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Welcome to Pokelight Forums! We are an active and expanding Pokémon forum, hosted by ZetaBoards! It has a lot of opportunities that you may not have on other forums. For one thing, PLF allows our members to have more freedom when posting. We're a nice bunch of people, and the staff are always happy to lend a helping hand! PLF has a chatbox, located here, where you can chat with other members here! It is always active and full of life. Our server is fast, so you don't have to worry about lagging! We also have a blogging feature as well as social groups and plenty of active topics to post in. We have over 15 themes to choose from, all carefully selected by our members and staff. We also have an arcade with over 30 games as well as a Pokémon of the Week.
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FAQ & Guide // Pokelight Forums; Basic Information about PLF
Topic Started: Dec 22 2008, 09:28 PM (1,155 Views)
Hollow Abyss Dec 22 2008, 09:28 PM Post #1
Member Avatar
~The Energy Never Dies~

 The Pokelight Forums
Frequently Asked Questions // Guide
Welcome to the Pokelight Forums FAQ. Here you will find all the information needed to get around Pokelight Forums and get into the forum 'groove'. If there is anything that you are having problems understanding or you would like the staff to elaborate on, feel free to PM Hollow Abyss or tobi-ksla.

I would like to credit the staff of Pokelight Forums, particularly, Hikari and VoltTacklingPika, for compiling parts of the content in this FAQ.

Note: If you are looking for a particular section or category, use Crtl+F to find what you are looking for.

     >>Pokelight Staff
This is the staff roster for Pokelight Forums as of 02/12/10 is as follows:

Administrators:Global Moderators:Moderators:

     >>Pokelight Staff Ranking
Staff members are members that have special privileges over regular members. They have earned the right to become staff.

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Forum Moderators - Forum Moderators have their names in a dark-greenish font. Forum Moderators will appear the most as our forum grows and they have the least power of all the staff members.
  • Edit Posts and Polls
  • Open/Close Topics
  • Pin/Unpin Topics
  • Move/Copy Topics
  • Bump Topics
  • Combine/Split Topics
  • Edit Topic Titles and Descriptions
  • Use AutoTools
  • Warn and Ban Members
  • Edit Member Profiles

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RPG Staff - Members of the Role Play Staff have their names boldfaced and in a light-blue font. They have all of the powers of a regular Forum Moderator, but they choose to devote their time to moderate over PLF's Text Role Playing Game.

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Global Moderators- Global Moderators have their names boldfaced and in a goldish-orange font. Global Moderators have all the powers of a Moderator, except that they can moderate anywhere on the forum.

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Admin Assistants - Identified with a bold, italicized, and purple-colored font, Admin Assistants have all the powers of a Global Moderator, but they are placed under the Admin Forum Mask, meaning they have more access around the forums than a Global Moderator. Admin Assistants have partial access to the Admin Control Panel.

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Administrators - Administrators have their names boldfaced, italicized, and in a dark-blue font. Administrators can:
  • IP Ban Members
  • Create/Modify Skins
  • HTML Coding
  • Manage Members and groups
  • Create entire forums and categories
  • And much more things.
Administrators are in complete control of the site. They are able to make any changes to the site at anytime. Administrators are fully trusted by Hikari, the head administrator.

     >> Staff Selection
The requirements to be considered for staff here at Pokelight is as follows, but there are exceptions. Below are the set requirements.
  • You must maintain decent grammar throughout the forums, in other words, your must shouldn't look like this: ever1 lieks mudkipz kthxpl0x bbl bai ;D
  • You must have good relations with members around the forum and maintain credibility, in other words, you have no records of stealing other peoples' works.
  • You must be a member here at Pokelight for at least one month, this way you know your way around the forums and how they function.
  • You cannot have more than three infractions against you. If you have any infractions, they must be expired.
If all the above points apply to you, you can continue with this application. If ANY of the below points apply to you, this will give you a huge bonus over other members who are applying for a staff position, but they are not required.
  • You must have at least 200 posts.
  • You must be a member here at Pokelight for at least six months.
  • You must have prior experience as a staff member.
    • If this applies to you, please provide the links that provide evidence of your staff position at said forums.
    • As far as this goes, there are plenty of exceptions, therefore I will judge for myself with your credibility is valid.
  • You currently hold an Elite Members position.
     >> Contacting Staff
Q: How and when do I contact a moderator?
A: If it's an urgent problem and you absolutely need to contact a moderator, Private Messaging is the best way to contact them. If you are reporting a post, member or etc. please make it clear and get to the point. Just specify the report and provide a link to the page or post that you are referring to.

