For other forums in which I am a member or a moderator, I've found that community-based user guides work better than those produced by mods/admins anyways because they are updated more frequently and contain more pertinent information.
I will edit this post as more questions are asked and solutions provided, so feel free to respond with either of these!
Why can't I use my profile / change my settings / create a thread / use the search function?
New members have some restrictions put on them until they prove they are not spammers. Do so by posting in a normal fashion.
How do I edit my profile?
To edit your profile, simply click your username at the top of the page
then click ‘My Profile’ and ‘Edit My Profile’. Here you can change edit your personal information viewable to others users, change your timezone, and alter other profile settings.How do I change my signature, display name or avatar?
You can change your signature or display name by navigating to 'Edit My Profile' as described in the question above, then clicking 'Signature' or ‘Display Name’. Changing your avatar is done by hovering over your avatar picture in your profile, clicking 'Change', and following the steps in the question below.
How do I upload an avatar?
There are two methods of uploading an avatar:
1. Resize your photo to something the size of 100x100 pixels or 150x150 pixels. Make sure you click 'Done'!
2. Use the 'Gravatar' option. To do this, all you have to do is (i) go here to make an account, (ii) upload and submit your photo, (iii) come back to WhatBird, (iv) choose the 'Gravatar' option when you're changing your avatar on this forum. Make sure you click 'Done'!
How do I post a photo?
There are two methods of uploading a photo:
1. Upload your file to Flickr, Picasa, Imgur, or a similar site, then click the picture button
and input your image url. That last step can also be achieved by typing this without the spaces: [ img ]yoururlhere[ /img ] ). Many sites like Flickr and Imgur provide links with [ img ] tags already around the url which are easily copied and pasted into your post!2. You can also use the 'attach' feature, but there are problems associated with this feature including: (i) the thumbnails are tiny, and you have to click them to see a viewable photo, (ii) if the attachment is a large file it takes forever to load, (iii) if it's a large photo, it doesn't fit on some computer screens, (iv) the feature doesn't work at all for some people.
3. Uploading an album to the WhatBird gallery and posting the direct link is also possible.
*NOTE* If you are still having problems, read my post below this one (the second post in the thread) for a step-by-step guide.
*Note* Please do not post photos or images copied from the internet. This is a violation of copyright. You may however post a link to the photo but not the photo itself.
Should I delete my old photos since it says I'm over the attachment limit?
No. This removes your photos from the original threads in which they were posted. It is possible that space limitations may ease in the next month or two as well.
How do I send private messages and access my message inbox?
You do this by clicking the envelope icon at the top of the page:
. If you receive a new message, a red notification will appear on this envelope.Why do I get an '500kB limit' error when trying to attach a photo?
As our mod Bigfoot says, this is an "artifact of the practice/testing phase of the forums". Don't delete your old photos yet! All the same, try posting photos by the first method described in the question above rather than by post attachment.
How do I view a member's recent posts?
At the present time, the best method of doing this is to hover over someone's username (in my case, 'Platypus') and click 'Find content'. It will show all the topics and posts since the update.
What are the benefits of the new system?
IPB is far more stable than the old system. Furthermore, a lot of the problems with the old forum such as error messages, lack of message notifications, photo uploading, etc. are now alleviated. The user interface is much more aesthetically pleasing, avatars are larger, and site navigation has been greatly improved. Thanks again to the mods/admins for making the change!
