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The basic rule around these boards is to have fun, and enjoy talking about the YW books with fellow fans.
However: Rule 0): NO POSTING FICTION!!!
We honestly mean this. Not on the board, not in chat, not anywhere. It was in the Terms of Service agreement when you signed on, and remember the Lone One's power comes from the broken word. Posting your fiction can jeopardize the existence of this board. DD CANNOT read any posted fiction on this board [it could put her in a sticky legal situation], and she likes to read this board; she pays for this board; therefore, no fiction on this board. Please keep writing, though. Just don't post it here.
Another alternative is to find another board, such as fanfiction.net, or to put your piece up on a personal website or blog and post a link, labelling it as fanfic so that DD can safely skip over it.
Ok, back to the regular FAQ:
All of the board rules listed below have one main thing in mind: Diane Duane herself pays for the upkeep of this board, so anything you can do to help keep this board fast and content/discussion-rich is appreciated.
The most common space-wasting mistakes are:
1) oversized avatars.
Make sure that before you put a picture up, that you've read the avatar guidelines. Keep the size to 100x100 pixels or smaller. Please pay special attention to copyright issues. We don't want to get DD sued. If you don't have permission from the guys who made the image, don't use the file. If you don't have hosting space for the image you want to use, contact Lee, and she'll resize and host it for you on youngwizards.net.
See the next posting for instructions on how to create an avatar.
2) sigs
Please keep your sigs down to three lines or less (this includes empty lines and separators). Again, keep the bandwidth down by making sigs text-only, please. Remember, even if it's only three lines long, if you post two hundred articles, that's 600 lines of text you've added to the board, probably 597 of which were never read. Also, for legibility, you may want to use the first line of your sig to create a separator between the sig and your post; change the sig's color; or reduce the sig's text size.
See below for instructions on how to create a signature.
3) one-liners, me-toos, etc.
Make sure your posts have substance to them. Posting one-liners to push up your post count is strictly forbidden, and may cause the admins to zero out your count. The basic rule of thumb is that your post should never be shorter than your sig.
Remember a board is a conversation. Contribute. Substance (actual information or opinion), relevance (staying on topic is appreciated), and style are all things that get you noticed and remembered around here. Try to make sure that your posts can be read by anyone interested in YW. If you're going to have personal one-on-one conversations, reserve them for the chat area, private topics, or e-mail.
General netiquette applies: please delete accidental double-posts, refrain from screaming in ALL CAPS, proper grammar and spelling do count, remember you're talking with people not a computer, etc. Ultimately, how everybody will perceive who you are on this board is determined solely by how well you string words together. Try to do a good job.
Also, remember that your parents/friends probably know how to use Google and can find this board. A good rule of thumb is: don't post anything you'd rather your mother didn't read.
Naturally, all the usual board rules apply. No abusive or threatening behavior, stalking, illegal activity, etc.--you know the drill. Don't let us catch you doing this. We know your IP and we're not afraid to ban/report it.
4) not using pre-existing threads
Before you start a new thread topic, check and make sure that it doesn't already exist--duplication is a waste of space and time. Use the Find button in the toolbar to see if what you want to talk about has been discussed. And try to make any new topic broad enough to be an ongoing discussion. Instead of starting a "trees with brown leaves and squirrels running up their North sides" topic, try just starting a "trees" or "plants" thread. Give your fellow board members a little elbow room for discussion.
5) not trimming quotes
Yes, when you quote another post by default the entire post is quoted. But that doesn't mean you have to leave it that way. If you're only responding to one bit from another post, please edit it down to only what's needed. If you want to refer to the whole post, consider linking (the
icon links directly to a post). The basic rule is that what you quote should not be more than what you write. Quoting an entire post, just to add a one-line comment at the end is worse than a one-liner post, because you wasted more bandwidth for just as little content.
This also goes for posts and threads that are made entirely of quotes that have nothing to do with YW. This board is here to host YW discussions. If it's not YW-related, it should at least be a discussion. Really, we'd rather read what you have to write. Consider creating a webpage for a larger piece you want to show folks, and then posting a link to the page (e.g., PM's chat transcripts).
