Help with the Websleuths Frequently Asked Questions List

[Tricia]

Hi Everyone.

If you have time I would really appreciate you helping out with our FAQ.

You can post the questions and the answers to simple questions that you already know but a newbie would not. Or you can post questions that perhaps are not so simple and I'll see what we can do about finding the answer.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Tricia

 

[flourish]

Okay I'll start with one I've answered a couple times recently.

QUESTION: How do I change my email settings? I don't want an email every time someone posts in a conversation, for example.

ANSWER:
Go to the upper right corner and click your user name.
A little window will pop up.
In that window, find "contact details" and click that.
That will take you to a page to adjust your email settings. Make sure to save your changed settings.

 

[flourish]

QUESTION: How do I change what it says under my user name?

ANSWER:
There are actually two things you can change. The first is your "status." Your status doesn't show in the threads, but on your profile. For example, if you click on my user name above, a little pop up window with my profile appears. The thing that currently says, "'Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.' -Bill Gates" is my status.

Then there's your "custom title." The defaults are "New Member," "Member," and "Well-known Member." They change the more active you are on the forum. But you can change it.
So, looking above under my name it says, "Every time you close your eyes... lies, lies," (song lyrics). That's my "custom title."

To change either your status or custom title, click your user name at the top right, then in the pop up window, find then click "personal details." That takes you to the page where you can change either or both of the above.

 

[Tricia]

Dear Flourish,

Is it too early in our relationship to express my undying affection for you for writing this post?

Thank you
Tricia

QUESTION: How do I change what it says under my user name?

ANSWER:
There are actually two things you can change. The first is your "status." Your status doesn't show in the threads, but on your profile. For example, if you click on my user name above, a little pop up window with my profile appears. The thing that currently says, "'Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.' -Bill Gates" is my status.

Then there's your "custom title." The defaults are "New Member," "Member," and "Well-known Member." They change the more active you are on the forum. But you can change it.
So, looking above under my name it says, "Every time you close your eyes... lies, lies," (song lyrics). That's my "custom title."

To change either your status or custom title, click your user name at the top right, then in the pop up window, find then click "personal details." That takes you to the page where you can change either or both of the above.

 

[Gardener1850]

Question: How do I add a photo to a thread?

Answer: If the image comes from a website select the "image" icon with the mountains and copy and paste the image URL.
If the image comes from your computer then you select the "upload a file" button next to the post reply button under the reply box.

Bonus tip: Be sure to include the source of your photos in the post as well (link to the MSM source) or your image may get removed.

Additional info I don't know the answer to but should probably be included in the above FAQ -- What is the file size upload limit? I recall there is a limit and the photo will not upload is it's over a certain size but I don't remember it. Can anyone help answer this?

 

[Gardener1850]

Question: How do I get a quote box around text copied here from Main Stream Media?

Answer: Select the "insert" icon that looks like a page with lines and an "I" on it, choose "Quote in the drop down menu. The word QUOTE will appear in two sets of brackets like this without spaces: [ QUOTE ] [ / QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ] copy and paste the text you want to put in the quote box here [ / QUOTE ]

Alternatively, if you have already copied your text over and then decide to put it in a quote box you can highlight the text and then select "Quote from the insert icon. It will put the quote brackets around your highlighted text and become a box when you post.

Bonus Tip: Don't forget to copy over the source URL from your quoted text.

 

[flute4peace]

Question: How do I add a photo to a thread?

Answer: If the image comes from a website select the "image" icon with the mountains and copy and paste the image URL.
If the image comes from your computer then you select the "upload a file" button next to the post reply button under the reply box.

Bonus tip: Be sure to include the source of your photos in the post as well (link to the MSM source) or your image may get removed.

Additional info I don't know the answer to but should probably be included in the above FAQ -- What is the file size upload limit? I recall there is a limit and the photo will not upload is it's over a certain size but I don't remember it. Can anyone help answer this?

This is a good question. I've tried to upload something for my avatar picture several times, both from phone and computer, and no matter how small the file is, it still says it's too big (even when below the given parameters).

 

[flourish]

QUESTION: Where did all my "likes" go? I haven't logged in on the new site until now but I used to have a bunch of "likes."

ANSWER: When we moved to this new host/format all the "likes" were reset. Don't worry, we still like you!

 

[flourish]

QUESTION: How do I report a post that I think breaks the rules?

ANSWER: At the bottom of the post, there is the word, "report." Click on that and a little pop up window will show. Type your concerns in there and submit. Then be patient and a mod will check it out when they can.

 

[Tricia]

YOU ALL ARE AMAZING. THANK YOU. I am going to do my best to work on the FAQ list over the weekend. Please keep them coming.

Tricia

 

[Tricia]

Question: How do I add a photo to a thread?

Answer: If the image comes from a website select the "image" icon with the mountains and copy and paste the image URL.
If the image comes from your computer then you select the "upload a file" button next to the post reply button under the reply box.

Bonus tip: Be sure to include the source of your photos in the post as well (link to the MSM source) or your image may get removed.

