DO NOT post any personal identifiers, yours or that belonging to any other poster on the public forums, ie: real name, address, telephone number, personal email address, place of employment, etc. We have NO way of protecting the information. This board is read by people all over the world, by governments, by news agencies, and other posters. If you wish to exchange info, please do it by PM if you are certain the person receiving it is okay. We cannot provide any personal information, nor can we be responsible for information that you provide to others. The Staff.
Welcome to Peak Oil.com! Here are some answers to basic questions that will make your time here more enjoyable:
1) I just got here, what do I do first?
a) Read the Code of Conduct. We don't have a lot of rules, but, we Are serious about the ones we do have.
b) Introduce yourself in the Welcome forum. This is the forum that you're in. Introductions in other forums will be moved to the Welcome forum. Please share what brought you to PO.com, how you are preparing for the expected changes in the world due to peak resources, etc.
2) I have an urgent question, who can I ask?
Do not start a thread, or go off topic in a thread to deal with your urgent problem. PM (private message) any moderator or administrator. You can find out who is here by clicking on the word, Forum, above left. Example: Forums » PeakOil.com Lobby » Welcome The list of posters who are online is at the botton, and the Staff members' names are in bold green.
3) How do I use the Search function?
In the menu bar on the left, click on "Search" or "Forum Search" option to search for a topic, or a poster, or a combination of the two..
Also, there is Focus Search option in the Menu Bar under Resources heading for more general searches on other realted websites..
To help reduce bandwidth and keep this site functional, we ask that you please use the Search function for this site before making a new topic. When you hit the Search link, you should come to this page:
Fill in the necessary space(s), and click the "Search" button at the bottom.
If you get too many threads (many queries will have hundreds or thousands of hits) , try searching again, using the "Search thread topic only" option under "Search previous", there to the right of the search box.
If you do not get any threads answering your question, try using different keywords. Trying to remember a post by a certain poster, but, can't find it? Use the first space for the keyword, then, the second space for the poster. I heartily recommend you experiment with the pull downs, too. If you still have a question about the Search function, ask any Staff member.
Did you start a thread or write a post, and now you can't seem to find it? You have two options: do a Search for you & your post, or, click on View Your Posts in the upper right hand corner.
4) I found a thread that looks right, but it's ancient. Is it okay to post in it?
Yes! Posting in old threads is welcomed and preferred. This keeps all the information on a particular topic in one place instead of having hundreds of threads on the same topic, and will assist us as we prepare older and archived threads for the PeakOil.com library.
You are responsible for the health and well-being of the threads you start. Keep the posters on topic. If you have problems, click on the exclamation point little box in the lower right of the post , and file a report. Use this option reasonably.
You should also remember that by joining PO.com, you agreed that the Staff can merge your post/thread with an existing thread if it is determined, at the Staff's discretion, that it is pertinent to the older thread. Post away!
5) I just found the PERFECT news item/speech/video/cartoon, can I post it?
Please use the search function first to make sure no one else has posted the item already. We often have numerous postings of the same article, which leads to confusion and waste of the moderators' time in merging these threads.
Check the date on the item. The older the news item, video, or speech is, the more likely someone has posted it a dozen times here already. If it has NOT been posted here, and it has historical significance to a specific topic, do add it to the topic. Make sure the date for the item is included so that the proper weight may be given to the item. Use the hyperlink option to note the url of the item. DO NOT embed items in a post. This upsets most of our posters, and the offending post will be deleted without notice. As for obscenities: This IS a mixed gender site that also has young people reading it or using it for school papers.
6) How do I post, add pictures, etc?
The Forum FAQ, next to the "Search" function, answers those kind of questions. If you have other difficulties, visit the Forum Tutorial or ask your question in the Technical Support forum.
When you start a thread, Please do the following:
a) Determine in which forum your post belongs by reading the forum descriptions. If you're still not sure which forum your topic belongs to, posting it in the Open Discussion thread is the best bet.Threads posted in the wrong forum will be moved without notice to you.
b) Use a keyword (what the post is about) in your title. Unclear titles will be rewritten without notice to you.
c) If the item is something you found on the Internet, please include the url address.
d) Include a few pertinent paragraphs; intered posters will use the url to read the rest of the story. Do not just post an URL address for your post. Too often, the item gets pulled from the original site, or, just disappears, and no-one knows of what information the original text was composed.
7) How do I quote someone else's post?
By using the 'quote' button at the upper right of the 'posting' screen. Please do not quote the entire post; remove the part you are not replying to that lies in between the [ quote ] and [ /quote ] tags. The Code of Conduct forbids quoting a whole news article. Only quote a few paragraphs at most.
Use the quote feature when necessary. Excessive quotes make the thread overly long, difficult to read and waste bandwidth.
DO NOT requote yourself! While we do have a few young people here, the majority are adults and Can follow thoughts in a thread.
