Asian Flava • Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Login and Registration Issues: Why can’t I login?; Why do I need to register at all?; Why do I get logged off automatically?; I’ve lost my password!; I registered but cannot login!; I registered in the past but cannot login any more?!; What does the “Delete all cookies” do?

User Preferences and settings: How do I change my settings?; The times are not correct!; How do I show an image along with my username?; What is my rank and how do I change it?; When I click the e-mail link for a user it asks me to login?

Posting Issues: How do I post a topic in a forum?; How do I edit or delete a post?; How do I add a signature to my post?; How do I create a poll?; Why can’t I add more poll options?; How do I edit or delete a poll?; Why can’t I access a forum?; Why can’t I add attachments?; How can I report posts to a moderator?; What is the “Save” button for in topic posting?; Why does my post need to be approved?; How do I bump my topic?

Formatting and Topic Types: What is BBCode?; Can I use HTML?; What are Emoticons?; Can I post images?; What are global announcements?; What are announcements?; What are sticky topics?; What are locked topics?; What are topic icons?

User Levels and Groups: What is a BOT?; What are Administrators?; What are Moderators?; Who’s a regular user?; Who’s a newbie?; What are usergroups?; Where are the usergroups and how do I join one?; How do I become a usergroup leader?; Why do some usergroups appear in a different colour?; What is a “Default usergroup”?

Private Messaging: I cannot send or receive private messages!; I get the message “user is not allowed to use private messaging features.” when I private message someone.; I get the message “You are not allowed to use private messaging features.” when I private message someone.; I keep getting unwanted private messages!; I get the message “user has chosen not to receive private messages from users.” when I private message someone.; I have received a spamming or abusive e-mail from someone on here

Friends and Foes: What are my Friends and Foes lists?; How can I add / remove users to my Friends or Foes list?

Searching the Forums: How can I search a forum or forums?; Why does my search return no results?; Why does my search return a blank page!?; How do I search for members?; How can I find my own posts and topics?

Topic Subscriptions and Bookmarks: What is the difference between bookmarking and subscribing?; How do I subscribe to specific forums or topics?; How do I remove my subscriptions?

Attachments: What attachments are allowed on this board?; How do I find all my attachments?

Login and Registration Issues

Why can’t I login?: Make sure you are registered and have activated your account by clicking on the activation link sent to your e-email. Ensure your username and passwords are correct or try resetting your password.; Top

Why do I need to register at all?: You may not have to, it is up to you as to whether you want to register or not. However; registration will give you access to additional features that are not available to guests such as definable avatar images, private messaging, usergroup subscription, voice and webcam features, etc. It only takes a minute.; Top

Why do I get logged off automatically?: If you do not leave the Keep me logged in box checked when you login, you will only stay you logged in for current session. This prevents misuse of your account by anyone else. To stay logged in, keep the box checked during login. This is not recommended if you access the site from a shared computer, e.g. library, internet cafe, university computer lab, etc.; Top

I’ve lost my password!: Don’t panic! While your password cannot be retrieved, it can be easily reset. Just click on the Forgotten your password? link under the login box. Follow the instructions and you should be able to log in again shortly.; Top

I registered but cannot login!: Make sure your username and password is correct and you have activated the account by clicking on the link we emailed you. If you did not receive an e-mail, you may have provided an incorrect e-mail address or the e-mail may have been picked up by a spam filter. If you are sure the e-mail address you have provided us is correct, make sure you are able to receive e-emails form [email protected] and click on the resend activation email form the login page.; Top

I registered in the past but cannot login any more?!: Your account may have been deactivated or deleted. Sometimes we periodically remove users who have not signed in or participated for a long period of time to reduce the size of the database. Try registering again and participating more this time.; Top

What does the “Delete all cookies” do?: “Delete all cookies” deletes the cookies created the website that keeps you authenticated and logged in. It also provides functions such as read tracking and remembering options you have set for chat. If you are having logging in or logout problems, deleting cookies may help.; Top

User Preferences and settings

How do I change my settings?: If you are a registered user, all your settings are stored in the database. To alter them, visit your User Control Panel; a link can usually be found below the header. This system will allow you to change all your settings and preferences.; Top

