
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Below you will find a list of frequently asked questions. Click on any of these links to get help with anything you might be having a problem with. If you know of anything else that should be addressed on this page please send your suggestions to forumadmin@soundonsound.com.
Why should I register a Username?
Why do you ask for 2 Email addresses?
Do I have to accept Cookies?
LOGIN: How do I login?
Help! I'm having trouble logging in.
What is the text that appears below my Username/avatar image in SOS Forum posts?
What are these Titles about?
I forgot my Password!
How do I change my Password?
How do I add an image to my message?
Is there a limit to Signature size?
Can I attach a file to my post?
What are the SOS Forum rules?
How do I edit my Forum profile?
How do I edit my Display preferences?
Why is a post's Subject/Title important?
How do I find posts that may already have the answer to the question I have?
What does the flashing envelope icon on the yellow Menu bar denote?
What do the letters in the Received Private Messages display denote?
I'm having problems getting the URL tags to work
How do I layout my posts to allow white space between paragraphs?
Is there a Spellchecker?
What if I make a mistake in my post?
What if I post in the wrong forum?
Can I use HTML in my posts?
How do I put a Voting Poll in my post?
How do I view more (or less) posts per page?
What's with all the buttons?
Why can I click on 'Subject', 'Poster' and 'Posted on'?
Can I run my own forum?
PRINTING: How do I print the entire Thread? How do I print each Message/Post?


Why should I register a Username?

By registering a Username, you will be able to edit your profile and preferences. You will get the most out of your time here if you change your profile preferences to suit your individual tastes. There are a lot of options in your MY HOME forum profile (click link at top of any forum page) to make your experience here more enjoyable, so please take a few moments to try the various settings. Your Private Message activation, avatar image upload, signature text and other core settings may be changed from your central MY ACCOUNT preferences (see My Forum Details option) once logged in.

Only members with registered Usernames can take advantage of the "New Posts" feature upon each visit.

Why do you ask for 2 Email addresses?

Your real Email address is used for email notifications and forum subscriptions, and to email your Password. The other is what people see when they view your public Profile.

We realise that some people don't want everyone to know their real email address, but SOS need to know it in case you want to subscribe to forum daily digests or if you want to have replies emailed to you. For this reason you can give us your real email address that only SOS will see and you can provide a different one for the general public. Some people like to put in something like scream@no.spam.domain.com. This way people can still figure out what your real email address is, but spamming agents cannot just parse through the page and steal your email address.

Do I have to accept Cookies?

Yes. Cookies are used in the SOS Forum to track your Username/Password and which posts you have read for your current session. Without accepting Cookies, some functions will not work properly.

LOGIN: How do I login?

If you have registered an account (Username) with the SOS site, you must login to take advantage of the personalisation features. To login, look in the upper right-hand wing of your screen for the Login box, where you can enter your SOS Subscriber PIN (if you are a magazine subscriber) or registered Email and your Password. Keep in mind that the password is always case-sensitive. This means that S and s are considered different by the software.

Once you have entered your Username and Password, you'll be brought to what is called the Start Page. If you have any Private messages (PMs), you'll see a flashing envelope icon at the top left of the menu bar. You can now enter the main forum area by clicking the Forum Index link at the top of the page. This will list all of the forums for you. Click on one of them to open it, and you will see a long list of current topics, starting with the newest ones at the top. The order in which you view/see topics and their replies is defined by the setting you choose in your MY HOME forum preferences.

Help! I'm having trouble logging in.

This checklist may help you successfully login:

1) Make sure you are entering your Password correctly. It is 'case-sensitive'.
2) Ensure that your browser supports Cookies; if so, check the browser security level you are using. High levels of security restriction in certain browsers will automatically reject cookies. In order to use the key features of these forums, you will need to accept cookies.
3) Completely logout by hitting the Logout link in the right-hand LOGIN/MY ACCOUNT box, and then log back in again.
4) After logging in, you may have to hit the reload/refresh button on your web browser to expedite the authentication.
5) If these steps don't work you can try purging your cookies from this site using the My Cookies tool.
6) If you continue to have problems, go to the login box. Enter your registered Email in the top field and click the "I forgot my Password" link. Your previously stored Password will then be emailed to the address we have on file in your My Account database record.

What is the text that appears below my Username/avatar image in SOS Forum posts?

It's a system-generated User Title � stranger, newbie, journeyman, member etc. You progress through the various levels according to the cumulative number of posts you have made.

What are these Titles about?

Everyone has a title within the forum. You will notice them below the Username (on the left) in each post. Some titles are automatically assigned (based on the number of posts a user has made), and some titles are assigned by the SOS Forum Administrator to denote official representatives of the company (eg.SOS staff or Moderators) or perhaps other VIPs in the forums.

