Help Topics

This page is intended to offer additional help
for posting at FreeConservatives.

Help Topics
Trouble Posting/Trouble Logging In
How do I post?
What are the buttons in the posts for?
How do I send a Private Message (PM)?
How do I post an image?
Can I post an image from my computer?
Creating a Signature
Creating a Link
What do LOL, IMHO and other abbreviations mean?
Custom Editing of HTML Code (tags)
How Do I make ©(tm)®¢ etc.?

(more topics are covered on our FAQ page)

(PLEASE NOTE: This site uses different "skins" that change the way pages display
here. As such, the images, colors and icons displayed on your pages may be
somewhat different from those used in the examples on this page. However,
the functionality is the same, regardless of which skin you choose)

Trouble Posting/Trouble Logging In:
This site uses browser cookies. Please insure that your browser is configured to accept cookies. If you are having trouble posting, logging in, or any other type of odd behavior, it's probably a cookie related issue. The best solution is to delete your cookies and try logging in again.

How do I post?:
Posting on FreeConservatives is quite simple. The site is divided up into numerous forums and subforums, which are viewable along with their descriptions on the main forum page. Each of the forums and subforums are comprised of various topics that are called "threads". There are two methods to do post here. You can either create a new thread of your own, or reply to a topic or another post in an existing thread. At the top and bottom of every forum you will see a "New Thread" button.

That button is used to create a new thread (or topic). Clicking it will bring up the posting window, which looks like this:

Although this page is labeled "Post New Thread", you will find that the posting windows are practically identical for both new threads and replies, except for titles and other very minor details. To post a new thread, all you do is enter your text into the white box and click "Submit New Thread" at the bottom of the page. You must enter a "Title" for a new thread. Above the white box are several formatting options, some of which are self explanatory, and some of which are described below. Just keep in mind that any text formatting you do will apply to whatever text you have highlighted, and any inserting you do (such as links or images) will be inserted wherever you cursor is when you click the applicable button. To the right of the white box are some stock "smilies" in a block that we include on the site, such as and . Clicking on any of them will insert those smilies into your post wherever your cursor is located when you click the smilie. Additional smilies are available by clicking the "More" link at the bottom of that block. Underneath the white box are more "smilies" in a larger block. These are "Post Icons" that will appear at the top of your post, along with the title. For new threads, this "Post Icon" will also appear next to your thread on the forum page that lists all the threads in that forum.

Inside each thread you will find the initial post, followed by reply posts from other members (unless no one has replied yet). These threads sometimes span many pages. If there is more than one page, you'll see the page numbers on the right, at the top and bottom of each page.

Just as you saw with new threads on the forum pages, at the top and bottom of every thread page you will see a "Post Reply" button.

The "Reply to Thread" page will come up, and as noted before, it's practically identical to the "Post New Thread" page seen above. You do not need to enter a "Title" for a new post, but you can if you want. "Post Icons" that will appear at the top of your post, just as they do when creating a new thread. One difference with the "Reply to Thread" page that does not show up in the "Post New Thread" page, is that there is an additional link to more smilies. You will find that just below the whit text box, labeled "Warlady's Smilies".

There is also a quicker and easier way to reply to a thread. At the bottom of every thread page you will find a "Quick Reply" window.

This window functions exactly the same as the "Reply to Thread" page, just with fewer formatting functions. It's quicker to use because it doesn't require opening a new page. If you start entering text here, and then decide you need more formatting functions, all you have to do is click the "Go Advanced" button.

That will open the "Reply to Thread" page, but it will preserve whatever text you have already entered in the "Quick Reply" window.

What are the buttons in the posts for?:
You'll discover that there are some buttons in the bottom right hand corner of every post. These start with the "Edit" and "Quote" buttons.

You can't edit a post unless it is your own post, or unless you have special privileges here, such as with our Moderators and Admins. If you decide to edit one of your posts, an editing window very similar to the "Quick Reply" window will appear. You can also click the "Go Advanced" button in that window to get more formatting functions if you desire.

You can reply specifically to a post by clicking the "Quote" button within that post. If you click the "Quote" button, a posting window will come up that quotes the text of the original post. For instance, if you wanted to respond to this post...