The times are not correct!: Go to User Control Panel and change your time zone to match your time zone, e.g. London, Paris, New York, Sydney, etc. Note that changing the time zone, like most settings, can only be done by registered users. If you are not registered, this is a good time to do so.; Top

How do I show an image along with my username?: There are two images along with a username when viewing posts. One of them is an image associated with your rank, indicating how many posts you have made or your status. The second one is a larger image, is known as an avatar and is unique or personal to each user.; Top

What is my rank and how do I change it?: Ranks appear below your username indicating how active you are or to identify certain users such as moderators and junior moderators. You can’t directly change any ranks as they are set by the R.E.D’s. Don’t abuse this by posting messages on forums unnecessarily or chatting shit on chat just to increase your rank or else we’ll kick the fucking shit out of you.; Top

When I click the e-mail link for a user it asks me to login?: Only registered users can send e-mail to other users via the built-in e-mail form, and only if this has been enabled for your usergroup. This is to prevent malicious use of the e-mail by perverts.; Top

Posting Issues

How do I post a topic in a forum?: To post a new topic in a forum, click the relevant button on either the forum or topic screens. You need to register before you can post a message. A list of your permissions in each forum is available at the bottom of the forum and topic screens. Example: You can post new topics, You can vote in polls, etc.; Top

How do I edit or delete a post?: Unless you are a moderator, you can only edit or delete your own posts. You can edit a post by clicking the edit button for the relevant post, for only a limited time after the post was made. If someone has already replied to the post, you will find a small piece of text output below the post when you return to the topic which lists the number of times you edited it along with the date and time. This will only appear if someone has made a reply. Users can’t delete a post once someone has replied to it.; Top

How do I add a signature to my post?: To add a signature to a post you must first create one via your User Control Panel. Once created, you can check the Attach a signature box on the posting form to add your signature. You can also add a signature by default to all your posts by checking the appropriate radio button in your profile. You can still prevent a signature being added to individual posts by un-checking the add signature box within the posting form.; Top

How do I create a poll?: When posting a new topic or editing the first post of a topic, click the “Poll creation” tab below the main posting form; if you cannot see this, you do not have appropriate permissions to create polls. Enter a title and at least two options in the appropriate fields, making sure each option is on a separate line in the text area. You can also set the number of options users may select during voting under “Options per user”, a time limit in days for the poll (0 for infinite duration) and lastly the option to allow users to amend their votes.; Top

Why can’t I add more poll options?: The limit for poll options is set by the R.E.D’s. If you feel you need to add more options to your poll than the allowed amount, contact a moderator.; Top

How do I edit or delete a poll?: As with posts, polls can only be edited by the original poster or a moderator. To edit a poll, click to edit the first post in the topic; this always has the poll associated with it. If no one has cast a vote, users can delete the poll or edit any poll option. However, if members have already placed votes, it can’t be edited but moderators can delete it. This prevents the poll’s options from being changed mid-way through a poll.; Top

Why can’t I access a forum?: Some forums may be limited to certain users or groups. To view, read, post or perform another action you may need special permissions.; Top

Why can’t I add attachments?: Attachment permissions are granted on a forum, group or per user basis. You may not be allowed attachments for the specific forum you are posting in, or perhaps only certain groups can post attachments. Contact a moderator if you are unsure about why you are unable to add attachments.; Top

How can I report posts to a moderator?: You should see a button for reporting posts next to the post you wish to report. Clicking this will walk you through the steps necessary to report the post.; Top

What is the “Save” button for in topic posting?: This allows you to save passages to be completed and submitted at a later date. To reload a saved passage, visit the User Control Panel.; Top

Why does my post need to be approved?: You first few post may require reviewing before submission. It is also possible we have placed you in a group of users whose posts require reviewing before submission. Contact a moderator for further details.; Top

How do I bump my topic?: By clicking the “Bump topic” link when you are viewing it, you can “bump” the topic to the top of the forum on the first page. However, if you do not see this, then topic bumping may be disabled for you or the time allowance between bumps has not yet been reached. You can also bump the topic simply by replying to it, however, be sure to follow the rules.; Top

Formatting and Topic Types

What is BBCode?: BBCode is an implementation of HTML, offering great formatting control on particular objects in a post. The use of BBCode is granted but it can also be disabled on a per post basis from the posting form. BBCode itself is similar in style to HTML, but tags are enclosed in square brackets [ and ] rather than < and >. For more information on BBCode see the guide which can be accessed from the posting page.; Top