1	new member
20	member
1000	active member



I forgot my Password!

If you have forgotten your Password, don't worry! You can very easily have a reminder emailed to you. All you need to do is go to the Login box on any SOS screen and enter your Email in the top field. Then click the button marked I forgot my Password, and your password will be emailed to the real email address you registered with.

This process is safe because the password is only emailed to the original owner of the account. There is no way to steal the password by using this feature.

How do I change my Password?

You may change your Password any time. All you need to do is login, then click the My Account link in the right-hand Login/My Account box. Then, select the "Change My Password" option, simply edit the password and verify password fields on this page. Once you have entered the new password, click submit to save the information. (Keep in mind that passwords are always case-sensitive.) This single Password works across the entire SOS site: Forum, Readers Ads, Competitions, eSub and more.

How do I add an image to my message?

In order to add an image to your message or your signature, you must have the image already available on a web server. This can be an image on your own personal web page, for example. To place an image within a message, simply use the following Markup Tag:

[image]http://www.url_to_image.com/image_name.gif[/image]

For example, if you have an image called cateye.gif and it is available from your own web site at http://www.mywebsite.com/pics, then you would use the following image markup:

[image]http://www.mywebsite.com/pics/cateye.gif[/image]

You can do the same for your signature (100 characters max. over 2 lines). All you need to do is login, then click the My Account link in the right-hand Login/My Account box. Then, select the "My Forum details" option, simply edit the signature text on this page. Click SUBMIT to save the information.

Note: To keep the forums loading quickly for everyone, it is recommended that you do not exceed 35k for your image size.

Is there a limit to Signature size?

We ask that you keep your images relatively small. As a rule, please do not exceed 48 x 48 pixels and/or 35k for a signature image. This will ensure that the forums load quickly for all users.

Can I attach a file to my post?

If you have a browser that is Mozilla 4+ compatible and the SOS Forum permits file attachment, then the answer is 'yes, you can'. When you preview your post you will have the opportunity to attach a file to your post.

What are the SOS Forum rules?

Click here to view the forum rules


How do I edit my Forum profile?

Click the MY HOME link on the yellow Menu bar. At the bottom of the next screen you will see options for editing your Profile. Also check any forum preferences within your My Account screen.

How do I edit my Display preferences?

Yes, you'll be missing a trick if you fail to take advantage of the versatility of the SOS Forum. There are many aspects of how the forums are displayed that may be customised. The procedure is similar to that for editing your Profile, but in this case, after clicking the MY HOME link on the Menu bar, you need to select the 'Display preferences, .....' option in the Main Configuration area at the bottom of the screen.

You can choose what language you want the Forum buttons/alerts etc to use (but not the actual post language, as that is determined by the poster), the Mac or PC stylesheet that you want to govern the Forum's look and feel, how many posts there are per page, whether or not you want to view Users' pictures (avatars) alongside their posts, and much more. Once saved, these become your default settings. You may edit these preferences again at any time.

Why is a post's Subject/Title important?

The first post of a given thread establishes the subject by which all subsequent replies will be known. Once there's been a reply, the thread Subject cannot be subsequently changed. It's therefore important to get the subject right from the outset. Make it as descriptive and as specific as possible.

For example, 'Cubase SX install questions', is much better than something completely generic like 'Newbie needs help!'. Not only is it more likely to elicit a response, but it'll also make it much easier for all posts in the thread to be subsequently located using the SOS Forum SEARCH function.

How do I find posts that may already have the answer to the question I have?

One of the key benefits of the SOS Forum format is that it enables commonly asked questions to be answered once, for the benefit of all. Before posting your question, it is always worth checking to see if it has already been asked - and answered!

You can do this via the SEARCH link on the yellow Menu bar. Various options are available, both for how the search term is specified and for controlling how much of the SOS Forum's database you want to search. This is where the specificity of thread subjects is important, making it much easier to locate precisely what it is you're after from a list of search results.

What does the flashing envelope icon on the yellow Menu bar denote?

It means that you have unread Private Messages (PMs) from other Forum members who wish to contact you in private. You can read, reply and/or delete such PMs at any time by clicking on the My Home link in the top yellow Menu bar. New and saved PMs are shown in the top-left box, along with useful buttons.

What do the letters in the Received Private Messages display denote?

'N' denotes an unread (New) message.
'R' denotes a message that has been replied to.
A space denotes a message that's been read but not replied to.

I'm having problems getting the URL tags to work

If the tags are showing up in your text or you're getting a link, but it's to 'http:///', you're including some unwanted spaces in the syntax. Avoid any intervening spaces, and everything will work fine.

How do I layout my posts to allow white space between paragraphs?

