The Ultimate Forumer's Guide 2.0
Welcome to Ultimate Forumers Guide 2.0!
Hello everyone! Welcome to a update version of the Ultimate Forumers Guide, you may find the previous one here. My name is Abel and I have been around these forums since the beginning of 2009. I have decided to give this guide an update since it is very out of date!
Table of contents:
[1.0]* Introduction
[1.1]* Forums – What are they?
[1.2]* User CP
[1.3]* Private Messages
[1.4]* Public Profile
[1.5]* Stickies
[1.6]* How to post
[1.7]* Polls
[1.8]* Closed threads
[1.9]* BBCodes
[2.0]* Usernames
[2.1]* Staff Members
[2.2]* The Rules
[2.3]* Infractions / Warnings
[2.4]* Bans
[2.5]* Forum ranks
*Note: use control + F which will bring up a search bar. Enter the code to find the section.
[1.1] Forums – What are they?
A forum is basically a board in which members can join together and discuss or chat what they would like. Z8Games forum is a message board for players that play both CrossFire, and Lost Saga. The forum is for members who would like to talk about their respective games and/or discuss about a specific topic.
Our forum (http://www.forum.z8games.com) consists of 3 larger scale forums, or categories. They are Z8Games, CrossFire, and Lost Saga. These categories consist of many different medium scale forums. They are:
Under Z8Games
- Z8Games Announcements *
- Rules & Conduct *
Under CrossFire
- CrossFire Announcements
- CrossFire Barracks
- Clan Discussion and Recruitment
- CrossFire Competitive Forum
- CrossFire Technical Support
- Cross Fire Off-Topic
CrossFire Subforums
In addition, Z8Games also have smaller forums, also known as subforums. They are basically forums that fall under another forum. The subforums of Z8Games are:
- Previous Patch Notes
- Previous Announcements
- Community
- Modes
- Suggestions
- CFCL
- Looking for a Team?
- Evolution Gaming League
- CrossFire Guides
- Bugs
- Technical Issues
- CrossFire Player Photo’s
Under Lost Saga
- Lost Saga Announcements
- Lost Saga General Discussion
- Lost Saga Guild Lounge
- Lost Saga Market Place
- Lost Saga Newcomers section
- Lost Saga Art Center
- Lost Saga Tech Support
- Lost Saga Gear Design
- Lost Saga Off-Topic Discussion
Key:
* = Closed forums; only Admins/Moderators can post, or the forum is closed.
That is the end of this section
[1.2] User CP
The User CP is certainly a perfect way to customize your forum experience. The User CP stands for the user control panel. It is a place where a forumer can do many things such as adding friends, or changing his/her profile avatar.
How to access the User CP?
In order for you to access the User CP, you need to login to the forums first. After you have done this, you need to click on "Settings" at the top right side of the page. This will take you to your User CP. Here, you will be able to change any settings that you want to change. e.g. Adding a new profile picture.
Overview of User CP
There are 2 functions in the User CP:
- View your subscribed ranks
- Latest Infractions Received
), you can view your infractions. Information such as when a infraction expires, which rule is broken and how many points that specific infraction is, can be viewed here. It will also tell you who infracted you and sometimes, the thread/post is linked to be more specific on where the infraction came from.There are 6 parts in the sidebar User CP.
Private Messages
- Inbox
- Sent Items
- Send New Message
- Track Messages
- Edit Folders
My Subscriptions
- Subscriptions
- Edit Folders
Your Profile
- Edit your details
- Edit Profile Picture
- Edit Avatar
- Edit Signature
- Profile Privacy
My Account
- General Settings
- Edit Ignore List
Networking
- Friends & Contact
Miscellaneous
- Attachments
That is the end of this section
[1.3] Private Messages
Private messages are an alternate way of conversing and contacting another member. Creating private messages aren’t that hard, and they can always help in communicating with each other.
How to send a PM:
- Click here.
- Insert the Recipient’s username(s).
- Enter a Title.
- Enter a message.
- You can choose to Submit the message, or to Preview it.
- You can view your previous private messages in "Sent Items".
