Frequently Asked Questions, got a question? read this before you ask

Here are a few FAQ's I posted because i am tired of my inbox being flooded with these questions.. i should have done this sooner.. but better late than never.. these faq's will be updated periodically..

If you have a question that isn't on the FAQ, then please post it here.

http://z6.invisionfree.com/super_smash_all...hp?showforum=89

Note to staff: Please refer members to the FAQ if and when they ask you about anything that has been covered by it. It will save you the trouble of repeating yourself.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
List of questions covered by this section of the FAQ:

1) When should I pm an admin/moderator?
2) I don't know how/where to upload an avatar/sig, where can i get help?
3) What is hotlinking?
4) Why can't I hotlink from other sites?
5) Why do you always put "(<= click.)" after posting a url?
6) How often can i request to change my name?
7) Why are some names one color, while others are a different color?
8) How many different groups are there? What do they mean? How many posts do I need to become a full member?
9) Is it true that Black Angel and BlackDevilX are really brother and sister?
10) Can I be an admin?
11) How do i become an admin/gmod? How are they selected?
12) Where on HC can I advertise my forum or website?
13) Why can't I advertise my site here? Where can I advertise? Where can I request affiliation?
14) What does "BDX", "BA", and "VZ" stand for?
15) How do i get a custom member title?
16) Why does omegacloud, and thefishofdoom have a member title?
17) I'd like a gmail account, where can i request one?
18) Where can i get information on all of bdx's series?
19) Where can i go to report someone who has been ripping sprites or other content?
20) Where can i report a website that has been hosting bdx's flash without permission?
21) Why must i be at least 13 to be here?
22) What is double posting?
23) How do i edit my posts?
24) How do i report an abusive post?
25) Why was the movie archive locked?
26) How do i get access to the movie archive?
27) How are Elite Members chosen?
28) Why does my signature have a scrollbar?
29) What size should our signatures be?
30) Why can't i view member's profiles, and/or the member's list?
31) Where can i go to resolve conflicts with other members?
32) Can I use any languages other than english in my posts?
33) How can i get more colors for my posts?
34) Are we allowed to discuss emulators and roms?
35) Help! I forgot my username and/or password! What do I do?
36) Why can't I edit my profile?
37) How do I post?
38) What happened to the cbox?
39) How do I post a video?
40) Where do you get your skins? Can you give me the css?
41) Can I copy your Board Descriptions? Ranks? and/or Rules?
42) Someone spammed your link on my website or forum.. What can/should I do?
43) How do I make post a contest entry?
44) I haven't been here since 2004 or 2005.. and I am confused by the changes made since I've last been here. I don't remember signing up to a forum called "HellBlaze Cafe" What is going on?
45) Why do you use an automated response whenever a new member introduces themselves?
46) How do I subcscribe/unsubscribe to a topic?
47) Are the Sex and Relationships topics here in violation of the TOS Agreement? Are they explicit, or inappropriate for 13 year olds?
48) I have a question that is not on the FAQ, where can I ask it?

See the 3rd post in this topic for additional questions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

1) When should I pm an admin/moderator?

A. If, and ONLY If, you are having a problem with another member, or you want to report an abusive post..

To request a username change, or ask a question not covered by his FAQ, then please post here. (<= click.)

Pms about anything other than that will result in a warning and/or the loss of your pm privilages.

2) I don't know how/where to upload an avatar/sig, where can i get help?

A. Answer.

3) What is hotlinking?

Hotlinking is directly linking to an image, video, or other file, found on someone else's web server. For example, if you saw an image that you like and you put the image on your weblog using the image URL source of that other person's site, then you are hotlinking. And, unless the owner of that site permits this, then you are stealing bandwidth, which is unacceptable.

4) Why can't I hotlink from other sites?

A. Hotlinking is a direct violation of the Invisionfree Terms of Service. Hotlinking is not allowed because it is basically stealing bandwidth, which the webmaster has to pay for, and it can get us shutdown, especially if the webmaster of the site you hotlinked from files a complaint with the Invisionfree Abuse Dept. It can also get us shut down if they decide to replace the image with an image that is obscene, or pornographic in nature. So to further protect us from such an occurence, hotlinking is not allowed. It doesn't matter if the site you hotlinked from belongs to your mother, your cousin, brother, lover etc.. Don't do it.

