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Old 26-01-2011, 22:59
Andy Joannou
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: London
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This thread is for newbies to explore the features the DS forums have to offer. If your question isn't answered in this post, feel free to hit the 'Post Reply' button and ask your question.

What do all the buttons mean?
[LIST][*]Status Icon - shows the current status of the member. If the icon is grey, it means the user is offline. If the icon is green, the user is online. It will show as red on your own posts if you have opted to browse the forums invisibly.

[*]Red Alert - this brings up an alerting interface that you can send a message to moderators with. This should be used to report violations of our community guidelines.

[*]Blue 'T'/Twitter button - if a member has input a Twitter username, it will show up in their posts as the twitter button.

[*]Edit - this will allow you to edit a post you have made. This button is on a time limit and will vanish after 30 minutes. If you create a thread, you have only 15 minutes to edit the thread title before the edit button will vanish.

[*]Quick Reply - this takes you to the bottom of the thread you are viewing and grants access to the quick reply box, allowing you to type a message without going to the post reply interface.

[*]Quote - this quotes a single post, allowing you to respond to it while including the quote in your message.[/LIST]
How do I multi-quote?

To Multi-quote, you need to hit the second button on the bottom right hand side of the post you wish to quote. It will turn red. If the box is red, it means that post will be quoted when you later go on to make your full reply. If you no longer wish to include a particular post, you can click the red button again and it will turn it off.

How do I start a new thread or reply to a post?

To create a new thread, simply visit the forum that best fits the subject of your choice and press the 'New Thread' button. This will take you to a brand new interface that will allow you to enter all the information for your thread.

To reply to a post, enter the thread you wish to reply to and use the 'Quick Reply' interface (for those that want to post in a hurry!) or press the 'Post Reply' button that will take you to the advanced reply box.

How do I create and reveal spoilers?

Easy! To create a spoiler you can type your spoiler and then highlight it and press the grey 'S' button on the message posting interface. Alternatively, you can surround your text with the following codes: [spoiler] spoiler text goes here[/spoiler]. This will create the following:
Spoiler
To reveal spoilers, just click on the 'show' button which will reveal what is hidden.


How do I start polls?

To start a poll, you need to first meet the criteria of having been registered for 90 days and have at least 100 posts. Once you meet this criteria, you will see a new option at the bottom of the 'Start New Thread' interface, asking you if you would like to add a poll alongside your thread.

If you tick the checkbox, it will take you to a new page that will allow you to add a poll question, add poll options and to specify the kind of poll you want 'vote once', 'multi-vote', 'show who voted'. Once this is done, click submit and your poll will be added to your thread shortly.

You can also add polls to threads you have already created via the 'Thread Tools' drop-down menu.
If you do not meet the criteria to add polls, please use the 'red alert' button on your own post once you have created the thread requesting a poll, including all the options. Our moderators will then decide whether a poll is necessary and add one to the thread.

If you are unsure of any other button, please hover your mouse over the icon you are confused about and a little message should display telling you what it is for.

If there is something that is not covered here, fret not! Simply click 'Post Reply' or the 'Quick Reply' button and enter your question and we'll try our best to answer you as soon as possible. You are also welcome to test the buttons in this thread.

Welcome to Digital Spy!
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Old 26-01-2011, 23:00
BK.
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What an odd time to be posting this! Very helpful to some I'm sure though
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Old 26-01-2011, 23:01
Joni M
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*claps hands*

Thanks AJ, we've been asking for a thread like this for years

Can it be pinned please
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Old 26-01-2011, 23:03
Andy Joannou
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*claps hands*

Thanks AJ, we've been asking for a thread like this for years

Can it be pinned please
We are evaluating whether this thread needs to be pinned - we'll be adding it to the welcome PM new members receive once they join as well as the notice board they see if they only have a few posts.
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Old 26-01-2011, 23:07
stoatie
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We're evaluating whether this thread needs to be pinned - we'll be adding it to the welcome PM new members receive once they join as well as the notice board they see if they only have a few posts.
I'd say you should pin it, to be honest. A lot of people probably won't fully read the PM, and if they need to know stuff from it it's easier to have it at the top of the board rather than having to negotiate the often arcane world that is the PM system. Also it makes it difficult for people to accidentally delete if they're the kind to delete PMs after reading.