That is the end of this section
[1.4] Public Profile
Your public profile is a profile that members will get to see when they click on your name. It is basically your page for the world to see. Here is an example of an public profile:
In the image above, you can see:
- Forumer’s name
- Online/Offline
- Forumer’s rank
- Send Message
- Last Activity
- Mini stats (DoB, Join date, Total Posts)
- Friends
- Group Memberships
- Recent Visitors
- Visitor Messages
There are also tabs in which you can pull up information and statistics about the forumer.
That is the end of this section
[1.5] Stickies
Stickies (otherwise known as pins) are basically threads that the moderators and staff members think is helpful to the well being of the community. Also, these threads are considered worth reading, and send a mature, but thorough message to other forum members.
Some examples of threads that have been stickied:
CrossFire Official Staff Members:
http://forum.z8games.com/showthread.php?314529-CrossFire-Official-Staff-Members
Posts/Threads featuring content from another version:
http://forum.z8games.com/showthread.php?302283-Posts-Threads-featuring-content-from-another-version
The Guides of CrossFire. V4:
http://forum.z8games.com/showthread.php?313719-The-Guides-of-CrossFire-V4
If you want to get a sticky, you should post good threads and follow the forum rules. If a staff members thinks it's worthy then they will sticky the thread.
That is the end of this section
Comments
-
[1.6] How to post?
To create a thread, you must click the "Post New Thread" button.
In order for you to make a thread, you must first click on this button. This will lead you to a new image where you can enter the thread title along with the main message. This can be in a form of text and/or pictures that the community will read and see. You can preview your thread to see the outcome before submitting it to the public. Once your thread is submitted, you be directed to your thread.
There are 4 ways in which you can reply to a thread:
1. Post Reply
This brings you to a screen similar to the “New thread” page, but you do not have to input a title.
2. Quote
You can quote a forumer on what he/she has said and put it in the “Post reply” page.
3. Multi Quote
Same as the “Quote” option, but you can quote multiple posts.
4. Quick Reply
You can post quickly, and not have to go to another page, more efficient for posting quickly.
As a registered user you can go to a forum on a board where you have permission to view threads and leave replies. To reply you have a few options. You can click on the 'Post Reply' button and add a new post to the end of the thread. Alternatively, you can leave a quick reply in a quick editor box listed below the posts in the thread. When using 'Quick Reply' you can choose to quote a particular post if you are replying to something someone wrote. You may need to click the quick reply button in a post to activate the quick reply box before you can type into it. If you want to post replies to multiple posts you can select them by clicking the multi quote button. This button will change to indicate that you've selected it. Clicking post reply will then bring you to the full editor with all the posts quoted.
That is the end of this section
[1.7] Polls
Polls are a rather quaint section of this forum. Quaint meaning you do not see them much. A poll is much like a census; it asks your opinion and asks for you to “vote” on an option. There is not much to write about a poll as it is self explanatory. Currently, only forumers with the rank of moderator and up can create polls, to lower spam and needless bandwidth waste on forums.
Here is an example of an active open poll:
Occasionally, a moderator or a staff member will set a date that you will not be able to vote any longer. This is to make sure nobody cheats and votes after the date the census is set to end.
Here is an example of a closed poll:
That is the end of this section
[1.8] Closed threads
Closed threads are basically threads that have been locked by a staff member or an moderator, therefore a regular forumer as you and I cannot post further on that thread. The option of closing a thread is exclusive to staff members and moderators. A thread may be closed based on if the thread is no longer relevant, needed or if it violates the forum rules. Please refer to 2.3 for a list of rules. However, the OP (Original Poster) can request a close on one of their threads if they wish to no longer keep it open to the public for whatever reasons. Some threads are closed upon creation (Example) and these threads are normally announcements by the staff members of Z8Games. This is usually because they would like to keep it as a no reply situation, or because they see that no reply is needed.
Your thread WILL be closed if:- Your thread breaches the rules (for example, spam).
- Flame bait (also known as feeding the troll).
- Talking of other versions of Cross Fire (or any other game, for that matter).
- Thread gets out of hand and flame wars start.
