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Newcomers Forum Guide; A help guide for people new to the Balder forums
Topic Started: Nov 26 2016, 02:46 PM (372 Views)
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Newcomers Guide To The Balder Forum

Contents
 

  • Key Forum Layout Items
  • Subforum Areas
  • Symbols and Colours of the Forum
  • User Types and Government Positions
  • Making Posts
  • General Forum Etiquette



Key Forum Layout Items
Navigating the forum can be difficult if you don't know where everything is. This is a list of some of the more useful/important items you can see on the forum
Description of itemLocationDescription of Uses
Profile stripAt the very top of the pageLink to your profile (click on your name), logout, change your profile preferences, and view your inbox.
Location indicatorjust about the "The Realm of Balder" textThis shows you where on the forum you are. You can click on names to go up a section.
Subforumsbelow "Realm of Balder" areaThis is where you can read and post topics and messages. Read below for more details.
The very last orange barBottom of pageAmounts other things, a list of replies to your topics, and a list of active topics.
Below the final orange barBottom of pageOptions to change the page theme, mark forum/topics as read, and a clock showing your time zone, which can be clicked on to change.




Subforum Areas
The forums can be difficult to navigate, due to the unusual names for many areas, some areas being mostly abandoned, and some areas being only accessible by, or intended for, certain user levels. The Subforums, and key sub-sub forums are as follows
Key:
Black, bold - Area for all users
Gold - Citizen area.
Green - Government and other special area.
Red - Area is effectively abandoned, as no one posts there anymore

There are some sub-sub-forums that haven't been included in this list, in order to keep it relatively short.
Some these listed areas wont even display for you unless you're a high enough member level, and most wont display if you're not even registered on the forum.

Newcomers Bay
 
SubforumDescription
Newcomers BayAn area for newcomers, and increasing basic member status
   IntroductionsIntroduce yourself here. Members may apply for citizenship (if from Balder), or ambassador status (if not).
      Citizenship ApplicationsMembers may apply to become citizens. See the "user types" section below for more details.
      Ambassador & Embassy ApplicationsMembers who's main nation is not in Balder may apply for ambassadorship.
   Balder civil serviceCitizens may apply to become a civil servant
Nordic Square
 
SubforumDescription
Nordic SquareGovernment affairs for the region of Balder
   Winter Palaceseems fairly pointless
   Statsraadet (ministers)Where government ministers do their work and make announcements
   Storting (parliament)Where MPs come to discuss policies, and vote. Citizens may ONLY post in the "Citizens Subforum" here
   Nordic HallWhere other matters relating to the region of Balder are discussed
   Campaigning and VotingWhere citizens may stand for Storting (i.e. apply to become an MP)
External Affairs
 
SubforumDescription
External AffairsGovernment affairs for region other than Balder
   World AssemblyWhere people discuss the resolutions of NationStates World Assembly.
   Embassy RowWhere allied regions have their own subforums.
   JomsvikingsThe Balder military. Citizens may apply to join.
Norse Lif (life)
 
SubforumDescription
Norse Lif (life)General chat area for everything non-government related
   Breidablik (Balder's hall)General discussion area, for things unrelated to Balder government or NationStates gameplay
      ValhallaPassword restricted area. Probably empty anyway. Don't bother asking for the password, you wont get it.
      RagnarökSpam games (even thought it's "spam", you still have to stay consistent to the topic and not multi-post)
      College of ArmsFairly useless
      Alkohol MarkedetWhere all the drunks go to discuss their faviorite type of poison.
   High CultureFor more intellectual discussions, arts, debates, etc.
      Writing and ArtExactly what it sounds like
      Debatesdebates not relating to NationStates or Balder government (which occur in previous supforums)
      Gamesdiscussion of games (e.g. computer games). See Ragnarök for spam games, and Mythos for role playing
      Temple of the GodsFor stuff relating to Balder and the other Norse gods
      Húsgørð njóta Fróðleikr (university)Do the Queen's homework for her, because she's too lazy/drunk
      The Nation of BalderNot sure what this was for, but it's not used anymore
      MythosRole playing games.
      Austrvegr Kaupstefna (market)Where citizens can set up a market stall.
   NewspapersWhere citizens may create their own newspaper (if approved)
Norse Hel
 
SubforumDescription
Norse HelFor technical forum-related stuff, and forum storage archieves
   Technical OfficeWhere the Admin who run the forum live. Go here to report problems on the forum
   Laws of BalderArchives of laws
   Consolidated Archives of BalderWhere old unused topics are stored for prosperity


For now, you'll probably want to stick to the black, bold areas (so mainly Norse Lif subforum and sub-subforums)