Q: A moderator is treating me unfairly, what do I do?
A: Moderators must do their job and you may get annoyed or upset over what you may think is unfair treatment. Assess the situation, a mods job is to keep order in the forums and they know what they are doing. Think about anything you might have done to receive your punishment, whether it is warning or ban or etc. If you still feel that you have been unfairly treated contact the moderator and get your point across to them politely.

Now, if they continue to treat you unfairly, you must immediately contact any Administrator, whether it be Hikari or me (Hollow Abyss). We will not tolerate the abuse of power at this forum.

Rest assured that the staff we currently have are probably the finest, most polite, and most conversant on any forum.

     >> Special Ranks
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+Elite Members - Elite Members have proved themselves to be above a regular member status. A typical Elite Member has effectively contributed to the forums and has gained trust throughout PLF. They have retained a great amount of respect. An Elite Member can opt out of the "edit" notice in posts, and they have access to their very own forum not visible to regular members, as well as their own rank image. An Elite Member can also have a say in staff polls.

     >>Member Ranks
BEING UPDATED WITH NEW IMAGES**
Do not spam to get a higher rank. It is not a race to see who has more posts. It is merely to show the frequency of posting and the activity of members.
Complete List of Posting Ranks

     >> Posting: How To Guide
Credits to: VoltTacklingPika

This is a guide dedicated to detailing the mechanics of posting; generally what to do and what not to and how to post a decent post.

First of, what not to do whilst posting: SPAM
SPAM (Stupid Pointless Annoying Messages) is reserved only for the SPAM section of the forum. Spamming just makes you look like an idiot who can't type properly and can't use correct spelling and grammar. People can't take you seriously if they can't read your post.

I don't need to give an example of SPAM since you should know what it looks like "I lke PKMN haha lol gary scks ****!!1111!1!".

Also, one liners/worder and shallow posts can also be classified as SPAM. Stuff like "I like it!" and "This is great!" is SPAM. Your posts need depth. They must be at least a full sentence or more.

Spamming is against the rules of the forum. Doing so will warrant you a warning and continued use will get you banned.

Flaming/Bashing
While the two are slightly different, they are so similar I'm going to cover them both in one go. A Flame is unnecessarily insulting, nonconstructive and in-profane message sent for the purpose of criticizing something you don't like in a harsh manner. I have seen some really bad flames and they aren't pretty. You won't believe how stupid this makes people look. Oh, and in case you haven't figured it out yet, this is also SPAM. And what happens when you SPAM? You get banned.

Bashing is similar, though it's not quite severe. A flame is a form of bashing. Bashing is where someone insults or play downs the hops of something for no apparent reason. For example, when someone says "This character sucks, he can't do this this and this." or "This ship will never happen! Get over it!" is bashing.

Guess what? Bashing is Spamming also.

So, the things that you should never do when you post is SPAM in any way, shape or form. You know what happens when you do. As my school head teacher says: "We'll say goodbye to you."

What to do when posting: Post with meaning.
Don't just post for the sake of posting. Post for the sake of contributing to a topic or making a valid argument to someone else's point of view. Forums are there for discussion, and simply saying you like something or think something is good is not discussing the topic. This moves me onto...

Add bulk and depth to your posts.
A solid paragraph of writing will contribute to a topic. When people see that, they take you more seriously and the discussion continues. It's the same principle when writing a story. Adding bulk to a sentence/paragraph makes it that much more interesting than just a simple sentence.

Here's a little guide:
The current topic of discussion: "Will Misty ever appear again?"
Simple answer: "No, Misty won't appear again."

Bulky, proper answer: "No, I don't think Misty will appear again because she has no need to. Her purpose in the anime has been fulfilled and it's time to give some other characters a chance to shine. Her character has become stale and if anything, the anime would become worse if she appeared again."

The second answer brings up points that can be discussed and debated. It contributes to the topic and continues it at the same time. What answer to you take more seriously, the first or the second? It has to be the second.

Use correct spelling and grammar.
People need to be able to read your posts and understand them. They can't do that if there are errors everywhere. On first glance, a person wouldn't want to even read a post with a bunch of errors in it.

This also includes the correct use of capital letters in places; not where you think they should go. A Post With A Capital Letter At The Beginning Of Every Word Is Not Only Annoying But Is SPAM As Well.

Example (using the same topic example from before):
"misy shld not come back bcoz she has character no.........."

or...

"Misty should not come back because she has no character..."

The second one looks much better. You should never use 'text' language (mainly abbreviations). That also equates to SPAM (Wow, a lot of stuff is SPAM, isn't it?).

Stay on topic.
Keep your posts on topic. Failure in doing so is breaking the forum rules. Going way off the topic of discussion is not only annoying for people, but makes you look stupid.