- Hackusation thread (accuses another player of hacking or cheating).
- Threads that insult / call out other players.
- Threads that insult / question Z8Games’ work ethics.
- Threads that are off topic to the forum.
- Duplicated threads.
- Threads that contain advertisements for anything that isn’t related to CrossFire, EXCLUDING THE ADVERTISEMENTS OF HACKING.
Here is an example of how a thread may get closed:can someone bann this guy i cant send the replay
he's name is "X"
he use ha/cks and its rasict.
thats the replay: CFReplay20100816_0000
The reason why this thread will get closed is because the player is breaking the forum rules by hackustion and calling an specific player out. There is no need to make a new thread about it, just simply fill out a hacking report form and send it to Support. Support will began a investigation and if the player is found guilty, will be permanently banned.
When your thread gets closed, you may suffer an infraction, or a warning so make sure you try to avoid getting your thread closed by following the forum rules.
When your thread is closed, this button goes over the "Post Reply" button:
That is the end of this section
[1.9] BBCodes
Using and knowing BBCodes is important when posting an post on this forums. Sometimes, it can get things done quicker and might be more efficient than using the visual editor. For example:[ b]Insert Text Here[/b] with no space in between the “[“ and “b”
Results: [B]Insert Text Here[/B].
If you do not wish to type the code out, simply push the tag button at the top of the posting reply box and it will post the tags for you and all you need to do is the rest.
So let us begin!
Index:- Font Color
- Font Size
- Bold/Italics/Underlining
- Centering / Moving Right / Moving Left Text
- Links/URLS
- Images
- Lists
- Code Box
Font Color
Font Colour is fun to use and lets you see things in a different color when posting and helps give a more creative feel to the post. It is also a good way to point something out. There are a couple of ways to do this.
The easiest way to do it with bb code is the following example; using the color's name.
Example:[noparse][color=red]Text[/color][/noparse]
Result:
Text
The other way is using the color codes instead of color names. So if you know the code of a certain color, instead of inserting the color name, you put the color code with #before it.
So It would look like this:
Example:[noparse][color=#FF0000]Text[/color][/noparse]
Result:
Text
If a color or code is not recognized the forum will usually automatically change your text to the default color of the forums.
Looking for colors? Check here or here.
Font Size
To change your font you simply put the number of the size.
Example:[noparse][size=170]Text[/size][/noparse]
Result:
Text
Bold/Italics/Underlining
This is fairly simple. To do thisust put the first letter of whatever you want to your text in the code.
Example:[noparse]Bold = [b]Text[/b] Italic= [i]Text[/i] Underline= [u]Text[/u][/noparse]
Result:
Example Example Example
You can also use more then one code at once, such as:
Example:[noparse] [b][u][i]Text[/b][/u][/i][/noparse]
Result:
Text
Centering/Right/Left
This is very easy. Just put the word of what you want to do to the text in the brackets with the text between the start and end code.
Example:[noparse][right]Text[/right] [center]Text[/center] [left]Text[/left] [/noparse]
Results:TextTextText
Links and URLS
Simply putting a URL will make it turn into a link, but you can do more with links.
Example:[noparse][url]http://www.z8games.com[/url][/noparse]
Result:
http://www.z8games.com
Now another way so you can make a link, but make the text whatever you want, and the clicking the words bring you to the link you had put in the bb code.
Example:[noparse][url=http://www.z8games.com]Z8GAMES[/url] [/noparse]
Result:
Z8GAMES
Normal and Clickable Images
This is a big one on many forums, people love posting images, as long as they are clean and appropriate.
So it'd look like this:
Example:[noparse][img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bd/CrossFire_%28video_game%29_logo.png[/img][/noparse]
Result:
If you are looking for some free image hosting sites, check sites such as: Imgur, Tinypic, or even ImageShack.
Now to combine the link with the picture you do the second way of linking that you learned in the section above.
Example:[noparse][url=http://www.z8games.com][img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bd/CrossFire_%28video_game%29_logo.png[/img][/url][/noparse]
Result:
The above image is clickable. If you want the link directly to an image, right click it and choose "Copy Image URL".