Symbols and colours of the forum
While not terribly important, you may be interested in what these mean
SymbolDescriptionmeaning
Posted ImageGold runenew/unread posts in a subforum.
Note: There are some areas that are hidden/off limits, so some areas may say there are new posts, even though you can't seen any.
Posted ImageGrey runeno new posts in a subforum
Posted Image / Posted Image / Posted ImageClosed folderNew/unread posts in a topic.
Posted Image / Posted Image / Posted ImageOpen folderNo new posts in a topic.
Posted Image / Posted ImageGreen folderTopic has a poll.
Posted Image / Posted ImageBlue folderNormal topic.
Posted Image / Posted ImageRed folderHot topic.
Posted ImageSmall padlock on folderLocked topic (i.e. you may not post in it).
Posted ImageA piece of paper with an arrow on it. On the right of a topic nameYou have posted in a topic.




User Types and Government positions
The different colours that user names are displayed in, indicates different member types, which have different colours, and abilities
Note: Some of these member types are occupied by a single person, and have a (1) to indicate this
Member typeDescriptionHow to attain this level
MembersStandard users. Some area will be non-accessibleJoin the forum
CitizensCan access more, but not all areas. May vote in political polls (unless non-voting)Apply for (and receive) citizenship in "Newcomers Bay->Introductions->Citizenship Applications".
AmbassadorsSimilar to Citizens, but has main nation in another region (i.e. not Balder)Apply for (and receive) ambassadorship in "Newcomers Bay->Introductions->Ambassador & Embassy Applications ".
BannedFormer users who may no longer post, or access all areasBreak the rules (please don't do this)

Government Positions
MP (Members of Parliament)May vote on certain issues, and gain higher positionsVoted into power from, and by, citizens, in "Nordic square -> Campaigning and Voting" once every legislative term (2 months).
(1)LawspeakerCoordinates voting and debate amongst the MPsElected by, and from amongst MPs by vote.
(1)Statsminister(prime minister)Appoints and organises Statsraadet(ministers)Elected by, and from amongst MPs by vote.
Statsraadet(ministers)Each has power over a different ministerial department (Foreign Affairs, Integration, War, Culture)Appointed by Statsminister(prime minister) from MPs
Deputy ministerAssists minister, and fulfils duties of absent ministerAppointed by minister
(1)MonarchIs the WA delegate, and therefore has power over the realm of Balder. Also has various governmental and forum powers. Currently Queen Solorni.A new monarch is voted for when the previous monarch abdicates. Reigns may last many years.
(1)Crown RoyalVice WA delegate, and has slightly less power than the monarch.Is appointed by the monarch at their digression.
(1)Admin
Administrators
People with absolute power over the forum





Making Posts

At the bottom of a topic, on the right after a last post, there is an "AddReply" button. Clicking on this button goes to the reply page.
On the reply page, there is a list of style options, clickable emoticons, and preview button.
To see more info on the various code you can use in replies, how they work, and where they work, see this page
http://w11.zetaboards.com/Balder/keys/?c=1

Some topics will also have a "fast reply" box at the bottom, where you can simply type your reply, then click the "Add Reply" button to do so.
This "fast reply" box doesn't have the clickable styles or preview of the reply page, but you can get to the reply page after typing in the "fast reply" box, by clicking the "full reply screen" button underneath it.

Images added to posts must be online images. If you have an image that is not online, you must upload it to a site such as imgur.com, and then put a link to your uploaded image between an [img] and [/img] tag.

In the lower right hand corner of posts that others have made, there are options to "like", "dislike", "report", and "quote"
In the lower left of your own posts, there is also an option to "edit"




General Forum Etiquette

  • Don't spam. Spam includes multi-posting (i.e. making multiple consecutive posts shortly after eachother), going completely off topic, and posting short unhelpful comments
  • Don't insult, abuse, deliberately offend, intimidate, etc. other users. Some leeway may be allowed during debates and roleplaying.
  • Don't post any links to offensive or illegal material, nor to spam.
  • Don't misquote (i.e. take quotes out of context) or edit a post of your own to make replies to change the apparent meaning of others that have replied to your post.
  • Don't post messages in old topics that have run their course, or no longer have any relevance. If, for example, you wish to debate an issue that had already been debates a year ago, create a new topic for the debate. If, for example, you created a topic to share a story you are writing, and have a new chapter, it's okay to post it in that same topic, even if it's been a year since you last posted there.
  • Don't deliberately provoke, encourage, or trick other users into breaking forum rules, or behaving badly.
  • Don't argue with the Modmins (on issues of conduct or regarding the forum). There word is law.
Straying from these guidelines may result in warnings, loss of user-level, or even banning. You will also be seen as a bit of a d*** by other forum members.

If you like, or dislike someone else's post/comment, but have nothing to contribute to the conversation, click the "like" or "dislike" button in the lower right hand corner of their post.


Ver 1.0 - 24/11/2016
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