The overall message here people is to post like your writing an essay, or at least with a similar mind set. Of course, have fun while you're doing so but please avoid making yourself look stupid. It makes the forum look stupid as well if it is filled with stupid people.

     >> Chat Terms
If you are new to forums in general, here are some abbreviations that you will come across.
Chat Terms // Long List

     >> Posting YouTube Videos
If you are going to post a Youtube video, the forum rules apply. Don't post a video that contains pornography, racism, or anything else that is questionable. Most likely, if you think that it isn't suitable, it isn't. Youtube videos must not extend the page or lag the page. If it is a lengthy video, post the link to the video. Try to keep the dimensions under 400x400 pixels.

     >> Reports
This guide will you better understand the Report System and so that the staff and I don’t get piles of reports that can be easily passed as spam.

What is / how do you use the "Report System"?
The report button is used when a member encounters a post or signature that violates the rules. For example, you are reading responses to a Fan-Fiction and you notice that someone’s signature exceeds the limit or that someone has posted an offensive comment. You would use the report button to report the violation. The report button is located to the left of the 'Quote' button on the bottom right of every post.

Just state the violation and send it. This is to be used in situations where the offense is clear. We respect that you want to help our forum stay in order, but again, this is to be used in certain situations ONLY.

The report page looks like this.

The report will not get to staff right away; it will take time for us to respond to the report. All the reports will be sent to the staff members working in the forum section. Please note that the report button is always located in the same area regardless of which skin you use.

     >> Signature Rules

Animation
Please don't put too many animated images in your signature!
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You may NOT:
  • Bash or flame any particular individual or group.
  • Place obscene or questionable material such as pornography or graphic gore.
Credit
If the image is not yours, give credit to the original author. This applies to anything. The staff does not tolerate art-theft. If you are caught, you will receive severe punishment without warning. There is an exception, if you got the image off a public website, you aren't obligated to give credit. Example: If you get a sprite of of PokémonElite2000, you wouldn't have to give credit. If you ever spot anyone who is 'stealing' someone else's image and claiming it as their own, PM a staff member!

Image Size Limit
600*200 pixels is the limit for any image. We do understand that heights and widths may and will vary from computer to computer depending on resolution and such, so as long as your banner is similar to this size, we don't really care.

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Advertisement (APPLIES TO ANY FORUM OR WEBSITE)
  • A maximum of three links to any of Pokelight's affiliates is allowed.
  • A maximum of only one link to non-affiliated sites is allowed.
  • You may not have a banner that depicts another forum that is bigger than 200 by 50 pixels.
  • Do not use big font or bright colored font to advertise your forum either. It's not pleasant to look at.
Height of Signature
There really isn't a set limit, just use common sense. If your signature makes your post look three times as big as an average post, then you should know that something is wrong.

Content
Forum rules apply here, no sexual, racist, or prejudice material. Remember, when in doubt, post in the Signature Check thread!

Breaking Signature Rules
The first strike is a warning. If you still continue to violate our rules, we will delete your signature. Anything after that is going to be a warning and after five warnings, bans will be issued.

  • 1st Offense - Verbal Warning
  • 2nd Offense - Warning Points are issued
  • 3rd Offense - Signature is completely deleted
  • 4th Offense - Temporary Ban (up to 3 days)
  • 5th offense and on - Bans
Remember, when in doubt, post in the Signature Check thread!

     >> Forum Perks
If you ever encounter any problems such as menus not pulling down or pages not loading, it isn't your computer, it is the browser you are using. If you are a PC user, please download Mozilla FireFox. If you are a MAC user, Safari will do fine. To find out more about FireFox click here.

     >> Private Message System
Also known as the PM, the Private / Personal Message system is used for communication with other members without anyone else viewing the message, hence the name "Private Message". You can send files such as pictures, links and almost anything else to another member using the PM System.

The Private Message System has unlimited space so do not worry about deleting messages.