Lists
The list code does exactly what it's name suggests, puts a list of items in bulleted list.
Example:[noparse] [list] [*]Item One [*]Item Two [*]Item Three [/list] [/noparse]
Result:- Item One
- Item Two
- Item Three
The Code Box
You probably noticed throughout this guide I was able to put the codes without them activating. This is because they were using another bb code which I'll add later called noparse. However they were also in a code box. Now, on some forums when codes are typed in a code box they do not activate, meaning you can show someone how to use a certain code without having to add a character, such as a space, and then having to tell them to take it out when they use it. As that just confused the new learner more than is needed. A code box is a good wake to put a really long bit of information or something else without making the thread excessively long forcing people to scroll down if it is not important.
Example:[noparse][code]Text
[/noparse][/code]Result:Text
Alternatively, you can check out the forum’s FAQ, which has a guide as well: http://forum.z8games.com/misc.php?do=bbcode
That is the end of this section -
[2.0] Usernames
Usernames are very important. If Z8Games’ forum was an anonymous forum, nobody would be able recognize who was who. Usernames are self explanatory, but here is some information:
Currently, a player can have a minimum of 3 characters, and a maximum of 12 characters. The only symbols one can have in their name are a maximum of 3 underscores (_) that cannot be at the beginning, or end of your username. You can't change your username once it has been set.
Usernames shouldn't break any forum rules and if they do, the staff at Z8Games will be force to change your Username to an random one or your account could face a ban. Here is a example of a good username:CrossFire739
This is a good example of an username, it uses capital letters along with numbers which adds strength to the username so it be harder for hackers to guess your username.
That is the end of this section
[2.1] Staff Members
Game Masters (Also known as "GMs") are the people who look after the game and are getting paid to do so. They are here enforce the game's rules and provide general customer service to the players of the game. You can mostly see them in the Announcement section of the forums however, they intend to pop up everywhere on the forums and not just one place. They oversee how the board is styled, what forums to create and how to organize them, what information to require from members and who to appoint as moderators.
Moderators (Also known as "MODs") are community members who volunteer to moderate the forums and support GMs in-game. They generally have the ability to edit and delete posts, move threads, and perform other actions. Becoming a moderator for a specific forum is usually rewarded to users who are particularly helpful and knowledgeable in the subject of the forum they are moderating. MODs have the responsibility to help with in-game questions or inquires, monitor the servers for hackers/glitches, report players for rule breaking and to report any suspicious activity at anytime.
The current staff are:
CrossFire Game Masters:
[GM]Kanadian (http://forum.z8games.com/member.php?...61-GM-Kanadian)
[GM]Effects (http://forum.z8games.com/member.php?22971742-GM-Effects)
[GM]Grumpy (http://forum.z8games.com/member.php?22211260-GM-Grumpy)
[GM]Juicebox (http://forum.z8games.com/member.php?...81-GM-Juicebox)
[GM]Lasagnya (http://forum.z8games.com/member.php?...87-GM-Lasagnya)
[GM]Hoon (http://forum.z8games.com/member.php?19890704-GM-Hoon)
[GM]Celestine (http://forum.z8games.com/member.php?...0-GM-Celestine)
[GM]Katfish (http://forum.z8games.com/member.php?24580458-GM-Katfish)
[GM]Sentai (http://forum.z8games.com/member/25980263-gm-sentai)
CrossFire Moderators:
[MOD]Simrock, [MOD]Vu, [MOD]Andrew, [MOD]Zzxq, [MOD]AznBankaii, [MOD]Jessy*_*, [MOD]Moe, [MOD]Abel, [MOD]WeiWei, [MOD]Bunni
For more information about staff members, please click here!.
