About this website |
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This site is all about people with a passion for collecting, and of course the items that they have squirreled away. It provides a simple and safe way to share your collection with others, and a forum to discuss your hobby. Also by submitting information about your collection to the hobbysquirrel database, you are creating a useful inventory for your own reference
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Nothing. It is completely free to use this website, both to view any items, or to create your own account for uploading your own collection and discussing collecting topics with others.
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Anyone that is passionate about collecting. Generally the collections are hobby related, but the inclusion of new categories is up to the community which use the site. If you would like a new category added which is of interest to you, then propose this in the NEW CATEGORY topic in the forum. If there is sufficient interest in the category then it will be added - easy as that.
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This will increase depending on what the community wants to use the site for. Have a look at the drop down list on the HOME page next to the search box - this is all of the categories that you can currently choose for the items which you want to show on the site
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If you register then you have your own account to upload your own collection items. Even if you dont have a collection, but you are interested in some category of items, you can still engage in the forum discussions, leave comments about other peoples items, and make contact with the owners of items.
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Login and Registration Issues |
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If you do not check the Log me in automatically box when you login, you will only be logged in for a preset time. This prevents misuse of your account by anyone else. To stay logged in, check the box during login. This is not recommended if you access the site from a shared computer, e.g. library, internet cafe, university computer lab, etc.
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Aghhhh, but wait...Don’t panic! While your password cannot be retrieved, it can easily be reset. Visit the login page and click I’ve forgotten my password. Follow the instructions and you should be able to log in again shortly.
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“Delete all site cookies” deletes the cookies created by the site which keep you authenticated and logged in. If you are having login or logout problems, deleting board cookies may help.
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User Preferences and settings |
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If you are a registered member, all your settings are stored in the site database. To alter them, visit your User Control Panel on the DISCUSS page. This system will allow you to change all your settings and preferences.
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It is possible the time displayed is from a timezone different from the one you are in. If this is the case, visit your User Control Panel and change your timezone to match your particular area, e.g. London, Paris, New York, Sydney, etc. Please note that changing the timezone, like most settings, can only be done by registered members. If you are not registered, this is a good time to do so.
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Ranks, which appear below your username, indicate the number of posts you have made or identify certain users, e.g. moderators and administrators.
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Only registered members can send e-mail to other users via the built-in e-mail form. This is to prevent malicious use of the e-mail system by anonymous users.
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Discussion Forum Posting Issues |
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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.
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Unless you are a board administrator or moderator, you can only edit or delete your own posts. You can edit a post by clicking the edit button for the relevant post, sometimes 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; it will not appear if a moderator or administrator edited the post, though they may leave a note as to why they’ve edited the post at their own digression. Please note that normal users cannot delete a post once someone has replied.
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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. If you do so, you can still prevent a signature being added to individual posts by un-checking the add signature box within the posting form.
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If you are behaving in a way that is not in the spirit of the site you may be issued a warning. Contact the site administrator if you are unsure about why you were issued a warning.
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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.
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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.
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Formatting and Topic Types |
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No. It is not possible to post HTML on this site and have it rendered as HTML.
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Smilies, or 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 seen in the posting form. Try not to overuse smilies, however, as they can quickly render a post unreadable and a moderator may edit them out or remove the post altogether.
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Yes, images can be shown in your posts, but do not use the discussion forums to show your collection - only use it to assist in the discussion of some particular item.
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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. Global announcement permissions are granted by the site administrator.
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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. As with global announcements, announcement permissions are granted by the site administrator.
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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. As with announcements and global announcements, sticky topic permissions are granted by the site administrator.
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Locked topics are topics where users can no longer reply and any poll it contained was automatically ended. Topics may be locked for many reasons and were set this way by either the forum moderator or site administrator. You may also be able to lock your own topics depending on the permissions you are granted by the site administrator.
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Topic icons are author chosen images associated with posts to indicate their content.
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User Levels and Groups |
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Administrators are members assigned with the highest level of control over the entire discussion forum. These members can control all facets of forum operation.
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Moderators are individuals (or groups of individuals) who look after the forums from day to day. They have the authority to edit or delete posts and lock, unlock, move, delete and split topics in the forum they moderate. Generally, moderators are present to prevent users from going off-topic or posting abusive or offensive material.
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Usergroups are groups of users that divide the community into manageable sections that forum administrators can work with. Each user can belong to several groups and each group can be assigned individual permissions. This provides an easy way for administrators to change permissions for many users at once, such as changing moderator permissions or granting users access to a private forum.
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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. Please do not harass a group leader if they reject your request; they will have their reasons.
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A usergroup leader is usually assigned when usergroups are initially created by a forum administrator. If you are interested in creating a usergroup, your first point of contact should be an administrator; try sending a private message.
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It is possible for the forum administrator to assign a colour to the members of a usergroup to make it easy to identify the members of this group.
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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. The fourm administrator may grant you permission to change your default usergroup via your User Control Panel.
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This page provides you with a list of site staff, including forum administrators and moderators and other details such as the forums they moderate.
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Private Messaging |
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You can block a user from sending you private messages by using message rules within your User Control Panel. If you are receiving abusive private messages from a particular user, inform a board administrator; they have the power to prevent a user from sending private messages.
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We are sorry to hear that. The e-mail form feature of this board includes safeguards to try and track users who send such posts, so e-mail the board administrator 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. The board administrator can then take action.
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Searching the Discussion Forums |
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Visit to the “Members” page and click the “Find a member” link.
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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.
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