Read this (<= click.) if you are still confused about hotlinking.

You can also click here (<= click.) to upload an image to imageshack, or click here (<= click.) to see a list of image hosts that allow hotlinking.

5) Why do you always put "(<= click.)" after posting a url?

A. Some people may not realize that a link was posted.. and assume that is just underlined text.

6) How often can i request to change my name?

A. Answer.

7) Why are some names one color, while others are a different color?

A. The colors represent the group that that member is in.

8) How many different groups are there? What do they mean? How many posts do I need to become a full member?

A. Answer. (<= click.)

9) Is it true that Black Angel and BlackDevilX are really brother and sister?

A. Yes. We have a 6 year, 7 month, and 2 day age difference between us.

10) Can I be an admin?

A. We are currently fully-staffed right now, but if in the future we need more, we will contact those we feel are best for the position.

11) How do i become an admin/gmod? How are they selected?

A. we select people whom have been with us for quite sometime, and have contributed to the forum, as well as obeying the rules.. have never gotten warned or suspended, and we also have to be able to trust them. some members here think that you become a mod or admin if you have over a certain number of posts.. but that is not what we go by. when we choose our staff, we make sure that there is a valid and substantial reason behind it.

The admins have to agree unanimously on the selected candidates, and then bdx and i discuss it further. It is quite an extensive process really, but now we may not hire new staff, because we are fully staffed. we have 5 admins, and bdx has made it clear that that is all the staff we'll need for a while.

12) Where on HC can I advertise my forum or website?

A. Only in your signature and profile. But do not, by any means, make topics asking for affiliation, advertising your site or telling people to click your sig.. trust that if people want to click your sig, then they will do so on their own. You can also post your link on our new site HellBlaze Adz.

13) Why can't I advertise my site here? Where can I advertise? Where can I request affiliation?

A. Answer.

14) What does "BDX", "BA", and "VZ" stand for?

A. BDX stands for BlackDevilX, BA stands for Black Angel, and VZ stands for VirusZero.

15) How do i get a custom member title?

A. Custom member titles are usually given out if someone wins a contest, has been warned, or gets their user name changed.

16) Why does omegacloud, and thefishofdoom have a member title?

A. The only reason omegacloud has a member title is because he asked bdx, and bdx forgot that we only give them out on certain occasions. The only reason fish has a member title is because those are his post stats.. he recently broke 3,000 posts.. that is one hell of an accomplishment.

Be warned, that if you ask any other admin to give you a title in an attempt to undermine other admins, you will be suspended.. bdx, and vz, will refer you to the faq if and when you decide to ask them about this.. if you ask again you will be warned.

Read this for more info. http://z6.invisionfree.com/super_smash_all...?showtopic=1320

17) I'd like a gmail account, where can i request one?

A. Answer.

18) Where can i get information on all of bdx's series?

A. Answer.

19) Where can i go to report someone who has been ripping sprites or other content?

A. Answer.

20) Where can i report a website that has been hosting bdx's flash without permission?

A. Answer.

21) Why must i be at least 13 to be here?

A. Answer.

22) What is double posting?

A. Double posting is posting more than once, back to back.

23) How do i edit my posts?

A. Answer.

24) How do i report an abusive post?

A. Normally, you would use the 'report post to a moderator' function, but it has been permanently disabled. Read this (<=click.) for more info..

25) Why was the movie archive locked?

A. The Archive was locked because bdx got tired of people who sign up just to watch his movies and lurk in that forum for a long time only to leave and do the same the following day. While yes, this forum is for fans of his series to get together, it is also a community too.. and so, access to the movie archive is reserved for those whom are truly invested in the community as a whole.

26) How do i get access to the movie archive?

A. If you want access to the archive, then you must be active in areas of the board other than HellBlaze Animations and show bdx that you actually care about more than just his movies.. I am, by no means, saying that you should spam every single topic, in every forum here, but you should be more active in areas other than those having to do with bdx's series.. you just might have fun here. There are members here who are active, but don't have access to the movie archive, simply because they only started being active after bdx restricted access to his movies. So, you are basically going to have to show bdx that you are here for more than his movies..

27) How are Elite Members chosen?

A.

28) Why does my signature have a scrollbar?

A. If your signature is wider than 550 px, and longer than 200 px, then that means that your signature is too big, and will cause a scrollbar to be shown.