That is the end of this section
[2.2] The Rules
The following is a list of all the current forum rules that must be followed by all members and visitors also the entire forum is governed by the Code of Conduct and the Terms and Conditions. Be sure to read them and follow them or appropriate actions will be taken. Repeated behaviour considered inappropriate by GMs, Administrators and/or Moderators may result in your account being suspended/banned from our forums and even games, warning may be sent for smaller offences before any actions are taken but not guaranteed. Please be sure to also follow all specific games forum rules since those are in addition to these rules and must be respected.- Privacy/ Harassment
- Forum Signatures/Avatars
- English Only
- Use of CAPS
- Spamming
- Bans
- Old Thread Revival
- Thread Locked/Removal Discussion
- Advertising of other services/websites
- Staff, Administrator, Moderator, Game Master Harassment
- Understand Your Game's Policy
What to do if you encounter Spam?- If you feel a topic is in need of immediate attention report it to multiple Moderators.
- If you encounter a spam topic, please report it via the Z8Games Support Centre.
- Do not reply to spam.
Helpful tips on posting to a forum:- Use a spell checker to check your posts for misspellings (please search for info on how to enable that feature on your browser). There's no point in making a forum topic if we can't understand it because of multiple spelling errors.
- Don't use stupid abbreviations. (Example: Your = ur, You = u, Are = r, I = EYE, one = 1)
- Use the Search Feature which can be find on the top right side of the forums!
- Always check the stickies, they contain useful information and can likely answer most questions.
Please click here to find the full list of rules on this forums.
That is the end of this section
[2.3] Infractions / Warnings
Infractions are basically points that are consequently added to your account when you fail to follow the rules.
Infractions count as points and they can result in bans if you get enough of them. Any staff member can give out infractions and they will send you a Private Message about it. There can be tons of reasons for getting an infraction. Infraction Levels, Reasons, and Details can be found here (http://forum.z8games.com/showthread....raction-Levels) Some are:- Insulting other forumers.
- Spam Post.
- Flame.
- Advertising (hacks, hacking website, other game, etc.).
- Insulting staff member.
- Necro post (posting in a dead / old topic to “revive” it from the forum).
- and much more!
A warning is the derivative of an infraction, except that it does not count as a point. One should consider themselves lucky to have gotten a warning. As before, any staff member can give out a warning, and a Private Message will be sent about it. Warnings will be given out for the same reasons as above:- Insulting other forumers.
- Spam Post.
- Flame.
- Advertising (hacks, hacking website, other game, etc.).
- Insulting staff member.
- Necro post (posting in a dead / old topic to “revive” it from the forum).
- and much more!
That is the end of this section
[2.4] Bans
Bans are the final and last resort of consequence. When your account is in the state of being banned, you cannot access the forum on that account, therefore losing any privileges, such as posting threads, or viewing them in that matter. When your account is banned, it is most likely because you were infracted one too many times, or you have done something extremely severe that could have provoked a staff member to give you a straight ban (such as: http://forum.z8games.com/showthread.php?t=47510).
Breaking any rule puts you under the risk of an infraction, which may lead to a ban. Some bans may be temporary, depending on your offense. A lot of players may be banned because they have decided to be trolls and hurt or break the flow of peace in the server. Any staff member may give out a ban.
That is the end of this section
[2.5] Forum ranks
Forum Ranks are something special which normal members can gain by posting useful threads or posts. The forum ranks are:
Beginner - 0 posts
Squire - 30 posts
Apprentice - 100 posts
Worthy - 200 posts
Knight-Errant - 350 posts
Knight - 500 posts
Holy Knight - 750 posts
Baron - 1000 posts
Holy Mage - 1400 posts
Viscount - 1800 posts
Earl - 2200 post
Count - 2800 posts
Margrave - 3400 posts
Marquis - 4000 posts
Royal Vizier - 5000 posts
Royal Heir - 6000 posts
Duke - 7200 posts
Grand Duke - 8400 posts
Archduke - 10000 posts
King - 12000 posts
Emperor - 14000 posts
This list will be updated as our post counts go up.
That is the end of this section
Credits:
Abel95 – Creator of thread | Updating
SirHi (Hi) – Previous information
Rex – His BBCode guide
Z8Games (and staff) – Creator of forums
vBulletin - Creator of FAQ
I hope you guys find this thread useful and if it ever gets out-of-date, I be sure to update it with new information! Thanks again!
This discussion has been closed.
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