The need to update the FAQ is being dicussed in this thread: FAQ and Tutorial Need Updating.

I thought to help out we could gather all of the answers that many of us have received into one place.

To make this work, please read the posts before posting your answers.
Avoid repetition and please, no chatter unless making a verified correction.

I have started this thread to help in the update effort or at the very least to be a thread that new members can use.


Answers I received:

Red Warning Tags:

The little red warning tags on a person?s avatar are penalties for inappropriate posting. If you click on one it will take you to the offending post. A certain number within a specified period of time will get you suspended. Warnings for excessive quoting or one-line responses receive only a U2U from a moderator and a 20 point deduction in points. Warnings for abusive language and hardcore flaming of a member receive a 250 point deduction and the red tag in your profile for 72 hours. Repeated offences will get you banned. The consensus seems to be 5 warnings and you get an automatic 72 hour ban. It seems that most members who are banned have as many as 2 more chances to come back and be good. Courtesy to kinglizard and earthtone.

Time Stamps:

You can get the time to show correctly by remembering this. Every time you go into your profile the time reverts back to default and so the last thing to do before saving your changes is to reset the time. It seems the ?revert? is due to a technical problem. The time at the top right of the screen is always set to GMT.

Best Viewing Settings:

If the page runs off the screen to the right and you have to scroll sideways to read posts, know this: ?As for the page size, is your screen resolution set to 1024x768? That is the resolution that the board is designed for.? Courtesy to William One Sac

Edit spelling


[edit on 7/19/2004 by Gools]

[edit on 9-27-2005 by Springer]

nice, I didn't know about the screen resolution.

Another question I've seen a lot of lately is regarding screen name alterations

From what I have read in other threads, and correct me if I'm wrong here mods, but you cannot change your screen name, and the screen name you have chosen is directly linked to your email address that cannot be used twice. To get a new screen name you have to use another email account that is not free and you have to register as a new member.

If you're having trouble with logging in there could be a whole host of things wrong, all of which I'm not going to tackle b/c I'm not thoroughly knowledgable on the subject....perhaps a mod or member can gather info from some posts on this subject to help those people out - it's been a recent issue, I believe - the good thing is they can read this all and get help without being logged in...

More Answers:

The Bar, Your Point Total, and That Red Word under Your Name

The bar below your point total shows how many posts (not points) you have.
The redder the bar, the more "applauds" a person has received from ATS staff. It is not known at this time how many applauds are needed to make the bar change color.

Orange bars indicate ATS staff members.

If you mouse over the bar, you'll see the total number of posts.

Courtesy to Banshee.


Notes:

Hovering over the bar to see the number of posts you have does not work in all settings, and some settings where they are supposed to work may not.

Other features of the board also work this way. For example, I set my viewing so that images are non-repeating and so the animated gifs will not move (I find movement in my peripheral vision while reading too distracting). This is a local setting not a board setting. Your local settings will affect the way the board is experienced (e.g. See answer re: monitor resolution discussed above).

You can always see the number of posts you have if you go to your Control Panel. You will also find a cursory explanation of what the words in red under your name mean. The terms “Writer”, “Scholar”, “Fighter”, “Researcher” are not explained there. I’m guessing that “Writer” has something to do with people who have blogs; that “Fighter” has something to do with people posting on the debate forum; and that “Researcher” or “Scholar” has something to do with the Research Projects Forum.

In addition to a color change, you also earn points when applause is received. A complete explanation of the point system is found here: ABOUT ATS: The points system. Courtesy to Skeptic Overloard.

Basically, you receive different points for different types of posting. Some threads do not award points, and not all threads award the same number of points.

More Answers:

Thanks to Kano for reminding me of a thread containing many “ABOUT ATS” posts. The name of the thread is “Website and Message Board Updates”.

The title of the forum may be the reason why it can be missed (or initially ignored) by new members. This information should be considered for inclusion into the comprehensive FAQ.

Skeptic Overlord, Zion Mainframe and SimonGray (and others?) have done an excellent job with these. The format is a little unwieldy and it can take some time to read through everything but I recommend everyone visit.