29) What size should our signatures be?

A. Your signatures should be no wider than 550 px, and no longer than 200 px. The reason we have put a limit on signature size is to show consideration for those who are not on broadband.. There is no reason is should take more than 30 seconds to load a page.. and there is no reason for you to have wallpaper sized images for your signatures. Members here have been seen with images that were larger than 640 x 480 px. <= that is the same size as a wallpaper, at the smallest possible screen resolution.

30) Why can't i view member's profiles, and/or the member's list?

A. To protect the privacy of others, only staff can view member's profiles.. in the past, we've had people who have been spammed, even though that this had been the only place they've shown their email addresses, as well as members pulling im pranks on one another.. as seen here (<= click.) and so, because these people are too immature and cannot be trusted to respect the privacy of other members, and have abused this ability, this feature has been permanently disabled. If you want to email someone from the board, all you have to do is click the "email" button while reading a topic.. if you want to get someone's aim, yim, or msn info, then you can ask them via email, or pm.

31) Where can i go to resolve conflicts with other members?

A. Answer.

32) Can I use any languages other than english in my posts?

A. No, the TOS of Invision Free clearly states the board must be in english, so too must all the posts be in english. Because the IF staff does check up on boards occasionally to see the TOS is enforced, they have to be able to read and understand.

33) How can i get more colors for my posts?

A. Answer.

34) Are we allowed to discuss emulators and roms?

A. Answer.

35) Help! I forgot my username and/or password! What do I do?

A. Answer.

36) Why can't I edit my profile?

A. The reason is because you are not yet a full fledged member or you have broken the rules and been reduced so that you cannot have one. (the primary reason you can't add one will be because you are not a full fledged member as of yet, just continue posting and you'll be automatically upgraded. However if you do fall into the second category you will be or have been alerted as to why you fall into that category.)

37) How do I post?

A. Answer.

38) What happened to the cbox?

A. Answer.

39) How do I post a video?

A. Answer.

40) Where do you get your skins? Can you give me the css?

A. Currently, all skins & images (unless stated otherwise) are made by me, and BlackDevilX. They are for the exclusive use of this forum. Any other forums found using our skins, or images, will be reported to the abuse handler of that forums host.

41) Can I copy your Board Descriptions? Ranks? and/or Rules?

A. Answer.

42) Someone spammed your link on my website or forum.. What can/should I do?

A. Answer.

43) How do I make post a contest entry?

A. Answer.

44) I haven't been here since 2004 or 2005.. and I am confused by the changes made since I've last been here. I don't remember signing up to a forum called "HellBlaze Cafe" What is going on?

A. Answer.

45) Why do you use an automated response whenever a new member introduces themselves?

A. Answer.

46) How do I subcscribe/unsubscribe to a topic?

A. You can subscribe to the thread by clicking on the icon next to the word "Pages." This way you'll get an email everytime someone replies, and you can end your subscription at anytime via your User CP.

47) Are the Sex and Relationships topics here in violation of the TOS Agreement? Are they explicit, or inappropriate for 13 year olds?

A. Answer.

48) I have a question that is not on the FAQ, where can I ask it?

A. Answer.

This is to keep track of the changes made to the FAQ..

6/11/06 - added questions 27 & 28

6/13/06 - added question 29

6/15/06 - added question 30

6/19/06 - added question 31 (VirusZero)

6/28/06 - added question 3, and renumbered the entire list.

7/2/06 - added question 33

7/3/06 - added question 34

7/4/06 - added question 35

7/11/06 - added questions 36 and 37 (VirusZero)

7/18/06 - added question 38

7/25/06 - added question 39

7/28/06 - added question 40

7/29/06 - added question 41

7/30/06 - answer to question number 4 extended.

8/20/06 - added question 42

9/17/06 - added question 43

10/6/06 - added question 44

10/17/06 - added question 45

12/31/06 - added question 46

8/26/07- added questions 47 and 48, and renumbered the list.

8/14/08- replaced all the broken h-c.sytes links with proper invisionfree links. (more or less guaranteed to work... Atleast no chance of the link being acquired by someone else. - VirusZero)

This post has been edited by VirusZero on Aug 15 2008, 06:48 PM

FAQ section 2 (More questions)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The question list.

