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Lobby: Join the Community

On most pages of the site, you'll find a white text link in the top, lefthand corner of the header that says Join the Community, pictured below with the cursor on the link. Click that link to join the community at any time.

Following is a walkthrough of all the options on the sign-up form. You have the option to hide, publish, and update all portions of your Member Profile at any time, except for your USERNAME, REAL NAME, and EMAIL ADDRESS. Make sure to choose a username you aren't going to hate.

Login Information -- Required

Username: Usernames are case sensitive. Jane, jane, and JANE, for example, are three different usernames, and if you don't remember which one you chose, you'll have problems getting into the community. It's the same with spaces. You can use them in your username (the community software inserts the default ASCII spacer character in order to read them), but if you use spaces, remember that you did. freddykrueger and freddy krueger are two different usernames.

First name: If you are under 18, you are strongly encouraged to enter your pen name in this space. Over the age of 18, you may do as you like.

Last name: Again, if you are under the age of 18, please use your pen name.

EMail: The community validates e-mail addresses. You must give a real, working e-mail address, because your initial password will be sent to the address that you give.

Profile Information -- Optional

For much more detail on some of these options, see Editing Your Profile

ICQ: The community has a very nice ICQ feature that permits anyone in the community, whether he has ICQ or not, to contact members who list an ICQ number.

AOL-IM: This only works between members who have AOL-IM already.

Avatar image: This is the little picture you see in the left hand corner of posts by many members. Mine, for example, is currently a blinking fish. You can use the wide selection I put together for the site by clicking the following images link on the join page. Or you can link your own from your website if your site permits hotlinking (most don't.) Or you can leave the image blank and upload an avatar directly from your computer in a post, and add the link to your profile later. Or you can skip it -- avatars are not required.

Gender: This one's pretty easy, usually. Pick one of the two available. I apologize if we haven't covered all the bases.

City, State & Country: If you're 18 or older, you may fill these in. If you under 18 years of age, leave them blank.

Homepage URL: Requires the full URL, including http://, to work. Will create a live link in your profile if you add it. If you don't have a homepage, you get a small one as a member of the community, and once you've put it together can use that as your URL.

Hobby: Keep it clean.

Comment: I did extensive comments in my profile to demonstrate what can be done with them. You can see my profile here. You can update this at any time.

Signature: Names, slogans, writing pips and awards, artwork, and other goodies that you see at the bottom of member posts. Signature example here. You can update this at any time.

Preferences: Required

These determine what options you will have as you use the community and how the system will operate for you.

Hide your profile: This is required for all members under the age of 13, and recommended for all members under the age of 18. If you have hidden your profile, no one but you can see your profile information. The system default is No.

Use private messaging system: This is the recommended method of communication on the site. It keeps your e-mail address hidden, and in very fast and effective. The only information revealed in private messaging is the username. The system default is Yes. Recommended setting is Yes.

Allow other registered users to send you emails? Your address will remain hidden from the person sending you the e-mail, but will be revealed if you choose to respond. When you send an e-mail, your personal e-mail address will go under cover of the community e-mail address, but will be revealed if the recipient chooses to respond. The system default is Yes. No recommended setting.

Allow administrator to send you email notices? I send out very few e-mails. I make sure the ones I send out are important. If we have system problems along the lines of the FeaturePrice debacle, where most users lost the site, Administrative E-mail may be your only way of keeping up with what's going on. The system default is Yes. Recommended setting is Yes.

Automatically login when you return? The setting your choose depends on your computer situation. If you're the only person using your computer and don't want to have to type in your username and password every time you come back, choose Yes. If other people use your computer and might be tempted to use your account, choose No. You are solely responsible for anything done by your username, no matter whether you are the one who did it or not. Protect your username and password. The system default is No. No recommended setting.

Notify via email when you receive a private message? If you visit the community daily, choose No. You'll avoid cluttering your e-mail inbox, and still get your messages in a timely manner. If you only visit the community every few days or less, you may want to check this option Yes, to avoid missing messages from friends. System default is No. No recommended setting.

Participate in user rating and feedback? You can only rate other users if you permit yourself to be rated. The community encourages positive ratings for members from whom you have received help. At this time, you can only rate each member once, and these ratings cannot be modified. We are looking for a way to permit the editing of ratings. System default is Yes. Recommended default is Yes.

Use MARK time stamp feature? This requires that you manually mark as read the topics and messages that you have read. Members who have used this feature have said it's a royal pain. Default setting is No. Recommended setting is No.

Notify via email when you are added to a buddy list? Buddy lists are basically user-compiled phonebooks -- all the people you regularly keep in touch with, with all the means of communication that they have chosen to offer. It's nice to know when you've been added to someone's list, but is by no means necessary. System default is Yes. No recommended setting.

Make signature editable for each post? If you choose Yes for this, the HTML for your signature will show up in the bottom of each of your posts, where you can then mess around with it if you so choose. It will duplicate each time you go in to edit a previously posted message, however, and can be annoying to have to clip out. System default is No. Recommended setting is No.

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