Problems Staying Logged In:

To post on this BB (or chat) section, you must first register by providing a unique username and a valid email address. Once you have received your password, you return here and enter your username and password. You can then select the Profiles option at the top of the screen and changed the password provided to one more memorable to you.

Here are a few simple steps to achieve the above. First of all visit: www.queenonline.com At the top of this page select the 'Register' option.

Next choose a username (.i.e QueenRocks, JohnSmith, Mad_And_Bad etc). Then type in a valid email address. (Most people use Hotmail or Yahoo to keep their identity private).

Read the Agreement and either select the I Agree otherwise the I Do Not Agree. Click the Register button.

Your password will be emailed to the email address you provided earlier. The email may take a minute or a day. Be patient.

To log-in, return to queen.artscience.net

At the top of this page you will find a graphic or text that says Login on it. Click on this graphic. On the next page you will be presented with a form where you must enter your username and password to login. Please remember that your username and password is case sensitive, i.e. QUEENROCKS is different to QueenRocks, or queenROCKS etc.

Passwords can be changed once logged-in. Simply replace the original password (it will be a row of ******) on the Profile page and select Update Profile at the bottom of this page.

The icons referred to below have been removed from the old original Queen site (which I have no control over) and a new set are used for the new (since 2003) board.

Users Online:

To see who else is online when you are, simply scroll to the bottom of the index page and this will list the Guests (who can only read posts) and registerd Users who can read and post.

The Star system reflects your status and title. The stars go up incrimentally from a single star to 5 stars, although you don't get your first star until you've made 50 posts.

Administrator
Moderator
Champion Of The World
Killer Queen
Flash
Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy
Invisible Man

Check if you've got a Private Message from anyone else on the BB.
Scroll to the bottom of the index page. This will inform you how many messages you have and if any are unread / new.

Rather than send another poster an email, if they are online (or not), you can send them what is referred to as a PM (Private Message) which can be quicker than regular email, but posters are not guarenteed to read them as regular as normal emails.

To send a PM, select the Private Message option on the left of the users post (below their picture). Put their username, i.e. Ming in the top box. The subject can be left blank.

Type your message in the large box provided. Finally click the Send Message button to send or Preview button to see the formatting (useful if you've used font controls such as color or size).

The Reset Form button clears the text in the large box so you can begin again.

There may come a time when someone sends you PM's that you don't want. There is a solution - block them.

To block another user, find one of your own posts and select the Private Message option from the left of the post).

On the next screen, select the Preference from the top right of the message box.

You'll then be able to add the username of whoever you want to block.

Remember; use the users name (Bad_Guy) rather than their email address (bad_guy@home.come).

You can select one of the default images provided by QOL by ticking the appropriate box in your Profile and making a selection from the list in the dropdown menu. This picture will be displayd will all your posts.

Otherwise, you can tick the box which indicates you have your own picture. This picture must be on the net and you provide a link to it in the form of:

[url]htpp://www.mysite.com/mypic.jpg[/url]

...where mysite is the name of the website where the graphic is located on the net, and mypic.jpg is the name of the picture. You must include the square brackets.

Regardless of the size of the original picture it will be shown at the default size of 65 x 65pixel when displayed on QOL. Ideally the picture should be as small as possible otherwise it will slow down the viewing of all the pages where your image loads.

Please note that your image has to be gif or jpg format - not bmp or tiff etc.

If you don't want to use a found picture on the net, you can use your own picture which you can then edit and reduce 60 65 x 65. You then need to upload it to your website.

NB Many free ISP's don't allow you to link a picture stored on their website to be linked and displayed elsewhere, so don't be suprised if your picture turns into an ISP's logo after an hour / day / etc.

You can have either a text link or a picture link. These links can place a graphic with each of your posts if the link is placed in your Profile (in the Signature box at the bottom). You can also paste a link of a graphic into a single post, or a link to a website in a single post.

To insert a text link in your posts, you would add something like...