These are some of the questions answered. (Please note that I have not had the time to read through every comment in each of the comment threads. I am assuming a complete answer is given in the original post.)

"Writer-Fighter-Scholar" titles.

Avatar and Signature Guidelines.

Posting Etiquette.

How do Blogs work?

How to use the Search Function. (NOTE: you need at least two words)
More notes on Searching BEFORE making a new post.

How do Favorite Threads and Subscriptions Work?

Quoting Etiquette and Warnings for Excessive Quoting.

ATS Censors.

The Complaint/Suggestion Form. NOTE: this explanation by Skeptic Overlord states that the form is purposely anonymous which makes www.abovetopsecret.com..." target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow">this a little confusing.

The ATS Webmail System.

Sorting the Thread Listings on a Forum Homepage.

Some Notes on Thread Rankings.

Penalties including Warnings for one-line or short responses and Staff Warnings. (NOTE: no explanation of red flags here)

The Ignore Button. (NOTE: This is a three-line explanation that does not address FAQs like consequences (do we still see threads started by an ignored user, can they still send us u2u etc.) and how to reverse an ignore decision.

That giant “Way Above Top Secret” medal in a member’s mini-profile.

ATS FastChat.

An explanation of ATSNN and TerrorAnalysis News sites.

File Uploads. NOTE: this is a description rather than a “how-to”.

What is the “Really Above Top Secret” (or RATS) forum?

A short note on the Introductions Forum.

An explanation of the “Recent Posts” tab.

Dealing with Repeat Topics and related Etiquette.

A short explanation of BTS and the difference with ATS.

A short explanation of Forum Structure.

A short explanation of the ATS Store.

And finally, Dreamlandmafia has kindly provided some search plugins for 2 widely used browsers, FireFox and Slimbrowser here.

Awesome job man! - you've been busy! If I had a "way above" vote left for this month it would have gone to you

Next month

Gools, awesome list of info.
In your search, did you find that you can change your emial address. I KNOW the well for e-amil address looks like you can change it, but is it truly changeable?
I am changing my Internet provider, and will have a new ISP. I scanned for this info, and got cross-eyed looking. I hope you or sometime can help. If you don't know, I will u2u a mod, and then post my findings.



[edit on 14-9-2004 by DontTreadOnMe]

Thanks for the vote DontTreadOnMe!

Makes me feel guilty that I cannot fully answer your question

I would recommend that before you change over to an new ISP you talk to Skeptic Overlord about how to maintain your account status. If I am guessing correctly your username and password are accessible from other computers so I do not think the e-mail is used to identify a login. There may be a way to update the e-mail address in your profile without losing your profile. But that is just a guess.

a u2u to SO is on it's way. When I find out, I'll let you know.

Just click on Control Panel in the top right corner. Then click on Edit Profile.

There should be a field with your email address in it, just change it to your new email address. (Also make sure your time offset is right before going down and click on the 'Edit Profile' button to save changes.

Thanks, KANO. I saw that the well was there to edit, but wasn't sure if was okay to change the address. I've been to forums where that change was not allowed.
And, I just u2u SO.

Correct.

I have a question...prolly a stupid one but here goes...

how do you change the wallpaper arounf the avatar on the left of my thread posts..

Grey is making me feel sick...

Member Center, ATS Store, costs points for custom background...

Gools,
good thread I’ve clicked the Vote for this user for the Way Above award.
I don’t know if you added this link, here it is any way

www.abovetopsecret.com...

it’s got all the smilies and stuff



[edit on 11/10/2004 by Sauron]

OK...I've searched all over the forums but cannot find the answer to this question...

How are moderators chosen?

Heres a thread that will answer your question,

www.belowtopsecret.com...

I am trying to post part of my story in the book writting topic, and it says: you have not been given permission to post on this page! It is really annoying, and I dont know how to get permission. I think it said something about only 'writer writers' being allowed to post on the page...what on earth are they???

HELP!!!!

Hey aloe_vera_is_evil, check out this link:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

It should explain everything.

Jack

Send a U2U to John Bull 1 about getting Writer status.