6) double-posting
Each post has overhead data associated with it: who posted it, when, which thread it's in, etc. This information takes up additional space. If you create two posts a few minutes apart in the same thread, chances are, you could have simply used the edit button to add to the first post, and saved a little space. (See also karma-pushing.)
Who is this Lee person?
Lee Enfield-Burke is the Board Admin who does the day-to-day overseeing of our craziness. She's also had a character named after her in a DD novel, Stealing the Elf-King's Roses, and another (Lia Burke) in DD's Star Trek novels.
Who are the administrators on this board?
Currently we have four: Diane Duane herself, Lee Enfield-Burke, Kathy Li (kli6), and Garrett Fitzgerald. You can contact any of the admins through private topics if you'd rather not air a grievance in public.
How do I edit or delete a post?
When you're logged into the board, only the messages you've posted will have an additional pencil-eraser-over-a-folder icon:
Clicking on this will let you edit or delete the posting.
How do I edit the title of a thread?
You can only do this if you started the thread. Just edit the initial message, and you'll be able to edit the thread title, too.
How do I ______ on this board?
Take a look at the general Eve/UBB.x help for directions on how to navigate, post, type in smileys, add photo albums, etc.
What are all these acronyms?
DD = Diane Duane
YW = Young Wizards
SYWTBAW = So You Want to Be A Wizard
DW = Deep Wizardry
HW = High Wizardry
WA = Wizard Abroad
WD = Wizard's Dilemma
AWA = A Wizard Alone
WH = Wizard's Holiday
WAW, W@W = Wizards at War
WoM = Wizard of Mars
ToGR = Topic of Great Randomness
TBM = The Big Meow
OOA = Out of Ambit, DD's blog.
Also, some folk around here are SMS-fluent, so some of those acronyms appear on the boards and chats.
The Chat Area (aka Chime)
The Chime chat area is available to all board members for casual small-group conversation when an admin has time to open the room and be there to moderate all discussion. There is a censor in place (see below). Please remember basic Internet Safety and that while a large number of our members are minors, a fair number aren't, and that geographically we are spread around the globe and in different time zones. Again, basic courtesy and conversation rules apply--if you only want to talk to one other person, learn how to set up a private chat in another room, or use e-mail or private topics. Please remember that the signal-to-noise rules also apply in Chat! No empty line returns or lack of content. And no fanfic! You may also want to refer to PM's excellent Chat FAQ.
Official Chats
DD herself participates in a (usually) hour-long chat (usually) once a month at 8pm GMT (noon Pacific, 3pm Eastern [daylight savings can shift this]). Her business/writing schedule varies, so watch for Lee's posts on the YW News and Events blog to find out when the next chat with DD will occur.
The Shoutbox (aka Chatbox or Chatterbox)
The shoutbox on the front page is for letting folks know if you're in the chat or not, and quick hellos and comments. It is not for extended conversations. For that, use the chat area, or private topics.
The Topic of Great Randomness
Is an exception area to the rule of "try to stay on topic." In the ToGR, anything goes. But it should NOT be followed as a model for how all thread conversations should run.
Be aware, that the Topic of Great Randomness is the ONLY thread allowed in the TOGR area. All other non-YW topic threads belong in Chatter II. (It's called Chatter II, historically, because Chatter I died and had to be reconstructed.)
But if there's a ToGR, why should we ever stay on topic?
Staying on topic in a thread is basic netiquette. It allows you to find what you want to talk about, and gives newbies a chance to jump in on the action. It's frustrating to go to a thread that's labelled as one thing, only to find out it was hijacked and derailed three days ago so that now everybody's talking about something else instead. If you need to wander, there's the ToGR. But otherwise, try to stay on topic, or guide topics into more appropriate threads. (e.g., "Hey, let's take this over to the ___ thread." is always ok).
Ages and Asterisks (or, why was my post ****ed?)
This is an all-ages board, but you may notice that the average age here is pretty young. This said, an emphasis on internet safety, and no-profanity rules are stronger here than on your average board. Be aware that the language-censor on this board has been tuned to Victorian maiden aunt levels, and may cause unexpected hilarity by asterisking out a completely innocent phrase. If it bothers you, you can always ask an admin to tweak the filter.