Sorry, that was all a bit prescriptive- it's a great post/thread. But if it doesn't get pinned, nobody'll see it after about 9am tomorrow, and you'll find yourself explaining it again.
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Old 26-01-2011, 23:08
KaliMist
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Is there any way to turn the spoiler function off? It's a bit of a pain in the ass having to copy and paste when I'm on my iPad or phone.
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Old 26-01-2011, 23:10
Joni M
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Is there any way to turn the spoiler function off? It's a bit of a pain in the ass having to copy and paste when I'm on my iPad or phone.
Not sure this will help Kali, but you can quote the post to read it then just press back if you don't want to reply to it.
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Old 26-01-2011, 23:13
KaliMist
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Not sure this will help Kali, but you can quote the post to read it then just press back if you don't want to reply to it.
Didn't think of that, probably a bit easier than copy/paste but I'd rather just turn the spoilers off all together.
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Old 26-01-2011, 23:21
GetMeOuttaHere
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[*]Edit - this will allow you to edit a post you have made. This button is on a time limit and will vanish after 15 minutes if you are a thread creator and 30 minutes if you are replying to someone else's thread.
I thought it was 30 minutes on all posts. Or has it changed recently?
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Old 26-01-2011, 23:22
Joni M
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I thought it was 30 minutes on all posts. Or has it changed recently?
I'm sure it changed during IAC, I tried like a bugger to alter my thread title then just gave up.
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Old 26-01-2011, 23:24
Andy Joannou
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I thought it was 30 minutes on all posts. Or has it changed recently?
It's 15 minutes on opening posts in order to edit the thread title.

edit: have clarified and made that point clearer, thank you!
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Old 27-01-2011, 00:17
mary patricia
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how do colours work?
red
so it's highlight for red, what's for blue?
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Old 27-01-2011, 00:22
Joni M
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how do colours work?
red
so it's highlight for red, what's for blue?
Swap highlight for Url

BLUE quote my post and you'll see
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Old 27-01-2011, 20:09
Joni M
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Any more thoughts on pinning this AJ?

If you want to find where you last posted, your postcount or profile, go to Quick Links (beneath PM box) and Click on my Profile.
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Old 27-01-2011, 20:12
paulbrock
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that blue arrow on the left of thread titles which takes you to the first unread post - only took me 8 years to notice it
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Old 27-01-2011, 20:19
tvqueen1905
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Andy the blue twitter links no longer work for me i just get a white page
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Old 27-01-2011, 20:21
*weeschmoo*
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that blue arrow on the left of thread titles which takes you to the first unread post - only took me 8 years to notice it
Thanks for that, I hadn't noticed that at all.

I do like the 'fret not' bit in the OP

Edited to say please delete as there are no handy hints in my post, just rubbish. Ta.

Last edited by *weeschmoo* : 27-01-2011 at 20:22. Reason: added a bit
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Old 27-01-2011, 20:27
mary patricia
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that blue arrow on the left of thread titles which takes you to the first unread post - only took me 8 years to notice it
I also only noticed that recently as well Also, if you click the blue arrow on a quoted post it brings you back to the place in the thread where it was originally posted.
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Old 27-01-2011, 22:10
Pliny the Elder
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How do you set up a poll on DS? I remember reading somewhere that you can do it yourself? Is this true or is it a fallacy?
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Old 27-01-2011, 22:11
Biffo the Bear
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How do you set up a poll on DS? I remember reading somewhere that you can do it yourself? Is this true or is it a fallacy?
Yes you can. When you start a thread, you press the button at the bottom to insert a poll, and then a page'll come up with all the various options which you can fill in.

Everyone seems to like polls, so get cracking!
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Old 27-01-2011, 22:17
Pliny the Elder
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Yes you can. When you start a thread, you press the button at the bottom to insert a poll, and then a page'll come up with all the various options which you can fill in.

Everyone seems to like polls, so get cracking!
I just tried in chatter and couldn't see an option.. I must be a bit thick at this..
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Old 05-02-2011, 01:51
mary patricia
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Yes you can. When you start a thread, you press the button at the bottom to insert a poll, and then a page'll come up with all the various options which you can fill in.

Everyone seems to like polls, so get cracking!
I tried it and it works! I feel all grown up I'm so glad they pinned this thread.
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Old 05-02-2011, 17:43
Hotelier
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I'm glad this is pinned, I would never have seen it otherwise. Good idea DS.
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Old 05-02-2011, 19:38
Mr. Fahrenheit
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How do you change a link from ''http://www.(etc.)'' to something you want to type there?
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Old 05-02-2011, 19:52
Hotelier
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How do you change a link from ''http://www.(etc.)'' to something you want to type there?
After you have typed in your post, highlight the text you want as the link. Then click on the small globe icon (It's about 2/3 of the way down the line that starts 'B I U', it will say 'Insert link' when you hover the mouse pointer over it)
Click on it and type or paste in the url of the link.
That's it
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