Can I use HTML?: No. Most formatting which can be carried out using HTML can be applied using BBCode instead.; Top

What are Emoticons?: Emoticons are small images which can be used to express a feeling using a short code, e.g. :) denotes happy, while :( denotes sad. The full list of emoticons can be found in the posting form. Try not to overuse it, however, as they can quickly render a post unreadable and a moderator may edit them out or remove the post altogether.; Top

Can I post images?: Yes, images can be shown in your posts. If the administrator has allowed attachments, you may be able to upload the images. Otherwise, you must link to an image stored on a publicly accessible web server, e.g. http://www.example.com/my-picture.gif. You cannot link to pictures stored on your own PC (unless it is a publicly accessible server) nor images stored behind authentication mechanisms, e.g. hotmail or yahoo mailboxes, password protected sites, etc. To display the image use the BBCode [img] tag.; Top

What are global announcements?: Global announcements contain important information and you should read them whenever possible. They will appear at the top of every forum and within your User Control Panel.; Top

What are announcements?: Announcements often contain important information for the forum you are currently reading and you should read them whenever possible. Announcements appear at the top of every page in the forum to which they are posted.; Top

What are sticky topics?: Sticky topics within the forum appear below announcements and only on the first page. They are often quite important so you should read them whenever possible.; Top

What are locked topics?: Locked topics are topics where users can no longer reply and any poll’s it contained will automatically end.; Top

What are topic icons?: Topic icons are author chosen images associated with posts to indicate their content.; Top

User Levels and Groups

What is a BOT?: Bots are computer programs or scripts that are designed to connect as a privileged user and perform automated tasks to help moderators and administrators as well taking commands from them. Individual users that are in the dev team, who improves the site from day to day, implement new features, update and maintain site may also be in this usergroup. These users will have a red icon next to their nicknames in chat (+a).; Top

What are Administrators?: Administrators are individuals (or groups of individuals) who have been a moderator for at least 18 months and hold vast technical knowhow knowledge on our website as well as problem solving skills. Administrators are also responsible for setting permissions, creating usergroups or moderators, identifying multiple and fictitious accounts or profile data, etc. These users will have a blue icon next to their nicknames in chat (+o).; Top

What are Moderators?: Moderators are individuals (or groups of individuals) who have been a regular user for at least 2 years , have excellent conflict management skills, understands the need of a growing diverse community and actively take part in shaping its future. They have the authority to edit, delete, lock, unlock, move, merge and split topics / post and approve or disapprove posts as well as kick, mute and ban users from chat. Moderators are present to prevent disruptive and abusive behaviour. These users will have a yellow icon next to their nicknames in chat (+h).; Top

Who’s a regular user?: Regular users are users who have been registered and active for more than 6 months and continue to contribute to public discussions on forums and / or chat. These users will have a green icon next to their nicknames in chat (+v).; Top

Who’s a newbie?: Newbies are users who have been registered less than 7 days and / or have not yet started an intro topic on forums. Private messaging, viewing member’s profiles and various other features are unavailable to these users.; Top

What are usergroups?: Usergroups are groups of users that divide the community into manageable sections. Each user can belong to several groups and each group can be assigned individual permissions. This provides an easy way for us to change permissions for many users at once, such as changing moderator permissions or granting users access to certain tools.; Top

Where are the usergroups and how do I join one?: You can view all usergroups via the “Usergroups” link within your User Control Panel. If you would like to join one, proceed by clicking the appropriate button. Not all groups have open access, however. Some may require approval to join, some may be closed and some may even have hidden memberships. If the group is open, you can join it by clicking the appropriate button. If a group requires approval to join you may request to join by clicking the appropriate button. The user group leader will need to approve your request and may ask why you want to join the group.; Top

How do I become a usergroup leader?: A usergroup leader is usually assigned when usergroups are initially created. If you are interested in creating a usergroup, your first point of contact should be a retiree, try sending a private message.; Top

Why do some usergroups appear in a different colour?: We may assign a colour to the members of a usergroup to make it easy to identify the members of this group.; Top

