When I know it's going to be someplace unfamiliar, I always look it up on google maps first, streetview is great for finding "no so random" buildings...   (Hint from an out-of-towner who doesn't particularly like driving in large cities.)

Since I'm out of town, and a last name starting with "A", I heard first. 

Just got a call from Rainy Day books, the signing tonight in KC is cancelled.

If ya'll do it Saturday/early Sunday, I may come down from Iowa for it...

Ah, yes.  TVtropes is the only other place I've seen it used regularly.

Bravo!!! ::applause::

Mostly, we should be more appreciative of Fred's grace in hosting these boards, and we should all remember to apply some of the rules of courtesy that the world at large has forgotten about.

There's an old phrase by a very wise woman.  "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by ignorance.  Never attribute to ignorance what can be adequately explained by miscommunication.  Assume everything is miscommunication."

And a re-post from the FB discussion:

I've been a moderator for a corporate gaming board for many years (11 as a member, 7 as a mod). And a mod/admin of many fan forums (non-Jim related). I've seen (and unfortunately participated) in many of these before.

It's up to us long time members to step up and "pre-mod" things, remind members of the rules of "Neutral Accorded Ground" and such. Make sure the WC has less work to do!

I'm wondering if it would be advisable for the White Council (forum staff) to add some Mac's only mini-moderators (Wardens) of people who have shown themselves to be long-time members of good standing. They wouldn't be able to ban people, but they could move threads/posts to a special board for the WC to review and work with as they see fit.

Mac's does need more "eyes" since it's a big place, but if we don't keep an eye on it, who will?

Winter,

I was the girl in the red dress shirt (#37, entirely by coincidence, I arrived at 5pm) standing right behind the center row of seats.  I really wanted to shout out "anyone from the butcher boards here", but ended up being too chicken/talked out of it by my non-boardie friends. 

More details about the Q/A to come later.

Alright, this is the collected works of Shakespeare of the FAQ we've created here.  Moderators, I also have an unformatted .txt version of this if you'd prefer to work from that.  If anyone else has any more FAQ questions or answers, keep them coming!

Jim Butcher Online Message Boards FAQ

How do I get my own personal avatar?
---By becoming a wizard, that is, by having 100 posts on the board.

What do the various titles and stars mean under peoples names?
---They are titles that are based on your post count (with the exception of the White Council (see below).
   
How do I become a member of the White Council of the boards?
---The White Council is our moderation team, with special guests (including Jim and Shannon Butcher).  There are currently no openings on the Moderation team (so don't ask).

What are the rules for signatures and how do I add one to my posts?
---Go to your profile, and click on "Forum Profile Information".  It'll bring up the place where you can edit your avatar, and if you scroll down, you'll see a box for signature.  The only rule I'm aware of is you have 300 characters, so whatever you want to say can't go over that.  And keep it clean, this is an all ages message board.  Also, your sig can only be as tall as 5 lines of text, which works out to be about 75 pixels.  The moderators usually only enforce it in particularly egregious instances, but it's there.

What are the rules for personal avatars?
Keep them tasteful and kid-friendly.  Standard size is 100x100, but as long as it's under 125x125ish, it's cool.  (Like the banners, though, the moderators only ever really enforce it when there's a really egregious example.)

How do I create links on the boards?
---You should be able to simply type (or paste) the website URL (the www stuff) in to your post and it will create a link to that URL. However if for some reason this does not work, highlight the URL in your post and click the 'insert hyperlink' button (it looks like a globe) located in the tool-bar above the main body of your post. (Be sure you inserted the URL in it's entirety, the best possible result for this is: right-click your address bar, click copy. Then right-click the body of your post and click paste.)

How do I shorten links to a single word/phrase?
---This is slightly different than a normal link and there is no easy click button. The 'code' should look something like this
Code:
[url=your_url_here]Link text[/url]So for example, if I wanted to put a link to www.jimbutcheronline.com but have the link read as "Dresden" in my post, I would type:
Code:
[url=www.jimbutcheronline.com]Dresden[/url](Again, it's best to use the copy/paste method when inserting URL's to ensure the accuracy of the link)

How do I add an image to a post?
---First, you need the URL (or 'link') to the image. If the image is on your computer, you should host it online (www.photobucket.com is the most popular/safe image hosting site that I'm aware of and it's free).     
---Place the image's URL in your post (by typing it or pasting it there). Some websites (Like Photobucket) add the 'code' for you. If this is the case, stop here.
---Highlight the URL in your post, and press the 'insert image' button located in the tool-bar above the body of your post.
The end result should look something like:
Code:
[img]www.photobucket.com/mypicture.jpg[/img]
(you can also type this out if you type faster than you find buttons)

How and when do I use spoiler tags?
---Spoiler tags are used to cover text (until it's specifically highlighted for viewing) that gives information from a book/movie that others haven't had a chance to read/watch. This typically doesn't involve content that's on-topic or a year or so old, unless you're giving away major plot lines/scenes, however it's always better to use it and not need it than to not use it and spoil it for someone else. Also note that Administrators may post spoiler rules for the newest of content, be sure to read and respect said rules when discussing new releases.
To insert a spoiler tag simply:
Highlight the spoiling text (example: omg so-and-so died so viciously omgz!)
Click the button 'SP' located in the tool-bar above the body of your post. (can't miss it, Black S , white P).
The end result should be:
Code:
[spoiler]omg so-and-so died so viciously omgz[/spoiler]Which looks like:
How to set up RSS feeds?
---First thing is first, you need to locate the proper URL.  For a feed that provides updates for the whole of these forums, the URL is: http://www.jim-butcher.com/bb/index.php/feed.xml?action=.xml;type=rss.  A feed for Announcements only would be http://www.jim-butcher.com/bb/index.php/feed.xml?action=.xml;type=rss;board=11. (The difference is that for a single section you add the ;board=# , the # being located in your address bar when you're viewing that section.) (Note: This information is based off This Thread)
Now, you can use the URL for the desired feed in various ways:

(1) RSS Reader programs. These are typically stand alone clients that will update every so often (depending on personal settings) and display X amount of new posts (Typically the 5 newest since last check). And can even play a sound to inform you of updates if you're not at the computer.  A simple and free RSS reader can be found here: www.rssreader.com (I tested this reader to work with the feeds for this site).

(2) Email accounts. Some email accounts allow you to add RSS feeds which will be displayed in various ways. Gmail for example will show the most recent post as a link above your in-box. You can find how to accomplish this by entering 'settings' in your email client/page. (For Gmail you want to go into settings and click the Web Clips tab

(3) Websites. Some account based websites will allow you to add RSS feeds (Google Reader for example). This works pretty much the same as a reader program, except you have to be online, at that site, and some of them wont accept the feeds for this site. (MyYahoo for example).
Alternatively, if you use a browser which supports feeds (such as Firefox). You can simply access these forums and press the 'Subscribe to this page' button (located at the end of your address bar or under bookmarks). This will allow you to add the feed to certain locations without having the exact URL. These locations are: Live Toolbar, Google, MyYahoo (doesn't work at least not for this site), Bloglines, or a Rss Reader program of your choice (doesn't always work). The down side to this option is that you get the 5 newest posts on the forums rather than specified sections, regardless of what section you're on when you subscribe.