The majority of this was written by Ian a while back, I just added a couple of things and copied and pasted the rest from his original post. Read this.
1) New Posts: This button is located up in the navigation bar for all of those who haven't used it before. It is a much more effective way of surfing for new posts to reply to than just digging through the forums. The only time I actually use the forums is when I want to start a thread myself. USE THIS, it's a lifesaver.
2) Flashchat: Also located in the navigation bar, a quick way to get a question answered by one of the other member, or just a great way to meet and greet other people from around the world. Beware, don't spend idle time in chatrooms, they are good for certain reasons and that is all, anything else is wasting your time in which you could be doing something more constructive with.
3) Quicklinks: Another button located on the toolbar that holds many (get this) links to quickly enable you to get to a certain area of the site, including: new posts, edit profile, signature, PM, subscribing to threads, options, etc.
4) Thread tools and buttons: Located inside the posts, at the top of each post are few buttons. The 'thread tools' button has a feature to put the thread into a printable version (VERY HANDY), a button to subscribe to, or email the thread. All of these are useful features. Please, use the RATE THREAD button, is a nice feature to have that lets people know what is quality and worth reading. It only takes a few seconds to do. The other two buttons here have some minor use that you can explore if you'd like.
5) Calendar: Inform us of anything happening, anything from your birthday to an important event.
6) Post regularly: In order to keep a forum fresh, innovative, and inspiring we must constantly be posting up our ideas, feelings, etc. On a daily basis I take at least 10-20 minutes to browse the forum and reply to at least 3-5 threads, and make it a point to start at least one of my own. It takes very little time and stirs up the forum, thus creating a more dynamic and interesting environment, so please, keep this in mind!
7) Put pictures up: Adding pictures to your writing will only make it more interesting and attractive. Not all of your articles must have pictures - especially if it's hard to find a picture that exemplifies what you talk about - but do your best to find a picture and stick it in there. To add a picture, click on the Image buttom (on the same line where the "B", "[i]I[i]", etc are)
8) Search Function: If there is a particular person whose writing you admire, or a particular topic you would like to explore, use this.
9) Adding Videos: If it's a YouTube video you want to add, you can add it by simply copying and pasting the link of your videos. For example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?xxxxxxxx. Copying and pasting the link will make it easier for you. If the video is from another source, try pasting the HTML code - this will only work for certain section, if it doesn't work, simply link it.
10) Stickies: If a post is sticky'ed under any sub-forum, take the time to read it. It's sticky'ed for a reason, and it's very likely that is quite an important reason!
11) The Round Table: We are not just a bunch of guys who enjoy being called "Knights". We are here to help you. If you have a particular question about ANYTHING, feel free to ask. Any suggestion, let us know. Any comment, please do that as well. We are working for you, make that time worthy.
For those of you who hadn't read this, I hope you've enjoyed.
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