[url=http://www.microsoft.com] your text goes here [/url]

This goes in your Profile if you want it to be displayed with all your posts, otherwise paste it into the body of a single post and when the text is clciked will be linked to Microsoft's website (or whatever you change it to).

To insert a picture link in your posts, you would add something like...

[url=http://www.mysite.com][img]http://www.mysite.com/mypic.jpg[/img][/url]

...again in your sig box at the bottom in your Profile or in the body of the reply for a single post. Ideally I'd suggest a cut and paste on the above and then replace bits with your details just so you have the format correct.

It is important to remember to include the [url], [img] and [email] tags before web addresses, graphics and email addresses on the BB otherwise website and email address with not be clickable and graphics will not show.

Go to your Profile and delete the existing password and insert a new password. In the next box, verify the new password by re-entering it. Click the Change Profile at the bottom of the page.

If you loose your password you can select the Forgot Password option when logging in and it will be emailed to the address you originally provided.

If you would like to quote a person's message when replying, click the Reply With Quote option at the top of their post. This will automatically include a copy of the message you are replying to. Most people reply above the quote.

Just hit the Reply option below the post.

If you post something and later notice a mistake that you'd like to modify, select the Modify option at the top of your post and edit.

You can use the Preview option prior to posting to check how your post will look especially if you are using tags to change the font size / colour or adding a picture or link.

If you would like to be notified by email of replies to any or all the topics you're interested in, tick the Notify of Replies option after typing your reply and you will receive an email to the address in your Profile each time a new post is made to that topic.

You can then click the link within the notification that is emailed to you and go direct to the reply without logging in (if you've selected the Always Stay Logged in option on the original Log In page.

Notifications can be turned off via the Notifications option which is found at the top of the screen. Tick the topics you want to deactiveate and select the Clear Notifications option.

Select the Notify of Replies option below any post in the topic and you'll get a notification when someone posts to it. You don't need to have replied to see when others reply.

Sometimes when referring to another post on the BB, you may want to provide a link to it. One way to do this is first to visit the post you want to provide a link to and copy the URL that will be displayed in your browsers address bar. This will be something like:

[url]http://queen.artscience.net/cgi-local/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=General&action=post&num=1030562464&title=Post+reply&start=0[/url]

Cut and paste this into your post, anyone reading can then click the link to read the mentioned post.

Text can be changed by using something called tags. An example of an opening tag is [b], whereas an example of a closing tag is [/b]. This makes everything between the two tags bold. This format is used throughout the QOL BB Chat section. By placing the opening tag at the start of the desired letter, word or sentence and the closing tag at the end.

[u] underline [/u]

[i] italic [/i]

[color=red] colored text [/color]

[size=4] different text sizes [/size]

[url] http://www.hotmail.com [/url]

[email] ming@mongo.net [/email]

[img] http://www.mysite.com/picture.gif [/img] (will display the graphic).

[code] code placed here will be displayed rather than interpreted [/code] [move] moving text or [/move]

It is also possible to combine tags so you can have bold coloured moving text etc.

Other tags can be found by using the Help link at the top of each page within the QOL BB Chat Section.

You can use the Search option to find key words or all the posts from a particular user. The Search option is at the top of the screen. Fill in the boxes as appropriate and click the button.

Select the Email option on the left of the users post and below their picture. Or click their name in their pos and this will display their Profile, which includes a minimum of username and email address, plus whatever else they have decided to make public.

Clciking their email name should start your email client (Outlook Express etc.)

Select the ICQ option on the left of the users post and below their picture. Not everyone uses ICQ so it may not be available for all posters. Or click their name in their post and this will display their Profile, which may include their ICQ name.

Select the WWW option on the left of the users post and below their picture. Not everyone has a website so it may not be available for all posters. Or click their name in their post and this will display their Profile which may include their website address.

Moderators are regular posters who are also able to delete inappropriate (offensive) posts or move them to a more suitable place, i.e. from Back Chat to Another World. Their names are at the top of most screens.

