Forum User Guide

 Introduction

Want to join the thousands of users making use of our forums? This guide will help you! From getting registered, to using formatting tags, to some handy forum tips -- this guide is the user guide for the new Tip.It forum users.

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 The Registration Process

Registering is very easy. It takes at most a minute. When you first visit our forums, you'll see the Register button. Click on it and confirm if you are thirteen or older or under thirteen. Users under the age of thirteen must get written parental consent before having a forum account activated.

You will then be brought to a page with the Tip.It terms and conditions and forum rules. After agreeing to the terms, you will be presented with your profile. The only fields you need to fill out are: Username, Email Address, Confirm Email Address, Password, Confirm Password, and Confirmation Code. The rest can be changed later so do not worry about filling them out now. Once you've completed the required information, you will be sent an activation email (so it is key you have provided an actual email). From this email, you can activate your account and then participate on our forums.

How much easier can it get?

If you do not receive the activation email, you can request that your account be activated by submitting a Tip.It Account Problem Report, or requesting a new email from the login screen. It is also wise to check your junk mail settings to be sure your activation email wasn't classified as junk!

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 The Tip.It Staff

Tip.It has a large number of volunteers who work on keeping the site and forums in top condition. The staff has three groups: Administrators, Moderators, and Crew Members. Staff Members who are currently online are represented with custom colours in the "Who's Online" section at the bottom of the main Forum Index.

Administrators manage the website, forums and staff. Normal Administrator duties include user discipline, implementing forum suggestions, updating the users with the latest Tip.It news, dealing with account problem reports, ban appeals, and many other duties. Administrators are often busy but users are welcome to send private messages regarding suggestions, complaints, or comments regarding the forums, staff, or website.

Moderators browse the forums and help keep them clean and friendly. Their main job is to deal with threads that break the rules. They have the ability to lock/unlock, delete, split, merge, and move posts. You should contact a Moderator if you see a user or post that is breaking the rules.

If you find a forum thread that appears to be in violation of the rules, please use the report post function. The report button is found on each posting, marked by a "!". This function will display your report for Moderators. If a thread needs immediate attention, send a private message to an online Moderator. If no Moderators are currently available, an Administrator may be contacted.

Crew Members work on the Tip.It website. Their job is to update the site with the latest RuneScape information and to deal with the suggestions, complaints, and comments sent to them by the Tip.It users. If you find missing information on the website, you can post an item on the appropriate topic on the Website Updates & Corrections forum or send a PM to a crew member.

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 The Forum Rules

The Tip.It forum is backed by a set of rules that are located here. Most rules are straightforward. In addition to supporting the official RuneScape rules, we are a family-friendly forum. Many of our rules relate to keeping a family-friendly environment for all ages. For the best Tip.It experience, it is important that you read the forum rules before joining the community. If you have a question regarding a particular rule, do not hesitate to private message a Moderator or Administrator.

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 Account Problems, Scam Emails, and Ban Appeals

Account not activated? Banned? Receive a new scam email? There is one form that you can use to report all of these things. It is called the Tip.It Account Problem Report form. If your account is inactive for any reason, or you have lost your password, do not hesitate to send in an account problem form. An Administrator will deal with your problem and send a response as soon as possible. Please be as specific as you can when reporting a problem -- the more information the better.

If you have received a RuneScape scam email, feel free to send it in through the form. We post up all the latest RuneScape scam emails for our users to see on the forum. By sending in the emails you receive, you help keep Tip.It and its users safe.

If your forum or IRC account has been banned, you can send in an appeal on the same form. Forum bans of two week or less are not to be appealed as the ban will be lifted before the appeal is fully processed. Again, providing an actual email address will ensure you get a response. The normal turnout time for appeals is less than a week, but it may take as long as thirty days, depending on the current situation.