Why do so many people have multiple names?
It's the nature of cyberspace and the necessity of net-safety that causes many people to use an alias when registering with the board, and then over time, as board members become more trusting, to use "real" or "closer" nicknames, or names from other boards. Don't worry if you're new and can't remember. It's always safe to refer to someone by their login.
If you hate the name you registered with and don't want to be addressed by it, you can always mail or private message an admin and ask it to be changed. However, this should not be done lightly. Names are powerful things and should not be messed with on a whim. That's also why the sockpuppet policy exists.
Sockpuppet Accounts
Having more than one account/login per person is strictly forbidden. It's also a waste of board resources. Please see Lee's post on the matter.
Generic Internet Safety Lecture
C'mon. You knew it was coming.
Please keep internet safety issues in mind. Anonymity can give you some measure of safety. If you choose to post your e-mail/AIM/real name, etc. on the board or in chat, be aware that the information is out there, and you may be traced through it. If you're not sure it's safe to give information out that someone's asking for, you can always politely decline, and state that you prefer being a figure of mystery. If you think you're being stalked, let the admins know.
Sexually Explicit Material
Is right out. This is a forum for kids' books, fer cryin' out loud. No sexually explicit material or language is to be posted or linked to from this board or in chat. Violators will be banned. It's in the terms of service, folks. If you have to talk dirty, find another board. (see DD's post).
Spoilers
If you're going to post a spoiler (i.e., a plot point that might "ruin" something for someone who hasn't read/seen what you're discussing), please either label the topic as a Spoiler topic, or use the color tag to turn the text white. If the text is white, it has to be selected to be read. [Example: only a test. Not an actual spoiler]
Also, with Wizards at War, Lee created a special Spoiler area, which is separate from the main board. Please be sure to post in the appropriate area, as a great many folks may not be able to get hardcovers immediately after release, but are relying on public libraries or paperbacks. (See also: Spoiler Policy on marking threads for spoilers).
[edited to delete Fanlib Wizards on Call info]
[edited to fix link to avatar guidelines]
[edited to fix color links]
However: Rule 0): NO POSTING FICTION!!!
We honestly mean this. Not on the board, not in chat, not anywhere. It was in the Terms of Service agreement when you signed on, and remember the Lone One's power comes from the broken word. Posting your fiction can jeopardize the existence of this board. DD CANNOT read any posted fiction on this board [it could put her in a sticky legal situation], and she likes to read this board; she pays for this board; therefore, no fiction on this board. Please keep writing, though. Just don't post it here.
Another alternative is to find another board, such as fanfiction.net, or to put your piece up on a personal website or blog and post a link, labelling it as fanfic so that DD can safely skip over it.
Ok, back to the regular FAQ:
All of the board rules listed below have one main thing in mind: Diane Duane herself pays for the upkeep of this board, so anything you can do to help keep this board fast and content/discussion-rich is appreciated.
The most common space-wasting mistakes are:
1) oversized avatars.
Make sure that before you put a picture up, that you've read the avatar guidelines. Keep the size to 100x100 pixels or smaller. Please pay special attention to copyright issues. We don't want to get DD sued. If you don't have permission from the guys who made the image, don't use the file. If you don't have hosting space for the image you want to use, contact Lee, and she'll resize and host it for you on youngwizards.net.
See the next posting for instructions on how to create an avatar.
2) sigs
Please keep your sigs down to three lines or less (this includes empty lines and separators). Again, keep the bandwidth down by making sigs text-only, please. Remember, even if it's only three lines long, if you post two hundred articles, that's 600 lines of text you've added to the board, probably 597 of which were never read. Also, for legibility, you may want to use the first line of your sig to create a separator between the sig and your post; change the sig's color; or reduce the sig's text size.
See below for instructions on how to create a signature.
3) one-liners, me-toos, etc.
Make sure your posts have substance to them. Posting one-liners to push up your post count is strictly forbidden, and may cause the admins to zero out your count. The basic rule of thumb is that your post should never be shorter than your sig.