...all you would need to do is click the "Quote" button in it. That will come up with the standard reply window, but with the original text contained within quote "tags", like this:

So if you wanted to reply after the quote, you would just enter your text after those tags, like this:

Now when you click "Submit Reply", you will see this result:

The next two buttons are the "Multi-Quote" and "Quick Reply" buttons, although they don't say that unless you hover your mouse cursor over them. The "Quick Reply" button just brings up a "Quick Reply" window like the one described in the topic above. The "Multi-Quote" button is a somewhat advanced feature that is not often used, but it allows you to quote multiple posts, so you can reply to each of them with just one reply post. To use it, you just click the "Multi-Quote" button for every post that you want to reply to. For this example, I'll use both the original example 'socks' post above, along with the reply I just demonstrated. You click the "Multi-Quote" button in both of those posts. You'll note that nothing actually happens, except that the "Multi-Quote" button in each of those posts will turn orange. Then you click the "Quote" button in any of those posts where you just highlighted the "Multi-Quote" button. That will bring up a reply window with both of those posts quoted.

Now you can reply individually to each of those posts.

This is the result you will get:

How do I send a Private Message (PM)?:
You can send a PM (Private Message) to any member on this site by clicking their username in any post and selecting "Send a private message to..." in the drop-down menu, or you can go to your "Send New Message" page to compose a PM to any member.

How do I post an image?:
Images can be used on this site in different ways. You can use an image in your post (explained below), in your signature or as your avatar. There are size limits for signature and avatar pictures. Also, signature and avatar images must be accessible from the web. However, there is a method to initially upload those to the site from your hard drive, so that they remain available to you here. You can click on "UserCP" at the top of any forum page. That will take you to your User Control Panel.

You can also go to your User Control Panel by clicking here. On the left side of that page you will see links to edit your signature and avatar.

The Signature and Avatar pages that those links go to have instructions for including and/or uploading images. The signature image upload looks like this:

The avatar image upload looks like this:

Images in posts
An image that you wish to be visible in a post must have the entire path to the image enclosed within the [img] tags. You can enter these tags manually, or you can use the image icon to have them entered automatically, as shown below.

When you click the image icon, a popup window will appear asking you to input the URL of your image.

That's the web address where the image is located. Just paste in the address and click "OK". The image address and [img] tags will automatically be inserted into your post.

You can also enter your image tags manually, as shown below.
Example: [img] http://www.website.com/myimage.jpg[/img]
(The bold and red text are added for emphasis only)

The most common mistake people make in posting images is allowing a space into the above string. If you feel you've followed the instructions and your image does not appear, then recheck for spacing, and address typos. Preserving the original case (lower or upper) can also be important in some instances (UNIX servers). The next most common reason why an image doesn't show up or disappears is when the server on which the image resides uses a script to generate the page which contains the image, and that script will not work in a post. Usually you will see a "?" in the address.

Another error that is not quite as common is that some web sites block the use of their images on other sites. In this case, you will most often see the common little box with the red X indicating the image is not available.

Can I post an image from my computer?
An image must exist on the web somewhere in order for it to work here. If it already exists on the web, that's great. If it doesn't already exist on the web, you can usually upload it here as an avatar image, a signature image or as an attachment in a post. Attachments in posts are created in the Options area beneath the Reply window.

You are only allowed so many attachments though, so if you have an image that you plan to use often, or if you want it to remain available for an extended period, you may also request we put it on our server, if you have no place on the internet to upload it to. Simply PM (Private Message) Rhino, Suzie or DoctorDoom and attach the image to the PM. The image path to insert into your avatar, signature or post will be sent back to you.

Creating a Signature
1. Just as noted above, click on "UserCP" at the top of any forum page. That will take you to your User Control Panel. You can also go to your User Control Panel by clicking here

2. In the menu listing on the left side of your User Control Panel, click "Edit Signature". You can also edit your signature by clicking here

3. In the "Edit Signature" block you'll see where your signature text and/or vB code is entered. This window is practically identical to the posting windows in the forums.