Q1- Why are there alot of guests on the forums?
Q2- Whats with the people who don't post?
Q3- Why can't I bump my topic?
Q4- You guys say you don't care about grammar and spelling, so is it ok if I talk like: "OmG guYs i rly leik wat uve dun 2 dis plaec" ?
Q5- I share a computer with someone else, is this ok?
Q6- Can I have multiple large images in my signature?
Q7- Why don't I get post increases for posting in the RP section?
Q8- When is the next episode of <Series name> coming out?
Q9- Hey, I was once <staff position> here on Hellblaze, but now I'm not, why is that?
Q10- <Name> has been punished, why is this? and I think it's unfair, can I appeal it?
Q11- OH NO, I've been resticted from <content>, why is this? And what can I do?
Q12- What constitutes advertising?
Q13- Video in my sig?
Q14- I have a great suggestion for <Series>, want to use it?
Q15- I want help making a series... Can you help me?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q1- Why are there alot of guests on the forums?
A1- Possibly because search engines constantly scour the forum, and people who aren't registered come to visit and either register or leave, nothing to worry about, Guests can only post in 1 section and if they get out of hand they they get IP banned from the forum.

Q2- Whats with the people who don't post?
A2- For whatever reason people join, then never become active, maybe they just never get involved, or they forget they registered here, and as such they just don't come back, but if they haven't made a post 3 months after they joined we delete them (hey, 3 months is 90 days, and thats 3 times as long as most software developers allow you to use their products for free.)

Q3- Why can't I bump my topic?
A3- Because it's annoying people, (And aside from that, it's against the rules.) and will post in the topics they feel like, so if your patient you'll get an answer. However if you do not get an answer within a few days, you can always PM one of the members. (Just don't rudely or arrogantly demand things.)

Q4- You guys say you don't care about grammar and spelling, so is it ok if I talk like: "OmG guYs i rly leik wat uve dun 2 dis plaec" ?
A4- While we won't be hardasses about grammar and spelling, but please at least make an honest effort in trying to post readable messages, and not talk like you are in a chat room or on msn/aim/yahoo etc... It just makes it more difficult for everyone, especially if they have to stop, and decode every message, or interpret what you mean, which can be a major problem and result in alot of misunderstandings...

Q5- I share a computer with someone else, is this ok?
A5- Well... we don't recommend it, mainly because we've been burned too many times by users claiming that their friend/brother/twin is using it to break the rules, not them... but we don't specifically disallow it... HOWEVER if you do share a computer with soemone else we insist that you:
1- Log out after every visit and DON'T keep the password stored on the computer
2- keep your password secret AND private (preferably not something that is easily guessable)
3- realise that if trouble occurs with a user who shares a computer with another user and we end up having to ban the trouble maker then realise that it will probably be both of you banned.

Q6- Can I have multiple large images in my signature?
A6- NO, because it displaces all the images below your signature, and causes a strange flashing phenomena, and alters the way the forum looks and works by restricting access to the add reply now button, it also could trigger an epilectic seizure in a person with that sensitivity (due to all the flashing). Because of this, we ENFORCE that all sigs must be within the limit of 550 pixels wide by 200 pixels tall.

Q7- Why don't I get post increases for posting in the RP section?
A7- Posts don't increase in the rp section because for a while people were using it as a place where they could go to post and open up the rest of the board to them, but they never posted anywhere else (not contributing to the community in any other section). So to prevent this from happening, we disabled posts in that area so people who were only interested in our content couldn't use the rp section to get it. (The the rp section isn't the only section of our board, and we encourage all members to post all over the board, )

Q8- When is the next episode of <Series name> coming out?
A8- Short answer- It'll be out when the Author finishes it and decides to post it, not before, so until then you can wait patiently.

Long answer- Flash artists can't produce quality flash in a few hours and it's unreasonable to expect them to only make flash for your entertainment, they have lives and they have other stuff which they have got do. So use some common-sense and realise they have alot of people all wondering the same question, and they get asked it alot, and they get tired of telling people the answer. So don't bother asking them when it'll be done, it only pisses them off and doesn't help them finish it, cause think about it, if they have to stop every few minutes to tell someone when their series is gonna be done it's gonna take alot longer to finish. Besides when the episode is posted the author will make us all well aware.