Administrators have the ability to delete posts/threads, view the IP addresses of posters, lock topics (make it so no one can reply), unlock topics (if they were locked), and modify any and all postings on the board (no matter who they are posted by). Admins name(s) are at the top of most screens.

A Guest is someone who is accessing the BB but is not logged into an account. Some boards require you to register before you can even post while others may not. For boards where registration is required, guest accounts will only be able to read but not post messages.

When QOL began (September 2001) Guests could post without being registered, but at the moment (August 2002), you must be registered to post.

If a registered user deletes their account, their Profile is deleted, but their posts are left intact with the word Guest by all their posts so as to keep the continuity of all topics they were involved in.

All registered users have a Profile and they can be access by clicking on the users name throughout the BB. Only you can change your own Profile. Others can only view (some of) it.

The minimum information in a Profile is your username and your email address and password, but that is represented by ******* when you view your profile, and non-at all when you view another's profile.

As well as being able to change your password (in your profile), you can also include additional information that others will see when they click on your name, such as Gender, Age (checking someones Profile on their birthday will display a birthday cake), Location, your website address and the various you ICQ contacts.

You can also affect what people see with each of your posts, which includes adding a picture and other items in your signature (see above for details).

AKA - Also known as
AFK - Away from keyboard
BAK - Back at keyboard
BFN - Bye for now
BIF - Basis in fact
BRB - Be right back
BTW - By the way
CU - See you
CUL - See you later
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
FWIW - For what it's worth
FYA - For your amusement
FYI - For your information
GMTA - Great minds think alike
IAC - In any case
IMO - In my opinion
IMHO - In my humble opinion
IMNSHO - In my not-so-humble opinion
IMAO - In my arrogant opinion
IOW - In other words
LOL - Laughing out loud
LMAO - Laughing My Ass / Arse Off
NBIF - No basis in fact
NRN - No response necessary
OTOH - On the other hand
PMJI - Pardon my jumping in
PC - Politically correct or personal computer
PI or PIC - Politically incorrect or picture
ROFL - Rolling on the floor laughing
TIA - Thanks in advance
TIC - Tongue in cheek
TTFN - Ta-ta for now
TYL Talk to you later
WB Welcome back WTG Way to go YMMV Your mileage may vary

Visit the acronyms website for 21,873 more.

In an attempt to deny users from using words considered unsuitable, certain words are changed after the poster has posted. When you see thingy or girl thingy or pregnant dog, it's very likely the word the poster used has been censored by the administrator - this is automatically performed by the system.

I'll leave it up to your imagination to work out what the original poster meant, but if you really need to know, begin replying to their post with a quote and all will be revealed in the post.

The number changes as new people join and others delete themselves, but you can check by going to the page that list the Forums. At the top right of the table (above Last Post and to the right of Queen Chat) this information (plus total number of topics and posts) is placed, although as it is black text on a black background it isn't obvious.

To view the info, sweep this area with your mouse (left to right) whilst holding down the left mouse button and all will be revealed.

As of 29th August 2002, the details are:

Members: 4248

Posts: 28336

Topics: 1878

Although the number of people who post daily is probably less that 50.

Occasionally the registered users list resets itsef to zero and only increases when new people join, so at times it has appeared there were only 8 users because of the error. Although integrated well, the user lists isn't actually part of the official software and there fore isn't their responsibility. The lists was created by a regular user who uses the name Katgirl and is webmaster of the www.queenfans.com website.

You can also discover more hidden text by highlighting the bottom section of the page which has Yabba 1 Gold Release on.

One way to access a list of registered users is to click the link below. I know of no other way from within the BB.

QOL Member's email list

From the above link, you can view All Users, By Letter, or just the Top 15 Posters. Unfortunately, this list seems to reset itself so that only the current 200+ adresses are listed instead of the actual 5000+ registered members. Also listed are the users websites and ICQ details, so this is also useful for seeing a list of all those too.

