Guide to the New Forums (1.2) --Found A Way To Check For Friend Reqs!--

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Failstar Posted: 03-13-2009 11:08 AM

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Failstar's Guide to the New Forums (Version 1.2)

1) Introduction
2) New Features
3) Main Forum
4) Profile Page
5) "Edit" Page
6) Changes/Future Changes
7) Current "Issues"
8) Special Thanks

1) Introduction

This guide is for users new and old who are having problems navigating the updated forums. I've detailed all of the new features, as well as some of the problems the forum is experiencing. This guide details most of the newer features, however if you read this and still have some unanswered questions, forum moderator Leenalia has posted an FAQ as well :)

2) New Features

Forum Bar - At the top of the screen you may notice now that the forum now has 3 buttons, Pangya, Trickster, And Grand Chase. These allow you to switch between forums at will. Your forum accounts are completely seperate (Just like they were for Grand Chase and Trickster) thus if you head over to either forums your post counts will start at 1, you will have no Avatar, Signature profile information entered either. So remember if you go to a different forum to set up your profile page again.
Views - Views per thread has been removed, Post Count is the only thing being displayed now.
Posting Games - Now in the GC Forums, theres a specific forum for the ever popular posting games located at the bottom of the page..So if you're missing your favorite game thread, check there! :) Having them seperated will ALSO give us a chance to revive old forum games you enjoy.
Active Forums - The forum colors for active threads have changed as well. Now if the small icon is Red, the forum has posts you have not read in it, and if it's green, you've read all of the posts there!
Tags - You can now "Tag" your posts at the bottom, allowing you to display the content of your post in short words (Such as "Elesis" or "Forum Game" or something of the like. A tags list appears in the individual forum (The more tags, the bigger the are on the right side)
PM System - The old incarnation of the PM system has been removed. The "Conversation" system has replaced it. This functions identically to the PM system (More on this below)

3) Main Forum (The Important Features)

Over on the right side you will see a few familiar features. My Threads, Active Threads, and Unanswered threads..But we also have two new sections as well. Shortcuts and Most Active Users. Shortcuts are the easy way of navigating to Unread Posts or try to see who is currently online in a more visual format as opposed to the bottom of the forums. "Most Active Users" is an indicator of whom has been posting over the last 24 hours in the most active fashion. Right now a user has 86 posts in the last 24 hours, so they're first in the list, the list resets every so often, but that being said, don't spam just to get your name on it. Quality over Quantity.
You can still Personalize the forums on top, adding and removing forums you choose to view at will via this interface.
New, for posting images now, the "Insert Media" button in the "Enhanced" viewing mode (See the "Edit" section to enable this) is the new way to insert images into posts. You simply click this button And then either browse for the image on your computer or add a URL (Using the URL Tab) and the image will be inserted into your post.
While posting, you'll notice that there is a new small section to the right called "Related Posts". This area, after you type your thread title, will pop up with up to 10 directly related threads based on your title. The idea here is to try to find you a thread that matches so you go and look at that one instead of posting a new one (Reduces Clutter) and it works fairly well if you're broad with your problems.

For example, typing "Vista Problems" yeilded this result

The first two threads look like they would be quite helpful don't they? :)

4) Profile Page (Lots of Changes)

Bio - The Bio is displayed as the first thing you see on anybodys profile page, formerly it had its own page that nobody really viewed. You can also edit your bio with different text colors, lists, etc, so if you've never filled out your Bio in the past, now is the time to do so!
Announcements - You can now post announcements in your profile that anyone will be able to see when they view said profile. If you need to tell the public something, or your friends, or simply post a bunch of nonsense, this is the place to do it. You can add and delete announcements at will, and they're displayed in a bright yellow, right in the middle of your page
My Activity - This page will inform players who check your profile (And yourself) of things that you do. From posting, to changing avatars, to uploading a video, this will have everything you do in the forums listed on it. You can easily disable this feature by going to

Edit -> Site Options Tab -> Scroll to the Bottom -> Activity Message Confirmation

Uncheck the boxes you don't want to have the public see. This area can get very cluttered with information, so you may wish to remove a few things to keep it streamlined
My Comments - A great new feature, you can now leave comments on other peoples profiles. Find the profile you want (Either via Search or the "Whos Online" list) and leave them a little comment in their profile. Next time they log on, they'll be able to check out what you said. Be forewarned, these ARE PUBLIC comments (Anybody can see them and anybody can psot them) so don't try to hold a private conversation here
My Friends - Now you can add friends to your profile as well! This feature was "Watch this User", but it has been updated and streamlined to be much more friendly on the new forums. This gives you easy access to user profiles that you want to see and add comments or read their announcements!

I now have a workaround for accessing your friends list (And seeing who has requested you) if you already have more than 9 friends, you can hit "View More" and it will bring you to a control panel where you can see who is requesting for you. If you don't however, you can type this URL.

http://forum.ntreev.net/grandchase/members/YourForumUsername/friends/default.aspx

Obviously replaced "YourForumUsername" with your username, and you'll gain access to this panel!