Remember a board is a conversation. Contribute. Substance (actual information or opinion), relevance (staying on topic is appreciated), and style are all things that get you noticed and remembered around here. Try to make sure that your posts can be read by anyone interested in YW. If you're going to have personal one-on-one conversations, reserve them for the chat area, private topics, or e-mail.
General netiquette applies: please delete accidental double-posts, refrain from screaming in ALL CAPS, proper grammar and spelling do count, remember you're talking with people not a computer, etc. Ultimately, how everybody will perceive who you are on this board is determined solely by how well you string words together. Try to do a good job.
Also, remember that your parents/friends probably know how to use Google and can find this board. A good rule of thumb is: don't post anything you'd rather your mother didn't read.
Naturally, all the usual board rules apply. No abusive or threatening behavior, stalking, illegal activity, etc.--you know the drill. Don't let us catch you doing this. We know your IP and we're not afraid to ban/report it.
4) not using pre-existing threads
Before you start a new thread topic, check and make sure that it doesn't already exist--duplication is a waste of space and time. Use the Find button in the toolbar to see if what you want to talk about has been discussed. And try to make any new topic broad enough to be an ongoing discussion. Instead of starting a "trees with brown leaves and squirrels running up their North sides" topic, try just starting a "trees" or "plants" thread. Give your fellow board members a little elbow room for discussion.
5) not trimming quotes
Yes, when you quote another post by default the entire post is quoted. But that doesn't mean you have to leave it that way. If you're only responding to one bit from another post, please edit it down to only what's needed. If you want to refer to the whole post, consider linking (the
icon links directly to a post). The basic rule is that what you quote should not be more than what you write. Quoting an entire post, just to add a one-line comment at the end is worse than a one-liner post, because you wasted more bandwidth for just as little content.This also goes for posts and threads that are made entirely of quotes that have nothing to do with YW. This board is here to host YW discussions. If it's not YW-related, it should at least be a discussion. Really, we'd rather read what you have to write. Consider creating a webpage for a larger piece you want to show folks, and then posting a link to the page (e.g., PM's chat transcripts).
6) double-posting
Each post has overhead data associated with it: who posted it, when, which thread it's in, etc. This information takes up additional space. If you create two posts a few minutes apart in the same thread, chances are, you could have simply used the edit button to add to the first post, and saved a little space. (See also karma-pushing.)
Who is this Lee person?
Lee Enfield-Burke is the Board Admin who does the day-to-day overseeing of our craziness. She's also had a character named after her in a DD novel, Stealing the Elf-King's Roses, and another (Lia Burke) in DD's Star Trek novels.
Who are the administrators on this board?
Currently we have four: Diane Duane herself, Lee Enfield-Burke, Kathy Li (kli6), and Garrett Fitzgerald. You can contact any of the admins through private topics if you'd rather not air a grievance in public.
How do I edit or delete a post?
When you're logged into the board, only the messages you've posted will have an additional pencil-eraser-over-a-folder icon:
Clicking on this will let you edit or delete the posting.How do I edit the title of a thread?
You can only do this if you started the thread. Just edit the initial message, and you'll be able to edit the thread title, too.
How do I ______ on this board?
Take a look at the general Eve/UBB.x help for directions on how to navigate, post, type in smileys, add photo albums, etc.
What are all these acronyms?
DD = Diane Duane
YW = Young Wizards
SYWTBAW = So You Want to Be A Wizard
DW = Deep Wizardry
HW = High Wizardry
WA = Wizard Abroad
WD = Wizard's Dilemma
AWA = A Wizard Alone
WH = Wizard's Holiday
WAW, W@W = Wizards at War
WoM = Wizard of Mars
ToGR = Topic of Great Randomness
TBM = The Big Meow
OOA = Out of Ambit, DD's blog.
Also, some folk around here are SMS-fluent, so some of those acronyms appear on the boards and chats.
The Chat Area (aka Chime)
The Chime chat area is available to all board members for casual small-group conversation when an admin has time to open the room and be there to moderate all discussion. There is a censor in place (see below). Please remember basic Internet Safety and that while a large number of our members are minors, a fair number aren't, and that geographically we are spread around the globe and in different time zones. Again, basic courtesy and conversation rules apply--if you only want to talk to one other person, learn how to set up a private chat in another room, or use e-mail or private topics. Please remember that the signal-to-noise rules also apply in Chat! No empty line returns or lack of content. And no fanfic! You may also want to refer to PM's excellent Chat FAQ.
