FAQ's Using Thechatpage.comHint: If you are searching for something specific, use the "find" option of the browser (ctrl+f).
Account questions:
How do I register a new account?
I've registered. What can I do with my account?
How do I edit my profile?
How do I change my user name?
What do I do if I lose my password?
Can you delete my account?
Using the forums:
How do I start a new post?
How do I reply to a post?
How do I make a poll?
How do I quote a person?
How do I include a video in a post?
How do I put pictures in a post?
Why can't I edit and delete my posts at any time?
Can you remove some old posts of mine, I don't want them
there anymore?
I just posted to the forums and received a message that
it was a moderated forum, and I should wait. What does this mean?
Why are some of my posts being deleted?
I want to find some posts that I have posted before. How
can I find them?
I marked all read by mistake, how do I undo it?
Why are anonymous posts allowed?
Why are controversial subjects and all anonymous posts
moderated?
I have posted a question, but no one is replying, why?
Tips for getting answers!
Using the galleries:
How do I use the galleries?
How do I set my avatar/profile picture?
Who can see my pictures?
Member information:
How can I find more info about a member?
How do member's status' change? Why are some users regular members, senior members etc.?
It seems that the ranking of a member is based solely on the number of postings made by that user, however, does it apply to his/her English language & grammar knowledge?
How do I start a conversation (send a private message (PM)) to another member?
Other questions:
All the notification messages are sent to my bulk box even though after many times I've tried to put them back to my inbox. Does anyone know why?
What are Tags and how do I use them?
When I click videos I see a box full of differently sized words what are these?
What are ratings for?
What is the "holiday mode"?
Why can't I chat as anonymous anymore?
How do I register a new account?
In the top right hand corner click "Join our community".
This
will take you to the registration screen. Under "Not a member yet?"
fill in your name, password, valid Email address and the security code.
If you don't enter a correct Email address, you will not receive the
activation e-mail which you will need to complete the activation of
your account.
If you didn't receive an email within 24 hours, please make sure you check your bulk/spam folders first before registering again. Also you can write in our Help Forum so you don't set up duplicate accounts.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Yahoo!, Hotmail and AOL are using overly strong spam-blocking filters
that might stop you from receiving any emails from us. You might have
to set up your spam filters to allow mails from the @thechatpage.com
domain.
I've registered. What can I do with my account?
Having
registered allows you to browse the forums ads-free, and post new
threads and replies using your registered screen name. Some forums are
only visible to registered members.
You can upload a profile picture (avatar), and upload pictures into your gallery for others to see.
You
can now also view other member's profiles and you will be able to add
other members as friends and keep track of their posts and other
activity.
How do I edit my profile?
Use
the
"Edit Profile" link in the top right hand corner. There you will see 6
tabs which will allow you to edit your profile in many ways.
How do I change my user name?
Send
a PM to an administrator if it is absolutely necessary for you to
change your user name, and they will get back to you.
What do I do if I lose my
password?
On
the log in screen there is an option
for us to send you a replacement password through e-mail.
Can you delete my account?
Yes, contact an administrator in
the Help Forum or in a PM and they will get back to you.
How do I start a new post?
Clicking on the "Forums" tab at the top takes you to the Forums page where you have two ways of posting.
You
can either browse through this current page and chose the correct forum
you wish to post in. Click the Write a new post button.
Or
you can click the "Ask a question now" button on the left of the forums
page. A list of sections will pop up, click one of these sections to
enter the post editor.
Please try to find the appropriate section for your post since this will help you find the right people to answer it.
How do I reply to a post?
When
reading a thread click on the "reply" button on any of the posts to add
a new post to the thread. This will take you to the new post window
which opens the editor for you to write in. Also you can click "quick
reply" which is a simpler way of replying to posts and it allows you to
continue to scroll through the thread if you want to read more than
only the post you are replying to.
How do I make a poll?
To create a poll, simply start a new post and click on the "Poll" option, which is the third tab at the top of the editor.