Q9- Hey, I was once <staff position> here on Hellblaze, but now I'm not, why is that?
A9- That would most likely be due to either
- An unexplained disappearance (for an extended period of several months or so)
- Repeated disappearances (like appear once a month, not post then only to disappear again)

So why we demoted you is because your inactive, we understand that at times it's hard to sign on at times and life can get pretty busy (we don't mind that, we understand life comes first.) BUT (yes there is a caveat) it wouldn't be so hard to drop one of the admins or mods a note saying "Sorry guys gonna be busy for a while, so not gonna be on." We'd be much more understanding than you simply disappearing. And if you come back and are active again, we have no problem restoring you to your former status.

Q10- <Name> has been punished, why is this? and I think it's unfair, can I appeal it?
A10- They were punished because they broke the rules, it's up to them to read the rules to see what is allowed and what isn't. They were probably warned beforehand or recieved an email about why they were punished.
As far as appealing a decision, no, this isn't a court, and allowing everyone to appeal would only cause more headaches and completely undermine the rules that have been established.
If a member decides to appeal a punishment or petition for a punishment to be reduced/removed, they will find themselves warned. It says right in the rules
"Admin decision is final" And it is for the reason given above.


Q11- OH NO, I've been resticted from <content>, why is this? And what can I do?
A11- First off check This, it'll tell you a basic idea.

But the major reason you would have been restricted is: you abused that section. In some form or another you crossed the line (You may have been warned previously not to do that, or otherwise told not to, but you did it anyway. Or you may not have been told explicity, it may have just been in the rules.) and were deemed that you should no longer be able to access it.

So now that your restricted, what can you do? well here's what NOT to do:
- Repeatedly pm/email admins asking why it happened
- Repeatedly pm/email admins asking for it to be undone (Doing this just makes us angry, and doesn't make us want to consider undoing it, rather we consider extending it.)
- Make topics griping about it. (We don't like it, other people don't like it, your not going to make anyone want to support your cause that way.)
- Don't try to suck up to an admin (it won't work anyway, and it just ticks us off.)
- Repeatedly pm/email other members asking them to support/petition for you. (They may get annoyed, and if they do petition for you, then they could get punished as well. See question 10, right above this one, and the forum rules.)

The best thing to do is to take alook at the section you were restricted from and think why you were restricted from it. Then you change the attitude/actions that caused to to be restricted and show us that you can be trusted to be allowed back into that section. HOWEVER, if you do this just to get back into that section again... And once there you do the same thing that got you restricted. Don't expect to have the restriction removed again.

Q12- What constitutes advertising?
A12- Any time one says something akin to: "Hey guys, check my site out." or "Visit <url>" or "Join <url>"
Basically any sentence that suggests or requests that the person checks out, joins or otherwise should visit a site, whether yours or not doesn't matter. This doesn't mean you can't post links for discussion, because that is not advertising. So for example if you were talking about web comics, and someone says: "hey, that reminds me of this comic <url to it>" then that's ok, because it's not saying "join this site" merely it's adding to discussion by offering more material for discussion.

Q13- Video in my sig?
A13- Nope, don't think so. Videos are large and consume bandwidth even if they aren't clicked on. (They consume bandwidth as if it was several images, not to mention it can slow pages down by having to load from youtube/site where video is located.) And so it is just the same as if you had 2 larger signiture images. So they slow the page loading down, plus they make signitures much longer. Now if you have multiple posts in a row, each having to load the video, it creates a real draw on bandwidth, because each post is making a request for that video.

Q14- I have a great suggestion for BDX's <Series>, want to use it?
A14- NO. The scripts for all of BDX's flash series have already been written. He doesn't need people to tell him what he should do next or even make suggestions. Really it's annoying and highly inconsiderate to tell the author of the series what to do... So show some consideration.

Q15- I want help making a series... Can you help me?
A15- Yes and no... There are guides on the forum to help you learn in Flash, and if you have a specific question then you can ask it. But neither BDX nor myself (VirusZero) are going to be there to hold your hand during the creation of it. Neither of us really have the time to teach any/every one who asks for assistance.

FAQ Section 2 tracking

11/08/2006- added questions 1, 2 and 3

01/13/2007- added questions 4, 5 and 6

01/18/2007- Added question 7

01/27/2007- Added question 8

06/09/2007- Added question 9

10/16/2007- Added questions 10 & 11

09/05/2008- Added questions 12 & 13

07/30/2009- Added questions 14 & 15