Official Chats
DD herself participates in a (usually) hour-long chat (usually) once a month at 8pm GMT (noon Pacific, 3pm Eastern [daylight savings can shift this]). Her business/writing schedule varies, so watch for Lee's posts on the YW News and Events blog to find out when the next chat with DD will occur.
The Shoutbox (aka Chatbox or Chatterbox)
The shoutbox on the front page is for letting folks know if you're in the chat or not, and quick hellos and comments. It is not for extended conversations. For that, use the chat area, or private topics.
The Topic of Great Randomness
Is an exception area to the rule of "try to stay on topic." In the ToGR, anything goes. But it should NOT be followed as a model for how all thread conversations should run.
Be aware, that the Topic of Great Randomness is the ONLY thread allowed in the TOGR area. All other non-YW topic threads belong in Chatter II. (It's called Chatter II, historically, because Chatter I died and had to be reconstructed.)
But if there's a ToGR, why should we ever stay on topic?
Staying on topic in a thread is basic netiquette. It allows you to find what you want to talk about, and gives newbies a chance to jump in on the action. It's frustrating to go to a thread that's labelled as one thing, only to find out it was hijacked and derailed three days ago so that now everybody's talking about something else instead. If you need to wander, there's the ToGR. But otherwise, try to stay on topic, or guide topics into more appropriate threads. (e.g., "Hey, let's take this over to the ___ thread." is always ok).
Ages and Asterisks (or, why was my post ****ed?)
This is an all-ages board, but you may notice that the average age here is pretty young. This said, an emphasis on internet safety, and no-profanity rules are stronger here than on your average board. Be aware that the language-censor on this board has been tuned to Victorian maiden aunt levels, and may cause unexpected hilarity by asterisking out a completely innocent phrase. If it bothers you, you can always ask an admin to tweak the filter.
Why do so many people have multiple names?
It's the nature of cyberspace and the necessity of net-safety that causes many people to use an alias when registering with the board, and then over time, as board members become more trusting, to use "real" or "closer" nicknames, or names from other boards. Don't worry if you're new and can't remember. It's always safe to refer to someone by their login.
If you hate the name you registered with and don't want to be addressed by it, you can always mail or private message an admin and ask it to be changed. However, this should not be done lightly. Names are powerful things and should not be messed with on a whim. That's also why the sockpuppet policy exists.
Sockpuppet Accounts
Having more than one account/login per person is strictly forbidden. It's also a waste of board resources. Please see Lee's post on the matter.
Generic Internet Safety Lecture
C'mon. You knew it was coming.
Please keep internet safety issues in mind. Anonymity can give you some measure of safety. If you choose to post your e-mail/AIM/real name, etc. on the board or in chat, be aware that the information is out there, and you may be traced through it. If you're not sure it's safe to give information out that someone's asking for, you can always politely decline, and state that you prefer being a figure of mystery. If you think you're being stalked, let the admins know.
Sexually Explicit Material
Is right out. This is a forum for kids' books, fer cryin' out loud. No sexually explicit material or language is to be posted or linked to from this board or in chat. Violators will be banned. It's in the terms of service, folks. If you have to talk dirty, find another board. (see DD's post).
Spoilers
If you're going to post a spoiler (i.e., a plot point that might "ruin" something for someone who hasn't read/seen what you're discussing), please either label the topic as a Spoiler topic, or use the color tag to turn the text white. If the text is white, it has to be selected to be read. [Example: only a test. Not an actual spoiler]
Also, with Wizards at War, Lee created a special Spoiler area, which is separate from the main board. Please be sure to post in the appropriate area, as a great many folks may not be able to get hardcovers immediately after release, but are relying on public libraries or paperbacks. (See also: Spoiler Policy on marking threads for spoilers).
[edited to delete Fanlib Wizards on Call info]
[edited to fix link to avatar guidelines]
[edited to fix color links]
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