How do I quote a person?
After you've hit the Reply button you will see the post you are replying to above the editor. On the right of that post you will see the "quote" button. You may also 'highlight' a part of the text and press 'Quote’
How do I include a
video in a post?
Simply
include the full youtube link as part of the post and the software will
do the rest. Remember to leave spaces before and after the link.
How do I put
pictures in a post?
You will see a link "attach
an image" underneath the subject line. You can upload more than one
picture at a time.
Why can't I edit
and delete my posts at any time?
That
would be against a basic principle of discussions: you can't erase what
you have already written and posted. Every discussion would turn into a
mess and couldn't be called a discussion anymore. There is a time frame
of one hour in which you can edit your post, but only if there are no
replies.
Can you remove some old posts
of mine, I don't want them there anymore?
Generally
we
do not delete any posts inside a thread where answers have already
been made. This would cause confusion and disturb the flow of the
thread. It would also be unfair to the members who have taken time and
effort to help you. Requests for post deletion can always be made and
we will
gladly check the individual requests. Please make sure you are aware
that we generally do not delete anything once it's posted so make sure
you still want the post there in the future.
I just posted to
the forums and received a message that it was a moderated forum, and I
should wait. What does this mean?
It means that it will not be posted directly, but will go to a
"moderator's" section where a moderator reviews the post and will
either approve it (post it), edit it (make changes to it), or delete
it. This is to avoid misuse of certain sections on the forums.
Why are some of my posts being
deleted?
The post might not have been in the
correct forum and a moderator moved it,
or the post did not follow our guidelines and it was deleted, or the
post was a duplicate. For any of these reasons you should get an email
informing you of the reason if you are a registered member and you have
opted to receive Emails.
I want to find some
posts that I have posted before. How can I find them?
Click
on
your name on the top right corner of this website and you will see
your profile. Underneath your user name will be the number of posts you
have made. Click this and it will show all your posts.
You can also
find your latest posts in your profile by clicking on the "Activity" tab
under your photos.
I marked all read
by mistake, how do I undo it?
Since there is no
record of your previous unread/read status it cannot be undone.
Why are anonymous posts
allowed?
It
is everyone's right to remain anonymous, and some visitors are
prevented from registering by their company or institution Internet
policy. Of course we would prefer everyone to register because it is
more motivating and personal to answer a question a member has made
rather than a post by an anonymous user.
Why are controversial subjects
and all anonymous posts moderated?
The
threads in Controversial tend to attract strange posts, simply because
they tend to deal with race, religion, politics, etc. If we lifted the
moderation, it would of course be possible to delete such posts later;
but it would make for a very ugly atmosphere in the meantime. Same goes
for anonymous posts. We want to prevent spam, duplicate posting etc.
I have posted a
question, but no one is replying, why?
There
are a lot of posts and only so many people around to answer them.
Anyone can post up an answer but many of the members feel a bit shy
about this, so most answers are coming from a fairly small group of
people. Everyone is here voluntarily so sometimes, unfortunately, no
one has time to deal with a particular post.
Tips for getting answers!
Register
and
log-in before posting - messages from people we feel we have come
to know and regular visitors will naturally be more attractive to us
than the hundreds of anonymous posts, where we don't even know that the
poster will bother to come back and read our reply.
Become an
active member of the forum, answering other posts as well, and you will
become part of our community and be more likely to get answers in
return. Make the subject line interesting and descriptive of the
contents of the post. Just 'hello' or 'help' do not really catch the
eye when you are scanning a long list of unanswered posts. Don't take
it personally, we all have busy lives, and sometimes posts just stack
up and get missed due to lack of time.
In the Make Friends
section, try answering a few requests instead of
just posting your own, there are lots of people feeling the same way
that you do.
How do I use the galleries?
Clicking
on your user name will bring you to your profile page. Your gallery is
displayed on your profile and you can view your pictures by clicking on
them which will allow you to see comments or edit the tags etc.
