What's that all about?
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But will you share your body?
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I am confused about something - Can I post links to youtube videos of songs I'm listening to?
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Thanks. No I'm not a musician or have any band. It's just to show people what I'm listening to
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If you post in the music parts your post counts will rise.Don't over do it ,or itll think yer a spammer.
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Since when don't you need 15? I had the 15 post restriction when I joined.
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Embedding a youtube video isn't the same as posting a link.
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*facepalm*
Thanks. |
Thanks @Urban Hat €monger ?
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I'm not sure I'm asking in the right place, but the prohibition against advertising/promoting is a little unclear to me. Does simply posting obscure bands or new bands count? Like, I'm sharing them 'cos I like them and I'd like other people to discover them kinda deal.
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Promoting a friend's music in a spammy way is also frowned upon. Apart from that, feel free to recommend us stuff. |
Alright, cool. Thanks for all the help so far, by the way. B)
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