Forum Specific FAQs | Prince Albert Angling Society

The Forum, or more properly, ‘Forums’, is a social networking site, offered to members to make it easy to connect with and share info with other members. Within the Forum its is referred to as ‘The Board’

The Forum is not the place to ask questions of the committee. Address any questions/grievances etc. to the secretary via this contact form

Forum Terms of Use – ‘The Rules’

We’ve aligned the Terms of Use of the Forum and Facebook Group so the same ‘rules’ apply to all our social media.

Be kind and courteous.

Treat everyone with respect.

No hate speech or bullying

Make sure that everyone feels safe. Bullying of any kind isn’t allowed, and degrading comments about things such as race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender or identity will not be tolerated.

No promotions or spam

Give more to the forum than you take. Self-promotion, advertising, spam and irrelevant links are not allowed.

Respect everyone’s privacy

Being part of the forum, requires mutual trust. Authentic, expressive discussions make the forum great, but may also be sensitive and private. What’s shared in the forum should stay in the forum.

The views and opinions expressed in this group

Views and opinions expressed in the forum are wholly the individuals. They are not necessarily the official view or policy of Prince Albert Angling Society.

No attacks or abuse towards members or PAAS

If a post is deemed offensive to others, members, bailiffs, club officials, groups of anglers or sections of the clubs different social media usage, then the Admin team will take action against you.

Login and Registration Issues

I’ve registered but cannot login!

First, check your username and password. New registrations need to be validated before you can login. Follow the instructions in the email you received after registration. If you did not receive an email, you may have provided an email address that does not match your membership record or the email may have been picked up by your spam filter. If you are sure the email address you provided is correct, contact webadmin.

I’ve lost my password!

Don’t panic! Your password can be easily reset. Visit the login page and click I forgot my password. Follow the instructions and you will be able to log in again shortly. Don’t forget to check your Junk/Trash email folder for the password reset email. If you are not able to reset your password, contact webadmin.

Why do I get logged off automatically?

You will only be logged in for a preset time. This prevents misuse of your account by anyone else. To stay logged in periodically refresh the page. See also PAAS FAQ’s

What does the “Delete cookies” do?

“Delete cookies” deletes the cookies created by phpBB which keep you authenticated and logged into the board. Cookies also provide functions such as read tracking. If you are having login or logout problems, deleting board cookies may help.

User Preferences and settings

How do I change my settings?

All your settings are stored in our database. To alter them, visit your User Control Panel (UCP). A link can be found by clicking on your name at the top of forum pages.

The times are not correct!

Time on the Forum is UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). The primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is within about 1 second of mean solar time at 0° longitude, and is not adjusted for daylight saving time. It is effectively a successor to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

What are the images next to my username?

There are two images which may appear along with a name when viewing posts. One of them may be an image associated with your rank, generally in the form of stars, blocks or dots, indicating how many posts you have made or your status on the forum. Another, usually larger, image is known as an avatar and is generally unique or personal to each user. You can set your own avatar from the User Control Panel (UCP).

How do I display an avatar?

Within your User Control Panel (UCP) under “Profile” you can add an avatar by using one of the four following methods: Gravatar, Gallery, Remote or Upload.

Avatars, like signatures, are useful to differentiate you from other members with a similar name.

Can I change my displayed name?

We’ve adopted a policy to display your actual name on the forum. If you wish to differentiate yourself from other members with a similar name, try adding a signature or an avatar from the User Control Panel (UCP). Click the down arrow next to your name.

As members join that have same name as an existing members, their name is differentiated by the addition of a dot, underscore or other special character.

The numbers in brackets after your name are your year of joining PAAS.

If you have a legitimate reason not to display your actual name, or if you wish to amend name, please contact webadmin.

What is my rank and how do I change it?

Ranks, which appear below your name, indicate the number of posts you have made, or identify certain users, e.g. moderators (mods) and admin. In general, you cannot directly change the wording of any ranks as they are set by the admin. Please do not abuse the forum by posting unnecessarily just to increase your rank – admin will simply lower your post count!