Also there is an upload button which allows you to upload more pictures
to share with others on the forums and change their descriptions and
titles. There is another upload button under the PICTURES tab in the top menu.
How do I set my avatar/profile picture?
You
can do this by selecting a picture in your gallery and clicking "Set as
profile photo". Also you can upload directly by clicking "edit profile"
and uploading a picture from there.
Who can see my pictures?
Once you have moved your picture into the upload box, you can chose sharing options.
Your options are that your pictures can be viewable by everybody, registered users or your friends only.
How can I find more info about a member?
On
the right side of the post you can click on the name of the member
which will take you to their profile page. You can only view the
profile of a member if you are registered.
You can also use the search function at the top right of the page to search for a member.
How do member's status' change? Why are some users regular members, senior members etc.?
Your member status changes by the amount of posts you have contributed to the forums.
Here is a list of the membership structure:
First Post - 0 to 1 posts
New User - 2 to 9 posts
Junior Member - 10 to 49 posts
Member - 50 to 99 posts
Regular Member - 100 to 249 posts
Frequent Poster - 250 to 499 posts
Full Member - 500 to 999 posts
Senior Member - 1000 to 1999 posts
Advanced Member - 2000 to 4999 posts
Forum Guru - 5000 to ...
It seems that the ranking of a member is based solely on the
number of postings made by that user, however, does it apply to his/her
English language & grammar knowledge?
Ranking is based
on number of posts. Administration also awards symbols on an individual
basis to members who have demonstrated positive qualities in the course
of their participation here:
Administrator - A system administrator takes care of the inner workings
of the entire system. These users have the ability to promote, ban and
modify other users.
Moderator - A super-user who takes care of the forums. You have the
ability to message a moderator privately should you wish. These users
have a range of elevated privileges including the deletion, editing and
movement of posts when needed.
Trusted User - Trusted users are allowed to use additional capabilities
of the site such as private messaging to all users and various other
advanced features. You cannot join this role unless you are promoted by
an administrator.
Retired Moderator - A moderator who has retired.
These are placed under the avatar to the right of each post. Clicking on these icons in a post will show you the list of members that fall under this role. These
do not mean that other members, junior or otherwise, are not excellent
advisors. The site administration can only do with and monitor so many
valued assistants. In the end, this is the internet, and you can only
see what you read on your screen: you must consider the advice given
and decide for yourself whether it is of value to you.
How do I start a conversation (send a private message (PM)) to another member?
Either
go to the profile of the member and you will see the option on the
bottom left, or click on the mail icon next to a member's name in a
post. Generally you must be friends with this member before being able to contact
them. They also have to have "Allow conversations from friends" enabled in their profile. Some members will chose to allow conversations from all users, or no one, depending on their settings in their profile.
All the notification messages are sent to my bulk box
even though after many times I've tried to put them back to my inbox.
Does anyone know why?
If this happens you need to check your junk filter settings. Usually you will find an option to add a "safe sender".
What are Tags and how do I use them?
By adding tags to your post and photos, you give information to the
forums concerning what the post is about. That way other users can find
your post if they search for the tags that are relevant.
When I click videos I see a box full of differently sized words what are these?
That
is called a tag cloud, the larger the word, the more times someone has
posted a video we relevance to that word. By clicking that word you
will pull up all videos with that tag. Clicking a word again will pull
up all videos with both the first and the second word.
What are ratings for?
We’ve implemented ratings to that our members more or less chose the quality of the site. They can chose to vote pictures, comments, posts and members either Up or Down one vote.
What is the holiday mode?
You can let the community know when you will be gone for a while. We call this the holiday mode and it can be set in your profile. Your status will then be set as “Away”.
Why can't I chat as anonymous anymore?
Unfortunately we’ve had to remove the ability to chat anonymously because that luxury was being abused too much.
If you still have questions on how to use the site, feel
free to ask us in the Help Forum.
Enjoy the site!