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News: Clark has announced that he has started to post old LoS content (in the Media Gallery section), and will be posting more plus new content!

Author Topic: NEW TO THE SITE? TAKE A LOOK!  (Read 3692 times)

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Offline bobloblah

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NEW TO THE SITE? TAKE A LOOK!
« on: April 25, 2012, 05:32:56 PM »
Welcome to the official Legions of Steel website! We're happy to have you drop by.

There's a lot of functionality available on this website, and as a new user, it may take you some time to become familiar with all of the site's capabilities; it certainly took me a while (and I'm still picking up on new things). Because of that, I'd like to give you, the new user, a few tips on what's here and what you can use the site to do. You can click on the topics themselves to jump to the Help pages for that item.


LOGIN
This may seem obvious, but logging in to the site has some advantages. First off, it allows you to post things to the site (e.g. forum posts, images, links, etc.). Second, and particularly handy, the site will keep track of what you've viewed while logged in, and notify you of anything new since you last dropped by. This could be forum posts, or images in the gallery, or anything else that's been added since you were last here. Finally, the site will also let you know if you've received any PMs (Personal Messages; I'll explain them in a moment) from other members.


FORUMS
Obviously, the site hosts the official Legions of Steel forums. They are organized by category, and the forum names are pretty self-explanatory. You can view the forums without logging in, but you must do so to post a new topic or reply to an existing topic. There's also the advantage of being notified which posts are new since you were last here by logging in, which can make it easier to follow a conversation with someone on the forums. A couple of handy things you can do relating to the forums are:
  • You can access all unread post since your last visit, or all new replies to your posts, by clicking on the appropriate link just below the Legions of Steel logo at the top of the site.
  • If you're browsing the site and want to jump back to the forums, just click on the Home button on the top ribbon-bar.
The forums are what drive this site, as it's where we get to talk with others interested in the Legions of Steel universe. Don't be shy about posting new topics or replying to an existing thread. More people involved only makes the conversation more interesting.

SEARCH
Searching the site is handy if you're looking for something you remember seeing in the forums, or just want to know if a topic has been discussed before. Searching the site can be done either from the Search box at the top right of the site, or from the Search button on the ribbon-bar. If you want to do an Advanced Search, you can click on the Search button at the top right without entering anything in the search box, then click the Advanced Search link on the results page (which will be empty, since you didn't search for anything).
Best Regards,
Bobloblah

Offline bobloblah

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Re: NEW TO THE SITE? TAKE A LOOK!
« Reply #1 on: April 25, 2012, 05:33:32 PM »
RIBBON-BAR
A lot of what this website can do is located on the "ribbon-bar" near the top of the page. Here's a picture:



Each of the buttons on the ribbon-bar gives you access to different areas of site functionality, and I'll outline some of the most useful areas below.

  • HELP
    If you're having trouble with the site, you can try clicking on "HELP" just above, and it will take you to the Help page. There's also a Help button on the top ribbon-bar that links to the same page.

    Feel free to post any questions you may have to the forums, too. Other members here are happy to help you out.

  • PAGES
    There are a few neat pages from around the web that have been stored here, just in case they get lost in the tangle of the Intertubes. The Pages button on the ribbon-bar jumps to where they're stored, and you can then jump to them from the links in the title-bar.



    Members can't add new pages themselves, but, if you have something interesting from around the 'Net, contact Kindred about having it hosted here.

  • WIKI
    A portion of the site near and dear to me is the Wiki. What's that? Didn't know we had a Wiki? We do indeed, and if you click on the ribbon-bar button you can either peruse the information for Legions of Steel already entered, or take a few moments to add to that content yourself. Editing our Wiki works very similarly to Wikipedia and other Wiki sites. Any member can do so. For a formatting guide you can go here, or just click on the links on the left-hand side of the page while you're viewing the Wiki.


  • PERSONAL MESSAGES
    When logged in to the site, every member has access to a Personal Message Inbox hosted here. It allows you to send and receive messages to and from other members of the site. This allows you to contact other members without having to make a post in one of the forums where everyone can see it.

    Whenever you have unread Personal Messages a number will show up beside the My Messages button on the ribbon-bar letting you know how many you have. All messages you receive are saved in your Inbox by default, but Sent messages are not. You can save your Sent PMs by mousing over the Preferences button while viewing My Messages, and then clicking on the Change Settings option from the drop-down menu.



    On the Change Settings page check off the "Save a copy of each personal message..." check box.



    You can send a PM to another member by either mousing over My Messages, then clicking on "Send a message" on the drop-down menu; or by clicking on the cartoon talk-balloon under a member's avatar.


  • MEDIA
    The Media Gallery is the catch-all location for files related to Legions of Steel, whether images, pdfs, or other document formats. The gallery has several Albums used for organization, along with some sub-sections. There is everything from images of other members' painted miniatures, to scans of the Legions of Steel rulebooks, to .pdf files containing new scenarios, to excel worksheets calculating weapon penetration.

    Users can upload new files (which will have a brief wait for moderator approval before showing up), and even create their own albums to organize files they have uploaded.

    Like the My Messages button, the Media button on the ribbon-bar will display a number beside it if there are any new files added to the gallery since your last visit. You can jump directly to unseen items from the drop-down.

  • LINKS
    The Links area contains a number of useful shortcuts to webpages with Legions of Steel content.

  • AUCTIONS & SALES
    This area of the site is specifically for selling; trades can be handled through the Trades forum.

    Otherwise know as SMFbay, this area allows users to post items for sale, either at a fixed price, or as an auction that other members can bid on. It's divided into two categories: one for miniatures, and one for everything else (e.g. books, complete boxed sets, etc.).



    You can attach images to your sales, as well as define any terms that you might have.

    Feedback of members is recorded on the site, and can be posted for both sales and trades. I'll explain how a bit later. You can check a member's feedback by clicking on the small number in brackets beside their username.

« Last Edit: February 25, 2013, 01:41:39 AM by bobloblah »
Best Regards,
Bobloblah

Offline bobloblah

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Re: NEW TO THE SITE? TAKE A LOOK!
« Reply #2 on: April 25, 2012, 05:34:27 PM »
Reserved for more content
Best Regards,
Bobloblah

Offline bobloblah

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Re: NEW TO THE SITE? TAKE A LOOK!
« Reply #3 on: April 25, 2012, 05:34:45 PM »
Reserved for more content
Best Regards,
Bobloblah

Offline Kindred

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Re: NEW TO THE SITE? TAKE A LOOK!
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2019, 03:12:14 PM »
Help has been removed as a link... it wasn't all that helpful anyway
the Wiki and Pages link have been redone and consolidated into the Info link