What is a “Default usergroup”?: If you are a member of more than one usergroup, your default is used to determine which group colour and group rank should be shown for you by default. We may grant you permission to change your default usergroup via your User Control Panel.; Top

Private Messaging

I cannot send or receive private messages!: You are either not registered and/or not logged on, you are under the age of 18 or have not yet set your date of birth in user control panel, you are still in the newbie group with restricted features because you have not yet made an intro topic on forums. If any of those do not apply to you, we may have added you back to the newbie group to restrict these restrict these features from you.; Top

I get the message “user is not allowed to use private messaging features.” when I private message someone.: The users you are trying send private messages to are not able to receive them because of one of the reasons above.; Top

I get the message “You are not allowed to use private messaging features.” when I private message someone.: You are not allowed to use private messaging features because of one of the reasons above.; Top

I keep getting unwanted private messages!: You can permanently block all users from sending you private messages by turning the option off within your user control panel under preferences. That will block users from sending you private messages via the website and on chat by default. If you have turned this option off, you are able to temporarily turn private messaging back on for chat only without changing settings on user control panel and reconnecting to chat for the current session only by typing “/pmon”, private messaging will remain on until you disconnect unless you turn it back off by typing “/pmoff”. If you haven’t turned the option off, you can still temporarily turn private messages off in chat only by typing “/pmoff” and back on by typing “/pmon”. Note you are still able to send private messages to users who are able to receive them and moderator or administrators will always be able to send you private messages.; Top

I get the message “user has chosen not to receive private messages from users.” when I private message someone.: The users you are trying send private messages to have chosen not to receive private messages from users.; Top

I have received a spamming or abusive e-mail from someone on here: We are sorry to hear that. The e-mail form feature of this site includes safeguards to try and track users who send such posts, so e-mail us with a full copy of the e-mail you received. It is very important that this includes the headers that contain the details of the user that sent the e-mail. We can then take action.; Top

Friends and Foes

What are my Friends and Foes lists?: You can use these lists to organise other members. Members added to your friends list will be listed within your User Control Panel for quick access to see their online status and to send them private messages. Posts from these users may also be highlighted. If you add a user to your foes list, any posts they make will be hidden by default.; Top

How can I add / remove users to my Friends or Foes list?: You can add users to your list in two ways. Within each user’s profile, there is a link to add them to either your Friend or Foe list, you can also right click on their names on nicklist on chat and add them to friends or foes list. Alternatively, from your User Control Panel, you can directly add users by entering their member name. You may also remove users from your list using the same page.; Top

Searching the Forums

How can I search a forum or forums?: Enter a search term in the search box located on the index, forum or topic pages. Advanced search can be accessed by clicking the “Advance Search” link which is available on all pages on the forum. How to access the search may depend on the style used.; Top

Why does my search return no results?: Your search was probably too vague and included many common terms which are not indexed. Be more specific and use the options available within Advanced search.; Top

Why does my search return a blank page!?: Your search returned too many results for the webserver to handle. Use “Advanced search” and be more specific in the terms used and forums that are to be searched.; Top

How do I search for members?: Visit to the “Members” page and click the “Find a member” link.; Top

How can I find my own posts and topics?: Your own posts can be retrieved either by clicking the “Search user’s posts” within the User Control Panel or via your own profile page. To search for your topics, use the Advanced search page and fill in the various options appropriately.; Top

Topic Subscriptions and Bookmarks

What is the difference between bookmarking and subscribing?: Bookmarking is much like bookmarking in your web browser. You aren’t alerted when there’s an update, but you can come back to the topic later. Subscribing, however, will notify you when there is an update to the topic or forum on the board via your preferred method or methods.; Top

How do I subscribe to specific forums or topics?: To subscribe to a specific forum, click the “Subscribe forum” link upon entering the forum. To subscribe to a topic, reply to the topic with the subscribe checkbox checked or click the “Subscribe topic” link within the topic itself.; Top

How do I remove my subscriptions?: To remove your subscriptions, go to your User Control Panel and follow the links to your subscriptions.; Top

Attachments

What attachments are allowed on this board?: Each board administrator can allow or disallow certain attachment types. If you are unsure what is allowed to be uploaded, contact a moderator for assistance.; Top

How do I find all my attachments?: To find your list of attachments that you have uploaded, go to your User Control Panel and follow the links to the attachments section.; Top