Posting Issues

Posting tips

Trim your follow-ups. Try not to quote the entire content of the message to which you are replying. Include only as much as is necessary for context. Remember that if someone wants to read the original message, they can. A good rule of thumb is, don’t include more quoted text than new text. There is always a need for some trimming – either a salutation, a signature, some blank lines, or whatever. If you are doing no trimming whatsoever of the quoted text, then you aren’t trimming enough.

Identify your subject matter. Not everyone has time to read all Forum posts. To ensure that your messages reach the right people, identify your subject matter clearly in the subject line. Subjects like a “question” and “problem” are not very helpful.

How do I create a new topic or post a reply?

To post a new topic in a forum, click “New Topic”. To post a reply to a topic, click “Post Reply”. A list of your permissions in each forum is available at the bottom of the forum and topic screens. Example: You can post new topics, or you can post attachments, etc.

How do I edit or delete a post?

You can only edit or delete your own posts. You can edit a post by clicking the edit button for the relevant post, sometimes for only a limited time after the post was made. If someone has already replied to the post, you will find a small piece of text output below the post when you return to the topic which lists the number of times you edited it along with the date and time. This will only appear if someone has made a reply; it will not appear if a moderator or admin edited the post, though they may leave a note as to why they’ve edited the post at their own discretion. Please note that you cannot delete a post once someone has replied.

How do I add a signature to my post?

To add a signature to a post you must first create one via your User Control Panel (UCP). Once created, you can check the Attach a signature box on the posting form to add your signature. You can also add a signature by default to all your posts by checking the appropriate radio button in the User Control Panel. If you do so, you can still prevent a signature being added to individual posts by un-checking the add signature box within the posting form.

Signatures, like avatars, are useful to differentiate you from other members with a similar name.

How can I report posts to a moderator?

There is a button for reporting posts next to the post you wish to report. Clicking this will guide you through the steps necessary to report the post.

What is the “Save” button for in topic posting?

This allows you to save drafts to be completed and submitted at a later date. To reload a saved draft, visit the User Control Panel.

How do I bump my topic?

By clicking the “Bump topic” link when you are viewing it, you can “bump” the topic to the top of the forum on the first page. However, if you do not see this, then topic bumping may be disabled or the time allowance between bumps has not yet been reached. It is also possible to bump the topic simply by replying to it.

Formatting and Topic Types

What is BBCode?

BBCode is a special implementation of HTML, offering great formatting control on particular objects in a post. It can also be disabled on a per post basis from the posting form. BBCode itself is similar in style to HTML, but tags are enclosed in square brackets [ and ] rather than < and >. For more information search BBCode.

Can I use HTML?

No. It is not possible to post HTML on this board and have it rendered as HTML. Most formatting which can be carried out using HTML can be applied using BBCode instead.

What are Smilies and Emojis?

Smilies, or Emojis, are small images which can be used to express a feeling using a short code, e.g. 🙂 denotes happy, while 🙁 denotes sad. The full list of emojis can be seen in the posting form. Try not to overuse smilies, however, as they can quickly render a post unreadable and a moderator may edit them out or remove the post altogether.

Can I post images?

Yes, images can be shown in your posts. You may also link to an image stored on a publicly accessible web server. You cannot link to pictures stored on your own PC (unless it is a publicly accessible server) nor images stored behind authentication mechanisms, e.g. hotmail or yahoo mailboxes or password protected sites, etc.

What are global announcements?

Global announcements contain important information and you should read them whenever possible. They will appear at the top of every forum and within your User Control Panel.

What are announcements?

Announcements often contain important information for the forum you are currently reading and you should read them whenever possible. Announcements appear at the top of every page in the forum to which they are posted.

What is the For Sale/Wanted Forum?

The For Sale/Wanted Forum is intended as a community resource to offer tackle you no longer require or for information on tackle you do. Tackle Trading is not allowed.

What are sticky topics?

Sticky topics, within the forum, appear below announcements and only on the first page. They are often quite important so you should read them whenever possible.

What are locked topics?

Locked topics are topics where users can no longer reply. Topics may be locked for many reasons and were set this way by either the forum moderator or admin.

User Levels and Groups

What are Moderators?