4. You may enter whatever text you wish in the signature block. You may wish to use vB code to create bold print and italics, and the icons at the top of "Edit Signature" block will allow you to do that. You can also use vB code to put links and images in your signature, subject to certain rules. If you wish to enter vB code manually, or if you want to customize some editing, the vB code available to you is listed here.

5. Once you have entered the signature text you want, scroll to the bottom and click "Save Signature". Your signature should then appear at the bottom of each post, unless you uncheck the box labeled "Show your signature" when you are posting.

Creating a Link
Creating a link is very similar to creating an image. A link must have the entire URL enclosed within the [url] tags. You can enter these tags manually, or you can use the link icon to enter links automatically.

However, using the link icon results in a popup window almost identical to the popup window for images. When you click the link icon, the popup window will appear asking you to input the URL of your link.

That's the internet address where the web page is located that you are linking to. Just paste in the URL and click "OK". The link and [url] tags will automatically be inserted into your post.

You have two options here. You can simply leave the text an vB code as is, and the link will display as the URL address, or you can enter text for the link, such as "click here for more".

Once you are done, click "Submit Reply" on the bottom of the page.

You can also enter your link tags manually, as shown below.
Example: [url] http://www.freeconservatives.com">[/url]
(The bold and red text are added for emphasis only)

What do LOL, IMHO and other abbreviations mean?
LOL is a chat acronym. You can use acronyms instead of typing out a string of words.
Below is a list of chat acronyms, supplied by Warlady.

2U2 = To You, Too
AAMOF = As A Matter Of Fact
AFAIK = As Far As I Know
AFAIC = As Far As I'm Concerned
AFAICT = As Far As I Can Tell
AFK = Away From Keyboard
ASAP = As Soon As Possible
BAK = Back At Keyboard
BBL = Be Back Later
BITMT = But In The Meantime
BOT = Back On Topic
BRB = Be Right Back
BTW = By the way
C4N = Ciao For Now
CRS = Can't Remember "Stuff"
CU = See You
CUL(8R) = See You Later
CWOT = Complete Waste Of Time
CYA = See Ya
DITYID = Did I Tell You I'm Distressed?
DIY = Do It Yourself
EOD = End Of Discussion
EZ = Easy
F2F = Face To Face
FAQ = Frequently Asked Questions
FBOW = For Better Or Worse
FOAF = Friend Of A Friend
FOCL = Falling Off Chair Laughing
FWIW = For What It's Worth
FYA = For Your Amusement
FYI = For Your Information
GA = Go Ahead
GAL = Get A Life
GBTW = Get Back To Work
GFC = Going For Coffee
GFETE = Grinning From Ear To Ear
GMTA = Great Minds Think Alike
GR&D = Grinning, Running & Ducking
GTG = Got To Go
GTGTTBR = Got To Go To The Bathroom
GTRM = Going To Read Mail
HAND = Have A Nice Day
HHOK = Ha Ha Only Kidding
HTH = Hope This Helps
IAC = In Any Case
IAE = In Any Event
IC = I See
IDGI = I Don't Get It
IMCO = In My Considered Opinion
IMHO = In My Humble Opinion
IMNSHO = in My Not So Humble Opinion
IMO = In My Opinion
IMPE = In My Previous/Personal Experience
IMVHO = In My Very Humble Opinion
IOTTMCO = Intuitively Obvious To The Most Casual Observer
IOW = In Other Words
IRL = In Real Life
ISP = Internet Service Provider
IYKWIM = If You Know What I Mean
JIC = Just In Case
J/K = Just kidding
KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid
L8TR = Later
LD = Later Dude
LOL = Laughing Out Loud
LTNS = Long Time No See
MorF = Male or Female, or person who asks that question
MTCW = My Two Cents Worth
NRN = No Reply Necessary
ONNA = Oh No, Not Again!
OTOH = On The Other Hand
OTTOMH = Off The Top Of My Head
OIC = Oh I See
OTF = On The Floor
OLL = Online Love
PCMCIA = People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms
PLS = Please
PU = That Stinks!
REHI = Hello Again (re-Hi!)
ROFL = Rolling On Floor Laughing
ROTF = Rolling On The Floor
ROTFL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing
ROTFLMAO = Rolling on the floor laughing my ass off
ROTFLMBO = Rolling on the floor laughing my butt off
RSN = Real Soon Now
RTDox = Read The Documentation/Directions
RTFM = Read The Frickin' Manual
RUOK = Are You OK?
SNAFU = Situation Normal; All Fouled Up
SO = Significant Other
SOL = Smiling Out Loud (or You're Out of Luck)
TANSTAAFL = There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch
TAFN = That's All For Now
TEOTWAWKI - The End Of The World As We Know It
THX = Thanks
TIA = Thanks In Advance
TLK2UL8R = Talk to you later
TMK = To My Knowledge
TOS = Terms Of Service
TPTB = The Powers That Be
TSWC = Tell Someone Who Cares
TTBOMK = To The Best Of My Knowledge
TTFN = Ta-Ta For Now
TTYL(8R) = Talk To You Later
TWIMC = To Whom It May Concern
Txs = Thanks
URL = Web Page Address
w/b or wb = Welcome Back
w/o or wo = Without
WRT = With Regard To
WTG = Way To Go
WU? = What's Up?
WWW = World Wide Web
WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get
Y2K = Year 2000
YGIAGAM = Your Guess Is As Good As Mine
YGWYPF = You Get What You Pay For
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary
ZZZ = Sleeping