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 Important Forum Tips

Getting Yourself Heard
A very important aspect of being a member of a discussion forum is getting yourself heard. On the Tip.It forums, people have a visible "post count" -- the total number of posts the user has made. However, an important rule of thumb is, "Quality over quantity". Wording posts with proper grammar and spelling and good input is much better than posting a lot of little replies that have nothing to do with anything. Making your replies legible is a key factor in being heard and respected.

When you create a new thread, you have to input a topic title. Many experienced forum users do not open all the forum threads they see, and comment on the ones that are suitable -- they look at the forum topic titles. A major factor in getting responses and valuable input is having a proper topic title.

Proper topic titles:

  • "A look into the basics of training magic"
  • "Need help with the Legends Quest (golden bowl part)"
  • "What do you think of the latest RuneScape update?"

Improper topic titles:

  • "help now LOOK HERE"
  • "what the heck?????????????????"
  • "errrrr.."

Searching
We have a search tool on the forums that is very effective. If you have a question regarding a certain quest, there may be a thread that will answer your question -- simply search! Some handy tips are adjusting the search so it is more focused. If you're looking for a RuneScape answer, you may try searching the "Help & Advice" forum. Using less words (but words that are more specific, such as "legends" or "dungeon" will provide more results, which are sometimes more accurate. Searching takes some practice but it is an invaluable tool when using a discussion forum as large as Tip.It.

The Forums and Their Purpose
We have a large number of forums with unique titles and descriptions. Be sure to read both to gain an understanding of the forum's purpose. Some forums to take a look at first:

Plus a wide variety of other forums.

Stickies and Announcements
Posts that are important are often categorized as "Announcement" or "Sticky" and are located at the top of each respective forum. These posts contain individual forum guidelines, informational guides or topics users can post to that don't require an individual discussion thread.

BBCode -- Adding bold, colours, and other text formats to your posts

You can use BBCode to add text formatting to provide emphasis or organization to your posts. While posting in bold or colours all the time isn't recommended, BBCode is often very useful to stress key ideas or organize them in a better way.

Click here for a full list of BBCode available

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 Frequently Asked Questions

How do I become Tip.It Staff?
Tip.It Crew members and Moderators are not generally chosen based on applications. Any applications sent in to the staff will not be taken into consideration. There is NOT a set of guidelines about how to become a Crew member or a Moderator. Mature, active members of the community are chosen but despite any advice that is given, no guarantees can be made. The most important thing is to be yourself - if you are what we are looking for, you may just get asked to join the Tip.It Staff!

Can I use your forum rules or stickies on my forum?
To put it simply, no. The guides on our forum were written specifically for Tip.It's use. If you'd like to use a user-created guide on your website, you have to get written consent from the author. Plagiarism is not tolerated on our forums.

How do I post pictures on the forum?
This guide explains it all.

How do I see only the topics I've posted to?
You can get a list of the topics you've created or those you've posted to by going to the Tip.It Forums main page, then clicking on the >View your posts link on the upper right portion of the index.

Am I allowed to advertise my website on your forum?
You may advertise your community/website on the Advertise your thing here thread or within your signature. All other advertising threads will be locked. Please remember referral links are not permitted on these forums.

RuneScape won't load. Help!
Post as much information as you can on the Tech and Computers forum. Include your computer specifications as well. The more information the better.

I've registered but I don't like my username anymore. How do I change it?
You can change your forum display name under "My Settings." However this will only change how your name is displayed to the public; your login name will remain the same. If you want to change your login name, simply register a new account with the new name. Although it is technically possible for an Administrator to change your name, we do not offer this option as the volume of requests would be too great.

There is a lot to discover on the Tip.It forums, and a lot to learn. But it is worth it in the end. Feel free to stop by any time and meet some new friends, learn new things, and participate in the forum of the most popular RuneScape fansite ever.

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 Credits

Original Guide by: Tip.It Staff

Last updated by: Baffler

Last updated on: 24-Aug-2012


RuneScape 2007
Find this page on the Internet Archive with a date as close to Aug 10, 2007 as possible.

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