8) My links, pictures, etc. are coming out too big, and people are yelling at me! What do I do?
Do you see how this thread requires you to scroll, not only up and down, but, across the screen? It is because the "snapshots" above are too large (we will get this fixed!).
Pictures can be reduced to manageable size using photo manipulation software such as Paint, Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, or other similar tools, many of which come standard on commercial computers. If you don't have access to one of these, posting a link to the picture is the best choice.
Don't paste long links into your post. Instead, use the link button on the second row at the top of your post screen (it looks like a little earth with a chain below it). See also posted directions for manually posting a link below.
9) I don't believe peak oil is going to be that bad. In fact, I found this new technology that will make everything better. Should I post about it?
We usually welcome most kinds of posts. Please use the Search function to make sure your item has not been already discussed. Remember also that this is a forum to discuss peak oil -- your post may not be fully appreciated (or, some days, tolerated) by other members. We do not suffer fools gladly, nor do we appreciate a large amount of sunshine being blown in our direction.
The administration has graciously provided a forum for those who feel that other technologies will mitigate or entirely erase the effects of peak oil called "Cornucopians Only". To sign up for this forum, choose the "Usergroups" link to the right of the "Search" link at the top of the forum, then choose the group from the drop-down menu.
10) I think we might be in trouble / the end is near/We're DOOMED!. Are there usergroups for me?
In the interest of balance, there are usergroup forums for "Moderates" and "Doomers" as well. Come on down!
You also might be interested in the Medical Issues forum.11) Something's not working! I can't (post, insert links, edit, get to my messages, etc.)
Go to the Technical Support forum and post your problem there. It may be that others are having the same problem, or, having experienced the problem in the past, have posted the fix. If it can be broken, it has been broken. And, some of us are still adjusting to the new system put into place a few months ago. Just remember, the squeaky wheel does not get greased here-it gets thrown to the wayside. IOW, please post your complaint politely.
Posting advice from Ferretlover:
* Remember to check your PMs (private mesages). Not all PMs from Staff are bad news.
Not responding to PMs from any Staff member is considered Mod Evasion. * Once in a while you will run across a locked thread. There are several reasons for locking a thread, the most common being a Lot of pages. You cannot post in a locked thread, but you can read it, and copy-n-paste something to bring up or add to in another thread. If you start reading a long thread, and don't have time to finish it in one sitting, copy the URL address. When you have time to return to reading that thread, just insert the copied URL, and you will go back to where you left off.
* Do NOT post in all caps. That is considered yelling, and irritates the heck out of everyone.
* Please don't hit the enter button two or more times after each sentence. It makes the posts difficult to read and is a waste of precious bandwidth. The enter button is also NOT an exclamation point. If you feel a 'consumerism frenzy' ("I Must Consume space") coming on, please do it in the Real World.
* When quoting a previous post: When the screen comes up for you to type in your response, you have the option of deleting any portions on which you are not responding. Please do so. There are no contests for the most reposted quotes.
Huge reposts/quotes are not appreciated, nor are they permitted as noted in the COC. Such posts can and will be reduced or deleted at Staff's discretion without notice to the poster.
* Please remember that this is a discussion site. Agree with, refute or attack ideas, NOT the poster. Rude remarks about a poster's family are verboten.
There are two ways to hyperlink (that I know of):
1. Have the url address handy; click on the greenish ball with the chain link below it. A Script Prompt box should appear. Paste the URL address you have handy over the top of the http:// that appears there. Click ok. Then, the box will appear again. Erase the "webpagename" words and write a name for your link. Click ok.
NOTE: If you get a box that says, "Error. You didn't write the URL. You didn't write the page name," you have something engaged (pop-up blocker?). Click ok. Then, somewhere at the top of your screen, a temporary 'permission' line will appear. Something like "This website is using a scripted window to ask you for information. If you trust this website, click here to allow scripted windows." Click it, and then the above mentioned box should appear. (If it doesn't, your are on your own-I am not that computer savvy!).
2. Paste your URL into your post. At the front of it, type [url=
The http part should immediately follow the equal sign-no space.
At the end of your URL address, type: ]link[/url]
First bracket, in front of the word, link, must immediately follow the end of the URL address-no space.
Where the word, link, is is where you put the name of your link. Or, you can just use link, or article, or story--you get the picture.
If you want to post an URL that starts with www, just add the http:// to the front of it, then follow the directions above.
This next portion may or may not be applicable since the recent program changes, but, we will leave it here--just in case!
[Posting advice from TheDude:
Don't try and post text with foreign language characters such as umlauts or grave accents. For example, these are Os with umlauts:
If you use foreign language characters, the server will refuse to accept your post.
There are a couple ways to keep track of what's been posted lately:
* By selecting the link at the top of each page labeled View posts since last visit
* By using the Last 24 Hours link in the sidebar.
TheDude and Steam_Cannon have created a little thread on Posting Tips you might be interested in.