Moderators look after the forums from day to day. They have the authority to edit or delete posts and lock, unlock, move, delete and split topics, in the forum they moderate. Generally, moderators are present to prevent users from going off-topic or posting abusive or offensive material.

Moderators reserve the right to edit, remove or put on the moderation queue any post at any time. The determination of what is construed as indecent, vulgar, spam, etc. as noted in these points is up to them. Members are asked to not act as “back seat moderators”. If members note an issue which contravenes something in these rules, they are welcome to bring it to the attention of a member of the Moderator Team. Please use the “post report” feature to report posts. Do not respond to such topics yourself. Members who constantly “act” as moderators may be warned.

Private Messaging

Why are my sent private messages still in my outbox?

Sent private messages remain in your outbox until the recipient has opened the message.

I keep getting unwanted private messages!

You can automatically delete private messages from a user by using message rules within your User Control Panel. If you are receiving abusive private messages from a particular user, report the messages to the moderators; they have the power to prevent a user from sending private messages.

I have received a spamming or abusive email from someone on this board!

We are sorry to hear that. The email form feature of the forum includes safeguards to try and track users who send such posts, so contact with a full copy of the email you received. It is very important that this includes the headers that contain the details of the user that sent the email. Just highlight and copy the email from your inbox and paste it into the Comment or Message box.

Friends and Foes

What are my Friends and Foes lists?

Members added to your friends list will be listed within your User Control Panel for quick access to see their online status and to send them private messages. Posts from these users may also be highlighted. If you add a user to your foes list, any posts they make will be hidden from you by default.

How can I add / remove users to my Friends or Foes list?

You can add users to your list in two ways. Within each user’s profile, there is a link to add them to either your Friend or Foe list. Alternatively, from your User Control Panel, you can directly add users by entering their member name. You may also remove users from your list using the same page.

Searching the Forums

How can I search a forum or forums?

Enter a search term in the search box located on the index, forum or topic pages. Advanced search can be accessed by clicking the “Advanced Search” link which is available on all pages on the forum.

Why does my search return no results?

Your search was probably too vague and included many common terms which are not indexed. Be more specific and use the options available within Advanced search.

Why does my search return a blank page!?

Your search returned too many results for the webserver to handle. Use “Advanced search” and be more specific in the terms used and forums that are to be searched.

How can I find my own posts and topics?

Your own posts can be retrieved either by clicking the “Show your posts” link within the User Control Panel or by clicking the “Search user’s posts” link via your own profile page, or by clicking the “Quick links” menu at the top of the forum. To search for your topics, use the Advanced search page and fill in the various options appropriately.

Notifications, Subscriptions and Bookmarks

How do I turn Notifications on or off?

From the User Control Panel – UCP (click the down arrow next to your name), select ‘Board Preferences’. Here you’ll find two tabs to manage the way you receive notifications. In ‘Edit posting defaults’ you’ll see ‘Notify me upon replies by default’ is turned off. turn it on to receive notifications of reply to your posts. The Edit notification options tab allows you to control individual notification. Email notification is turned ‘Off’ by default.

From ‘Overview’ in the UCP the last tab allows you to manage notifications you have received.

What is the difference between bookmarking and subscribing?

Bookmarking is like subscribing to a topic. You can be notified when a bookmarked topic is updated. Subscribing, however, will notify you when there is an update to a topic or forum on the board. Notification options for bookmarks and subscriptions can be configured in the User Control Panel (UCP) under “Board preferences”.

How do I bookmark or subscribe to specific topics?

You can bookmark or subscribe to a specific topic by clicking the appropriate link in the “Topic tools” menu, conveniently located near the top and bottom of a topic discussion.

Replying to a topic with the “Notify me when a reply is posted” option checked will also subscribe you to the topic.

How do I subscribe to specific forums?

To subscribe to a specific forum, click the “Subscribe forum” link, at the bottom of the page, upon entering the forum.

How do I remove my subscriptions?

To remove your subscriptions, go to your User Control Panel (UCP) and follow the links to your subscriptions.

Attachments

How do I find all my attachments?

To find your list of attachments that you have uploaded, go to your User Control Panel (UCP) and follow the links to the attachments section.