Custom Editing of HTML Code (tags):
FreeConservatives allows the use of HTML code (tags) in posts and in some other areas. The following information is provided for anyone wishing to use and/or edit HTML on this site.
Font Size: Size options are: -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4

Colors:
#000099 =this shade of blue
#FF0000 = this shade of red
#006600 =this shade of green
#FF6600 =this shade of orange
#FFCC00 =this shade of yellow
#CC33CC =this shade of lavendar
#E940F7 =this shade of pink
NOTE: The Pound # sign MUST remain in place.

Click here to use a special web utility that generates a cut & paste code.
Also, below is a color chart from which to obtain your desired color code.

How Do I make ©(tm)®¢ etc.?:
These special keyboard characters can be easily done if you know a few simple tricks. First, you need to know a few things about keystroke combinations. A keystroke combination consists of pressing 2 or more keys, where the first or first 2 keys are held down while the last one is struck. Most people are familiar with the CTRL-ALT-DELETE keystroke combo which pops up the "Close Program" or "Task Manager" dialogs in Windows, and will even reboot your computer if done twice. So you see that if it is a 2 keystroke combination, the 1st key is held down, while the 2nd key is struck. A 3 or more key keystroke combo requires you to hold down the first 2 keys while striking the 3rd or more subsequent keys.

Just so you'll know, most Windows installations have a special program just for viewing and copying all keystroke combos. You'll probably find it under ACCESSORIES as Character Map (some may need to look in System Tools as well). Alternatively, you can click the START button, then click RUN, and type in CHARMAP. Then click the OK button. This program will allow you to see all the available characters for the selected font. Holding the mouse down on a character will enlarge it so you can better view it. Double-clicking a character will toss it up into the copy window. When you have the character(s) you wish to copy in the window, click the COPY button, so that you can paste it into your post. You should choose commonly used fonts or you will post something that only you and whoever else happens to have that font character on their computers, can see. Times New Roman and Arial are safe bets. Below is a snapshot of Character Map:

Please note that the keystroke combination is also shown right here ^. This stroke combination indicates that by holding down the ALT key, and then sequentially striking 0169, then letting go of the ALT key, will produce the © special keyboard character.

Now that you know how to use keystroke combinations, here a few of the more common ones:
(all font characters require you hold down the ALT key while striking 4 numbers)
©   Alt+0169
®   Alt+0174
(tm)   Alt+0153
¢    Alt+0162
¿    Alt+0191
¼ Alt+0188
½ Alt+0189
¾ Alt+0190
°    Alt+0176
±   Alt+0177
²    Alt+0178
³    Alt+0179
¹    Alt+0185

(more topics are covered on our FAQ page)