Additional info I don't know the answer to but should probably be included in the above FAQ -- What is the file size upload limit? I recall there is a limit and the photo will not upload is it's over a certain size but I don't remember it. Can anyone help answer this?

Thank you Gardener1850. I will look this up

 

[GarAndTeed]

One last time- is there a reason we can't access older threads/cases? I'm only able to open the last thread of a case; if I try to start from the beginning, I get an error message. I've asked about this in a couple of forums (starting before the new software), and I still have no answer. Thank you for reading my question!

 

[Auntie Cipation]

Is there an "ignore thread" or "hide thread" option?

I hate seeing the one about the dog being beaten. It makes me sick to think about. I'm actually clicking on it whenever it appears on the "new posts" list, not to read it but just to make it stop showing up on the unread/new posts list.

I see how to ignore a poster, but is there an option to ignore a thread or a forum?

Thanks.

 

[tarabull]

What happen's when you "follow" someone?

What's the purpose of "following" someone???

How do you know who is "following" you?

Can you stop someone from "following" you?

 

[matou]

What happen's when you "follow" someone?

What's the purpose of "following" someone???

How do you know who is "following" you?

Can you stop someone from "following" you?

I've asked admin about having someone stop following me and I was told to just accept it and they would not stop it from happening.

 

[Gardener1850]

One last time- is there a reason we can't access older threads/cases? I'm only able to open the last thread of a case; if I try to start from the beginning, I get an error message. I've asked about this in a couple of forums (starting before the new software), and I still have no answer. Thank you for reading my question!

The threads you are trying to access were most likely hidden/removed by the mods. Sometimes they have to remove threads due to a legal request. Sometimes they will remove threads at the request of a family member of a victim OR to protect a minor. Sometimes they remove threads when too many posts go against the TOS and it's impossible to adequately clean the thread up. Some older threads may fall into this last category because the rules have changed/evolved over the years. (JMO from what I have observed-- I'm not a mod).

 

[Gardener1850]

Is there an "ignore thread" or "hide thread" option?

I hate seeing the one about the dog being beaten. It makes me sick to think about. I'm actually clicking on it whenever it appears on the "new posts" list, not to read it but just to make it stop showing up on the unread/new posts list.

I see how to ignore a poster, but is there an option to ignore a thread or a forum?

Thanks.

Not that I have found, but if you ignore the poster who started the thread you will not see it come up in your new post list anymore.

 

[FlossyMay]

What happen's when you "follow" someone?

What's the purpose of "following" someone???

How do you know who is "following" you?

Can you stop someone from "following" you?

When you follow someone their activity shows up on your news feed page.

Following your favorite sleuthers will show you threads they have started and comments they have made. For instance, I follow cybervampira because she is quick to post threads on newsworthy cases and constantly adds new links.

You can see who you are following and who is following you on the left side of your profile page (at least that's how it works on my laptop).

As far as I know, you cannot stop someone from following you.

 

[FlossyMay]

Q. How do I view someone's profile page?

Q. How do I start a conversation with someone?

Q. How do I follow someone?

Q. How do I ignore someone?

A. To view someone's profile, start a conversation, follow or ignore someone, click on their username or avatar and then choose an option.

 

[Gardener1850]

What happen's when you "follow" someone?

What's the purpose of "following" someone???

How do you know who is "following" you?

Can you stop someone from "following" you?

I've asked admin about having someone stop following me and I was told to just accept it and they would not stop it from happening.

When you follow someone you can see when they are logged in (if they allow it, see below) and it makes it easier to find their new posts. Under your profile you will see a list of "people you follow" and you can click on that to find someone quickly. This is helpful if you recall someone started a thread you are looking for or if someone is a frequent thread starter in a section that interests you and you want to see their new threads. Or maybe you always enjoy reading the opinion of someone on a case-- we have verified attorneys and other professionals that post, for example, and I always look forward to reading their legal opinions -- you can find their posts through their profile. Following just makes it faster to find your favorite posters profiles. You can also click on "Your News Feed" under your profile name and see all the actions taken recently by the people you are following. This is sort of like following people on twitter or facebook where you see everything your friends do.

To see who is following you hover over your user name on the top orange bar. A drop down box will appear with the option next to you avatar that says "your profile page". Click on "your profile page". Followers and people you are following are listed in a column on the left.

If you don't want people to know when you are logged in you can edit that in your user privacy settings. If you don't want people to see what page you are viewing you can also change that in privacy setting. If you don't want to interact with someone or you find them annoying you can ignore them and you won't see their posts (unless you choose to). The only exception is that you cannot ignore the mods/admin. You can also turn off private messaging so that only the mods or only "people you follow" can message you. I have "start conversations" unchecked which means only the mods/admin can message me privately. If you choose to only allow a few people to message you then you can choose "people you follow". Following people allows you to control who contacts you. I don't use the "conversations" but my understanding is that someone cannot message you simply because they follow you. You have to follow them back or have
"all members" selected in your privacy settings.

Bottom line is you control who talks to you here. Everything you post is public (and viewable to people who are not even WS members) so what is the big deal if someone is following you? Consider it a compliment that they want to see your posts. JMO.