Post by Shain on Jan 16, 2015 7:21:13 GMT
Getting Started
[/ul]Welcome to ArtPlay! In this guide we will outline useful information to help you become familiar with this forum and all of the things you can do.
1. THE RULES
I ask that you first read through the rules thoroughly. Though we have a relaxed atmosphere, there are certain rules in place to help keep the community running smoothly.
2. YOUR PROFILE
You can access your personal profile by clicking "profile" on the top navigation menu.
You will discover the following profile tabs on this page..
1. THE RULES
I ask that you first read through the rules thoroughly. Though we have a relaxed atmosphere, there are certain rules in place to help keep the community running smoothly.
2. YOUR PROFILE
You can access your personal profile by clicking "profile" on the top navigation menu.
You will discover the following profile tabs on this page..
- Summery
Basic overview of your profile. This page will list your email, web site, birthrate, page, post count, etc. We'll discuss soon how to adjust privacy settings. - Activity
This page will list the topics you've responded to and threads you've created. - Following
You can "follow" other forum members. This page will list all the users you follow. - Friends
This page will list your friends. Friends are established by both individuals following each other. - Groups
This page will list the groups/ranks of forum members, such as administrators and moderators. - Notifications
You will sometimes get a notification if a user "likes" your thread posts. - Gift
Proboards has a feature in which you can give each other "badges" that will display on your profile and miniprofile. Some are free, but others cost money. - Awards
These are special badges given to forum members who win a contest held on the forum. Active contests can be found in the Contests & Activities category. - Alters
These are experimental at this point in time. Alters are additional profiles attached in one forum account which are used only within The Fourth Wall RP forum category. They are intended to be used for chatplays. At this point in time we are not able to establish alters for member use. Sorry about that! - Editing Your Profile
While on the "summery" page you can click on the "edit profile" button on the top right of the container. You'll see new tabs appear. In each tab you can edit the above described forum features to your comfort, including privacy settings and your avatar. - Important note about avatars:
You are welcome to upload an avatar within the "profile avatar" page. But you may have noticed some users using a background image in their mini-profiles which is much bigger than an avatar. These are called "mini-Profile Backgrounds" and can be edited under the "personal" tab (at the bottom of the page). You will also be able to change your Mini-profile name color and mini-profile text color here.
The Mini-Profile Backgrounds should be about 170px width and 330 height. If you go over these measurements, it will "crop" the image for you. If you go under these measurements, your image will repeat to fill in the space.
Warning: if you post status updates this will stretch the height of the mini-profile background.
3. INTRODUCING YOURSELF
Once you have your profile all swanky, ad as this is a very social community, I would encourage you to introduce yourself over on the general chat forums! Tell us a little about yourself and your art/RP preferences, and anything else you might like to add! This can be a great way to establish some footing and make initial connections with other artists.
4. PUBLISHING A CHARACTER
Much like introducing yourself, this isn't a step you have to do and is entirely optional. We have a locations on the forums where RPers can establish character pages for ease of reference. This place is called the "Character Hub", and is categorized by intended character genre. If you're ever unsure where your character fits, just put them in the genre you are most likely to use them in.
There is also a character creations tips & guidelines section to this category filled with resources to help develop your characters. There is also a character profile template available to use if you need help building a neat profile.
5. FINDING A ROLE PLAY
The final step—jumping into the action! There are a few different ways to help you find a role play and become involved with other members. If you see an ongoing RP that you particularly like, you can message the topic host and ask if you can join.
You could also post in the character & role play discussion topic. You can discuss various things here, including RP! You can browse existing threads to see if you can find a user with similar interests to you, or you may choose to create a new thread explaining what you are looking to RP.
Thread Banners
You may have noticed that some RPs and other threads have "thread banners", which is an image replacing topic text. This is available for any RP or activity thread. For more information on how to do this, please click here.
6. ACTIVITIES & CONTESTS
There are a number of activity boards present on the contests & activities thread. These can be fun things to do with other artists while you are waiting for RP responses! You can even start your own! And from time-to-time there are contests.
I hope this helps you get started! But if you have any questions, please visit us on the help thread.
This post will be periodically updated to maintain thorough and current information.