Getting started...

Welcome! if you are reading this then you have successfully followed the directions to find out more on how to be a better member here at topic bay. please take the notes below into mind.
-CONTENTS-
Profiles..............C1
*Avatar.............C1.1
*Groups.............C1.2
*Mini Groups.......C1.3
*User Icons........C1.4
*Awards............C1.5
*Signature.........C1.6
Posting..............C2
Ranks................C3
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-PROFILES, C1-
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Avatar, C1.1
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Your avatar is a picture that represents you. it is the picture that will appear on ever post you make. To upload an avatar, go to the top where you see "Profile" and click on it. then at the top where you see 6 tabs, one of them will say "Avatar", click on it. then you can upload an avatar and show it off in your posts!
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Mini Groups, C1.1
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There are 4 major groups in this forum, Admins, Moderators, VIPs, and Experienced Users. There are certain ways to get into each group. Below i will show a list of each group and the requirements.
Admin - Must have the Moderator rank, and more than 100 posts.
Moderator - must have a good record at the form and at least be a user (10 posts).
VIP - Must be an Experienced User and win a monthly vote.
Experienced User - must have a rank higher than user.
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Mini Groups, C1.2
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If you stay at this forum long enough and make enough friends you guys may decide to make a mini group. mini groups are a lot like a group but they are just a bunch of friends with an icon to represent them together. When you do decide to make a mini group, all you need is an icon and a name that hasent been used!! you dont even need members, a rank, or anything! The key is just to get more and more memebers to join your mini group. your icon can be up to a 32x32 image that is in a .PNG, or GIF format and must be posted on a picture sharing site such as photobucket (you cannot use imageshack (sorry)). then, in your profile, put in the URL of the icon and in the alternate text feild put in your mini group name! Now every time someone hovers their cursor over your icon it will display the name under it.
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User Icons, C1.3
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A user icon is basically a smaller avatar. Use the same steps in the mini group icon posting as you do here except, your image cna be up to 64x64 instead of 32x32.
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Awards, C1.5
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Awards are given to users who comeplete things in the forum. for instance, lets say you become an Experienced User, you would be givin the Experienced User award. but how do you get the composer and gfx artist awards you ask? well you get them for showing off your work in the arts sections and in other places in the forum. please do not ask for these awards or your chances of earning them will drop.
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Signatures, C1.6
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Your signature is just a little something you may support or just want to say. but please no ads here.
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-Posting, C2-
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just read the rules and conduct and you should be fine in this section!!
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-Ranks, C3-
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Ranks are SOO MUCH FUN!! to get ranks you must post and stay here for a while. the more you post the more chances your rank will go up. there are 5 ranks: Newbie, User, Leader, Elite User, And Master User. although these ranks are kool please do not post like craxy to get the highest rank possible. if you keep a slow and steady pace you should do just fine.

I hope these tips help you on your way to being a great user!

-Ghost Games-