Interesting Idea: Have a Guild? You could make a forum account specifically for that guild, and have all of your guild members add it to their friends! Public guild announcments and comments be made there instead of a cluttered guild thread, as well as noting what threads should be tracked, and just who is in the guild :)
RSS Feeds - Every one of the new categorys (Announcements, My Comments, My Activity) has an RSS feed button attached to it. So if you're curious about a users activity, you can get a minute by minute update on what exactly they're doing by adding them to your RSS feed!
Shared Favorites/Feeds - If you decide to favorite a forum or feed, you can add it to the left side of your profile for all users to see if you so choose. This way, if you have a particular thread that you enjoy, or an RSS feed you want people to look at, you can easily display them out in the open.
"Start A Conversation" - Using start a conversation is now the new form of the "PM" system. Your old PMs have been included. When you click "Start a Conversation" on the page of the user you wish to contact, a window will pop up. Then you'll be able to construct a message and send it. This system is identical to the PM system (So the individual doesn't need to be online to send one, etc.) To access your "Conversations" click it in the upper right hand corner.

5) Edit Page

The first Tab under "Edit" (Profile Options) looks familiar. It contains your profile information as well as your Bio Information, Birthday if you choose to set it, areas to enter your personal information, and even the ability to change your avatar. The newest function is at the bottom, where you can put in your RSS Feed URL and share the feeds you wish with other individuals.
The second Tab is the "Site Options" tab. This has MANY new functions related to it and I'll discuss the more important ones in depth here.
- Content Editor - Ever wonder how people got colors into their posts? Wonder no longer. Change your Content Editor to "Enhanced" to get all of the HTML Functions that you never had before
- Display In Members List - If you don't wish to be seen in the Online Users list, selecting "No" will remove you, so nobody will be able to tell if you're online or not.
- Enable Mouse Over Post Popup - If you wish to read the first post of a thread without going into the thread, turning this on creates a little box for you to read the first post in. (Note: This may not work on all browsers)
- Display Conversation Notifications - If conversations ARE working, having this on will allow you to recieve them. I suggest leaving this in the Yes Position for the time being
- Enable Comment Notifications - Not entirely sure on this, but I believe if you recieve a comment while online, you recieve a popup indicating that you did.
The Signature Box acts the same way and now has a 256 Character Limit, it just appears enhanced (So if you want to add text, you can now do it without having to know HTML). However, be aware, this does count HTML Characters. It's best to shorten any images using TinyUrl or TinyPic if you're attempting to apply them to your signature!
Conversations Configuration - Assuming conversations will be possible in the future, this will highlight who will be able to send you conversation invites. Nobody, Only people on your fourm friends list, or everybody.
The Final Tab is "Sign-In Information". You notice the new box at the bottom called "Open ID", if you have an Open ID, using the URL to your old profile will associate it with your new one, thus linking anything you had dealing with your OpenID to your new Ntreev ID (For Pangya Players)

6) Current "Issues" or Problems

Currently there have been no identified issues! ^^

7) Changes/Future Changes

Version 1.2 - Removed problems as they were fixed, added a bit about the conversation system. Detailed Insert Media button.
Version 1.1 - Added a New Section "Current Problems". Fixed Oddly Worded Grammar/Spelling Issues.
Version 1.04 - Added a Friends Workaround
Version 1.03 - Added a Note about Friend Requests
Version 1.02 - Updated Sig Limit
Version 1.01 - Bolded some Keywords
Version 1.0 - No Changes have been made yet

Future Changes:
- Add more Pictures
- Cover anything I missed (Suggestions Welcome)

8) Special Thanks

Ntreev Employees - For putting all of their hard work and effort into updating the forums
Amotusidus - For the friend workaround, and Signature Limit update dealing with HTML, as well as the Conversation system. Plus I <3 her.
Wildcolt - Updating the Sig Limit
Leeny and Ryan - For informing about the Conversation system

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SeraphSinger replied on 03-13-2009 11:24 AM

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What is API key? I found it under where you can edit signature.

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Failstar replied on 03-13-2009 11:27 AM

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SeraphSinger:

What is API key? I found it under where you can edit signature.

Application Programming Interface

I believe something like this would allow you to auto generate posts or announcements with a program, but I don't think Ntreev is going to keep it there which is why I didn't add it to my guide. I don't think there will be any functionality for standard users.

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Wildcolt replied on 03-13-2009 11:29 AM

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Sig limit is currently 256 characters.

©Lunaset

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Failstar replied on 03-13-2009 11:32 AM

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Wildcolt:

Sig limit is currently 256 characters.

Updated. Thanks Wild.

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SeraphSinger replied on 03-13-2009 11:40 AM

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They changed the interface of quick reply. Makes it look more like words. Example, changing the colors. More options. etc.

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Failstar replied on 03-13-2009 11:41 AM

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It's still the same basic thing though, just enhanced. I tried to just cover the newer features of the forum while touching on the old ones..Quick Reply is pretty self explainitory :D