By hitting carriage return twice at the points where you want to insert a blank line. If you opt to preview your posts, you get the opportunity to do more editing before you finally accept the post and click the OK, SUBMIT button.

Is there a Spellchecker?

Sorry, there is NO spellchecker. If you want to be sure that you're word perfect, you'll have to spellcheck your post in some text editor and then cut and paste it into the Forum's edit window.

What if I make a mistake in my post?

Users can edit their own posts up to .75 hours after they are made. Where the change is substantial, you should mark the post as edited (click the checkbox in the Post window) so as to alert viewers to the changed content. For simple cosmetic changes, it's better not to do check the box.

What if I post in the wrong forum?

Let the Forum Administrator/Moderators know by clicking on the Alert button at the foot of the topic - they will be able to move it for you. Moderators regularly move threads that, in their judgement, should be in a different forum to maintain consistency and to help you get a more prompt reply. It is never a good idea to post the same message in multiple forums, simply in the hope of getting a speedier answer. It usually has the reverse effect and can start flame wars, so take care!

Can I use HTML in my posts?

If HTML is activated for a forum, then you will see HTML is On in the Extra Information box at the foot of any screen and you can use normal HTML in your posts. If UBBCode is on you will see UBBCode is On. The default setting is 'Using HTML and UBBCode' as this allows most flexibility. The following tags are available for your use if UBBCode is enabled:

[b] text [/b] = Makes the given text bold.
[email] joe@email.com [/email] = Makes the given email address clickable.
[i] text [/i] = Makes the given text italic.
[code] text [/code] = Surrounds the given text with pre tags.
[quote] text [/quote] = Surrounds the given text with blockquote and hr's. This UBBCode tag is used for quoting a reply.
[url] link [/url] = Makes the given url into a link.
[url=link] title [/url] = Makes the given title into a hyperlink pointing to link.
[list]
[*]Item 1
[*]Item 1
[/list]
= Makes a bullet list. [list=A] or [list=1] will make order/numbered lists.
[blush] or :o =
[cool] =
[crazy] =
[frown] or :( =
[laugh] or :D =
[madashell] =
[shocked] =
[smile] or :) =
[tongue] or :p =
[winker] or ;) =
[color:red] text [/color] = Makes the given text red.
[color:#00FF00] text [/color] = Makes the given text green.


Can I run my own forum?

Yes, UBB.threads can be bought at www.infopop.com What you see here on the SOS Forum is a very highly-customised version hosted on SOS's own servers.

How do I put a Voting Poll in my post?

Putting a Poll in your post is simple.

If Polls are permitted, then you start by just creating a new post in a forum. You will see a text box that allows you to specify how many questions/answers you want to have in your post and the system will guide you through the setup/creation of the Poll.

How do I view more (or less) posts per page?

You can change the number of posts to be displayed per page by editing your My Home Profile. You can set this from anything between 1 and 99 posts per page. When you first sign up this gets set to 40 posts per page.

What's with all the buttons?

The buttons are used for navigation and displaying posts. Depending on the screen you are on they may serve different purposes.

When displaying a list of all threads:
- The and buttons will take you to the previous or next page of posts.
- The button will take you to the index of all available forums.
- The button will let you make a new post on that board.
- The and buttons will allow you to toggle between expanded and collapsed threads. Expanded threads will show the subject of all posts and replies in a threaded format. Collapsed threads will show the subject of the main post along with the number of replies to that post.

When viewing individual threads:
- The and buttons will take you to the previous or next thread.
- The button will take you back to the listing of all posts on that page.
- The button allows you to view the entire thread on one page if there are any replies to the original message.
- The button allows you to view the current post with all other posts on that thread displayed below in a threaded format.
- The button allows you to reply to a post.
- The button allows you to edit a post.

Why can I click on 'Subject', 'Poster' and 'Posted on'?

You can click on any of these headings to change the order in which the posts are sorted and displayed. If you click on Subject once, it will display posts by Subject in reverse alphabetical order. If you click on it again it will display posts by Subject in alphabetical order. Poster and Posted on works similarly. It is especially useful when viewing topics like those within the PC FAQs forum.

PRINTING: How do I print the entire Thread? How do I print each Message/Post?

There are 2 different means of printing content from the Forum.

Print Individual Messages
At the end of each post (or reply to a post), you will see a set of small icons on the bottom-left of the text area, one of which looks like this:

If you have a printer connected to your computer, clicking this button/icon will print just the Post/Message you clicked on. It will NOT print the entire Thread (sequential list of messages).

Print The Entire Thread
It is possible to print the entire list of posts/messages in one go. Just click on this printer icon/button located at the very top of each thread, under the grey Previous/Topics/Next etc buttons.

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