Go to your profile and scroll to the bottom of the screen. Select the Delete Account button. This will delete your Profile, but non of your posts. You can no longer Edit or Modify any posts you created. You will have to re-register to begin posting again. You may not be able to use your old name / password when re-registering.

One way you can accidentally delete your account without realising is to go to your Profile, change something and hit return. If the Delete User button at the bottom of the screen has the input, (i.e. has a thick line around it) the account will be deleted.

The default setting on the Profile page is set for the input to be Change Profile, but if the right arrow key is hit at any point this changes the input to the Delete User button (hitting the Return button acts as a click). Ideally there should be a confirmation, but there isn't. Be careful when changing your Profile

The icons

There are small icons up the left side of each Forum. The important folder icons represent the state of the topic and are as follows:

Yellow Folder - Normal Topic
Yellow Folder with flame - Hot Topic
Red Folder with flame - Very Hot Topic
Yellow Folder with lock - Locked Topic

If the description text at the foot of each Forum's wasn't black on a black background, you'd see this. Highlight and swipe the area.

Other icons such as a blue page, a question mark, the thumbs up, or down, , idea lamp and an exclaimation mark etc. are simple indications of how the users decides the post is best described. They are set when the topic is inially created.

Smilies are included to convey the real intent of the mood of a post or users.

The smiley icon can be clicked on when replying to a post which will insert them into the body of the text, or the shortcut can be typed manually, i.e. :-) or ::) etc.

The Logged icon indicates that each users IP address (Internet Protocol) has been logged by the BB server, your connection and activity on the BB can be monitored. I'm not sure what QOL's policy regarding doing anything with the logged IP address is, but they know who you are, even if you use a false emaile (Hotmail etc) unless of course you use a false name with your ISP which is virtually impossible because of the payment method.

IP, is a standard way for computers to communicate. Generally, each computer has its own unique number. When two computers communicate, they use IP addresses to find one another. An IP Address is a set of 4 numbers between 0 and 255, each separated by a period. For example: 192.168.123.101. Even if a computer has a "name" on the network (to make it easier for you to remember), it still uses an IP address to communicate with other machines.

People here refer to Boards, BB's, Forums, Topics, and Threads, but ideally we should restrict our vocabulary to the first four as a thread is the newsgroups equivalent of a topic.

BB / Bulletin Board QOL Chat is a BB rather than a genuine real time chat room.

Board - The board is the overall thing which includes separate forums i.e. Back Chat, Save Me and Another World etc.

Forum - This is an individual section within the Forum, i.e. Night At The Theatre is a forum.

Topic - A topic is the initial post where the subject is Who loves Queen? etc as seen within a Board.

Post - The stuff you type and send to the BB.

First you need to upload you graphic to a website.

You then need to provide a link to your graphic in the signature box which is in your Profile (on QOL).

My current Profile signature is the blue text below:

[url=http://www.oocities.org/quasie_etq/index.html][img]http://members.fortunecity.co.uk/pix/faq_banner7.jpg[/img][/url] [color=red]Updated: 28-01-03. [b]47,000+[/b] hits since Oct 2002.[/color]

The easiest way to implement a graphic (mine is a banner advertising my FAQ) in all your posts is to cut and paste my text above (starting with the "[url" bit and ending with the "[/color]" bit. Then amend my details to suit yours. I.e. change "www.geocities...." to where you graphic is etc.

The banner is clickable and links to my website, but if you just want a graphic that isn't clickable, use the following (and change my details to yours)...

[url]http://www.oocities.org/quasie_etq/index.html[url]

To copy either of the above texts, place your mouse pointer at either end of the bold blue text and while holding down the LEFT mouse button, swipe the text. Once it's all highlighted, place the cursor over the highlighted text and right click the mouse and select the COPY option. Next go to your QOL Profile and PASTE (via a right mouse click) my text into you signature box at the bottom of the screen. Next save your Profile. That's it. Future posts should include a grapchic at the bottom of all posts you make. Ideal for banners.

Lemme know if you're stuck and I can sort it for you or provide more detailed help.