The Private Message System can be accessed by clicking on the "Inbox" tab at the top of the forum.
Private Message System Image

There, you will have two options:
  2. Compose Message
  3. Message Tracking
By selecting "Compose Message" a page like this will come up:
Private Message System Image
  2. Send To: Here, you would type in the recipients of the message, the user(s) who you want to send the message to.
  3. Message Title: Here, you would type in the message title. It will behoove you to use a title that corresponds with your message. You will not be able to send the message without a title.
  4. Send Message: You would click "Send Message", to send your message. (Self-Explanatory)
  5. Save Message for Later: By clicking "Save Message for Later", the message will be save in your "Drafts" folder, where you can later go back and revise the message.
  6. Track Message: This feature allows you to see whether your message has arrived to the recipient and whether he has read it or not. It is useful especially when the message you are sending is of importance. If you do not wish to use the message tracker then simply un-select the option.
     >> Forum Themes
There are thirteen themes to choose from as of this point.
  • Pokelight Acerbic
  • Pokelight Aquatica
  • Pokelight Cerium
  • Pokelight Delirum
  • Pokelight Garden
  • Pokelight Life
  • Pokelight Outline
  • Pokelight Paradise
  • Pokelight Solstice
  • Pokelight Vox
  • The Pokelight Forums
  • Via Domus de Pokelight
  • Zeta Original
  • Zeta Winter
To select or change a theme, scroll to the bottom of the page and at the left-hand corner, there is an option Choose a theme:. All themes are listed there alphabetically. Note: We will disable all the holiday based themes when those holidays are over. We will only make them available when the holiday comes. So, if it's not Christmas, you won't get to use Zeta Winter, etc.

     >> Name Changes
To request a name change, follow these steps:
  2. At the top of the forum, click the Preferences button.
  3. In the Board Settings menu, select Change Username.
  4. Type your desired username in the New Username box, and click Change Username. Your name change request will have to be approved by an administrator, so the changes may not be applied immediately.
Upon submitting your request, you will be returned to the Preferences page.

Viewing and Canceling Pending Name Change Requests

After requesting a name change, you may later decide that you don't want to make the change, or you would like a username different than the one you previously requested. If an administrator has not already approved or denied your request, you can cancel a pending name change request by following these steps:
  2. At the top of the forum, click the Preferences button.
  3. In the Board Settings menu, select Change Username.
  4. If you have any pending name change requests, they will appear above the Change Username form.
  5. To cancel a pending name change request, click the link above the Change Username form. Alternatively, you can fill out and submit the form to select a different name change.
Upon canceling your request, you will be returned to the Preferences page.

     >> Pokelight Chatbox
The Pokelight Chatbox is perhaps one of the most liveliest places here on the forums, as well as the source of 99% of the forum drama. The chatbox has been around with us since January of 2009 and has been a place of great memories. The bonds that have been built amongst the members wouldn't exist without this chatbox, therefore it is an essential part of our community and will never be removed under any circumstances.

There are a few rules that do need to be enforced though.
  2. Do not post pornography or any explicit material.
  3. Avoid starting arguments. If needed, leave the chatbox for a while.
  4. Do not spam or troll the chatbox.
  5. Do not flame other members. Particularly, do not disrespect staff.
  6. Do NOT advertise. It is not tolerated.
Advertising is defined as saying things like "Hey, join this forum! [insert link]" We're not prohibiting you from mentioning other sites, we're just prohibiting you from telling others to join them. If you think your message is not advertising, go ahead and send it, but make sure you mention your uncertainty. A Staff member will correct you if needed.

If you receive a message from another chatango user, that is an advertisement for another forum, please block that user and you are encouraged to PM Hollow Abyss, Tobi-ksla, or VoltTacklingPika with their username; we'll handle it appropriately.

     >> The Infraction System
***Please see the PLF: Infraction System for more information!

     >> Other: Frequently Asked Questions
How long has Pokelight Forums been up?
Pokelight Forums was created on August 25, 2008, but it officially opened on October 15, 2008 after we switched from Invisionfree to ZetaBoards.

What exactly is Pokelight Forums?
Pokelight Forums is a general discussion Pokémon forum as well as a miscellaneous discussion forum. We talk about almost anything here!

What is Pokelight Forums hosted on?
Pokelight Forums is hosted by ZetaBoards, a free service.

What kinds of features does Pokelight Forums have?
Here at PLF, we have an arcade, blogging, a chatbox, as well as a TRPG.

Why doesn’t the chatbox appear at the bottom of the forums in all the skins?
Only a select few skins have the chatbox at the bottom. All the skins have the chatbox on its own page, which can be accessed through the tab “Chat” in the navigation bar at the top of the forums.

Why is the forum quiet during the day?
Most of our members attend school during the weekdays, therefore are unable to be online. Pokelight Forums is most active during the weekends and after 4 P.M. [EST] on weekdays.

What digital graphics program is used to create the forum banners?
Paint.NET, a free graphics program, is used to create the forum banners.

Does PLF get spammers and trolls often?
We rarely get any spammers and trolls, perhaps once every few months.

Are the skins here custom made for the forums?
No, the skins here on Pokelight Forums are uploaded from official, reliable skinning sources.

If I have any other questions, where would I ask them?
You should ask those questions here.

~// The End //~
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